There is an epidemic rampant across North America. The chemicals, sugar and preservatives found in the processed foods we are consuming are killing us with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. I think we all know this, but the hectic life we lead makes it hard to imagine going back to a lifestyle without these "convenience" foods.
It's a struggle for me to feed my family in a healthy way, and I know I'm not alone. I think we're starting to forget what food really is at its most basic level, and our kids aren't even getting the chance to learn what we've forgotten. After all, they weren't dubbed the "fast food generation" by accident!
Jaime Oliver's Wake-up Call
I recently saw a YouTube video advertising Jaime Oliver's new series " Food Revolution " which premieres March 26, 2011 on ABC. For those who might not be aware, Jaime Oliver is a British chef who is making it his mission to educate children on food, cooking and healthy eating. Bravo to him! In this short video he goes inside a first grade classroom in Huntington, West Virginia carrying a basket of fresh produce. As it begins he says "we're going to do a little test" and then he breaks out the vegetables.
None of the six year old children recognize the tomatoes he holds out, although they all raise their hands in recognition when he mentions ketchup. When he tries to introduce the concept that ketchup is actually made from tomatoes he's met with blank stares in return.
The video continues as Jamie holds up assorted vegetables. Each is met with a similar blank stare or wrong answer. In fact, when he gives these kids a hint that "eggplant" begins with "egg" one of the kids at the back of the classroom shouts out "egg salad!". Seriously? These kids don't even recognize a potato, I'm guessing because it didn't come in the form of "fry" or "tot".
Who are we Raising?
The sad thing is that I doubt that these kids are an anomaly in the western world circa 2011. In fact, I'm frightened to think that they might be the norm rather than the exception. It's hard to believe that so many children are growing up without an understanding of what whole fruits and vegetables even look like. What are they eating?
Are we raising an entire generation of kids that are going to think that "cooking" means nuking a frozen, pre-packaged, preservative laden, carbohydrate rich dinner? Is it time to call Maytag to let them know that they should redesign their fridges without the fruit and vegetable bins so that we have more room for our sugary beverages? Are we really, as studies are predicting, raising the first generation that will not live longer than their predecessors?
Are we Creating a Tragedy?
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the most horrifying thing I can imagine doing is burying my child. I've lost two parents to cancer (both in their sixties with no previous family history of cancer) and in the last week alone two women i know have lost their daughters to cancer and another woman was diagnosed with this horrible disease. A few weeks ago my seemingly healthy forty-three year old cousin died of a stroke, leaving behind a wife and eleven year old son. At forty-three!
It leaves me asking this question: are we, in our hectic lives and ignorance, creating a tragedy? What are we doing to ourselves, and more importantly what are we doing to our beloved children?
In the interest of saving our children from a lifetime of illness, a life that might be cut short because of some horrible and preventable disease, it's time we parents got off our extra-wide posteriors and did our job. Our job, of course, is to prepare our kids to be healthy, responsible and capable adults. So let's dust off our baking pans and vegetable steamers, force our kids away from their video games, and get them into the kitchen!
Let's Talk to Our Kids about Healthy Food
This may require arming ourselves with more information first, and I highly recommend Tosca Reno's "Eat-Clean Diet" series. She even has a book called "The Eat Clean Diet for Family and Kids", which has a lot of great recipes to help even the pickiest eater enjoy their dinner. My family has been following this eating program for four weeks now, and it's fantastic.
And no, it's not really a "diet" so there's no need to worry about feeding your kids this way. Unlike me, my four-year-old son has absolutely no fat on him. The last thing I want to do is cause him to lose weight. However, I do want to arm him with the skills needed to make healthy choices throughout his life.
In fact, my son caught me reading Tosca's book. Because he's at that age where he has an unending amount of curiosity about everything, it wasn't long before I was going through the book with him. When he asked me (repeatedly!) why I was reading that book I explained to him that mommy wanted to be able to take really good care of her family. He's actually started asking "is this healthy for me, mommy?" and I can't begin to explain how much that thrills me. At four he's already becoming conscious of making healthy choices.
Of course, I'm not going to prevent him from having the occasional indulgence, but I want him to be well aware of the fact that the bag of potato chips he's consuming is a poor substitute for the healthy dinner I've prepared.
Let's Grocery Shop with Our Kids
The grocery store is most certainly not designed to be a friend in your pursuit of healthy food. It's goal is to sell you, with the use of glossy pictures, fancy displays and the enticing smell of bread and goodies baking, to buy things you really don't want.
This is where that "shop the perimeter" concept can come in handy. Remember that the fresh produce, dairy and meats are going to be on the outer edges of the store.
Think of the grocery store as a forum for education. It's the place for our kids to learn about new fruits and veggies, and an opportunity for you to teach your children to make healthy food purchases in the future.
Suffer the Tantrum
It's nobody's idea of fun to drag children past all the enticing sugary snacks while enjoying the epic volume of the tantrum caused by your determination to place nothing but fruit, veggies and other health foods in the cart. And by the way, you're right: that single lady with the perfectly coiffed hair and high-heeled shoes is giving you that "look" because she's judging you. Ignore her rude stares and trudge forward.
It has been said that parenting is the toughest job there is (some days I'd rather try my hand at rocket science!) and good parenting is certainly not for the faint of heart. So strap on your toughest coat of mommy (or daddy) body armor and go in prepared for the battle. Remember that when you come out of the check-out line the winner you are actually chalking up a win for your entire family. Never mind the screaming.
Let's Cook with Our Kids
At the end of a hectic day most of us have enough trouble slapping a nutritious dinner on the table, let alone having our kids help us make it. This is especially true if they're more accustomed to "laying like broccoli" in front of the TV than they are to chopping that broccoli.
I started cooking with my son on a lazy Sunday morning. I wanted to make some healthy muffins and I knew that he would be much more inclined to eat them if he felt involved in the baking process. It worked, although perhaps too well. He was so excited about them that I had to physically stop him from eating his sixth muffin of the day (way too much bran, I'll leave the results of this experiment up to your imagination!).
Since then my son is much more inclined to help me in the kitchen. I'll admit there are plenty of times when I have to bite my tongue. I'm in a hurry and not wanting the kind of "help" that's going to lead to a big mess for me to clean up. On these occasions I do my best to keep in mind that the more I encourage his help now, the better he's going to do later in life.
Let Them be Kids
This might seem like a strange thought to finish on, but kids still need to be kids. I worry about being so strict that I cause food issues because my children never get to enjoy the pleasure of sinfully bad food. That birthday cake should be eaten and enjoyed. So should an ice-cream cone on a hot summer day. I figure that as long as their daily routine includes healthy choices they will learn to view these treats for what they are meant to be: an occasional treat rather than a daily food choice.
