If you don't eat many processed foods, what do you feed your kids?

[Anonymous]

If you're worried about wasting food, just make enough for you and DH and a little more. If your kids won't eat it, save it for lunch for you the next day. I've found that so long as we have a stash of easy foods to eat--fruit, veggies, cheese, bread, crackers, yogurt, etc.--the kids will always have something to eat even if they don't like the main meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"kid's food" = processed food that is leading to the obesity epidemic. Feed your child real foods just like you eat, and the child will like them just like you do. If you want them to look more fun, make them look more fun naturally (put fruit on sticks, shape eggs into bunnies, place carrot sticks into teepees with peas hiding inside....). There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding your children real food, and it is a shame that our society makes new parents think that there is.

For me, and I'm a PP who does use mostly fresh and/or minimally processed foods, I think sometimes it feels wasteful. I don't let it stop me, but I do sigh and understand why some parents just cave to the convenience of processed crap. Yes, I know it can take 10 to 20 tries for my child to try a new food and that sounds fine. Except that then becomes 10 or 20 pieces of fish, or lentil soup or whatever that is thrown away untouched or with one little bite out of it. With my two year old I use plates with multiple sections so that every meal I know she's getting at least one or two things that she likes in addition to anything new or unfamiliar.

Last night she ate almost 3 pieces of chicken, skin removed. She loves hummus, but it went untouched since I'd spread it on fresh cucumber rather than with fresh carrots. She did eat half of a banana and some grapes. The freshly picked zucchini that I'd diced and tossed with mint and a vinaigrette also was avoided completely. My sense is that for many parents it just becomes easier to serve the mac and cheese or chicken fingers since you know the kids will eat them.

I think the PP is spot on. I have a real problem wasting food, and that is the number one reason why I have never stuck to a program of feeding my kids the same meal that my husband and I eat for very long. We do not serve chicken nuggets (my oldest is an extremely picky eater and wouldn't touch them anyway), but we do make them homemade from scratch mac and cheese because they will reliably eat it (and ask for seconds). Add some roasted chicken, fruit, and maybe a vegetable for my less picky eater, and it's not a terrible meal. Intellectually I agree with the whole "kids should eat the same things adults do" philosophy, and before I had kids if anyone had told me we would be in the place we are in now I would have said no way, that would NEVER happen. But I discovered, much to my chagrin, that you can't make kids eat things they don't want to eat. (I mean, unless you're willing to use heavy coercion, bribery, or outright force -- and even coercion and bribery wouldn't work on my oldest). When I try to make things that are "kid friendly", no one is happy -- DH and I don't get to eat the kinds of things we like (spicy, heavy on veggies, "exotic" veggies like brussels sprouts, soups and stews, tomato-based dishes), and the kids won't eat it anyway. There are plenty of kids out there with adventurous palates, and that's great -- but not all kids are like that. My oldest will go without rather than eat something he decides he doesn't want to try. I am not about to have a battle over food three times a day, every day, for the next ten years or however long it takes him to pull his head out of his ass about food (I don't say that to him of course!). Food is awesome, and he's the one who is missing out. So I have scaled back my expectations -- as long as he eats something reasonably healthy, I've done my job. I am also teaching him about the social aspect of food and he is seeming more receptive to that message now that he is 5. (though whether he can put it into action remains to be seen).

To bring this back around to the OP's inquiry, we still do not eat a lot of heavily processed foods. There are many things, like cookies, crackers, juice, "fruit" snacks, processed chicken nuggets, snack cakes, packaged bars of all kinds, and chips, that come into our house rarely or never. We do buy things like whole wheat bread and bread products (bagel thins, english muffins, tortillas), whole wheat pasta, various types of cheese, and peanut butter, all of which are processed, and sometimes frozen or prepackaged ravioli, tortellini, and so forth. I am more concerned about too many simple carbs and especially too much sugar than about processing per se. We have fresh fruit with every meal -- even most picky kids like some types of fruit -- and I try to include a protein at each meal as well. Even if your child is picky, that does not necessarily mean that you will end up serving [insert name of most reviled processed food here]. But it may not be easy to make one meal that everyone will eat, either.

I have a child that will eat almost anything, but I agree that there are plenty of kids out there that are picky and I don't think it is the parents fault or that they should have food battles with the child. My mom did that with me and I had real issues with food for a long time. When I got to college I started eating foods that I would never touch as a child and enjoy healthy, whole foods as well as culinary treats, and actually loss the extra weight! I got lucky with a child that eats "adult" foods but we have friends with kids that don't eat any fruits and/or vegetables and the parents are healthy eaters who actively served whole, minimally processed foods.

I don't think that it is acceptable for your child to not eat any fruits and/or vegetables. Don't offer them anything else until they eat them. They won't starve to death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're worried about wasting food, just make enough for you and DH and a little more. If your kids won't eat it, save it for lunch for you the next day. I've found that so long as we have a stash of easy foods to eat--fruit, veggies, cheese, bread, crackers, yogurt, etc.--the kids will always have something to eat even if they don't like the main meal.

