July 29, 2009 It's Too Simple!
It’s too simple an answer.
That’s what one reader said in response to my last post It Doesn’t Matter WHAT Your Kids Eat!
I advocated switching how you think about food. Instead of paying attention to nutrients like calcium and protein I suggested you organize foods according to how frequently they should be eaten:
- Growing Foods: These are the fresh, natural foods you should eat most frequently.
- Fun Foods: The moderate foods – packaged, sweetened and/or high in fat – that you should eat less frequently.
- Treat Foods: The junk that you should eat least frequently.
“What about not serving your kids processed foods, or finding alternatives without all the additives?” this reader asked.
1) In our culture you can’t avoid processed foods. And even if you can in your own home, your children will eventually encounter them out in the world. When they do, don’t you want them to be prepared?
The research shows that denying your kids access to food leads to hording and overeating. It may be healthier to eliminate processed foods from your kids’ diets, but it’s not better for them. They need to know how to put moderate and junky foods into their diets in an appropriate way. It is a vital skill for living in today's food world.
2) “Healthy” junk foods – treats without the additives – still teach your children to eat junk food. They don’t care how something’s made. That’s why a cookie is always a cookie!
“So instead of replacing real junk with a healthy equivalent, which just perpetuates poor eating habits, you would advocate portioning?”
Yes, but not just portioning the size of the food in any one sitting. I’m advocating paying attention to how different types of food fit into your children’s overall diets. No one food matters. What's important is how foods are eaten in relation to each other. That’s the beauty of proportion – it promotes a diverse diet where foods are eaten in the correct ratios.
Is it too simple? No. But is it simple? Yes. That’s why it works. There are no menus to memorize, no portions to measure. Just a plan for making decisions about how often to eat something.
Remember, every time you feed your children you teach them something. The only question that remains is this: what are you going to teach them?
Thanks for the question. Keep them coming!
Reader Comments (2)
I like this philosophy for its simplicity but I think I may be confused now--so you're saying its okay if my kid eats an entire container of blueberries (because they are a growing food) at every meal rather than getting more of a variety of nutrients by having processed things like chicken nuggets at one meal, pizza at another and creamed spinach at another? my son would eat a variety of fruit all day long but I can't get him to eat much else so I'm worried about his protein and other nutrient needs, are you saying I shouldn't be?
Sarah,
Thanks for your comment.
I'm not saying that ONLY eating blueberries is better than eating a variety of processed foods. But eating a variety of fruit would be better than eating a variety of processed foods, if you had to pick only one category of food to eat from.
However, what I'm really saying is that there is a place in your son's diet for chicken nuggets, pizza and creamed spinach, but in TOTAL, these foods should be consumed less than the total of fresh, natural foods. (Most days, or over the course of a few days.)
Of course, a person with the healthiest diet would eat a variety of foods within each category. Since fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, low fat dairy, etc. are all in the healthiest category, eating a variety would give your son all the nutrients he needs.
You say he has a limited diet, but I don't know exactly how limited, so I can't offer specific suggestions. (I'm happy to if you e-mail me.) However, I do want to say that you should look up the protein requirements for his age. Most Americans consume more protein than necessary. You may find that he's doing better nutritionally than you thought.
Dina