What are your doing to purge processed foods from your toddler's diet?

[Anonymous]

Learning more about nutrition (micronutrients vs. macronutrients) and it sickens me to think about the amount of crackers, goldfish and processed cheese we have been letting our 2 year-old consume at daycare. We thought it was good for him to eat what his peers were eating b/c eating is such a social thing, but are now thinking the benefits do not outweigh the missed opportunity to acclimate him to more natural foods. Granted DS's portions of these snacks are not large, but I think of all the wasted opportunities for getting good, wholesome nutrients into him (especially when DS adores fruit of all kinds and could eat fruit all day long if we let him). DS loves fruits, some veggies, and nuts and seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc.), so we don't have a problem on his end, but would like to know other ways to package natural food for snack time at school.

If you have a child in daycare (or not) what are your tactics for getting rid of processed foods and adding more vegetables and fruit into DC's daily diet?

[Anonymous]

I send fruit as his snacks and tell the teachers to give him the snacks I send prior to any school snack.

[Anonymous]

We just send whatever in with his lunch box. Today we sent little tupperwares full of blueberries, whole greek yogurt, peanut butter sandwich, goldfish, and a small part of an ear of corn. Sometimes he gets "fun" stuff, occasionally cookies, other times healthier stuff. He seems to eat the majority of it.

Does your daycare provide childrens' snacks, or do you? I guess it's odd if your kid was the only one eating "healthy" stuff, but they should eat what you eat at home at daycare!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: ... tell the teachers to give him the snacks I send prior to any school snack.

that's a great tip to give him the fruit before the snacks, thanks! What kinds of fruit do you send (i.e. fruit that needs to be cut right away like apples; or are they grapes, berries, bananas, etc.)?

if you send veggies, what kinds are they and how do you prepare them? (e.g. sticks of cucumbers, squash, sweet peppers)?

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I've given in to the junky snacks, largely for my own convenience. Our daycare provides an afternoon snack, which is always fresh fruit plus some kind of processed starch, like goldfish or pretzels or crackers or (less often) something sweet.

I'm cool with the fruit, and I know the teachers control the portion of the other snack, so it isn't worth getting too upset about, since it's only 5 small portions per week. However, this food is way more processed than what we'd like for her to eat, so it isn't ideal. What's harder is that the daycare provides bins of snacks to take for the trip home, which are also starchy/junky, and we let DD have them every day because it seems harder to take something to work. My solution is just to live with the guilt.

[Anonymous]

16:24 here...I send in all sorts of fruit. If it's something that needs to be cut and peeled, I do so and send it in a plastic bag. It gets a little brown, but he still eats it. I cube avocado and add lime juice to reduce the browning... it's surprisingly bitter but he eats it. Today I sent him a whole plum (uncut)... I'll see how he did with it when I go for pickup. Honestly though, there's nothing wrong some processed carbs (like crackers). Ideally, they would be whole grain, but carbs are supposed to the basis of energy consumption!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:16:24 here...I send in all sorts of fruit. If it's something that needs to be cut and peeled, I do so and send it in a plastic bag. It gets a little brown, but he still eats it. I cube avocado and add lime juice to reduce the browning... it's surprisingly bitter but he eats it. Today I sent him a whole plum (uncut)... I'll see how he did with it when I go for pickup. Honestly though, there's nothing wrong some processed carbs (like crackers). Ideally, they would be whole grain, but carbs are supposed to the basis of energy consumption!

Does he know not to eat the pit? Mine has swallowed a pit or two of the small plums! Ack! I haven't trusted him enough to try with the bigger ones yet... I look forward to not cutting up fruits though!

