There seems to be something ingrained in our society that says "children won't eat healthy food." I'm not sure where it came from. I grew up eating and loving vegetables, but when my then 3 year old niece requested a snack of avocados, oranges, and sliced tomato, I was semi shocked. Isn't she supposed to want chips and cookies and prepackaged crap? The simple answer is no. Kids are not born wanting processed, factory manufactured food. But that same food is designed to have addictive properties and if you simply make an assumption that your child won't eat vegetables, they probably won't.
Hold your horses, I'm not saying that there is no such thing as a really picky eater. I'm also not saying that Landon eats only the perfect foods. I'm just stressing that we are the ones who form our child's earliest food experiences and we should try to make them good ones. One of my friends hates eggs and her daughter also hates eggs. If my friend loved eggs, her daughter would probably love eggs too. In what I have seen so far with Landon (and with a lot of my friends and their children) kids mirror their parent's tastes and behaviors.
I'm fortunate that Landy is not a picky eater overall, but picky eating is not a family trait. I couldn't tell you one food that she flat out hates, but sometimes when I try to give her a meal she normally would eat all of, she just doesn't want it. The best thing I ever did was to not get discouraged when we were initially introducing her to foods. Even with the puree foods, if she didn't like something I would try it at least 2 or 3 times before I retired it. And at the next stage I would try it again. L hated pureed bananas. She also hated real bananas mashed with breast milk and real bananas mashed with water and real bananas mashed with whole milk. Fast forward to now and the child is a "nana" eating machine.
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| Monkeys. They also love bananas. |
All of the above being said, we eat pretty healthy at home. We splurge when we want to, but our basic meals are grilled or baked or sauteed and we keep our salt intake to an almost bare minimum. I make up for the rest with nutella and wine... in moderation. Rarely do we eat things that come in a box (unless someone needs a childhood mac and cheese fix) or food items that are premade and then frozen. When we go out to eat as a family I am often confronted with a children's menu that I frankly wouldn't eat any of myself. Greasy grilled cheese, mini cheese burgers, chicken fingers that are 50% batter, and a host of other things. Basically if it's on the children's menu it's likely fried or it comes with butter and cheese. While I think there is always a time and a place for a little indulgence, it scares the crap out of me that these are "CHILDREN'S" foods. Especially given the fact that this generation of children is expected to have a younger age at death than their parents. This is not what I want for my daughter.
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| We need to figure out small steps in our daily lives to keep this from happening. |
I am not the type of person who believes that restaurants should be forced to have healthy items on their children's menu. It is the right of the restaurant to decide what they serve. But if we find a great way to just ask them to add on some healthier items, maybe that could do a lot in the long run. It might open other people's eyes to the fact that other children are eating healthy food items. To be honest, you would be surprised by how many parents are clueless about nutrition.
As I have started thinking more about this, a few great examples have come up in places where we eat. I noticed last weekend at the Black Walnut Cafe that their children's menu is a wonderful mix of the traditional kid's items and healthier options and sides. They offer the following:
Grilled Cheese
Chicken Tenders
Cheeseburger
AJB’s Mac & Cheese
Ziti & Tomato Sauce
Grilled Chicken Breast
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Choice of a house green salad, roasted vegetables, french fries,
house potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes or steamed broccoli, and
fountain drink
Sometimes I think restaurants might be headed in the right direction, but could do more. In the case of national chain Panera Bread, their kid's menu allows you to make your child a deli sandwich with their chosen cuts of meat. Okay, that's a start, but given the range of their regular fare, they could easily incorporate some real and substantially healthier options than just PB&J, Mac & Cheese, & Grilled Cheese.
I think you get the point of where I am going with this. It's not that kid's menus cause obesity, it's that they are a reflection of how society views the food that children eat. And for me, when I think about it in those terms, it's shocking. Everything in moderation allows space for unhealthy treats, but why should healthy options be completely absent?
So if you feel the same, let's do something about it. You don't need to write congress or spend all of your money, when you eat out with your children and see that the kid's menu doesn't offer a healthier option that you were looking for, just let them know. Tell the manager that you would like to see some items added. Ask for a child's portion (and matching smaller price tag) of a healthier adult entree.
Try new foods, and work on the way your family eats. A lot of the issues with childhood obesity start at home, but there is still work to be done when your family eats out. Especially in our current eating out and food to go culture. It's part of teaching our children to make good and healthy decisions for their future.
- RT
- RT
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