My children’s nutrition matters to me. As the Master Head Chef And Sous Chef in the house, I make sure their meals are well-balanced and nutritious while still tasty. This means that yes, ketchup is both a vegetable and a fruit (interchangeably, of course), and blueberry muffins are considered a serving of fruit. [I mean, I have to keep myself sane somehow.]
My kids have always been pretty good eaters, following the “Normal curve” when they were toddlers (because what is normal anyway?). Meaning, they tend to focus on one food for awhile, so I stock up on said food to have enough for the next 2.5 weeks (the next time I’ll be able to run to the store). But then when I return from the store with enough said food for Y2K, they develop some sort of aversion to said food and do not want to touch said food ever again in their life, or so it would seem from the way they scream “NOOOOO!!”. Now, all bets are off if brother or sister touches/eats/looks at said food.
But, it seems as if my nutritional levels are… well, let’s just say “they ain’t what they used to be”. Yesterday at bedtime my stomach was crazy-hungry-growling, which doesn’t usually happen. But then I thought about how much I had eaten yesterday and came up with this:
– Breakfast: 1.5 cinnamon rolls (the .5 was my daughter’s leftovers)
– Lunch: a slice of pizza (the kids also had carrots with Ranch dressing and raisins, but I ate standing up so I didn’t make a plate for myself)
– some water throughout the day (my kids got their daily juice and vitamins AND drank water throughout the day)
– Snack: a bowl of oatmeal + some of the kids’ popcorn
– Dinner: chicken noodle casserole, salad, 1 slice of apple
Not too bad, but then again, not great and not as well as the kids ate. So, what’s happening to me? I have two words: I’m Distracted. Can anyone join this club with me? I read an article in a magazine that calls us “Momnivores” – we pick off our kids’ plates and we eat significantly less fulfilling meals than they do.
I do plan meals for my kids. I do watch what my kids eat. My midwife makes me keep a food diary when I’m pregnant. (I’m not.) But maybe I should do the opposite Golden Rule – “do unto myself what I do to others”.
jenna blogs at [kevin and jenna [dot] com], while her kids eat popcorn and spill the kernels all over the floor. She is thankful for her mini-broom & dustpan and her dog, both of which clean up the mess.
I think you’d do a lot better if you make a rule like I did. I can no longer eat anything left at the table. No bites from the kids, no bits & pieces instead of hitting the trash, no eating while cooking….. It helped me a lot. Another thing, SIT Down and have a meal with your kids everyday you deserve it & they will remember that you took the time to do that for them 25 years from now. Little things like that mean a lot and you’ll be fixing yourself some healthier plates.
I so have to make a change, too!
Steph
I know exactly what you mean.