Or get a dog! You will never waste anything again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think that it is acceptable for your child to not eat any fruits and/or vegetables. Don't offer them anything else until they eat them. They won't starve to death.

Actually, mine almost did!

[Anonymous]

The PP who said they don't like dealing with raw chicken is a dunce. I don't see any reason to make chicken nuggets at all -- why bother kidifying? I'd eat a breaded piece of chicken every once in a while, but more often have it in a saute, or roasted, or rotisserie, etc -- which is exactly what my son eats. He'll eat salmon and a variety of veggies, and other things. Some days it is super random what he will reject -- but basically I try as much as possible to give him a good variety of stuff. the thing that I find the hardest b/c of time (2 full time working parents) is making it flavorful and not kidfiying it by making it too plain. My son loves spice and flavor (lapped up eggplant dip this weekend) so my goal is to incorporate more of that to keep his palate open and interested. Loves quesadillas and salsa and guac (home made) etc. OP I think you'll be fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're worried about wasting food, just make enough for you and DH and a little more. If your kids won't eat it, save it for lunch for you the next day. I've found that so long as we have a stash of easy foods to eat--fruit, veggies, cheese, bread, crackers, yogurt, etc.--the kids will always have something to eat even if they don't like the main meal.

Or get a dog! You will never waste anything again.

Yes, I don't get the waste issue. The food we serve that is not finished or rejected by our child goes in the fridge and is eaten by us or him later. We also have a dog and have given her plain rice and chicken/meat leftovers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 19m and her major foods are fruits and veg (broccoli, blueberries, bananas and avocado are favorites), any kind of cooked beans, cubes of tofu, cubes of cheese, eggs (usually fried and cut into pieces), oatmeal, yogurt, bread, rice. We offer meat, but so far she isn't into it.

That sounds like a diet! LOL

A diet? Wow. I'd hate to see what your children eat! How is this a "diet"? My 21 old month eats about the same things...almost exactly actually! We don't offer meat though because we are raising him vegetarian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 19m and her major foods are fruits and veg (broccoli, blueberries, bananas and avocado are favorites), any kind of cooked beans, cubes of tofu, cubes of cheese, eggs (usually fried and cut into pieces), oatmeal, yogurt, bread, rice. We offer meat, but so far she isn't into it.

That sounds like a diet! LOL

Yes, we all eat a diet, and this doesn't seem like a terrible one.

This is exactly what my kids ate from the time I started solids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We eat a combination of processed and made-from-scratch meals.

Our pre-prepared ingredients include things like:
1. Bread & crackers2. Yogurt
3. Applesauce
4. Dried fruits
5. Frozen veg.
6. Dried pasta7. Pasta sauce8. Canned beans
9. Luncheon meats (salami, turkey, ham slices)10. Muffins (morning glory kinds of things)11. Cheese and butter
12. Hummus
13. Ice cream treat14. Cookies, gummy bears, or other treat.15. Nutella16. Peanut butter and jelly17. Instant brown rice18. Hot dogs
I call them processed, because I don't make those things at home. But I do, as much as possible, strive to get these as organic and in BPA free containers.

Our "fresh" stuff includes
1. Salad and fixin's (what are "fixin's"? If vegetables, not processed; if croutons, processed.) 2. Salad dressing (purchased salad dressings generally have lots of chemicals) 3. Dinner main-course meats
4. Vegetables
5. Fresh fruits for snacking

Gosh, look how short that list is. Well, I'm just not going to be making my own bread, cheese, and sandwich spreads...

This does not seem responsive to the question at all. You eat mainly processed foods.

How is this post not responsive? Many folks have posted that they serve their kids things like cheese and applesauce and stuff, and these are on the PP's "processed" list. I suppose the OP could take a list like this one to determine the extent to which he/she would be willing to make his/her own bread, cheese, yogurt, homemade pasta (or would using flour and salt mean it's processed?), hummous made from dried beans (or is that processed?), meat (which I suppose would mean that the animals are slaughtered and prepared from a farm in the backyard) and so on. In addition, the PP lists the foods that are not processed (as much).

Methinks your quibble with the post might require a clearer definition on your part about why it is not "responsive."

Keep Calm. Carry On.

"If you don't eat many processed foods..." Assuming that the list is reflective of quantities eaten (and not really 80% meat, vegetables, and fruit and 20% a combo of the rest), much more than half of the foods consumed by pp are processed.

Jeezus, quibbler. Read the other posts. Criticizing this one (or any of them, really) makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Whatever I'm eating. If she's hungry, she'll eat. If not, not, and the next meal is when she gets more food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 19m and her major foods are fruits and veg (broccoli, blueberries, bananas and avocado are favorites), any kind of cooked beans, cubes of tofu, cubes of cheese, eggs (usually fried and cut into pieces), oatmeal, yogurt, bread, rice. We offer meat, but so far she isn't into it.

