photo from Pixabay
by Elizabeth Magee, LRD, RD
Picky eaters are the worst. I’m sorry. It’s true. I thought it was hard feeding one kid; then I added three more to the mix and UFFDA. How do people do it? So many opinions, so much complaining. Odds are good at least two of the kids will complain with what is being offered. I know people can relate.
Summer obviously makes this way harder if you’re home with your kids. Now you don’t have school lunch to count on, and you maybe even depended on school breakfast. Now the kids are home all day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. All three meals. Triple the complaints. I’m not even going to get into the constant snacking.
Getting kids to eat is a big enough challenge. I’m certainly going to try to reduce all the stress I possibly can with food choices.
I’ve compiled a list of things that we deem healthy and encourage people to eat but if my kids don’t eat them, I won’t lose sleep over it.
- Milk. One of the four loves milk. And I support that! I’m not going to freak out that the others want water. Water is great for us. They will eat yogurt and cheese without complaint, and we can get our calcium that way. If your population won’t eat dairy, give them a calcium supplement, and get back to your day. Harvard doesn’t even include it in their version of MyPlate!
- Whole grain bread. Now I’m not against whole grains, don’t get me wrong. I serve brown rice, whole grain pasta/crackers/cereals etc., so they’re still getting whole grains. Half the grains we eat should be whole grains. I’m fine with the white bread no one complains about.
- Natural peanut butter. If I refuse to eat it, can I make them? I like my PB processed!! It’s delish and the natural stuff to me just isn’t!! The nutritional value is almost identical. If you like the natural, have at it! I’ll be over here with my processed version 😊
- Multiple vegetables. I didn’t say vegetables, just multiple ones. Are most kids excited about veggies? No. I love when I see a kid eating a salad. It’s rare though. Every kid in my house has at least one veggie they like – some have more and that’s amazing. The ones that only like one? Rest assured, I’ll have that one veggie consistently stocked for them. And if they get sick of it, they certainly can broaden their horizons. I always hope the garden will help me with this one and I’m always willing to grab fruits and veggies they request at the store.
And finally, juice!! This is more by design. I basically refuse to buy juice. They know this. It’s funny sometimes when they ask because I cannot remember a time when I have caved and bought it. I’m a big fan of them eating the whole fruit instead. It’s more satisfying, you get fiber with it and the servings are more appropriate. It’s so easy to overdo your portions with juice when just a half cup is a serving!!
Life’s hard, raising kids is hard, meal planning (for me) is hard. I’m just over here trying to keep things simple and not feel bad about myself. If these ideas help, I’m glad. And hopefully no one out there is beating themselves up over things their kids aren’t eating that we’re “supposed to” be getting them to eat.
Elizabeth Magee is a licensed registered dietitian. Her posts appear monthly on OYT.
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