Re: Re: Anyone here with picky-eater kids?

[Guest guest]

Mercola posted a study a while back that kids who participated in gardening

ate more veggies.

Maybe if you get your kids to cook together with you they would like the food

better since they have an investment in it.

?

Chris

[Guest guest]

Dear Stell,

I don't have kids (yet!) but I used to be one and I second Dr. Mike's

suggestions...especially the snip below.

His post reminds me of a few Halloweens where I cleverly traded the horrifying

" Health Bars " to my unsuspecting little sisters. Only years later did I realize

that I had been misreading " Heath Bar " the whole time!!! LOL--I adore toffee

and chocolate together now, but try to stay away from the stuff. Point being

that anything perceived as " healthy " (my parents were hippies and even made

their own granola) was immediately dismissed and disliked. OTOH, I also don't

remember having choices at dinner. You ate what was on the table, or go hungry.

If there is no junk food in the house (sounds like this is your situation) you

are already ahead of the game. Of course, this won't stop your kids from

blowing their entire allowance on jolly ranchers and charleston chews at the

7-eleven as I did as a kid...

If you don't make a big deal about it, they might do the same eventually.

****

Don't tell them what's in it, don't tell them its good for them, just make them

something they'll love for no good reason.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/17/03 7:26:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,

peaceflmeadow@... writes:

> .

> Sigh....the other night he grilled up some steaks, and I ate some veggie

> soup I had worked up and asked what he wanted.....he said he would take care

>

> of it. He sat down with a steak, hashbrowns, and black eyed peas. Sigh.

> Impossible. I am determined to get something green on his plate that ISN'T

> canned. I have been able to make a zucchini lasagna and he will even eat

> seconds of that...so I know there is hope...it is just going to take some

> creativity. I have never tried to change his eating habits, lord knows he

> is more stubborn then I, but I KNOW if we have a little 3 year old at the

> table and 'daddy' isn't eating his greens it is going to be a battle.

I don't get it. What's healthier about veggie soup or zuchinni lasagna than

steak, potatoes, and peas? Your husband's dinner didn't have any refined

foods, or wouldn't if the hasbrowns were homemade, and lasagna has cooked dairy,

so it isn't raw or anything.

Chris

[Guest guest]

I found that soaking the oatmeal with kefilli instead of buttermilk helped with

the sour distaste they had for the oatmeal. What about using whey instead of

buttermilk? That might be less noticeable.

Michele in WA

Re: Anyone here with picky-eater kids?

Stell,

Can't say that my kids are really picky eaters, although one a little pickier

than

the other, but thought you might find this interesting. I almost managed to

turn

my youngest, who has always LOVED oatmeal, completely off of it by soaking

it. She also complained that it was sour. Funny, this is from a kid that

practically lives on yogurt or kefir. I guess that although she doesn't mind

the

sour taste in general, that she doesn't think her oatmeal should taste like

that.

(Can't say I'm crazy about it myself, but if you tell me it's good for me I'll

eat it!)

I have had to resort to cooking oatmeal the " regular " way, soaking it only in

water overnight. I do still make oatmeal pancakes that are soaked overnight in

buttermilk and they are a big hit. My oldest is not crazy about dairy products

but will eat yogurt or kefir if it is topped with raw honey (I also add

freshly

ground flaxseed for " sprinkles " .

Keep trying! When they get hungry enough they'll eat!

Kathy

> Any ideas for what to make for kids who complain (and I mean

> HORRIBLY complain - like constant, all through the meal, until I

> lose my mind & send them to bed complaining!) about anything that

> tastes either bitter or sour or pungent? It took a couple weeks of

> my INSISTING that my daughter drink the unhomogenized milk whether

> she liked or not before she figured out that it tastes okay - I

> TOLD her that it takes a while to get used to new things, but that

> still didn't quell the crying, or insisting that it was gross and

> that she will never like it! I'm exasperated! Soaked oatmeal is

> too sour. A nice rich beef or chicken stock " tastes yucky " or isn't

> salty enough, or is too salty, when in reality its' only fault i

> that it doesn't taste canned. Yogurt is " yucky " if it isn't

> yoplait, and heaven forbid if there's a layer of CREAM on top!

>

> Anyway, any good suggestions for easing my hoarde of picky eaters

> into eating a good natural diet?

