Eating Healthy with Your Little Ones

Never mind about food allergies, it doesn't matter if they are 2 or 20 we all want to know are kids are eating healthy and getting what they need.

 

I have been luck to have a daughter who eats a great many things. But why is that really?  Because we started giving them to her young, but it wasn't that simple.

 

I must admit that when we first found out about her food allergy,  we were so scared about what was safe to feed her that we only let her have baby food. After we took some time and learn about food allergies we tried to reintroduce foods. This did not get a good response, she had become used to the soft nature of the jar food and began chocking and gagging on real food. Where she would try solids before, now she would not touch it unless it came out of one of those jars.

 

My husband had become so frustrated that he announced their will be no more jar food in this house. Her only option was to eat what we were having.  She was fine for breakfast and lunch,  but it took several times of refusing dinners before she realized that there was no longer another option.  In less than a week she was eating every meal along with us. In fact she really enjoyed eating just what we were eating.

 

I have family with children in their pre-teens who still demand a separate meal because they will not eat what is being served. When I suggested ways to fix that problem.  Her response was, " That's great, but she'll just not eat anything till she gets back to school, and I'll be the one in trouble. " She was afraid that she would tell the school that she didn't eat and have the department of children and family services called on her.

 

And that is precisely why having that fight as a toddler is so very important. The longer that you let them get away with that bad behavior,(be it eating, TV, behavior, other) the longer and more difficult it becomes to fix. I'm not saying that you can't find a way to correct the issue,  it's just going to take that much more effort on your part.

 

Now we enjoy the fact that she eats and enjoys turkey meatloaf with baked sweet potato chips and steamed broccoli.  Steamed rice and beans,  salmon with brown rice and even home made whole wheat pizza.

 

I'm even happy to say that she doesn't like vegetables out of a can, she loves them fresh and crisp. We grow a garden ever summer and she loves eating it all. I have even caught her eating my sugar snap peas right off the vine.

 

Not every day is a picnic. As toddlers often do we have days or meals where we just don't want to go along with the program. I remind my Husband she will be back at the next meal. And when you pull out the lunch that they didn't eat for dinner, they learn its better to just get it over with. I don't make a big deal when she picks up the broccoli with her hands and eats all the tops. Just be happy they are eating it.


Remember that our children look up to us for everything, even an example of how to eat. Try to make your plate match theirs. They are not going to want to try something if you wont even put it on your plate.

 

 I will be posting how to make Baked Sweet Potato Chips on our recipe page.