Kid “friendly” meals are not the “real” deal

How many of you have been caught up in making “convenient” and “kid friendly” meals like me? With 4 young children, I have even made 2-3 different meals at a time to accommodate all their eating preferences. Crazy, right? I’m like my own little food court. Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, tacos, pasta, turkey bacon, cereal, mozzarella sticks and on and on.  It’s like a processed food party where everyone gets sick. 😦

Can you imagine our parents doing that? Not on your life! It was “you eat what is served or go hungry”…or in my case, not leaving the table until I cleared my plate. Do you think that in pioneer or colonial times children would have tons of meal options? Can you imagine Laura telling her Ma she didn’t want the meal that she had worked hard to prepare all day long?! I don’t think so!

One of the problems parents face today is giving in too easy and settling for quick and convenient packaged meals or fast food for their kids. So what can we as adults do to get our kids to eat healthier?

First, change what is in your cabinets. Keep forbidden and processed foods out of sight, out of mind and out of your home!

Second, start by changing just one meal at a time for a while.  For example; make paleo friendly pancakes for breakfast instead of regular ones, introduce veggie and fruit smoothies, then slowly incorporate healthy new options replacing gluten filled cereals, toasts, muffins, etc.   Then move onto lunches.

Third, talk to your kids about healthy choices.  Teach them to read their labels.  If it has more than 5 ingredients, or you don’t know what the ingredients are, it’s a “no” in our house.  If there is corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose, etc. it is not allowed.  Yup, that means no twinkies…No nutrition in any of those kinds of things.

Fourth, Be prepared!  Always have real and healthy food choices accessible and ready at all times.  Keep a bowl of grapes/fresh fruit in the fridge, nuts in the car and homemade snack packs (larabars, dehydrated fruit, beef jerky) always with you.  Plan ahead and prepare your food in advance so you always have a meal to grab and go.

Fifth, let the kids help in the kitchen.  Kids are much more willing to eat food that they helped to prepare.  Plus it is a wonderful bonding opportunity 😉

Remember they are kids, not adults.  They do not need as much food as an adult and we need to get out of the mindset that they must clean their plates.   When they are full, it’s ok for them to be done. 

Oh and final a brief note on fast food, don’t waste your money or affect your health by eating there.  It will literally take you 5 minutes to run into a grocery store and hit the salad bar for a healthy option on the go when you are in a pinch.  Where there is a will, there is a way and if you want the best for your kids, clean eating is the real meal deal!

Related articles

• Paleo parents, Paleo kids: is Paleo the right choice for the whole family? (life-in-focus.org)

Chocolate Frosted Brownie

Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, grain free, but definitely not free of flavor! Satisfies even the most finicky of palates! Made with sweet potato. Hard to eat just one;)

I might be banned from the grocery stores…

Ok, now that I am completely acclimated into the Paleo lifestyle, I am finding it harder to shop at our local grocery store…and actually, if I continue to respond the way I do, you may soon see my “NOT WANTED” poster on the front doors.  The more I reasearch and educate myself about the error of our eating ways, I just can’t help myself!!  (well unless I shop with duct tape on my mouth and blinders on my eyes).

I need to back up just a bit…I used to go shopping and just try to get in and out without a care in the world.  (Not caring what I put in my carriage or what the other 500 shoppers put in theirs.)  But now that I have seen how food truly affects every aspect of a person’s health, I WANT to help save everyone.  I find myself biting my lip on every shopping outing, I can feel my muscles stiffen watching people pile processed junk into their carts and i want to throw all their  “healthy weight loss tv dinners” on the conveyor belt back in the freezer aisle.  The other day,  I almost went over to a man loading his trunk with cases of soda to give him my help, (not to put them in his car, but to offer him some life saving gallons of water instead).  I am sure he would have told me just what he thought of my help…and I don’t think it would have been to thank me;)  Another time I got into a big discussion with the cashiers and baggers regarding meat and their lack of “grass-fed products”.  One proceeded to tell me they were laughing about people who buy grass-fed meat.  Well, what I had to say to them didn’t leave them laughing or wanting to eat their (animal by-product, antibiotic treated, hormone loaded, grain filled, chemical laden) meat any time soon. 

It’s not just at grocery stores either, it’s at schools, restaurants, gatherings…I just feel the need to pull out my “Paleo soap box” and save the world.  I’m a teacher, it’s what we do, we educate people right?  My main objective is not to judge or make anyone feel bad, but to help people on a personal journey to a healthier and longer life.

I have found that I do much better shopping at health food stores, farmers markets, whole food stores or ordering items online.  It’s just good karma for me, it puts me in my happy place, I’m with my people…lol. 

So I will leave you with one piece of advice, if nothing else…please try to avoid products with High Fructose Corn Syrup or Corn Syrup. Oh, and if you see a lady walking around your local grocery store with duct tape and blinders on or in disguise, it might just be me,  the one banned from the grocery store.

Energy “Lara” bars

We tried our hand today at making homemade Lara bars. Ours is the top one and the store bought one is on the bottom. They came out really good! What a quick, easy and healthy paleo friendly snack.

Paleo Lemon Squares

Such a wonderful sweet taste of summer dessert. The recipe I used is from the caveman feast app. I Modified it just a bit, so feel free to experiment with new flavors while cooking. I cut them up into individual squares and froze them for easy treats when needed.

What’s in you?

It’s easy guys…just eat REAL food! Shop the perimeter of the store, avoid processed foods and bar codes. What you put in is what you get out. Fill your body with good clean food not chemical filled junk.

It’s time to ditch the dairy, so moo-ve over milk!

You have all probably heard the “Got Milk” or “Milk it does a body good” commercials and seen the advertisements showing milk mustaches on celebrities promoting more dairy consumption. We have been taught all our lives that calcium is vital to bone strength and essential to our health.

But on a Paleo lifestyle, dairy is not part of the plan.

When I start telling people about my new paleo lifestyle, one of the first things that comes up is shock and questions about the “lack” of dairy in my life.

I’m sure many of you can relate. How many times have you heard “how will you get your calcium?”. Or “without dairy won’t you get osteoporosis?” or did you even get the shame on you look with a matter of fact  statement from them saying “you need dairy”.

Did it actually leave you wondering “If I’m dairy free will I be calcium deficient?”  The answer is a resounding NO!

Like so many other things we have been taught, it is a common misconception that we can only get calcium from dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese. This is simply not true.

Fact #1- There is plenty of calcium to be found in fruits, veggies, nuts, fish and seafood. You actually absorb more calcium from leafy green veggies then dairy.
Fact #2- When you remove processed foods from your diet your calcium needs become lower.
Fact #3- Too much calcium is not healthy and can actually cause osteoporosis/bone weakness.
Fact #4- Bone health is not solely dependent on Calcium. Your body needs vitamins, minerals, exercise and don’t forget about the easiest natural form-the sun.

So here are my top 10 tips on how to support calcium absorption.
1. Eliminate dairy
2. Eat fruits, green leafy veggies, nuts, almond butter and fish.
3. Limit salt intake
4. Stop eating processed foods
5. Get your sleep-8 hours min
6. Avoid sugar, grains, soda and coffee
7. Spend time in the sun
8. Do not smoke
9. Exercise
10. Heal your gut lining by eating and living a paleo lifestyle

It’s time to ditch the dairy! So moo-ve over milk!

Oh and if you need me, I’ll be outside soaking up some sun while sipping on a mean green smoothie. 😀