It seems like despite the lackluster state of the economy more and more people have jumped on the organic eating bandwagon. I completely mean that in a good way. We decided before the girls were born that we would try to use about half organic products. Not everything (in my opinion) needs to be organic. For me it was important that things like meat and dairy be organic. Kids these days have diets made up of little more than chicken nuggets, lunchmeat and hot dogs and we wanted to strive for more.
As the girls got a little older we were settled into our 50% organic routine and very happy. We could proudly boast that we were winning the eating wars with our kids. Then things changed a little. Abby turned out to be allergic to milk, eggs, blueberries and initially bananas (she can now eat bananas). Over the course of the next 6 months this changed how everyone in our household ate. When the girls were still small and eating different meals than us the effect was minimal. We all started to drink soy milk instead of cows milk but little else changed.
As they get older it has become more difficult to prepare a regular meal AND an allergy friendly meal for Abby. So, we all eat "Abby friendly meals" in our house. That means all of our "dairy" is organic. That is because our "dairy" products are made of organic tofu or soy. We have switched all meats to organic because oddly enough some meats can have trace amounts of dairy. Over the course of a year we have gone from a 50% organic household to about 75%.
But here is the thing. When I talk to other organic Moms I feel like the odd man out. While we don't feed our kids a lot of the typical kid fare I still think it's important to give them hotdogs or french fries some of the time. I think it is part of being a kid. So maybe we use the kosher hot dogs that are a little less gross or organic french fries that lack all the ingredients I can't pronounce. Yes my kids eat organic but they also eat candy (occasionally) and chicken nuggets from McDonald's and sugar filled ice pops. Nothing wrong with a little fat and sugar once in a while. :D
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It's the same story in our house. Our kids have only ever had organic milk. I don't eat meat but Chris and the kids eat a little so I like to make sure it's from a free range animal and free of antibiotics and nitrates. Thankfully, neither of my kids care for hotdogs so that takes care of that. BUT, much to my dismay, they eat Tyson's all natural chicken nuggets and french fries (not organic) :-( Ava has become brand specific about her chicken nuggets so we're slowly trying to change that but she can totally tell the difference. They don't like eggs either, which I think is strange. Chick fil a is the only fast food I'll give them but they don't really like it (hooray)...probably b/c it's such a rare occasion. We do eat a lot of ice cream and chocolate though b/c they are kids after all!
We do some organic and that's only by luck -- the free range, no abx elk that Cris hunts. All of my garden stuff is free of pesticides and herbicides but I do use conventional fertilizers in careful amounts.
Our organic selection here is so limited it's ridiculous. So I try to buy local instead to support community ag.
But my kid eats more than her fair share of chicken nuggets (although she'd rather have apple dippers than fries, and she'll choose fruit over cookies 9 times out of 10) and ice cream.
I figure that she eats better than I did at her age so I'm comfortable with my choices.
M - That is a very good point. My two eat about 10 times better than I did at that age (mostly because we didn't know as much then) so hopefully they are on their way to a life of appreciating real food.
We're about 75% organic too--Costco has some surprisingly good and affordable organic products. We're also big fans of nitrite/nitrate free hot dogs. I just think moderation is important, I mean who can really afford to buy everything organic??
I think it is a little bizarre to tie being a good mother with what food we give them. Extrapolate that paradigm to our own childhoods: Do we think our parents were bad because they gave us american cheese?
That said, I must say giving kids ANY fast food or soda is just plain wrong. There is nothing redeeming or healthy about fast food. Nothing. None of them are really "better" than the others. I get the convenience of it, but that is not worth the damage. Introducing kids to it at a young age will only ensure that they will crave it and eat it as the get older. And they won't discriminate to find the so-called better fast food option. It's like giving kids pizza only from on pizza place and expecting them to ONLY eat that pizza as they get older. McDonalds begets Burger King begets Popeyes begets any ol' fast food place. It is a slippery slope, but we can control it. Thing is, most people don't want to because they eat the fast food themselves.
Anon -- I'm a believer that if you let them have it in moderation, they DON'T crave it as badly as they grow. Sooner or later they're going to be driving and have the ability to go through a drive-thru on their own.
I have a close friend that had serious eating problems as a teenager and college student due to the diet her parents raised her on. They never ate sugary cereal, never had pizza, soda, restaurant food, donuts, etc. When she got old enough to have decisions on her own she went over the edge because she'd never been allowed any of it at home. It took many years for her to break the habit and make good food choices.
And honestly, the chicken nuggets and apple dippers I let my child have are healthier than probably 50% of the dinners served on tables across America most nights.
Thanks for being so judgmental today. I hope you aren't teaching your children *that* quality as well.
M - You summed up what I was thinking... only much nicer. :D
Anon - I do think that is a shame to have that kind of relationship with food. I am hoping that by not completely withholding any particular food from my kids there won't be a draw to it. They won't feel like they missed out.
They have occasional junk food, enough to not feel like they hugely missed out (and make up for lost time later in life). But the bulk of their diet is nutritional food we make at home.
I believe parents teach their children how to feel about food. I fear that by completely withholding you are creating an unhealthier relationship than if you let them indulge once in a while.
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