How often do healthy families have a dinner dessert or sweet?

[Anonymous]

We are a fit family. We don't often have dessert. We do keep some sort of sweet food on hand, for example, we usually buy a box of cookies once a month or so, and some sugary cereal if the kids want a bowl before they go to bed as a treat a couple times a week. We (parents) don't eat the cereal but we might have a cookie on a rare occasion.

[Anonymous]

We’re probably not a “healthy” family. I serve healthy homemade meals every day as a good example but my kids are picky eaters and mainly eat fruit, dairy and carbs. They eat very little meat and no veggies unless I hide them in muffins and smoothies. So we never have dessert and we don’t keep any cookies, ice cream, etc. in the house.

My kids’ preschool has a cookie or pudding with lunch twice a week. In the summer they get a popsicle or miniature Klondike bar 1-2x a weekend. After Halloween and Easter they get 1-2 pieces of candy after school for a week or two. If they were better at eating “real” food, I would make more cookies and brownies to eat at home. But since I have to make protien waffles and veggie muffins, that’s alll the baking I feel like doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not like fanatic health nuts, just normal healthy maybe active joggers and kids might be student-athletes families. Also, do these sort of "normal healthy" families stock any sweets in the fridge/pantry? If yes, what sort?

I grew up with parents who never ever stocked sweets in the house and we maybe had dessert 2xs a month. As a result none of us kids has a sweet tooth. We can all even detect sugar in foods that are supposed to be savory. With that said, I also dont bring sweets into the house (mainly because I dont have a taste for them and I'm the shopper) we probably have dessert 1x a week. Since this really has never been a part of our daily lives, my kids dont have many preferences. They like berries and whipped cream and Halo ice cream. They also oddly like orange flavored dark chocolate.

I'm sorry but feeding your young kids Halo ice cream is disordered. That crap has a bunch of chemicals to make it "low calorie" regular full fat ice cream would actually be healthier. I don't understand people like you who think food laden with chemicals is better than actual real food just because of the calorie count.

You should be sorry. Did you get your nutrition degree from Trump University? I hope you enjoy patting yourself on the back for giving your kid full fat ice cream.

NP here. Halo is horrible for you.

FDA - “stevia leaf and crude stevia extracts are not considered GRAS [Generally Recognized As Safe] and do not have FDA approval for use in food.”

Erythritol - "chemical structure has been known to make digestion difficult ..."

There are several other ingredients that are questionable as well.

Compare that to ice cream. I make ours - milk, cream, pure cane sugar, vanilla.

Milk makes digestion difficult for some too. You’re in denial if you think homemade ice cream is some sort of health food. “pure cane sugar” increases your chance of heart disease. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating-too-much-added-sugar-increases-the-risk-of-dying-with-heart-disease-201402067021

I didn't claim it was "health food". I have no problem feeding my kids dessert every single day. No one in my family is even the slightest bit overweight. If anything, we could all stand to gain a few pounds. At 52 years old, I am 5'5 and 115 pounds. And I'm in fantastic physical shape. We eat junk food. But I try to avoid chemically, fake foods. Like Halo.

[Anonymous]

Homemade ice cream is certainly healthier and tastier than Halo. No question!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not like fanatic health nuts, just normal healthy maybe active joggers and kids might be student-athletes families. Also, do these sort of "normal healthy" families stock any sweets in the fridge/pantry? If yes, what sort?

I grew up with parents who never ever stocked sweets in the house and we maybe had dessert 2xs a month. As a result none of us kids has a sweet tooth. We can all even detect sugar in foods that are supposed to be savory. With that said, I also dont bring sweets into the house (mainly because I dont have a taste for them and I'm the shopper) we probably have dessert 1x a week. Since this really has never been a part of our daily lives, my kids dont have many preferences. They like berries and whipped cream and Halo ice cream. They also oddly like orange flavored dark chocolate.

I'm sorry but feeding your young kids Halo ice cream is disordered. That crap has a bunch of chemicals to make it "low calorie" regular full fat ice cream would actually be healthier. I don't understand people like you who think food laden with chemicals is better than actual real food just because of the calorie count.

