I have been working on the area of food in my home, and my personal feelings and biases towards my children’s diets and food choices. Sandra, I’ve been reading all of your writings on your website about food. It’s a huge challenge and change, but so much is resonating and changing the way I interact with my children in this realm. It feels good to hold space for my children in this way and trust them to know what their bodies need. Some things aren’t quite “clicking” though, and I have some questions. Many examples given on your website and in the discussions in this group, involve parents describing how they stock their cupboards with candy, soda, treats, and things like “Kraft mac n’ cheese” or “Spiderman snacks.” That just makes me wonder why parents are making choices to make available foods that contain harmful substances like artificial food dyes, preservatives, chemical texture enhancers, etc., over more whole food choices? And I don’t mean homemade mac n’ cheese versus Kraft mac n’ cheese. I mean American Kraft mac n’ cheese (which contains over a dozen ingredients including artificial flavorings, colors, and preservatives) versus something more like the mac n’ cheese boxes that Kraft sells in Europe (which only has a few real food ingredients). Even if the European version of Kraft mac n’ cheese isn’t accessible to some people, there are other brands available that don’t contain all the artificial ingredients and known carcinogens. Another example would be candy. I can choose Reese’s peanut butter cups that are full of refined sugar, salt, preservatives, GMO soy, etc., or I can choose the brand “Theo’s” that creates natural peanut butter cups with just a few natural ingredients (yes, including sugar) that hits that same sugar spot, uses higher quality ingredients, and comes in bigger portions. And that goes for all sugar sources. Yes, to not restricting sugar. But why do we have to offer refined, chemically bleached sugars that has the same effect on our brain as cocaine? Why not some raw, unrefined sugar, raw honey from your local beekeeper, or vitamin rich maple syrup? So I guess I just wonder why so much of the advice and thoughts around this subject involve brand names and offering chemicals and low-quality “food products” to our children? And this is not to say that I would take what I consider to be crap candy from kids (like at halloween for example) or stop them from eating processed boxed foods at a friends house, because I wouldnt. I would cringe and turn the other way, and then just buy the higher quality healthier stuff again the next time we are out. My question is about when parents are the ones responsible for making the supply runs and stocking the pantries (especially when the children in the house are very young like mine). Why not bring a whole food version of the treats, snacks and candies into your home, and know that what you are doing is setting a standard not a limit, and using your families hard earned dollars to reject attempts by companies to pass crap off as food, not rejecting your children’s choices? Does it work that way, or can our children only be happy when they are choosing chemical laced brand names? Spin off question: This came up for me when I read about a woman describing a child that was rejecting his mother’s homemade recipe in favor of a boxed version. What about when a mother is passionate about cooking, agriculture and ancient foods (as I am)? We have a family milk cow, pigs, chickens, gardens, and I deeply love the process of creating foods from scratch (chocolates, natural sodas and ales, bread, etc.). If my children one day decided that they no longer wanted my homemade yogurt, but instead wanted store-bought, it would literally rob me of my passion (and dear pet and animal friend) because we wouldn’t have the money to feed and care for our cow if we also purchased dairy products at the store. How would one find balance there, while still honoring their food choices and wants? Thanks so much for considering all this, and helping me as I learn and grow! I truly do want to work through my “crap” and get to a place of true freedom for myself and my kids!
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 04:49:26 +0000