Food… food… food. May 22, 2011

Getting ready for church this morning. Sunday School is at 9:30. Worship service is at 10:45. We usually get home by 12:30 at the latest.

My dilemma is always, how much and what kind of food to pack for my kids (ages 2 and 5)?

After years of taking care of my older son, Adam, I have developed a particular sensitivity about hearing, “Mom, I’m hungry.” It just drives me batty at times. Outside of breakfast – snack – lunch – snack – dinner, I do not want to have to worry about preparing/serving/toting along yet MORE food!

Lately I have gotten away from the all-carbs-all-the-time mode of feeding the kids, especially for their snacks. I suspect that anything made with flour goes over well in the moment, but makes them more hungry in the short-term. This rules out bread, crackers, cereal, and granola bars. This leaves nuts, fruit, and cheese as our options for on-the-go.

This is what I have packed for church this morning. Almonds, cheese cubes, banana, and cut-up apple.

It’s hard to explain, I guess, but it is really a hot button for me when we are away from home and Adam (5 years old) complains that he’s hungry and wants something to eat. I feel like I *have* to be prepared . What’s worse is when he doesn’t want to eat the food I have brought along — but that becomes a discipline issue where I can insist that he not complain or else there will be a consequence. Or when he eats everything I have brought along and claims that he is still hungry and wants more. It just drives me crazy.

I see other parents bring a tiny little baggie of cereal or something, and for them that is being plenty prepared for their kids’ snack attack. Meanwhile, I’m packing a buffet and find that it’s either not enough food or the kids don’t want it. (In the case of the latter, as I mentioned before, that is just too-bad-so-sad for my older child. For my younger child, it is neither here nor there because he is not as big of an eater.)

At church there tends to be junk food available from different sources and at different times, and I do not want church to become a junk-food-fest for my kids. This is another reason I try to be very prepared with kid-food when it comes to church.

Low-carb food for kids March 23, 2011

My kids, especially my 5-year-old, like to eat things like bread, crackers, pasta, and cereal. And of course, they like sweets and desserts.

I totally understand; I love these things, too!( That’s probably why I’m carrying around an extra 10+ pounds on my petite (read: short) frame.)

It has recently come to my attention, as I cut back on the flour and sugar components of my diet, how much starchy stuff my kids eat. You know how it goes — cereal and fruit with breakfast, sandwich for lunch, something involving bread or pasta for dinner, not to mention any snacks-on-the-go like crackers, granola bars, or pretzels. (Every mom knows that these kinds of snacks travel well and are well received!)

I’m no doctor, nor a nutritionist, but I have to wonder whether it’s good for my kids’ bodies to be eating starches and sugars all day long. I think these types of foods tend to be very palatable (another serving, please!) and not very filling (ever notice how much mac & cheese a kid can eat at one sitting?). I should note that we buy 100% whole-grain products whenever possible, and things like juice, pop-tarts, fruit snacks, candy, and cookies are rarely in the house.

I’m not too concerned about fruit, since the accompanying fiber and the relatively low amount of carbs per serving make them a lot easier on the body than things like bread, cereal, or juice.

That being the case, I am now going through my days of SAHM-hood trying to figure out what to feed my kids besides starchy stuff. Protein is awesome; I fear no fat (except trans fat) for myself or my kids; and I would rather they eat almost any fruit or vegetable than bread, biscuits, or the like.

Here is what I’ve come upon so far as food choices, that my kids like, that emphasize protein and fat rather than carbs:

• Banana “sandwiches”, sliced lengthwise, with natural peanut butter as filling and banana as the “bread”
• Apple slices with cream cheese
• Chicken nuggets made with parmesan as the breading, fried in coconut oil
• Taco salad with full-fat sour cream, and/or served in hard-shell tacos. I am not nuts about taco shells, but they are less carb-dense than bread.
• Lettuce greens with full-fat dressing (my 5yo loves salad; my 2yo does not)
• Peanuts or almonds
• Full-fat plain yogurt with some honey stirred in

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to take all carbs out of my kids’ diet. I am just concerned that starches, starches, starches all day long is not good for them and is training them to expect these foods at every meal.