I've also noticed that, when parents make dinner for their family, they often make a "special meal" for the kids. Now, I totally get this if you are eating a hot curry. But if you are having a healthy piece of chicken with some veggies and brown rice, why should the kids be fed macaroni cheese? A dish that is predominantly processed grains and, more than likely, a mix-with-water, instant cheese sauce with some melted, processed cheese over the top of it. Usually these are ready-made microwave meals as well which means they are full of preservatives and other horrible stuff. What is healthy about that meal? Absolutely nothing. Yet so many parents will buy a ready-made meal like pasta, to feed their kids while they eat a different, often healthier, meal.
It's no wonder that kids refuse to eat their veggies. If they get special meals laden with artificial flavours, from a young age, they will always expect special meals with artificial flavours. They consider chicken and veggies to be an adult, and therefore boring, type of food and call it "gross". Of course it will seem gross if they are used to corn syrup and preservatives! My own belief is that parents make too big a deal about "eating your greens". The minute you give it a name, it becomes a big deal. If you feed them real food from the beginning and don't differentiate they won't know the difference. Yes, there may be things they don't like, but supplementing with processed food isn't doing them, or you, any favours. Work your way through your real food options instead. If that's their only option, they won't know to ask for anything else.
Most people start their kids day with breakfast cereals like pronutro, cornflakes, cheerios and coco pops. If they had any idea of the kind of rubbish that goes into those cereals they'd probably think twice. But people buy into the marketing that they are full of vitamins and minerals and good for your kids and they are lured by the convenience aspect. Have you noticed how much sugar is in those cereals? Not to mention artificial colours, flavours and preservatives and the fact that they contain genetically modified ingredients. They are so far removed from real food it's pretty scary. The promise that they are "fortified" with vitamins and minerals is an empty one. Yes, they fortify them, but with synthetic vitamins and minerals that our bodies can't assimilate which means they are actually doing very little at all. As an adult you're probably more inclined to feed yourself jungle oats or something along those lines. Why would you give yourself something that is sugar-free and colourant-free and feed your kids pure sugar and preservatives in a bowl?
The problem starts when our kids are babies. For years, doctors have been telling parents to feed babies all of the wrong things. They start with baby formula in place of breast milk, and then, at 6 months, start them on an "approved" baby cereal and purity. Parents have been told it's the right food for a baby. What is wrong with this eating plan? For starters, NONE of it is real food. Babies that should be getting breast milk, which is full of all the goodness they could possibly need, are getting a powdered formula that very likely contains GMOs among all sorts of other nasties like corn syrup and sugar. Baby formula is about as healthy as a can of coke. You wouldn't give your baby coke would you? So why give it something made of the same stuff? I understand there are times that a woman can't breast feed but there are other, better options. My godchild was supplemented with goat's milk when breast feeding wasn't possible. Raw milk is full of goodness and it's completely natural. It's a superfood. Baby formula is engine oil compared to it.
In the words of Dr Weston Price: "Commercial infant formulas are highly fabricated concoctions composed of milk or soy powders produced by high-temperature processes that overdenature proteins and add many carcinogens. Milk-based formulas often cause allergies while soy-based formulas contain mineral-blocking phytic acid, growth inhibitors and plant forms of estrogen compounds that can have adverse effects on the hormonal development in the infant. Soy-based formulas are also devoid of cholesterol, needed for the development of the brain and nervous system."
Then the babies are moved on to baby cereal at 6 months. These are largely white rice-based which means refined and processed, not ideal for a growing baby. However, what makes them so much worse for your child is that babies can't digest grains until they are over a year old, sometimes even 2 years old. An enzyme called amylase is used to digest any grains you ingest. But babies don’t make amylase in large enough quantities to digest grains. That means those undigested grains will be wreaking havoc on your baby’s intestinal lining for a long time. It's probably giving them terrible acid reflux and stomach cramps. It can throw off the balance of bacteria in their intestines and lead to lots of complications as they grow up including: food allergies, behavioural problems and mood issues, to name a few.
Purity is another popular food choice for babies going onto solids. Did you know that a lot of these foods are also full of GMOs? They contain artificial flavourants, colourants and preservatives and very little real food. Yes, they make organic purity now but it still contains modified maize starch. Why would you buy purity when you can just as easily cook some organic pumpkin and blend it yourself? That way your baby is getting all the goodness it REALLY needs, and not what a big food corporation tells you it needs so they can make money out of you.
Following along with, what many doctors tell us, is the proper eating plan for kids, as soon as we can, we move our kids onto bread. It's the easiest meal for kids, I get that. Especially if they are now addicted to refined grains, which they will be because they were raised on them. Those sandwiches are probably filled with margarine and processed cheese, right? Or a processed peanut butter or jam or processed meats like ham which are full of poor quality off cuts from unhealthy animals anyway.
Have you noticed another glaring fault with this eating plan for babies and young kids? Where is the protein and good quality fat? Babies who aren't getting breast milk will get almost NO protein in their diets right up until they are between 1 and 2 years old. Contrary to what your doctor has told you, your baby needs protein and fat just as much as you do, possibly even more so. Dr Weston Price wrote a very good article about feeding babies which you can read here.
To quote part of it: "Baby's earliest solid foods should be animal foods as his digestive system, although immature, is better equipped to supply enzymes for digestion of fats and proteins rather than carbohydrates."
Have you noticed that, when you go to a child's birthday party, there is the kids food and the adults food. The kids food is predominantly chips, sweets, biscuits and cakes and they're often the cheap ones from Makro so you can buy in bulk! The adults food will be things like veggies with a cream cheese dip, maybe some liver pate and biscuits, basically FAR healthier food than the kids. All those chips and sweets they are eating are LOADED with toxins. You'll say where's the harm? It's not all the time. Let them enjoy themselves for a couple of hours... But what are they sacrificing in the longterm health-wise? And if you're not feeding them nutrient-dense food the rest of the time then how will their little bodies recover from all of that poison in their systems? People always say that kids are germ-ridden. It's no wonder they always get sick when they eat so badly. Their little immune systems can't cope because there is no nutritional support.
Children's diets should really be no different to ours. In fact, they should be MORE nutrient dense. There is so much growth and change happening constantly in a child's body as they grow and, a lot of what happens nutritionally, will affect their adult years so giving them a solid foundation will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. Yes, it's time consuming making real food but, if you get them involved, they will probably enjoy it more and learn good habits at the same time.
Next time you fill your child's lunchbox, consider some fruit and nuts to snack on whenever they're hungry, a chicken drumstick, maybe a potato and a block of real cheese (not processed) and always send them off with a bottle filled with clean water to sip on through the day, NOT juice. (not even fruit juice) A meal like that will fill them up and energise them for the day far better than a sandwich and they will LIKE it too. Kids enjoy variety. Sandwiches are boring. Lots of different things to snack on will keep them interested, while keeping them healthy.
If you make a choice to have kids, you are making a choice to make sacrifices so that they can have the life they deserve. A healthy lifestyle needs to be part of that. It's as essential as the packs of pampers you can never seem to have enough of! Your child will thank you by being healthy and happy all the time and isn't that really all a parent wants?
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