Mealtimes - Hell or Harmony?
If you’ve ever raised a child, you’ll know there are some crazy paradoxes that stand between you and your sanity.
For example:
The kid is exhausted to the point of tears BUT they just won’t go to sleep.
The kid freaks out when their hands get dirty BUT it doesn't stop them getting into everything messy and sticky.
The kid absolutely loves the swimming pool BUT refuses to have a bath.
The kid is irresistibly drawn to anything bright and colourful BUT they are repulsed by brightly coloured vegetables.
This is, of course, just a glimpse at the many frustrations that parents strive to overcome each day. I have my own conundrum:
I’m extremely concerned about what foods my family eat, as I believe that food is the key to vitality, BUT, I am a firm believer that stress is the #1 killer. And believe me, the cost, preparation, and complaints associated with feeding healthy food to my family does come with stress.
I know I'm not alone in this frustration, so keep reading...there's hope.
Stress is the killer of joy, health, productivity, and positivity. As a massage therapist, I battle against the effects of stress each day. See my blog on Stress Relief if you'd like to learn more about how massage can help. Although massage can provide temporary relief for stress, and it can treat some of the body’s reactions to stress, it cannot stop you being a stressed person. As such, I have an interest in finding practical ways to reduce stress in our daily lives, off the massage table. This article is directed at anyone who cares for children, and who is concerned with what nutrition those kids receive.
Problem:
My child refuses to eat vegetables!
Option:
Fight with the child. This will end it tears, with little to no vegetable consumption.
Option:
Bribe child with dessert. Unless it’s a super healthy dessert, this will totally negate the point of eating vegetables. And no, the child won’t learn, they’ll simply know how to manipulate you to give them dessert.
Suggestion:
Hide the vegetables. Does this teach them to eat their vegetables? No. But they’ll eat them. You can work on the discipline of a good diet when they’re at an age to be reasoned with.
• Chocolate avocado mousse. https://www.gordonramsay.com/gr/recipes/chocolate-and-avocado-mousse/
• Chocolate zucchini cake. https://www.healthymummy.com/recipe/zucchini-chocolate-cake/
• Banana smoothie. Add a big handful of baby spinach, rocket, anything dark green. The kids will never know, and they think it’s an amazing colour!
• Bolognaise. Blend heaps of vegetables into a pulp, and add them to the meat sauce. Stick to mild-flavoured veggies, like zuchhini, celery, baby spinach, pak choy. Anything too tasty like capsicum is harder to hide, so treat lightly. The dark greens are an easy flavor to disguise, and the most nutritious.
• Dips. Any vegetables can make a great dip, but here’s a pretty pink one for the little princesses. https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/beetroot-dip/e602e445-7723-417c-8d1a-94e99ce01361
Problem:
My child has food allergies.
Option:
Cut out all those foods and everything that has those foods in it. This is obviously the right place to start, but if you leave it there you have a child who just feels deprived, and no longer enjoys being invited to birthday parties.
Solution:
Embrace it. Learn to substitute foods, create exciting dishes that means the kid doesn’t miss the foods they can’t have. Start taking a dish to every play date and byo cake to a birthday! In a way, we’re fortunate to live in a time when food allergies are rife…because kids are no longer isolated or singled out if they can’t eat something. There is usually something for everyone, and to avoid issues, always byo treats so your child never has to miss out.
There are recipes for any food intolerance imaginable online. The beautiful cake pictured here is actually watermelon covered in coconut icing. I used this recipe for my daughter's 1st birthday and it was a hit!
https://www.thewhimsicalwife.com/home//2014/01/watermelon-cake-with-ginger-mint-syrup.html
Problem:
Health food is so expensive!
Consider:
This is completely true of special types of sweeteners, organic flours, raw nuts etc. But if you stop and think, it’s also true of packaged bars, chips, juice, sugary yoghurts etc. If you stop buying anything processed and pre-prepared in a packet and see how much money you have leftover, I’m sure you’ll find it adds up to more than you realize!
Solution:
The basic health foods are actually everyday foods from any supermarket. Fruits, vegetables, and proteins i.e. meat, eggs, cheese, nuts. If you buy nothing else, you’ll have an EXCELLENT diet. Start there.
Problem:
I can’t get my kid to take supplements!
Option:
Buy Vita Gummies. These are super expensive sugary lollies that have some vitamins. Have a think about that description...it’s ludicrous. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing. It’s healthier for your kid to NOT eat those, than to eat them.
Option:
Mix vitamin powders into juice or cordial to mask the flavour. Remember, both juice and cordial are very high in sugar. It’s not good for them to have on a daily basis.
Suggestion:
MAKE BLISS BALLS. If you have decent powdered supplements that you want to hide, you’ve got to try this trick. This is my absolute favourite.
Ingredients:
25g 85% chocolate broken into pieces
90g nuts of choice.
70g sugar-free peanut butter
70g dates
1tsp honey (raw organic if possible!) *optional
A scoop of whatever supplements you like.
Method:
Blitz chocolate and peanuts well in a food processer. Add other ingredients and blend. Roll into little balls. You can then roll the balls in desiccated coconut if you like, or just leave as they are.
Store in the fridge.
The kids will go CRAZY for them. I usually triple the batch, and add all sorts of stuff. Because of all the nuts, this is a good source of protein. Give the kids a couple of these with a sliced apple and that’s morning tea AND supplements sorted!
These are so mess-free and easy to eat on the run wherever you might be going. So throw a little box of these in your bag as you head out the door, and you’re sorted.
The point is, what the child doesn’t know WILL HELP THEM. If they get a whiff of you trying to poison them with nutrition, they’ll stubbornly seal their mouths.
Is it ethical to trick our children?!?! Let me put it this way…if you leave it up to your children to decide how they should eat, what would their diet look like? If you politely explain the virtues of eating vegetables to your children, will they see reason? If you battle and plead and assert your authority, even if they eat something, are you really winning? And are you willing to enter the fight again tomorrow?
Meal times are very important for bringing families together. They’re times when everybody is in one place with a common purpose, and with stories and laughs to share. This image is shattered the moment you start fighting and nagging about food, and that’s why it’s one of the most dreaded times of the day for many parents. It doesn’t have to be this way!!
I hope you are feeling inspired to eliminate some of the stress in your family life!
