While it is fine and dandy for my husband and i to eat the SBD approved foods, its a little harder for my kids to do it. They are 5 years and 1 1/2 years and are very picky eaters. Are there others here who have kids and if so how do you get your kids to eat healthy too? I don't want to stock up on unhealthy food for them just because they won't eat what we eat. And also that is a big temptation for me and i'd prefer not to have it...its hard enough to diet without have all that fattening food in the cupboard.
I'll bet they will start to eat it eventually if it is all they are offered. think of how great of a start they will have in a life of normal weights if they start eating healthy right from childhood.
my kids (4 & 2) eat what we eat. if they don't like it, they have an option of a peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat...but they can only get that if they have eaten the veggies on their plates. they don't often choose the option.
try different ways of preparing the foods they don't like..chances are there will be something they will like.
I make sides of potatoes or rice for them with regular meals. I don't cook different. We eat chili, bean soup, chick soup, lean meats, lots of veggies and salads. Lunches they have lean slice meat, whole wheat bread, breakfasts egg whites, toast, etc. Snacks we have popcorn, yogurts, fruits and nuts, veggies ...stuff like that. We don't buy junk food. No cookies, chips or soda. They have 1 glass of 100% juice in the morning and 1 glass of milk with dinner...other than that they drink water all day long. I have no limits to fruits and veggies in this house. If they are hungry they don't have to ask to eat that. It's not that hard. My cabinet has no snacks other than raisins, nuts, popcorn, granola for yogurt (they like the crunch). I do sometimes make them cookies or brownies but not regularly. We never have icecream. Oh, sometimes pudding or jello. We just never had it for them and they don't ask for it. Oh and my kids are 14,11, and 9 (boy, girl , boy)
Last edited by kmac1196; 03-24-2011 at 03:46 PM.
Reason: kids ages
I will also say this. I don't run a restaurant. I also try not to cook foods they hate (if my husband and I are having fish I'll make chicken for them because my daughter hates fish). But if they don't like what we're eating, they don't eat. They can have the sides if they don't like the main meal or the meat if they don't like the sides. And my kids eat everything!!!! From beans (all kinds even 15 bean soup) to asparagus to mussels.....If they are hungry.....LOL!!!!
Do you ever have your kids help prepare food with you? My stepdaughter was helping me in the kitchen when she was 5 (obviously, no knives or oven related work at that age); she's ten now and often requests to plan/prepare entire meals. I know kids are way more open to foods they have had a hand in making.
I have a nine year old son, six and four year old daughters, and a four month old son. We all eat the same food. Why would I feed them something unhealthy? They don't need it. My kids eat all kinds of vegetables and whole grains. They go crazy over ethnic foods and they love to make their own pizzas on whole grain tortillas with artichokes, spinach, mushrooms, and a sprinkling of cheese. They eat vegetarian because I don't buy or cook meat. For what it's worth, my husband isn't "on" the South Beach Diet but since I do the food shopping and cooking, he also eats South Beach foods at home.
I do not use artificial sweeteners, though. I will use honey for the kids' oatmeal and pancakes and I do buy them Dannon Activa yogurts that are sweetened with sugar. Other than that, though, they don't really eat any "off plan" foods.
It's not like I'm cooking up a big pile of cow poo. They never *have* to eat but they don't get anything else until they finish the food that was prepared for them.
I also mostly have my kids eat what we eat. I made a plate of roasted veggies the other night, and bribed (I'm not above it...they would get 10 min on the iPod (thank goodness for angry birds)) them if they ate a bite of each vegetable (sweet potato, red potato, onion, mushroom, carrot). I was horrified that the DS gagged on the sweet potato ....must not be my child!!
But seriously. I do often cut up apples, celery, cukes, peppers, etc. for them to eat if there's a veggie they won't on the table (turnip greens for instance). I also will give them some foods I'm not eating at the time, esp. grains...but I still make brown rice/lower GI pasta. Often a chunk of cheese b/c they're so skinny, and often my meals are low fat.
I'm pretty proud of them for how open they are to foods, esp. compared to other kids I know, but am not the strictest for making them follow SBD. You'd be surprised what they'll eat when given a chance!
They will become accustom! Mine are 12 and 3. Since hubby and I are always beaching together they will just all have to eat what I cook LOL they never complain!
One thing that always amazes me is how easily kids adjust and follow their parent's eating habits. Someone here posted about it several months ago...about how her daughter, who I remember being very young like 3 or 4, had started grabbing fruit and water instead of chips and sugary drinks since she had started eating healthy. If you keep the "junk" (not junk food, per se, I just mean food not as healthy as what you and the hubby are eating) out of the house and keep the healthy stuff in there, they WILL adjust.
My son eats dinner at a different time than my husband and I do, so he usually gets something different. He usually has a bunch of veggies (carrots, edamame, broccoli) and either chicken nuggets or spagetti with meatballs, something that is easy for me to prepare quickly. For breakfast he has a hard boiled egg, avocado, strawberry kefir and possibly some blueberries or other fruit we have around and a couple of triscuits or finn crisp. He eats school lunch so I don't have to worry about that.
SBD and kids
....must not be my child!!
