Howdy. I'm a newbie here. I've searched but couldn't find a thread related to my topic. If you have a link to one, I'd appreciate it.

My question is this: What do you feed your kids when you're on this diet? It's too hard (and expensive) to buy all the SB stuff and then buy a lot of extra stuff for the munchkins. Not to mention, it's all their processed stuff that got me fat to start out with. So, do you guys just feed your kids like they're already on Phase 2 while you stick it out on Phase 1? I do want to make sure they get enough nutrients, fat, etc. but I don't want to keep feeding them the same junk we've been having. I also don't want to be the "worst mommy in the whole world" anymore as I was this morning when I refused to make chocolate chip pancakes--again.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated!

~Steph

Fruit for snacks instead of all of the unhealthy munchies that we so often ate ourselves and give to our kids...I keep a bowl of fruit my kitchen counter with grapes, apples and bananas mostly - things they can pick up and eat right then and there with no prep! Also,my teenage son is now totally addicted to celery and peanut butter! And he loves the roasted chickpeas for a snack too! Your kids will be eating healthier as a result of your new way of eating! I cook only whole grain pastas for them and now I bake my own "chocolate chip whole wheat bread" for their breakfast (with a banana and big glass of low fat milk it makes a healthy, quick and yummy breakfast). They can still have fun foods - but in a more healthy fashion! Ask your kids to help you create healthy snakcs for themselves and see what they come up with! Also, no more fast food at our house - and we all feel better for it!

Welcome Steph. First, let me invite you to our daily threads.. today's is called "wednesday" something or other.

Now, to your question: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Children, pregnant women, athletics, and older seniors all need their carbs for energy. And what's awesome about south beach is EVERYONE can go on it. Don't think of it as a diet in the sense that we've been trained to think "diet".. short term. Diet means "way of life." (in my book anyway). Training your children moderation, nutrition, how the body digests, works with the food they eat is vital to having your children grow into healthy habits. If your children are active, outside playing most the time, into sports at all, swim, they need their carbs, of course make sure it's the right carbs.

Are you planning on them having a sandwich for lunch? Use 100% whole grain, or better yet, use wraps!!!! Are you wanting to fix them pasta? again, 100%, it's important!

I have a VERY finicky 18 yr old son, who wouldn't touch the whole wheat only because he knew it was whole wheat. So I cooked some before he got home, he ate it no problem, when I told him it was he grinned. NOw he has no excuse.

I don't have the money to cook two meals, one for him, one for me. that's just plain craziness. What I love about this plan is it's versatile to suit the entire family.

[QUOTE=chronicdieter;2241471I bake my own "chocolate chip whole wheat bread" for their breakfast (with a banana and big glass of low fat milk it makes a healthy, quick and yummy breakfast). [/QUOTE]

Please give us the recipe for this!
My family loves the taco bake, chicken caprese, and many others. My husband loves that I'm out of a rut and making new dishes. He likes them all. I too buy the whole grain pastas and no one is complaining. I switched to No Sugar Added spaghetti sauces and have made pizza with whole wheat crust. I still make white potatoes for the kids, but DH loves the sweet potatoes! Just bought fresh peaches Saturday at the farmer's market. We always try to have fresh fruit in the house for snacking. One treat my family can't give up is ice cream. I don't care that much about it so I just leave it alone. I like my Mocha Ricotta Creme.

feed everyone full phase 2 SBD... no need for anything else.

grains
dairy
fruits
veggies
lean meats..

SBD is just a healthy diet.... even phase 3 is just phase 2 with a bit more food and more treats (not daily)

I've been eating South Beach more or less consistently for 4 years now and my 10 year old has not suffered. He drinks skim milk and has no problem with reduced fat cheeses. He has learned to enjoy whole wheat pastas and bread. I haven't found a whole wheat tortilla he likes so I buy flour ones for him but he eats them rarely.

If you do have little kids remember they need whole milk until they are two years old, I think.

When I do phase 1, I fix pasta or rice on the side for him. When I eat vegetables he doesn't like, I fix other ones that he will eat. He is still eating more vegetables than he used to.

He LOVES pancakes. When I do fix them, I use whole wheat flour, Splenda and skim milk. You could use semisweet chocolate chips and top with sugarfree preserves or syrup.

we never had whole milk growing up. kids need fat but not from milk

growing up we were on skim as per the doctor...
my kids were on 2% as at that time they had changed their mind.

are they really telling folks to give kids full fat milk?

