I understand that the term "eating healthy" means many different things to many different people. For me, I define healthy pretty much by the standards of the awesome folks at Whole9. Essentially they believe that any particular food either makes you more or less healthy. They don't subscribe to a specific label (i.e. Paleo, low carb, etc.) If you want to know more about their specifics of what makes a food healthy or unhealthy, you will have to attend one of their workshops or visit their website. You will not be disappointed. I intend to write a review of their workshop one of these days....
Anyway, on to the topic of tonight's rant. The issue of trying to feed my child what I deem "healthy food". Obviously this is no problem in my own home. When I do make treats, they are with whole food ingredients, always grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free, and if sweetened, they are done with either fruit juice or some other naturally sweet food, like honey, maple syrup or dates. I understand that it's still sugar, but at least it's a less bad form, and again, not something I make on a regular basis. My child considers raisins, dates, LaraBars, and macadamia nuts "treats".
The dilemma begins in how to handle situations outside of my home. My kiddo is not yet 2.5, so reasoning with him is sometimes not an option. When I know we will be in a situation where less than stellar food options will be provided, I usually try to bring my own contribution or my own stash. My problem is this. WHY DOES EVERY KID EVENT SEEM TO INCLUDE SHOVING UNHEALTHY FOOD DOWN THEIR SWEET FACES? For example at church. I Love Love Love my church. In fact, it is pretty much the #1 reason the hubs and I want to stay in the place we are. But I'll be darned if every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night they aren't given a snack, which usually consists of Goldfish, cheese balls, popcorn, cookies, juice boxes, etc. They are only in there for any hour! Do they really need a snack? Do you think the parents don't feed them? For the record I have never bought a package of Goldfish, yet my child screams for them. I blame this on church...and preschool. Because this is the snack of choice. Completely devoid of any nutritional content. Kids this young have such a small tummy, every bite is important! They only have so much tummy space to get in the essential nutrients they need. So when his tummy is filled with the aforementioned Goldfish and cheeseballs, he doesn't have room for the nutrient dense kale, acorn squash and grass-fed beef I made for dinner. Then I get frustrated because the hard work I put in to cooking a healthy dinner is for naught, and my child has gone another day without a decent nutritional intake of food.
If this were an every once in a while thing, fine. No big deal. If it were just the major holidays. Fine. I can deal with a few nights a year of him shoving crap down his face, just so I don't have to deal with the tantrums of not getting it when every other kid is. But it's not just a few days a year. It's every other kid's birthday, twice a week at church, three times a week at preschool, not to mention any other special events or playdates we go to, which are rather frequent considering I'm a stay-at-home mom. So, I know you're probably thinking something like, "Well, you can't make other people change the way the eat." Right. I know that. So herein lies my dilemma, right? What's a gal to do? Any suggestions from other health-conscious mammas out there? Or moms with kids with allergies (because you don't have any option, right?) I sometimes feel like I want to say to the teachers at church something like, "hey, can you guys maybe not do a snack every class?" but I hate feeling like I'm that crazy parent who makes things difficult for the teachers I appreciate so much. And at preschool I bring his own snacks, but he often steals from the other kids...my child is also crazy about food which doesn't help. So, I'm open to any and all suggestions you parents might have!