>

> I AM making baby steps - we aren't using any hydrogenated anything,

> I only buy sprouted bread, I've been using natural sweeteners for a

> good long while now....but it's just so difficult to convince kids

> who have been growing up on CRAP (yes, I admit it - I fed them

> crappy junk for a good long while, because it was " easier " ) that

> REAL food is BETTER! HELP!

>

> Stell

> Crunchy mama to 4 ya-hoos ranging in age from 11-1

[Guest guest]

Quoting Pugh <gramlin@...>:

> Hey guys, have a heart! I LOVE kefir, but I really cannot stand oatmeal

> after the oats have been soaked in kefir or whey.

Really? I think it's a tremendous improvement (although I do add a small

amount of honey to balance out the sourness).

--

Berg

bberg@...

[Guest guest]

<Hmmmm......maybe this is becomeing more of a husband-wife

communication issue than anything else, eh?>

Well....this sounds like what I am not wanting to go through in a few years.

My main modivator in NTing and getting healthier is so that I can get

pregnant in a year or two and start the fam. My hubby is extremely

picky.....and that is another obstacle I am trying to overcome during this

time. He was raised by his very busy father, who fed them canned green

beans, peas, and pasta or rice with every meal....yeck on the canned food.

He hates fresh veggies, even frozen. He is determined potatoes and beans

are in the vegetable category since they 'grow in the ground' as he puts it.

Sigh....the other night he grilled up some steaks, and I ate some veggie

soup I had worked up and asked what he wanted.....he said he would take care

of it. He sat down with a steak, hashbrowns, and black eyed peas. Sigh.

Impossible. I am determined to get something green on his plate that ISN'T

canned. I have been able to make a zucchini lasagna and he will even eat

seconds of that...so I know there is hope...it is just going to take some

creativity. I have never tried to change his eating habits, lord knows he

is more stubborn then I, but I KNOW if we have a little 3 year old at the

table and 'daddy' isn't eating his greens it is going to be a battle.

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[Guest guest]

>Hey guys, have a heart! I LOVE kefir, but I really cannot stand oatmeal after

the oats have been soaked in kefir or whey. Couldn't you just soak the oats

overnight in plain water?

>

> and the K9's

Kefiili is a LOT less " intense " . But the Swiss

mainly soak their oats overnight in

MILK not whey or kefir or yogurt. It works!

(I don't like oats, but I ate them when

I was in Switzerland).

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>I have never tried to change his eating habits, lord knows he

>is more stubborn then I, but I KNOW if we have a little 3 year old at the

>table and 'daddy' isn't eating his greens it is going to be a battle.

>

>

Try putting the greens in soup or beans. Plain greens are just

not edible by a lot of folks. Unless they have fat on them.

Most of my greens are in kimchi, actually, or in " killer salad " .

We get really fresh salad greens, wash and spin them dry,

then squeeze about 4 cloves of garlic into some olive oil

with allspice, salt, turmeric and cayenne. Mix into the greens.

Add vinegar as it is served, and cheese/roasted nuts if people

want. Most people get addicted to it, even garlic haters. If you

want it to be a meal, add meat (chopped chicken,

eggs, smoked turkey, or beef).

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>Ditto for me - but the thing is, we very rarely complained! That's

>why I don't get their attitude! but you also hit on something else -

>the hypoglycemia.

One thing I HAVE found is that since I've been doing the Warrior

Diet the hypoglycemia is a thing of the past. Seems like in the past

the " Big " meal was dinner, and I was darn hungry for it no matter

what it was. Maybe we are feeding the kids too often, and too much.

If you are HUNGRY, a lot of foods look good. If you are hypoglycemic,

your brain isn't working great, and you may be a little nauseated.;

Another issue is allergies. Until 2 years ago, I had constant

nausea. I didn't even know it. Between postnasal drip and

gut problems and indigestion, food really wasn't that appealing.

I suspect kids get the same thing.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>One thing I HAVE found is that since I've been doing the Warrior

Diet the hypoglycemia is a thing of the past. Seems like in the past

the " Big " meal was dinner, and I was darn hungry for it no matter

what it was. Maybe we are feeding the kids too often, and too much.

If you are HUNGRY, a lot of foods look good. If you are hypoglycemic,

your brain isn't working great, and you may be a little nauseated.; (Heiki)

----------------------------------------------

Heidi, are you suggesting Warrior Diet for kids here? Do your kids eat 3 meals

a day?

