Lying to My Children for Health Reasons
Dear WTMs,
Due to my WT mothering skills, the girls have some pretty bad eating habits. I do try to have lots of fresh veggies and fruit around to balance out the LUNCHABLES and the fast food meals but I have been inspired lately to actually try to do better.
Call it the heat, call it guilt...I don't know why I am on this mission but the good mother genes are kicking in and so I am trying harder to make at least ONE meal a day that is healthy for the little monsters.
The problem is that the girls don't LIKE food that is not heavily processed with lots of preservatives. All that MSG laden stuff that makes everything taste so good! Anyway---they are picky so like a good mother I pathologically LIE MY BUTT off when I try to serve them good food.
Turkey Burger Meat substituted for Hamburger Meat
I can't let them SEE the turkey burger meat or it's the kiss of death. They can't taste the difference but if they see it----it's all over. No dice.
Cheese & Velveeta Cheesefood on Veggies
My favorite cheesefood, Velveeta, is used on some veggies so they will actually eat them. I figure a little bit of cheesefood and a lot of veggies is better than no cheesefood and no veggies.
No Calorie Powder Drink Mixed into Water
I tell them it's Koolaid when it is really Crystal Lite. Like the WTM I am, my standards are LOW so I rationalize that it's better than soda pop.
I have some other things but since my list is so lame I thought I would ask some of you all what you do to assist your kids in eating better. Things that are easy and don't take a lot of time. Any tips WTMs? Would love to hear them!
posted by queen of wt at 8/02/2006 05:07:00 PM
14 Comments:
I have grated broccoli into spaghetti sauce.
i have a 2 yr old that won't eat anything wet or slimy or any meat so he eats unsalted peanuts for protein i get him chips made from vegetables he eats cereal pediasure helps too so does freeze dried fruit good luck with sneakingf in the healthy thats tough work
Grated carrot & zucchini into meatballs. Tried passing off dried fruit as a new type of confectionary but that didn't work.
Dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate - all those anti-oxidants!
Heinz baby food strawberry bars as fruit for my daughter.
Puree carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, whatever to put in your canned spaghetti sauce.
Add pureed carrots to sloppy joe meat.
Use diced canned tomatoes as much as possible for the Vitamin C.
Instant breakfast shakes made with milk. nuff said.
Canned slim fast shakes, even easier.
Easiest of all: give each a flintstones chewable and forget about it. *L*
LIED like the WT mom that I am very proud to be and told the 7 and 3 year old that steamed asparagus were green beans, and I buy them reduced fat peanut butter, reduced sugar jelly, whole grain white bread, and baked chips. It will be all over when the 7 year old decides to actually READ the label one day.
If you bake, use spelt flour instead of white flour (MUCH healthier).
I also puree all my veggies into the spaghetti sauce. My 17-year old is now wise to my tricks, but he is mature enough to complain quietly and leave his brother with the idea that all is junk.
Potatos are actually VERY nutritious. If you make mashed potatoes, use lots of low-fat milk to make them creamy instead of butter.
Almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter (much better for your kids). They need to get used to the taste, though.
"Milkshakes". Made with: Pureed carrots, pureed fresh or frozen fruit, frozen yoghurt, and a little bit of strawberry sauce or juice concentrate to make it sweet. Kids can't tell the carrots are in there!
I put peas in my mac-n-cheese, and spinach on pizza.
we also like 'hillbilly sushi':
Tortillas with deli meat (I like turkey) cheese, spinach leafs and tomatos, hold it together with cream cheese (or hummus) wrap it tight and slice into 1 inch rounds. It goes over especially well if I serve it with actual choopsticks.
I also put frosting and sprinkles on healthy bran muffins and call them cupcakes. My kid will tellyou we eat cupcakes all the time.
OMG, I feel SOOO much better now - I thought I was the only one whose kid insisted on eating crap, even though I try to feed her something decent. I'll have to try the trick with the pureed veggies in the spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti is one of the few things she'll eat!
My father once got me to try calamari by telling me it was chicken. I told him the flavor was fine, but it was too chewy. Ironically, seventeen years later I now love calamari!
I also have done the veggies in the spaghetti sauce trick, only I skip a step or 2 and put in baby food (green beans, carrots, ect.), I just happened to have some that my 16 month wouldn't eat. Whole wheat bread, we never eat white bread. There are some really yummy honey wheat breads out there. I also have been serving my 5 yr old Crystal Light, she loves it. I buy sugar free ice cream. For snacks before bed, its usually pb on a spoon or crackers, or some cheese and crackers. I kind of do the chees/veggie thing , except my daughter likes raw veggies with ranch sauce. Hey, whatever works!
My aunt cracked me up as a kid, she bought a box of Lucky charms for her kids because they wouldn't eat the generic kind. What my cousins didn't know was that she spent the next few years using that box, but filling it up with the generic brand LOL! When the box became grngy and worn, she would just buy a new one. Moms, we have to be pretty inventive sometimes.
I've given my child Cracklin Oat bran and told him they were cookies. Course he's also shoved bits of it up his nose and we've had to go to the ER. So maybe not so healthy now that I think of it...
My son loves chicken, I've taken to saying whatever I want him to try is chicken. It works!
Fruit and Cereal bars are "cookies," as are fat-free Fig Newtons. Frozen waffles and breads are always whole grain. Whole grain rice too. I put a handful of frozen mixed veggies in to Ramen noodles, and peas in the Mac N Cheese. My girl LOVES salsa (and handles the spice quite well), so baked chips and her own salsa dish and she's in heaven for a snack.
The other trick: if I take a bite, and give her a bite, she will eat a little of it. A little is better than nothing at all.
I feel like I have just landed at the Mother Ship. This is my first visit and I am just in heaven. :) Whew! I have finally found my peeps!
Yay!
I am pretty sure I have done all the things already listed. My 5 year old is so incredibly picky. Won't eat any kind of meat, mostly nothing that is warm, absolutely nothing wet or slimy, hardly any veggies. Pretty much lives her life on fruit, peanut butter/jelly, and cheese. I am definitely going to give the carrot smoothie milkshake thing a try!
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