[Anonymous]

ha ha ha ha. Can't say we are eliminating processed foods, but I do avoid those cracker & cheese and cookie packs at the store.
We pack one or two servings of fresh fruit with every lunch and the afternoon snack is usually yogurt, cheese stick and crackers, 1/2 bagel and cream cheese, avocado slices, hummus and pita or something similar. I keep canned peaches and apple sauce cups in stock so there is always fruit even if we run out of fresh. We buy fresh as well as organic frozen veggies and canned veggies, because the kids like the green beans, carrots, corn and peas and they are so easy to add to the lunch entree when there are not enough leftover veggies from dinner. My kids can't handle nuts or seeds (makes them cough or choke) and they've been really picky about which fruits they prefer.
Unfortunately, though, frozen chicken nuggets are a staple around our house when the dinner schedule gets hectic.

[Anonymous]

I try not to think about it.

Daycare provides two snacks a day: each snack is composed of some kind of fresh fruit and some kind of starch (processed carb, yeah). DS gets that twice a day, five times a week. We eat healthy -- mostly protein and fruit and veggies at home. No goldfish, juice, blah blah blah at our house.

There are some kids who get "special" snack at daycare. I've been there during snack time and I have seen these kids grab at the other kids' food.

[Anonymous]

As long as they're active enough to burn it off, it's no big deal.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't obsess over it. If you feed them health foods at home, letting them eat the school-provided snack along with the other kids isn't a big deal at all. In fact, studies have shown that being overly restrictive with your children this way actually increases their chances of being obese later in life, when they are old enough to acquire these "forbidden" foods without you.

[Anonymous]

My daycare does not allow outside food. What they will be feeding my child sickens me.

Luckily he is only spending 1yr in daycare, so it is bearable. Once he enters in 1st grade, I will be packing everything.

For the summer we have him in a camp that requires us to pack lunch. Our child thinks a frozen organic yogurt tube is a treat.

To a PP, burning it off is not the problem, most kids have a fast metabolism regardless of what they eat. The POINT is to help them develop a love for fresh foods made from wholesome ingredients. If you program them with JUNK, then you are doing them a disservice for the rest of their lives in shaping poor eating habits.

Also, WHY after being so careful when I was pregnant to only fill my body with good foods for my growing baby would I abandon that care and attention when they are eating solids? Makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't obsess over it. If you feed them health foods at home, letting them eat the school-provided snack along with the other kids isn't a big deal at all. In fact, studies have shown that being overly restrictive with your children this way actually increases their chances of being obese later in life, when they are old enough to acquire these "forbidden" foods without you.

What is overly restrictive? Where are these studies?

I was raised as a vegetarian (though we ate dairy and fish) and I eat meat (only locally raised) and we eat very healthy. I'd say 80% of my calories come from fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans. I don't even like white rice because I did not eat it. Our family only eats meat 3xs a week. My children eat vegetables that most adults have never touched, such as swiss chard, diakon, asparagus, and and beets.

My siblings also eat similarly as myself. Sure we went on our fast food splurges in college, but we all gravitated back to our roots and originally ingrained eating habits.

[Anonymous]

I weep hemp-scented tears and stuff them full of Oreos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daycare does not allow outside food. What they will be feeding my child sickens me.

Luckily he is only spending 1yr in daycare, so it is bearable. Once he enters in 1st grade, I will be packing everything.

For the summer we have him in a camp that requires us to pack lunch. Our child thinks a frozen organic yogurt tube is a treat.

To a PP, burning it off is not the problem, most kids have a fast metabolism regardless of what they eat. The POINT is to help them develop a love for fresh foods made from wholesome ingredients. If you program them with JUNK, then you are doing them a disservice for the rest of their lives in shaping poor eating habits.

Also, WHY after being so careful when I was pregnant to only fill my body with good foods for my growing baby would I abandon that care and attention when they are eating solids? Makes no sense.

b/c an unhealthy snack once a day isn't going to help a child develop bad habits

I grew up with homemade foods (think Italian all the way). Yet there was still that dreadful Cheez Whiz at parties, for example, that we all practically inhaled. And that was one of many junky items we loved. I am STILL a healthy eater, and I exercise.

You women are so incredibly uptight and controlling. Where's the balance? Where's the breathing room to allow a child to be a child?

If you constantly fret over every little thing your kids eat, they'll eat junk just to spite you - or they'll take control by NOT eating.