A Korean student told me the other day that they have a traditional saying in

Korean: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

Made me wonder. Though I'm sure in Europe, dinner was the the big meal of the

day.

Filippa

[Guest guest]

<> Sigh....the other night he grilled up some steaks, and I ate some veggie

>soup I had worked up and asked what he wanted.....he said he would take

>care

>

>of it. He sat down with a steak, hashbrowns, and black eyed peas. Sigh.

>Impossible. I am determined to get something green on his plate that ISN'T

>canned. I have been able to make a zucchini lasagna and he will even eat

>seconds of that...so I know there is hope...it is just going to take some

>creativity. I have never tried to change his eating habits, lord knows he

>is more stubborn then I, but I KNOW if we have a little 3 year old at the

>table and 'daddy' isn't eating his greens it is going to be a battle.

I don't get it. What's healthier about veggie soup or zuchinni lasagna than

steak, potatoes, and peas? Your husband's dinner didn't have any refined

foods, or wouldn't if the hasbrowns were homemade, and lasagna has cooked

dairy,

so it isn't raw or anything.>

-------> I can't say he wasn't eating the greatest version of potatoes

and beans. They were canned black eyed peas, and frozen

hashbrowns....ummm...oreida or however you spell it. I have been slowly

incorporating items that he likes in a more unrefined form......he loves

popcorn, so instead of the microwave version I bought regular popcorn to

make on the stove. Things like that. In his opinion, a bag of frozen

hashbrowns is just fine and there is no need to go through the fuss of

making your own. He likes to cook, but I have been kicking him out of the

kitchen more and more so that I can make similar meals to his but in a

better way. Vegetables will be the hardest battle.....hashbrowns and beans

for dinner wouldn't be such a big deal if the only thing he ate the whole

day wasn't pizza for lunch and a couple cookies one of his coworkers brought

in. The boy needs some greens and less starches . Besides, whats the fun

of changing my diet when I can't bother the heck out of my husband at the

same time. The challange is what makes it fun. <g>

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[Guest guest]

>Heidi, are you suggesting Warrior Diet for kids here? Do your kids eat 3 meals

a day?

>

>A Korean student told me the other day that they have a traditional saying in

Korean: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

Made me wonder. Though I'm sure in Europe, dinner was the the big meal of the

day.

>

>Filippa

I was doing the " eat like a king " breakfasts etc.

just before the WD -- it seems to work for Oprah

anyway (and I figure she can hire expensive experts).

The WD is the exact opposite, which is intriguing.

Historically though, the WD wins out (more people

ate like that). I don't think the " eat like a king "

saying is really traditional in Korean, judging from

the Korean cookbooks anyway. A traditional Korean

dinner has 3, 5, 7, 9 or more courses, and isn't fast

to prepare. Most Asians I've known have a dish

of cold rice for breakfast, or maybe heated rice,

with fish or something on top of it. But the idea

of a big breakfast became really popular in the '70s,

based on the idea that if you eat before you go to bed,

the food is stored as fat (true) and that you need

to have " fresh food " in your gut to have energy for

the day (not true unless you have glycemic problems,

which most Americans do, but which is solvable,

I think).

I don't force my daughter to eat like anything ...

I'm testing the theory that if a kid learns their

own desires, they will desire the right thing for

their body (and yeah, I get a lot of flak for that,

it's not a popular theory amongst parents). Given

that paradigm, she tends to eat the most in

the evening, tho she DOES have food to bring

to school to eat and gets a peice of toast

or something for breakfast.

And lest folks think she's eating a diet of

junk food, really, she isn't. She has ACCESS to

junk food, and generally doesn't eat it. We

talk a lot about food quality, and how she

feels after eating a food, so she pays attention

to what it does to her. She wants to be healthy

(and beautiful!) so she tends to choose the

healthy stuff. But I tell her if she really feels

like a pop, then have one. She opens one,

drinks a few swallows, and leaves it.

The thing is, I could force her to eat only good

stuff. But then it would be a forbidden

fruit, and she'd likely trade all she could from

other people at school. And I'm not going to

be around to edit her food for her for her whole

life, nor do I care to do that much work now.

But I DO believe that each human has a great

chemistry set in their brain, and given permission

and a little knowledge, MOST people prefer

a good steak to vegie-burger, or butter to

margerine, or a smoothie to soda pop. And

people who lack iron will crave iron-rich

foods, and people who need fat will crave fat.