I've never looked on the back of the halo at the ingredients, except when I accidentally picked up the vegan one and my kids hitched, so I have no idea what you are yammering on about. We just like the flavors and size, so that everyone get their own. Whatever is in it, I'm sure my kids will survive the chemical onslaught 2xs a month. No need for you to stress out over our health

I don’t know if Halo has fake sugars in it, because I got it once and didn’t like the taste. I think it does have emulsifiers to help the mouth feel and it is whipped full of air. Hagen Faaz is 2x as heave for the same volume. I don’t care about emulsifiers and air, but I do avoid giving my kids fake sugar including Stevia because it trains their palate to like things sweeter that nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every other night - usually ice cream.

We all eat fruit with breakfast and lunch. DD always gets a cookie or whatever with her lunch.

Yeah, it's tempting but I never break down and pack sweets for school. The school even discourages it and sends a list of healthy snacks.

+1 Our school does too, but my kid still comes home about how X and Y are so lucky because they get those single serve packs of Oreos or brownies in their lunches.

[Anonymous]

Desert on birthdays and Christmas only. Half boiled egg raw kale and one carrot for breakfast.
Lunch is 2 ounces of unseasoned chicken breast and one half of a potato with boiled kale.
Dinner is 1/4 a cup of pasta two baby carrots and one bite of cheese. This repeats every day. No snacks.At birthday parties my child sits out during cake. No pizza, burgers, or fries ever. Backpacks checked for candy upon entry to home. Eating food outside designated meal hours will result in 1 week fasting. On birthday i measure out one ounce of ice cream for the birthday child and all other children watch him eat it. 15 miles of jogging daily. No soda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every night. Dessert is yogurt or fruit. Cakes/cookies are reserved for birthdays and holidays.

Fruit is not dessert. You are on the health nut end of the spectrum.

Op we are healthy, we eat fruits and veggies with almost every meal. DD a packet of fruit snacks or yogurt raisins in her school lunch and is allowed dessert after dinner most nights. Dessert is a small piece of chocolate, few swedish fish, ice cream although that is rare, she would rather have chocolate.

Not a health nut, just lived in Europe for many years and married to a European. And my kids do recognize yogurt and fruit as dessert, although yogurt options are much better and more diverse in Europe. They of course also love cake, cookies, chocolate, and ice cream, but they know that those are for special occasions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Desert on birthdays and Christmas only. Half boiled egg raw kale and one carrot for breakfast.
Lunch is 2 ounces of unseasoned chicken breast and one half of a potato with boiled kale.
Dinner is 1/4 a cup of pasta two baby carrots and one bite of cheese. This repeats every day. No snacks.At birthday parties my child sits out during cake. No pizza, burgers, or fries ever. Backpacks checked for candy upon entry to home. Eating food outside designated meal hours will result in 1 week fasting. On birthday i measure out one ounce of ice cream for the birthday child and all other children watch him eat it. 15 miles of jogging daily. No soda.

I LOL’d at this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every other night - usually ice cream.

We all eat fruit with breakfast and lunch. DD always gets a cookie or whatever with her lunch.

Yeah, it's tempting but I never break down and pack sweets for school. The school even discourages it and sends a list of healthy snacks.

+1 Our school does too, but my kid still comes home about how X and Y are so lucky because they get those single serve packs of Oreos or brownies in their lunches.

Schools don't get to tell me how I feed my kids food that I buy. School and aftercare is a long day for kids. A brownie at lunch is a nice pick me up. Everyone is healthy as can be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not like fanatic health nuts, just normal healthy maybe active joggers and kids might be student-athletes families. Also, do these sort of "normal healthy" families stock any sweets in the fridge/pantry? If yes, what sort?

I grew up with parents who never ever stocked sweets in the house and we maybe had dessert 2xs a month. As a result none of us kids has a sweet tooth. We can all even detect sugar in foods that are supposed to be savory. With that said, I also dont bring sweets into the house (mainly because I dont have a taste for them and I'm the shopper) we probably have dessert 1x a week. Since this really has never been a part of our daily lives, my kids dont have many preferences. They like berries and whipped cream and Halo ice cream. They also oddly like orange flavored dark chocolate.

