First off, let me wish all you moms out there a very happy, though belated, Mother's Day. If you still have children at home, I hope they treated you like a queen.
Mothering and food are inextricably interwoven. Mothers are baby's first source of nourishment, and food is thus immediately linked in baby's mind and experience with comfort, safety, and nurturing. The foods we crave as adults are often the ones we remember fondly from childhood, foods that evoke the sense of warmth and love that our own mothers provided. As a mom, one of my top priorities with my kids is to make sure they eat well. You might think they would happily follow my good example. Well, you would only think that if you didn't have any kids of your own.
Since I've started this blog, moms have written to me asking about how to get their kids on board with the Zone diet. I thought that this holiday would be an apt time to confess to you that I really don't have a clue about this! I'm afraid that I am not the role model I'd like to be. I can share with you some of the things I have tried, but I find that mothering is hit-or-miss. Sometimes my ideas work for a day, or an hour, and other times not even that long.
As I have mentioned, I have two teenaged daughters. They are quite polar opposites in terms of body type as one struggles (mostly successfully) with her weight and one is a toothpick who becomes invisible when she turns sideways. Thus, it has been difficult to handle food issues in exactly the same way when addressing their different needs.
Our basic philosophy is eating healthy, whole foods so we try to keep lots of fresh fruit, fresh and frozen veggies, lean meats and tofu, eggs, canned beans, and mixed nuts on hand. In the past, when I prepared a Zone meal for myself, I often either made a pot of rice or a box of (gulp) mac and cheese (yes, the neon orange-colored stuff!) for my girls to eat alongside their healthy protein and veggies. For the younger one with the tiny tummy, I usually made sure she ate her "good" food first, then had some of the starchy stuff after.
Now that they are older, my husband and I are trying to instill some independence. At the same time, we are both very tired of the constant complaints about meals. So my latest strategy is to allow my oldest daughter (who is 18) to do some grocery shopping on her own, to choose some of her own foods, and also to prepare her own meals. For my younger daughter, who is almost 14, we are attempting to wean her off the junkfood which threatens to overwhelm all other categories in her diet. Although I care deeply (too much?) about their diets, I am trying to give them more space to make their own decisions about food while supplying plenty of healthy foods to choose from. I can't say that any of this is easy for a confessed control freak.
In my mind, I want to be the perfect mom in the apron, the June Cleaver, serving a steaming roasted turkey every evening with 17 side dishes, all worthy of prizes for creativity and sumptuousness. But the reality is that I work part time, I teach 2 evenings per week, and although I cook meals from scratch almost every single night, no one really wants to eat what I make except for me. (Uh-oh, I may be veering into the whiny zone...) So for Mother's Day, I treated myself to a delicious, home-cooked meal that neither of my daughters chose to eat. While I chowed down on a turkey burger slathered with goat cheese, homemade spicy coleslaw with sriracha, and sweet potato fries, my daughter made her own concoction of mac and cheese with tofu and peas. I guess neither of us liked the look of the other's dinner, but such is life here in reality. Maybe not perfect, but we both enjoyed it anyway.
I wish all you moms better luck with feeding your kids than I have had. I guess if you can get a daily dose of fruit and vegetables into them, you can call that success! And if you come up with a theory or a plan that works, please share your ideas with all of us!
Mothering and food are inextricably interwoven. Mothers are baby's first source of nourishment, and food is thus immediately linked in baby's mind and experience with comfort, safety, and nurturing. The foods we crave as adults are often the ones we remember fondly from childhood, foods that evoke the sense of warmth and love that our own mothers provided. As a mom, one of my top priorities with my kids is to make sure they eat well. You might think they would happily follow my good example. Well, you would only think that if you didn't have any kids of your own.
Since I've started this blog, moms have written to me asking about how to get their kids on board with the Zone diet. I thought that this holiday would be an apt time to confess to you that I really don't have a clue about this! I'm afraid that I am not the role model I'd like to be. I can share with you some of the things I have tried, but I find that mothering is hit-or-miss. Sometimes my ideas work for a day, or an hour, and other times not even that long.
As I have mentioned, I have two teenaged daughters. They are quite polar opposites in terms of body type as one struggles (mostly successfully) with her weight and one is a toothpick who becomes invisible when she turns sideways. Thus, it has been difficult to handle food issues in exactly the same way when addressing their different needs.
Our basic philosophy is eating healthy, whole foods so we try to keep lots of fresh fruit, fresh and frozen veggies, lean meats and tofu, eggs, canned beans, and mixed nuts on hand. In the past, when I prepared a Zone meal for myself, I often either made a pot of rice or a box of (gulp) mac and cheese (yes, the neon orange-colored stuff!) for my girls to eat alongside their healthy protein and veggies. For the younger one with the tiny tummy, I usually made sure she ate her "good" food first, then had some of the starchy stuff after.
Now that they are older, my husband and I are trying to instill some independence. At the same time, we are both very tired of the constant complaints about meals. So my latest strategy is to allow my oldest daughter (who is 18) to do some grocery shopping on her own, to choose some of her own foods, and also to prepare her own meals. For my younger daughter, who is almost 14, we are attempting to wean her off the junkfood which threatens to overwhelm all other categories in her diet. Although I care deeply (too much?) about their diets, I am trying to give them more space to make their own decisions about food while supplying plenty of healthy foods to choose from. I can't say that any of this is easy for a confessed control freak.
In my mind, I want to be the perfect mom in the apron, the June Cleaver, serving a steaming roasted turkey every evening with 17 side dishes, all worthy of prizes for creativity and sumptuousness. But the reality is that I work part time, I teach 2 evenings per week, and although I cook meals from scratch almost every single night, no one really wants to eat what I make except for me. (Uh-oh, I may be veering into the whiny zone...) So for Mother's Day, I treated myself to a delicious, home-cooked meal that neither of my daughters chose to eat. While I chowed down on a turkey burger slathered with goat cheese, homemade spicy coleslaw with sriracha, and sweet potato fries, my daughter made her own concoction of mac and cheese with tofu and peas. I guess neither of us liked the look of the other's dinner, but such is life here in reality. Maybe not perfect, but we both enjoyed it anyway.
I wish all you moms better luck with feeding your kids than I have had. I guess if you can get a daily dose of fruit and vegetables into them, you can call that success! And if you come up with a theory or a plan that works, please share your ideas with all of us!
Comments
Post a Comment
Please share your helpful questions and comments here! Thanks for being part of this balanced community!