It is important to me that my girls get a good diet full of things that are going to make them feel (and behave) well... In this modern day where sugar is hidden everywhere and out in plain sight it is not an easy task, but I am working on it. I make snacks that are sugar free, replacing any sugar ingredient with Rice Malt Syrup, I make all their food from scratch, with the exception of eating out or the odd cheeky take away (mainly pizza) and they only drink water, full fat milk or sparkling water with fresh lemon squeezed into it - and that is their choice! Miss L wont drink anything other than cold cold water and Miss I prefers cold milk or she downs my sparkling water with lemon juice while I am not looking. However, some days it is hard to get them to eat high fat, to keep them fuller for longer, as they are both a bit fussy in their own right. Miss L is 4 and she is doesnt like change, she wants her weetbix (and i buy Coles homebrand as there is no sugar in it) for breakfast (with mashed banana and full cream milk), and she wants her sandwich for lunch. She wont eat anything that resembles veg in its current form (apart from broccoli) so blitzing it in the thermomx and adding it to a stew or soup is the way forward at the moment. She wont eat orange chips (HM sweet potato fries) so normal potato is in, so I fry them in coconut oil. She wont eat anything that looks like a sauce so mayo (made with olive oil) and cream (which makes everything taste amazing) is out for her and god forbid I put any leaves on her plate! BUT she does love eggs, happy to have lashings of butter on her bread and will have smoothies as long as they are purple so we can still get some green leaves (spinach) in there, which she puts in herself so knows they are in there :-). Miss I is slightly different at nearly 3 but is refusing to eat eggs or most meats which is a problem when trying to find alternative breakfasts to weetbix! She never wants lunch or dinner but always wants something to eat. She is a fruitaholic and can quite happily eat fruit all day long. She is less fussy than her older sister in that she will eat creams, mayo, butter by the slice and will happily drink any coloured smoothie that I make. Getting meat into her is an issue unless it is mince or looks like a sausage (gluten and preservative free) or slow cooked in a stew or curry. She will try a leaf or two and will generally try anything as long as she is in the mood to co-operate, I am sure you can relate to this if you have had a nearly threenager in the house! So, example of meals in our house for the girls looks like this: BREAKFAST Weetbix with mashed banana and full cream (warm) milk. OR Purple porridge (see recipes), I have started adding butter or coconut oil in here and they cant taste the difference. OR Boiled eggs with sourdough soldiers with butter and some shredded up smoked salmon (which they think is ham and will eat happily only if it is presented in this way) - whilst Miss I avoids the egg, I still offer it to her in the hope that one day she will eat it. LUNCH Wholemeal sandwiches with meats, cheeses, mayo AND butter OR Platter of meat, cheeses, grapes, carrot sticks, crackers with lots of butter Rice cakes with butter and hm sugar free strawberry chia jam HM Soup (mainly pumpkin) with cheese on toast soldiers DINNER Anything we have but with a slight twist. If we have steak they have sausages. If we have bunless burgers, they have either a lamb burger or chicken tenderloin in a small bun with HM chips and mayo If we ever have a curry, stew, bolognese, chilli etc etc, they are happy to have the same. They have basmati rice/gf pasta, we have cauliflower rice or leave the pasta and have a load of veg. SNACKS Fruit - berries with cream or greek yoghurt (i have finally weened them off sugar loaded yoghurt) Bananas sliced with cacao powder sprinkled over them Home made brownies - quirky cooking Home made biscuits Fresh fruit icypoles - watermelon or pineapple HM air popped popcorn with butter Bliss balls Smoothies - made with berries, banana, full cream milk and some oats to thicken it up to keep them fuller for longer Fruit I cant control what they eat out the house (at daycare) and what they are exposed to at parties etc, but I can make sure that I dont overload them with sugar and offer them to as much good food as I can so they can start making their own choices and that sugar free becomes normal on their palate. I stumbled across this article >profgrant/2013/04/21/what-about-kids-on-lchf/< (and if you got this far into this post well done!) and it prompted me to write this post. I do find it hard sometimes to ensure they are eating well. I feel like it is taking over my life at the moment and that I am not giving them the fun things like the sugar loaded cereals (we dont go down that aisle in the supermarket anymore and I feel like such a bad mum when I say no to frosted wheats etc), the biscuits/chocolate treat bars, the Peppa Pig or Toy Story yogurts or the bright orange crisps. But I have learned too much this past 6 months to give them these things. Hopefully with the #fatrevolution that is going on things naturally change publicly for the better so I dont have to feel like I am the bad one and hiding behind closed doors, making weird sugar free foods for my children to enjoy so they can grow up healthy in their mind, body and soul. x
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 09:30:01 +0000