Writing Another Book. Need Your Input!

Personally, I think laziness is a big factor. I don't mean to offend anyone when I say this. It takes time to steam fresh vegetables, to prepare a real home cooked meal and most families today are "on the run" and have little or no time for cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. As a stay at home mother to three children, I put their health first and prepare home cooked meals daily but my children are not involved in activities outside of the house. I found a wonderful cookbook that has healthy meals in 30 minutes or less to make. With 3 children to manage, homework to do, chores, etc. I find that cooking quick healthy meals works for my family. On the weekends when I do have more time, I will spend the extra time to make a special meal that requires more time to prepare but weekdays need to be quick but I won't compromise the meals by going "cheap."

My daughter tends to eat healthier when there are no unhealthy foods in sight. We have to keep all goodies out of the house and have treats only when we go out.
I use the Sneaky Chef books. She gets so excited helping that it doesn't phase her when she's putting carrot puree in the mixing bowl. I buy the baby foods to save time.
As parents, we are examples for our children in every way.
I try to eat healthy and having my daughter prepare the food with me makes her feel so independent.

Best of luck!

Our main reason for not eating better is kids' schedules. My son is in karate and is required to attend a minimum of 2 classes per week. Of course, the class times correspond to dinner time and if I'm driving him there and bringing him home I can't be at home making dinner. This is a regular part of our life, other odd activities also seem to gel around dinner time... kids are more scheduled outside the home than in earlier days, I think. But maybe not...

In my case, I started making organic baby food, then bought organic baby food, then the third just ate "Floorios" (Cheerios) while I got his brothers ready for school...I was very health conscious; but that changed once they saw what other kids were eating: Lunchables, chips, cookies, canned spaghetti and the ever-famous fast food: the french fry.
Then their taste buds shift and they don't want the food in their lunch bag, just the cookie.
I just prepared a healthy dinner, something simple I knew they would eat, toss a salad and pushed water at them.
None of them eat fruit; but when I cut it up and throw it into the freezer, I'd have an instant smoothie ready to blend up. They'd suck those down, as well as the frozen pops I made out of the smoothie.

My two oldest are very health conscious now. So, time shifted their thinking. My youngest, though he eats what I call "gas station food", he does go to the gym and drinks only water.

Convenience - Time. We need a "McDonald's" of health food. If I had the choice of driving through a fast, healthy "McDonald's" vs. regular McDonald's I would chose the healthy. So, as a mom I do the best I can to pack fruits and veggies into the meals that I do prepare but when time and convenience over rule what choices are left. I do opt for the apples instead of the fries which helps and if we go out to a sit down restaurant we get a salad first but most places turn what we think is healthy to be not healthy with all the salt and MSG they add to everything. So, I make the best choice of what is available and then try to make sure I get the fruits and veggies in at other points during the week.

I would say I try to eat healthy - I have always stuggled with my weight and don't want the same thing for my daughters (7 and 11). I try to make sure there is always apples, bananas, grapes, grape tomatoes, nectarines, baby carrots and celery in the house. The snacky food I do have in the house I have tried to switch over to baked (Baked Tostitos, Baked Lays, etc) or light popcorn. Alot of time the quick, easy dinners I throw together are due to time constraints. My kids are in gymnastics, dance and girls scouts and we spend a lot of evenings running so I throw something together quick. Although I do use super lean ground beef, light hot dog and hambuger buns, light mayo, etc. I don't keep soda in the house for the most part. I struggle with it - it is the stopping at fast food places that really hurts us. I try to encourage the apple, fruit cup option, and milk or tea rather than soda and fries, but that doen't always happen. Mostly it has to do with time and cost, but more with time

I feel guilty but I don't feel like taking the time to cook and mash the veggis. I really love the gerber dinners. My 16 month olds favorite is the mac and cheese, but I wonder how healthy they really are?? I do eat a lot of salads at home my 14 and 9 year old are salad eaters. My baby has no interest for veggies at the moment.The simpler the better for me. I have learned that it can take an hour or more in the kitchen an no one really likes what i sweated over cooking and only 10 min for them to eat then left with the mess of pots pans and bowls to clean up.
B-
Jacksonville
southside

For me, a working mom, the biggest issue is time. Not just time to prepare meals (30 minutes in the evening at most) but also time for shopping. My mom was a SAHM and was able to pick up fresh fruits and veggies every 2-3 days. I grocery shop once every two weeks because we just don't have time for it. The fresh fruits and vegs just don't make it that long before they go bad.