I'm sorry but feeding your young kids Halo ice cream is disordered. That crap has a bunch of chemicals to make it "low calorie" regular full fat ice cream would actually be healthier. I don't understand people like you who think food laden with chemicals is better than actual real food just because of the calorie count.

I've never looked on the back of the halo at the ingredients, except when I accidentally picked up the vegan one and my kids hitched, so I have no idea what you are yammering on about. We just like the flavors and size, so that everyone get their own. Whatever is in it, I'm sure my kids will survive the chemical onslaught 2xs a month. No need for you to stress out over our health

I don’t know if Halo has fake sugars in it, because I got it once and didn’t like the taste. I think it does have emulsifiers to help the mouth feel and it is whipped full of air. Hagen Faaz is 2x as heave for the same volume. I don’t care about emulsifiers and air, but I do avoid giving my kids fake sugar including Stevia because it trains their palate to like things sweeter that nature.

I think the halo poster will be just fine. Shes eating is 2xs a month. I think the sugar fiends will be the kids eating dessert daily.

[Anonymous]

I love to bake, so if we have sweets, it is because I made it. This happens maybe once a month? I like this approach just becuase I know exactly what is in the treat. I try not to keep anything off limits, but we do limit junk and try to teach balance. Desserts happen usually on a weekend but not during the week. If we count fruit, though, they have fruit all the time.

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of good advice here- some bad but most good.

OP didn’t say the age of her kids- when mine were in elementary school we had regular real dessert at home so we could model
moderation and because we like dessert.

But now they are in high school and as a family we basically only have desserts on special occasions- least at home- and that’s because we know
they eat more junk when they are not home- at parties, friends houses or out— when they have friends over we also buy junk food for them to eat so need to also have a random cookie after the less than often family dinners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every other night - usually ice cream.

We all eat fruit with breakfast and lunch. DD always gets a cookie or whatever with her lunch.

Yeah, it's tempting but I never break down and pack sweets for school. The school even discourages it and sends a list of healthy snacks.

+1 Our school does too, but my kid still comes home about how X and Y are so lucky because they get those single serve packs of Oreos or brownies in their lunches.

Schools don't get to tell me how I feed my kids food that I buy. School and aftercare is a long day for kids. A brownie at lunch is a nice pick me up. Everyone is healthy as can be.

Maybe your kid would be healthier if they didn't have a sweet at every meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not like fanatic health nuts, just normal healthy maybe active joggers and kids might be student-athletes families. Also, do these sort of "normal healthy" families stock any sweets in the fridge/pantry? If yes, what sort?

I grew up with parents who never ever stocked sweets in the house and we maybe had dessert 2xs a month. As a result none of us kids has a sweet tooth. We can all even detect sugar in foods that are supposed to be savory. With that said, I also dont bring sweets into the house (mainly because I dont have a taste for them and I'm the shopper) we probably have dessert 1x a week. Since this really has never been a part of our daily lives, my kids dont have many preferences. They like berries and whipped cream and Halo ice cream. They also oddly like orange flavored dark chocolate.

I'm sorry but feeding your young kids Halo ice cream is disordered. That crap has a bunch of chemicals to make it "low calorie" regular full fat ice cream would actually be healthier. I don't understand people like you who think food laden with chemicals is better than actual real food just because of the calorie count.

I've never looked on the back of the halo at the ingredients, except when I accidentally picked up the vegan one and my kids hitched, so I have no idea what you are yammering on about. We just like the flavors and size, so that everyone get their own. Whatever is in it, I'm sure my kids will survive the chemical onslaught 2xs a month. No need for you to stress out over our health

I don’t know if Halo has fake sugars in it, because I got it once and didn’t like the taste. I think it does have emulsifiers to help the mouth feel and it is whipped full of air. Hagen Faaz is 2x as heave for the same volume. I don’t care about emulsifiers and air, but I do avoid giving my kids fake sugar including Stevia because it trains their palate to like things sweeter that nature.

I think the halo poster will be just fine. Shes eating is 2xs a month. I think the sugar fiends will be the kids eating dessert daily.

I know you dont want to believe this but its actually the opposite. Those who eat dessert daily learn moderation. You also probably don't want to believe this, but in my home with three teenage boys most days they don't have dessert at all although the option is always available to them and always has been. Food Nazis end up raising kids with food issues.