A few foods really foul up that system (and you

all know I think gliadin/gluten is the biggie

here, and likely other allergen-foods), but

if the system is intact, you don't need a lot

of " forbidden food " lists because you won't

crave those foods any more than you crave

dog food.

I also think a lot of the " picky eater " syndrome

has to do with nausea. She used to always

have a semi-upset stomach (as did I). So nothing

seemed to taste good to her, it all looked bad.

And we both had digestive issues. Now we don't,

and food looks a lot better, esp. things like meat

that take a lot of enzymes to digest. Those Africans

that like their food are usually eating really nutrient

rich food and likely have fewer digestive problems.

And no one stuffs them with food all day long, so

by the time dinner rolls around, they ARE hungry.

It's hard to be hungry for dinner if you've been eating

all day. One TV show was talking about how the snack

food companies are trying to get Europeans into

the " snack " habit, which Americans do all the time

but which is considered sort of gouche in Europe.

I.e. they watch TV WITHOUT the chips and dip.

Anyway, so far my experiment is working

for her.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Interesting? Best l can understand from metabolic typing and WD is protein

types (more likely of northern ancestry) are most likely sympathetic

dominant, fast metabolizers. So undereating during the day, overeating at

dinner would work. On the other hand carbo types tend to be from southern

ancestry, parasympathetic dominant and slow metabolizers. Sounds like

indigenous wisdom to me.

Wanita

>A Korean student told me the other day that they have a traditional saying

in Korean: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a

pauper. Made me wonder. Though I'm sure in Europe, dinner was the the big

meal of the day.

>

>Filippa

[Guest guest]

>Kefiili is a LOT less " intense " . But the Swiss

>mainly soak their oats overnight in

>MILK not whey or kefir or yogurt. It works!

>(I don't like oats, but I ate them when

>I was in Switzerland).

>

>-- Heidi

I wondered if that was something that could be substituted for buttermilk. I

have another question. I have some week old cream that is getting sour but I am

wondering what I should do with it. Make butter or ???

Michele in WA

[Guest guest]

I thought you were disgusted with kids fixing their own breakfast too. I guess

it's easy to misunderstand email.

Michele

> >

> > The parents don't even have to get out of bed. Disgusting!

> >

> What's so disgusting about that? My kids know how to fix

> eggs & oatmeal themselves (on the stove, not the crap stuff),

> & I am often still in bed when they have breakfast.

[Guest guest]

At 09:14 PM 11/18/2003 +0000, you wrote:

>

>> Interesting? Best l can understand from metabolic typing and WD is

>protein

>> types (more likely of northern ancestry) are most likely

>sympathetic

>> dominant, fast metabolizers. So undereating during the day,

>overeating at

>> dinner would work.

>

>Interesting! I'm almost ALL British by ancestry, and by nature I

>tend to avoid eating much early in the day, and then stuff myself at

>night (not on purpose - I just forget to eat, until I'm so hungry

>that I have to). That's something worth looking into....

>

>-Stell

Growing up Mom and school made sure of 3 meals a day. In New England,

Southermost ancestry French but Canadian. After that l never made or ate

anything until around 10 and it was light, something light 2-3 hours later,

too busy, forgetful, then cook real meal at night. When it was heavy on

carbs, SAD diet my health paid the price. Husband and daughter eat the same

but supper is now higher in protein and fat.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

At 03:42 PM 11/18/2003 +0000, you wrote:

>But I wonder what it is about our culture, our parenting, our food

>that makes for such across-the-board picky eating in children? I

>wonder if it's the amount of sugar/refined grain products because

>once you get the taste of sweet, it's easy to want everything to be

>sweet? I haven't followed the posts closely enough to know if the

>children here are eating sugar or not.

>

>I don't know what it is, but from my experience it's a cultural

>phenomenon. Has anyone else experienced this? What about the Brits

>on this board?

>

>

Were the children schoolage? If so, you hit it. Our youngest had no candy,

cookies, soda etc. until she was nearly 4, husband laid up from accident,

watched her while l worked so no daycare or preschool. Middle daughter,

from his 1st marriage brought candy one weekend and gave youngest some. She

wouldn't listen to us and was running all around like she never had before.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

--- kili94 <lm324@...> wrote: > >

> I don't know what it is, but from my experience it's

> a cultural

> phenomenon. Has anyone else experienced this? What

> about the Brits

> on this board?