Also, fast food options are ridiculously unhealthy and I don't understand why. If there was a drive thru nearby that offered brown rice and steamed broccoli (my kids love it) I would be there!

i would have to say the reason i don't "follow thru" is that my husband is a junk eater so i have to buy him his snack foods. as a result he is giving the kids junk a lot while i eat because he feels tht my kids are skinny (they are both on the thin side) and that they are active (which they are) and he says that i'm just paranoid that they'll get fat. (i'm more concerned about them learning to eat healthy and cholesterol, etc) also as far as organic and the red dye (which i don't know much about) is crazy expensive. i do rinse my fruit, all of it and my vegetables, also. when i am with the kids i only allow them one 1/2 of a snack a day that would be sweet. i try to give them a lot of fruit and veggies but my son doesn't like veggies at all and he doesn't like a lot of fruit either. i don't eat a lot of variety myself. but i would have to say cost is the most important factor as to why i don't feed them healthier as far as organic and so forth and the second most is because i'm not overly educated on some of the other stuff

I can think of three reasons why moms might not make the healthy choices - 1) cost - healthier food normally costs more than the bad stuff 2) convenience - packaged food is easier to use, especially for a mom on the run, and 3) out of fear - I've heard many moms say things like, "My son/daughter won't eat anything but french fries and chicken nuggets." Moms become afraid their children will starve if they feed them the healthy stuff that the kids refuse to eat. It's crazy but I hear it often.

For us moms on a very fixed/limited budget, fresh produce and veggies are just too expensive! Today red, gala, ect apples are $1.99 a pound! Peachs.plums grapes ect are over $2.00 a lb. A pound equal 1 and 1/2 piece! Lettuce is over $1.69, cucumbers (which my girls both love) are 2 for $1.69, and tomatoes (Girls LOVE) are %2.99 a pound! A bag of pretzels is $1.70 and last more then 1 snack time! Yesterday I made my girls a veg. platter for snack time, celery, 2 tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber and they ate the whole plate is 20 minutes or less! Our food budget is too tight in todays' market! I HAVE to make every dollar count! Yes I'd love to be able to feed them and my family healthier, but I can't afford it either. Once a week I make a veggie plate and once a week, if I can afford it, I make them a fruit plate! In between, it's pop tarts, or pretzels or pop corn or fruit snacks! That is the Truth in my own life!
Kathy N.
When prices go down, I'll make a lot more healthier food choices!

Wow, where are you? It says Jul 4 already. I got 9:43 pm here, central time. Is ND the state, I am a dummy and too lazy to look it up on USPS.com lol. OH duh ok North Dakota!! huh huh. Well personally, I give my child a healthy dinner and hope he is hungry enough to finish all or most of it. I serve small portions and he gets a little of each food group usually. If he does not, it is because I am told by dr.s and researchers that they will eat, and they will be ok if they do not follow a perfect diet. I just try my best and when I find he likes something healthy I try to make that more often so he will indulge. I let him have a little of the unhealthy as a reward for eating good. I try not to go crazy with empty calories. I tell him what is right and show him by example, but I understand they are going to eat what they want mostly. I have made him take extra bites when he said he was done, and that helps him get more that is good for him. We try (he is 4) taking just two more bites and be done after he is sure he is done, and Mommy knows better. All I think I can do is try my best and try tricks my Grandma used on me. I try to make it fun but sometimes I get tired of trying and just let him eat as much as he wants. It is hard to deal with this when you have a picky eater. I try to let him pick foods off a buffet and he does eat better then. My x- used to yell at him to eat, ever since he was very small. He refused to try to understand the thinking of a very small child and wanted everything to be perfect at all times and this is one reason I cut my son a break when he does not want to finish his healthy food and just wants desert early. The best way to get him to eat is to make sure they are hungry and promise a healthy fruit for dessert. Hope this helps a little.

My kids actually eat pretty healthy when I feed them. But at night, I go to work and it's up to their dad to give them dinner.
I think most of the time, he's just exhausted from working all day, so he makes them what's easiest, which is usually chicken nuggets or eggs. It's just easy, which is important after a long day.
Another thing I think is that some times, it's just cheaper to feed your kids not so healthy food, instead of buying fresh fruits and vegetables all the time. In today's economy, price is increasingly important.
I hope that helps.

Hi E.,
that is an interesting subject!! I've love to read your book when it's completed.
I am a full time mom of two kids, Giselle 6 and Ethan 4. My husband and I care very much about our family's health and our eating habits. He is a Family & Sports Medicine physician at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston and I'm a full time mom and baby's clothing designer. We are vegetarian and have been for three generations.
We know what is healthy for our kids and try to provide them with at least one healthy meal each day with several healthy snacks, however, our children, even at a young age, have already developed a taste for junk food.
It seems this food is everywhere and is so easy to attain. Instead of fighting it, we have decided to allow some of it. It's a struggle, but somehow it works for us.
If you have more questions feel free to email me at M. at gissybella dot com.
Best,
M.

Time would be my number one reason for slacking on providing heathier meals. Hope this helps!!