If there is one thing that I can say has been a real challenge for me as a Mother it has been getting my children to eat right!! Truth is, some kids are just downright picky and it doesn't matter what you do, sometimes you feel like you just can't win!!! With 4 children, I have seen a wide variety of eating issues. My 10 year old son, for instance, is the pickiest eater I have EVER seen! He eats very little meat and pretty much survives on peanut butter, cheese and fruit!! My middle two children will eat pretty much whatever you sit in front of them and then we have our little guy. He refused every kind of baby food so we pretty much went straight from breastfeeding to table food and he absolutely refuses to drink any milk.......he doesn't even like ice cream!!! So the question is, what do you do about these types of issues?! Sometimes I feel completely lost so I was so excited to be introduced to a new book, Food Fights!!!
The following excerpts are taken from the new edition of Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed With Insight, Humor and a Bottle of Ketchup (American Academy of Pediatrics, March 2012) by Laura A. Jana, MD, FAAP and Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP. For more information about Food Fights, please visit www.HealthyChildren.org, the official American Academy of Pediatrics web site for parents.
WHAT’S LACKING IN SNACKING
What’s Not Lacking in Snacking? One of the biggest problems with snacks is, quite simply, that they typically consist of high-calorie, unhealthy foods rather than nutrient-dense, healthy foods. With fresh fruit all too frequently replaced by juice and other sugary drinks, more candy, less milk, and the prize for the largest
increase in snack foods over the past 30 years going to chips and crackers, what’s clearly not lacking in snacking is salt, sugar, and fat.
Smart Snacking
So now that you know what not to serve for snacks, we wanted to make sure to impress on you the fact that snacking can and still should play an important role in your child’s daily diet. Simply put, the right approach to snacking can help keep kids from getting hungry and cranky while also giving them added energy and (if you plan it right) added nutrients. By following simple, smart snacking advice like the tips below, you can ultimately help your child grow better, think better, and stay active throughout the day and throughout childhood.
• Snacks should not be the exception to the rule that food, in general,
should have nutritional value. Make sure you commit to applying the
same noble goals in choosing your snacks as you (hopefully) do for
your child’s meals.
• Keep finger foods on hand. Finding foods that are quick and easy to
grab and serve is actually quite easy. Simply cut up some fresh fruits
or veggies; keep whole grain crackers, pretzels, or ready-to-eat (and
preferably low-sugar/high-fiber) cereals on hand; and then let your
toddler or older child handle the feeding part independently.
• Don’t be fooled by packaging. Labels on snack foods for kids, along
with sugary children’s cereals, seem to be the most commonly misleading
when it comes to nutrition. Don’t let creative labeling such as
“fruit snacks” or “low-fat” lead you to believe that sugary treats are
necessarily healthy.
• Figure out some “free foods” that your child can eat at any time. It’s
entirely appropriate to agree on some healthy “free foods” (such as
fruits, vegetables, yogurt, or hard-boiled eggs, for example) that your
child can sit down and eat whenever he’s hungry. Remembering that
your ultimate goal is to help your child learn to eat when he’s hungry
and refrain when he’s not, your role is to simply make very sure that
the criteria you use for creating this list is based squarely on the food’s
nutritional value.
• Keep junk food out of sight and out of mind. This means not
only limiting the amount of junk food you buy and allow into your
pantry, but also the amount of television your child is allowed to
watch. With literally thousands of television ads designed specifically
to make your child’s mouth water over unhealthy snacks and cereals,
turning off the television—not just when you’re eating but keeping it
turned off throughout the day—can go a long way toward preventing
unhealthy eating habits
If you are tired of battling your children over food, you will definitely want to pick up a copy of this book! It is so insightful and gives really practical advice on everything you need to know about feeding your children!
GIVEAWAY
One lucky reader is going to win their own copy of Food Fights!
Just leave a comment below with your name and email address to be entered!
Thanks for entering and GOOD LUCK!
Giveaway will end on 4/29 at 12:01 a.m.
Winner will be chosen at random via random.org
*This is a sponsored post. Review and Giveaway were provided at no cost by the company and/or representing PR firm. All opinions are my own*
