Food for Thought

I think food must be the most talked about topic among parents (at least out of my group of friends). What you feed your child? How much you feed them? How often? Etc… Everyone has an opinion in some direction and everyone has come across a person who is aggressive about their ideals. They think their way is the perfect way and you can’t deter from it (These are the people who make me feel guilty for having vanilla cookies in my cart). I know we all have seen the families with their shopping carts filled with soda, chips, and frozen meals. Then on the opposite side, you see families who have their shopping carts filled with nothing but organic brand foods. In general, I’m a moderation type person and never an extremist in any direction. So, I wanted to share my opinions because I too have strong opinions on the way kids should eat, but the difference is I believe there is a middle ground. I believe you could eat healthy without buying just organic, but avoiding certain products and ingredients. I also understand that life goes on and sometimes there just isn’t enough hours in a day to make a meal and a drive thru is of utter convenience.

So here it is -I truly believe feeding your child only homegrown, homemade food is the best way to go... I believe it, doesn't mean I always live it –sometimes eating pure, real foods is not always realistic. I’m not a mom who won’t allow my child to have the same candy everyone else is eating because of its ingredients. Thankfully, I’m that way because I have a 3 year old who often goes on food strikes and the only substance I could get her to consume is deli ham, hot dogs, or frozen waffles (ugh, I know).

If she's not on a food strike, I will provide my staples food as pure as possible. For example, we don’t buy frozen premade foods (only for food strikes), products with dyes or preservatives, and no high fructose corn syrup. But, I do not buy all organic foods. I think people are under the misconception that boxed mac and cheese is better because it’s organic –My thought is, it’s still processed and broken down to be powered cheese. I’d rather make homemade mac and cheese that only requires flour, pasta, butter, milk, and cheese. To me, meals that are made from scratch with one or two whole ingredients are better for you than organic. Healthy means real food you could see, not what a package or brand says is healthy.

Also, if you buy and cook smart, healthy snacks and meals could be cheaper than you think. For example, I don’t buy much snacks, my daughter doesn’t really know what snacks are outside of goldfish crackers (children’s snacks are very expensive). Her snacks are local fruits and veggies. If it’s off season, I buy organic off of the dirty dozen list (you could google it). The rest, I buy non organic. And to be honest, if I’m short on money, I’ll buy non organic off the dirty dozen too –in my opinion, pesticide contained fruits and veggies are safer than fruit snacks, or any other processed snack products out there.

Plus, you don’t always have to buy premade meals to make life easier –you could make your own premade meals. Think simple about it –make a batch of homemade chili (not the packet one), homemade meatballs (without sauce), homemade pasta sauce, homemade fried chicken fingers, homemade beef and/or chicken soup, homemade gnocchi, homemade pierogies, and freeze them in individual containers for an easy defrost later. Also, our local grocery store sells ripe produce at a reduced cost. I buy them, cut them up and freeze individually (instead of buying already prepackaged frozen veggies). My freezer is usually the most filled compartment in my house.

As a parent, I’ve learned to trust my gut instinct. To do what I feel is best for my family. Some days I’m golden with preparing healthy well rounded meals and other days, my daughter is eating ice cream for breakfast, while my son is eating frozen waffles. Children are going to have preferences with certain tastes –they like what they do and dislike what they don’t. They’ll go through days when they love fruits and other days where dollar store cookies are the number one hit. Moderation is key. We should follow their lead, and with our own guidance, make executive decisions for us, not society.