| Moscow Food Co-op Recipes | |
 Linda Kingsbury cooks with her niece, Dalia. |
Meals Kids Might Eat:
Advice from a Holistic Nutritionist
by Jyotsna “Jo” Sreenivasan, from the May 2006 newsletter
Sometimes it seems like an impossible task to get my kids to eat good foods! They want candy, sweets, and McDonald’s any chance they get.
For this month’s column, I interviewed a local holistic nutritionist, Dr. Linda Kingsbury, about how to help kids eat more nutritious foods. Many of you might know Linda as an herbalist, but she also has a PhD in holistic nutrition. She raised her son holistically and has helped families and children with nutritional problems. I learned a lot from Linda and I hope you do too!
J.S. What do you think is the major food and eating problem among “normal” kids
and families?
L.K. Overeating and obesity. When kids come home from school, they snack while
watching TV or playing on the computer. The kids tend to eat high-fat, high-sugar,
and high-salt foods. Whole-grain snacks can make a difference here, but still
you’ve got to be moderate about it. You don’t want to become a
natural-foods junkie either!
I recommend going as natural as possible—eating as close to the source
as possible. Dried fruits and walnuts are better than a jelly-filled cookie.
Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, which can enhance learning. Those blue
corn chips with sesame seeds are great—the sesame seeds supply calcium.
J.S. After school is a challenging time for us. My older son comes home
absolutely starving and wants sweets. If we have those in the house, I give
him a small portion, but he’s still hungry! I give him fruits, and he
still shouts about how hungry he is! How can he be hungry when I’ve just
given him a bunch of food?
L.K. He might actually still be hungry. The foods you mentioned—sweets
and fruits—both cause a spike of blood sugar and then a drop in blood
sugar. After school, what he probably needs is protein and some fat, which
can help him feel satisfied longer. Try to serve a snack with at least five
grams of protein. (See Linda’s list of good after-school snacks on this
page.)
J.S. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not to keep sweets
in the house.
L.K. If you don’t want to eat certain kinds of foods, it’s important
not to have them in the house. Make it more difficult to get them. At the same
time, you don’t want to “awfulize” certain foods! Don’t
say, “You can’t have that because it’s bad!” Then they’ll
want it even more.
Here are some things to try regarding sweets. Serve sweets with a protein source,
such as nuts or milk. This can help offset the blood-sugar rush caused by the
sweets. A glass of water can help you feel full too. Try to help kids be conscious
of impulse control. Years ago, I learned the “three-bites” rule.
With three bites of a treat your body can be satisfied, if you savor each bite.
The whole family could split one of those giant Co-op cookies, for example.
Kids need to learn how to say no, how to stop.
Craving sweets also can mean that you’re trying to bring joy and pleasure
in from the outside. Talk with your kids about what else you could do to elevate
the mood and have fun.
J.S. Is there a better time of day to serve sweets? I’ve been doing
it after school, but what about after dinner?
L.K. I recommend serving dessert after they’ve eaten a good dinner. That
way they won’t be so hungry, and can be satisfied with a smaller portion.
And you don’t have to have a rich dessert every day. Once a week is fine
for a high-sugar, high-fat dessert.
J.S. My 8-year-old used to be really good about trying new foods, but
as he has gotten older, he refuses to eat a lot of things. And his younger
brother copies him! I know some families have a “one-bite” rule — where
the child has to try at least one bite of every food. I haven’t wanted
to pressure my kids about eating, but what do you think of the one-bite rule?
L.K. You don’t want to have too much rigidity around food, because that
can cause problems. I don’t think it’s good to insist that children
eat everything on their plates, for example. However, I see nothing wrong with
the one-bite rule. My seven-year-old nephew is an extremely picky eater—I
joke that he has only five foods he’ll eat! So if he wants more of one
of his favorite foods, we ask him to eat a bite of broccoli, or a bite of salad.
You can also educate kids about what they’re eating—tell them, “This
has protein, to build your muscles. This has calcium, for strong bones. This
vegetable will help you see better.”
Linda’s High-Protein After-School Snack Suggestions
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes, and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op
and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted. |
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