Yes, fat and cholesterol play an important role in brain development and are especially essential during the first 2 years of life.

Steph! The South Beach lifestyle of eating is very healthy for kids of all ages to follow. The girls here have given you some great advice and ideas that you can use for your entire family. For breads, if your kids are suspicious of whole wheat bread, Sara Lee makes a "white" whole wheat bread that you can use. For pasta, Dreamfields is a very good brand to try. As far as meats go, buy the leaner cuts and bake or broil it. You can make a decent oven fried chicken, substituting whole wheat breads crumbs for the white, or using ground nuts and parmesan cheese as the breading. Your family can still enjoy white potatoes, while you save a sweet potato for yourself. The only thing I am hesitant is to feed children artificial sweeteners. Although Splenda is supposed to be a safe substitute, I personally feel that children shouldn't eat it. But you can safely use agave nectar as a sweetener to reduce their sugar intake. For snacking, there are many whole grain crackers and pretzels to choose from, along with string cheese, yogurt, fruits and fresh vegetables.

Good luck, and I hope to see you over in our daily chat.

I agree with the advice about artificial sweeteners and kids. Pediatricians say to avoid it.

our pediatrician says splenda is fine. to avoid the others.

As someone on SB for nearly 2 months, with a 3 and 5 year old at home, I will tell you it is a bit difficult. They're (especially the 5 yo) at the stage where they don't want to try ANYTHING...so all this experimenting I'm doing isn't going over well. And, they won't touch squash, cooked greens, etc. But, they do love salads.

So, on evenings I know they won't eat what I make, they get a plate of fresh veggies and dip, and then whatever meat we're eating. Or, turkey or ham roll ups. Or, macaroni and cheese.

So, it's a pain quite often, but not horrid, since their favorites (that are good for them) aren't difficult to make.

I also avoid artificial sweeteners for myself (key word: 'artificial'), and I won't give them to my children. I'm fine with them having regular sugar, just in moderation.

I have kids aged 12, 7, and 5. All of them like some SB stuff, but none of them like the exact same SB stuff. So it's a trial! but we're working on it.

They all love baked goods like muffins and cookies that I make with whole grains and Splenda. While I wouldn't feed other artificial sweeteners to my kids, I believe Splenda is safe. Alternatively, sometimes I bake using agave syrup, or a fruit base + stevia, or honey. There are differences of opinion amongst my kids as to how acceptable any of these other sweeteners are. Often I sneak a bit of ground flaxseed or soy protein powder into the baked goods.

2 out of 3 love sweet potatoes cut in fry-form, then tossed in a bit of olive oil and chili powder and baked until chewy-crispy.

They all love to have salmon-salad sandwiches on whole-wheat bread. We buy canned salmon in place of tuna for them to avoid mercury.

Fresh fruit favorites include apples, grapefruit, cherries, strawberries, oranges, tangerines, kiwi...it varies from child to child. I try to always have some fruit around that each of them will eat.

2 out of 3 enjoy pomegranate juice. We're not really big on juice at my household, but I should probably get some calcium-fortified OJ for them.

Occasionally they have fat-free hot dogs (made from beef or turkey) on buns containing whole grains for lunch or dinner. All 3 enjoy this. The oldest one enthusiastically eats a sugarfree veggie relish that I make for hot dogs.

All of them like nuts at various times. We usually have peanuts and others around for snacks.

I let them eat shredded wheat cereal by the handful for snacks instead of crackers. All it's got in it is just whole wheat, but the crunch is very satisfying. Or sometimes they eat Cheerios as a snack--Cheerios have some sugar, but it's not much.

All 3 enjoy milk at various times, usually when eating one of my cookies or muffins.

Burritos made with refried beans, cheese, and a tortilla. Super-easy, very tasty and nutritious. 2 out of 3 like these. Ditto nachos which are simply refried beans, little bit of cheese, tortilla chips--maybe some lean ground turkey and onions and garlic if it's a dinner meal. Oldest will eat with salsa, which is very nutritious.

It's not all that hard (from an intellectual standpoint) to feed kids the SB way, but it is a little more time-consuming in preparation and planning. And certainly you will have some fights with them over it; but that's kind of the fate of a mom, to be the "heavy" on food. My kids really appreciate and participate actively in explanations and discussion about nutrition and health.