That sounds like a diet! LOL

A diet? Wow. I'd hate to see what your children eat! How is this a "diet"? My 21 old month eats about the same things...almost exactly actually! We don't offer meat though because we are raising him vegetarian.

I am the one who wrote that and I said it b/c my child is really underweight and those foods would not help her gain weight. We actually eat a mostly unprocessed diet and I only shop at Whole Foods and TJs and I READ ALL LABELS AND INGREDIENTS. If there is an ingredient in the food that I don't understand, I don't buy it. But when you have an underweight child, eating just fruits, veggies and meats with nothing processed doesn't cut it. I have to give my kid lots of cheeses, pastas, eggs, crackers, etc but I always buy organic and ones with the smallest # of ingredients and highest quality of ingredients. I am sure your 21 months old is not underweight like my child and that's why I said it sounded like a diet. So you don't know anything if you say "I'd hate to see what you eat" b/c I am sure my family eats a hell of a lot better than yours!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"kid's food" = processed food that is leading to the obesity epidemic. Feed your child real foods just like you eat, and the child will like them just like you do. If you want them to look more fun, make them look more fun naturally (put fruit on sticks, shape eggs into bunnies, place carrot sticks into teepees with peas hiding inside....). There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding your children real food, and it is a shame that our society makes new parents think that there is.

For me, and I'm a PP who does use mostly fresh and/or minimally processed foods, I think sometimes it feels wasteful. I don't let it stop me, but I do sigh and understand why some parents just cave to the convenience of processed crap. Yes, I know it can take 10 to 20 tries for my child to try a new food and that sounds fine. Except that then becomes 10 or 20 pieces of fish, or lentil soup or whatever that is thrown away untouched or with one little bite out of it. With my two year old I use plates with multiple sections so that every meal I know she's getting at least one or two things that she likes in addition to anything new or unfamiliar.

Last night she ate almost 3 pieces of chicken, skin removed. She loves hummus, but it went untouched since I'd spread it on fresh cucumber rather than with fresh carrots. She did eat half of a banana and some grapes. The freshly picked zucchini that I'd diced and tossed with mint and a vinaigrette also was avoided completely. My sense is that for many parents it just becomes easier to serve the mac and cheese or chicken fingers since you know the kids will eat them.

I have to agree with this -- when I make my own food, I end up wasting a ton b/c my DS doesn't eat but maybe 1/8 of what I make and then the rest goes bad. Sometimes I eat it, but when I have made pasta or eggs with cheese, I don't eat it b/c I would get fat. So it goes in the trash!

[Anonymous]

I want to say I am SO SICK OF PEOPLE criticizing parents who "feed their kids only mac and cheese and chicken nuggets". First of all, I feed my kid that ALL THE TIME b/c she is skinny as sh*t and needs to gain wright. Secondly, I use organic pasta and make my own cheese sauce from cream, butter, and cheese. So, why is this bad??? If she were fat, yes it would be bad. But she is OFF THE CHARTS skinny. I also give her chicken nuggets, but I either make them or I buy them at Whole Foods -- Bell and Evans and they are unprocessed chicken, all natural, no antibiotics, vegetarian feed, free-range chicken with minimal processing and minimal ingredients. So if you think something is wrong with that, then shut the f8ck up!

[Anonymous]

Pp, calm down. Your best bet for an underweight child is to feed healthy, natural fats, not load him/ her up with saturated fats and create habits that will be hard to undo.

I do have an underweight child as well and have mostly managed it without resorting to butter and crackers.

[Anonymous]

I do not worry about what other people feed their children, but try and make the best decisions I can for my family and me. If you want to give your kids mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, great. if you want to give only fruits and veggies, good for you.

For me, although I would like to one day get a point to make all our food at home, it is not currently possible. We eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I avoid all canned foods (we use dried beans, boxed or fresh tomatoes), boxed foods and foods with high fructose corn syrup. I try and avoid food with "natural flavorings" (i.e. MSG or other preservatives). We do buy bread (nature's own), pasta and cheese/dairy - most of our processed foods. We eat meat once or twice a week. I also love to cook, and especially love to cook for family and friends.

For the most part, our kids (3 years old) eat exactly what we eat for dinner. I am Indian, so we have Indian food a few times a week (homemade bread etc) so these meals are the least processed (this is how I grew up eating).


We do eat out once a week (which is obviously processed) and when we are at other people's houses, we eat what they eat, don't judge etc. Our kids are allowed sweets/desserts on special occasions, but on a day to day basis, their dessert is fruit.

It is most important to me that my children enjoy healthy and delicious food and they learn to make good food choices. In the Indian culture food is love (as it is in many cultures) and many of my best memories are around great family meals (and no, I do not have an eating disorder or am an emotional eater). My mommade everything from scratch - even many of her own spices. I hope I can get there one day, but for now, am happy with what we do at home.