Today, I was nominated for a very special award. The founder of this new award is Kate. Kate is a mother, a physician, a writer and creator of the beautiful blog Subtle Kate. If there is going to be an award for bravery, Kate is the right person to preside over it.
I would like to start a new award. It’s called the Daisy Award. Daisy’s are very sweet flowers, but they are stealth with hardiness. They’ll come up anywhere and beat the frost. This award is for the brave.
I am particularly proud of this award for the reason I received it…
Mamacino, who feeds her kids great healthy food. Against the grain of fast food, that’s brave.
You know, it’s not easy to feed your children healthy food. Some days it can feel a bit like fighting a loosing battle. Kid’s don’t naturally gravitate towards spinach and carrots, or maybe they do, but by the time they reach the age of three or four, they have already been exposed to so many unhealthy options, it can be difficult to sway their tastes back to all things green.
What we’re up against…
Time: Buying, preparing, cooking and serving healthy food takes time and some careful planning. We all, whether we are parents or not, have days where we are too busy to feed ourselves let alone our little ones well. This is where the convenience foods start sneaking in…a take-away here, a quick drive through there…it doesn’t lead to a happy place, not for anyone.
Well meaning friends and relatives: I’m sure we have all experienced the ‘kindness’ of friends or relatives who insist on ‘spoiling’ our children with lollies, soft drinks, biscuits and ice-creams…and if we protest, we are being difficult. We are the fun police. I know I have backed down and let it go on more occasions than I am comfortable with.
Advertising: It’s everywhere. Bright colours, fun toys, play grounds and ‘healthy’ unhealthy options. We see it on television, hear it on the radio and find it plastered around our sporting venues. Fast Food…If I let my children eat from these places, which I very occasionally do to prevent developing an irresistible allure towards the taboo later, all I am left with is hungry, hyped up kids heading for an inevitable melt down right on bed time.
So, what can we do…
Realistically, we can only do our best. Try to plan and shop for healthy ingredients, make a list of our kids favourite snacks and have them on hand at all times, have an emergency meal. Grow some veggies in the garden and get the kids involved, be a good role model…set the example, eat dinner together and let your kids see you munching on the salad greens and gobbling up the veggies. Make sure it tastes good! This is so important! Choose fresh ingredients and take time to learn how to prepare them well. Remember those mushy, overcooked brussel sprouts we all had to endure? Yuck! As for the well meaning friends and relatives…I’m sorry, I’ve got nothing.
Find rewards for children that aren’t food based…books, stickers, time spent together doing fun stuff…heaps better than a chocolate bar or a pink doughnut. Make food together, get everyone involved and listen to what your kids like and don’t like. Make a big fuss when they eat something and enjoy it and ignore it when they don’t and try again another time. Get excited about food…talk about it, experience it, taste it, celebrate it. Food is what family is all about!
What I can do:
I promise to keep trying to come up with healthy, family friendly, simple recipes and trying them out on my kids before I pass them on to you! This is something I’m really passionate about and really love to share with you all. Please feel free to leave me a message, visit me on facebook or send me an email if you have any requests, questions or comments and I will do my best to help you out. In the meantime…here are a few of our favourites you might like to try…
Spelt Flat breads with chicken and rainbow salad
Ultra healthy banana oat biscuits
Do you have a particular food challenge we can help with? Feel free to leave a comment and we’ll do our best to support you…
Happy Eating!
mamacino x
You are a daisy. It’s so hard when everything around us is fighting to harm our kids with sugar, preservatives etc. Pour food choices are everywhere and people are getting bigger and bigger. You are a great example