>

I believe it is cultural, and I see it a lot in kids

now in the UK. However I don't remember being that

picky as a kid, nor my brothers. There were certain

things I didn't like (like spag bol), but I was

consistent, and I wasn't keen on veg, but would eat it

because that's what I was told to do. My brothers

were more picky about veg than me. What I remember

most was fighting over getting the largest portion

" Mum, he's got more chips than me!!! " . However, I'm

pretty sure we still had a lot of junk food, although

I'm not sure when we started eating that. I don't

have a lot of clear memories from childhood to be

honest.

Looking at the example of my BF's nephews, one is 10

the other 7. The 10 year old eats anything he's

given. The 7 year old goes through a new fad every

day, with his dislikes changing by the meal. I wonder

why 2 brothers would have such different eating

habits? What causes this? Is it just attention

seeking? THe younger one will probably have been more

affected when his dad left and parents divorced as he

was younger. It's just speculation though....

Jo

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[Guest guest]

At 10:49 AM 11/18/2003 -0800, you wrote:

>I don't force my daughter to eat like anything ...

>I'm testing the theory that if a kid learns their

>own desires, they will desire the right thing for

>their body (and yeah, I get a lot of flak for that,

>it's not a popular theory amongst parents). Given

>that paradigm, she tends to eat the most in

>the evening, tho she DOES have food to bring

>to school to eat and gets a peice of toast

>or something for breakfast.

>-- Heidi

Same with mine. Before going to school of course she got 3 meals a day with

snacks if wanted. Once in school I'd harp that she had to have breakfast.

Let it go as she mostly picked at what l made her, giving her what she

liked best that there was. Now she's in high school, its earlier, if she

wants something she gets it. From school's out on she eats 3 times what she

eats during the day. Eats like a bird mealtime, even favorites, like her

namesake grandmother but makes up for it.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

Quoting Heidi Schuppenhauer <heidis@...>:

> And people who lack iron will crave iron-rich

> foods...

Does that work in reverse? If so, then judging from my opinion of liver, I

ought to have magnets flying at me from across the room.

--

Berg

bberg@...

[Guest guest]

>Does that work in reverse? If so, then judging from my opinion of liver, I

>ought to have magnets flying at me from across the room.

> Berg

Heh heh. Maybe you DO have high iron in your blood though!

A lot of people do. Anyway, I started having aversive reactions

to bread and pasta for years before I figured out WHY (I figured it was

some weird psychological thing) so yeah, it works in reverse.

Never eat anything you really consistantly detest, I say.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>> Hey guys, have a heart! I LOVE kefir, but I really cannot stand

>> oatmeal

>> after the oats have been soaked in kefir or whey.

>

> Really? I think it's a tremendous improvement (although I do add a

> small

> amount of honey to balance out the sourness).

Are you using whole oats, cracked/steel-cut oats or oatmeal? I find

using cracked/steel-cut definitely makes it tastier this way, and I'm

using Heidi's SuperKefiili with Extra Vowel Action! which isn't as

sour. I take whole oat groats, sometimes I toast them a bit, then I

very roughly grind (really crack) them in a handgrinder (or with my

KitchenAid if I'm doing a big batch ahead for the week). Then I mix in

some kefiili, a little filtered water to thin it out, and in the

morning it really just needs warmed up is all, it cooks extremely fast.

I was afraid the kids wouldn't eat it but they both wolfed down their

bowls. When I make rolled oats they never finish the bowl--hardly touch

it.

Lynn S.

-----

Lynn Siprelle * Writer, Mother, Programmer, Fiber Artisan

The New Homemaker: http://www.newhomemaker.com/

Siprelle & Associates: http://www.siprelle.com/

People-Powered ! http://www.deanforamerica.com/

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " Lynn Siprelle " <lynn@...>

> >> Hey guys, have a heart! I LOVE kefir, but I really cannot stand

> >> oatmeal after the oats have been soaked in kefir or whey.

> >

> > Really? I think it's a tremendous improvement (although I do add a

> > small amount of honey to balance out the sourness).

>

> Are you using whole oats, cracked/steel-cut oats or oatmeal?

Cracked. I've never tried it with rolled oats.