9.23.2008
Change at the table
Food-related things that are currently changing my life:
- These chewy granola bars from allrecipes.com. I've started loving Quaker's chewy granola bars, but hello, bad stuff and processed things. I knew there had to be good recipes out there. This was the first one I tried, and I may try more from that site (there are several similar recipes), but these are pretty awesome. Chewy, not too sweet, and they don't crumble a ton like some granola bar recipes.
- Broccoli slaw. I love making cole slaw and mixing up my own concoction of mayo, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, honey, and salt & pepper (and sometimes a dash of chipotle hot sauce), and broccoli slaw is a great canvas for that. Crunchy, healthy, and a great texture. Yum.
- Most importantly, we've been changing our approach to feeding Kent, thanks to Ellyn Satter's book How to Get Your Kid to Eat... But Not Too Much that I found at B&N last week. We'd been having some major issues at mealtimes, and dinner in particular was getting to be the worst part of our day, instead of a nice time for the three of us to reconnect. I knew Jack and I were doing things wrong in terms of how much we were using the spoon ourselves, instead of letting Kent feed himself, but we were kind of at a loss about what was appropriate for him. We were also having a lot of trouble every time we tried to give him something new... mostly (I realize now) because we weren't giving him any time to explore the new food himself before we tried to shove it in his mouth. This book is just what I needed, since the author is both a registered dietician and a clinical social worker who works with kids and families about eating problems. Her main philosophy is that there's a partnership with eating: it's the parents' job to provide nutritious and appropriate food, and it's up to the kid how much they eat, or whether they eat at all. She quotes a lot of research and her own professional experience, and asserts that kids will tend to like something better if they've had a chance to explore it and have decided on their own that it's good, rather than having it forced on them or being "rewarded" for eating it. It's completely changed my attitude toward mealtime, and we actually *enjoy* eating with Kent now and letting him show us what he's comfortable doing. I believe strongly in reading his cues, but we had gotten to such a miserable state that I needed a major change to help me. We're all eating better now.
Labels: Kent, kitchen adventures, what to read
Comments:
It is good to change the food from something stressful to something nice. I know I was a picky kid (still am) as far as food went and I don't ever remember my parents fighting me on food. I always had trouble going to other peoples houses when mom's said things like, "eat everything on your plate" or "when you finish x you can have more z." But because my parents didn't force food on me that didn't taste good or agree with me I have a much healthier relationship with food as an adult. I almost never finish everything, most of the time portions are too big. I almost never eat things that make me feel bad later which means I wont eat a pint of ice cream or a dozen cookies and also that I wont eat a fish. If you self regulate how much and what you eat from childhood you don't have to think about it later... You just do it.
So, my granola bars fall apart because they are so soft- I don't bake them. However, I would be afraid to bake them because I like them chewy. Does baking them make them crunchy, or just stay together better?
I guess it depends on the recipe. I just searched for "chewy granola bars" so that I'd be sure to get something that wouldn't be brittle after it was baked, and these are a really nice, soft texture and aren't dried out like some bars can be. This recipe has a lot of peanut butter and some corn syrup (though I used honey), so that probably helps the sticky/chewy factor as well.
Hey Erica,
We are now more on track with Olivia's dietary needs. She has been having problems (ignored by her doctor in Louisiana) almost from the start. Olivia's doctor here has acknowledged her dietary needs (gluten and lactose related) and that acknowledgement got Erin interested in doing some research and talking to friends whose kids seemed to not need things like Mirolax to...well y'know. Anyway, we have found spelt flour, sprouted grain breads without preservatives, quinoa pasta, and probably some other things and Olivia has really turned a corner. She is gaining weight for the first time in a couple of years, she is happy with her regular trips to the bathroom. It is really quite exciting and it appears that all we have done is returned to grains that are more natural, which logically means we should be able to digest them better. Like you, we are and she is enjoying her relationship with food again -phew. Was that a sentence?
PT
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We are now more on track with Olivia's dietary needs. She has been having problems (ignored by her doctor in Louisiana) almost from the start. Olivia's doctor here has acknowledged her dietary needs (gluten and lactose related) and that acknowledgement got Erin interested in doing some research and talking to friends whose kids seemed to not need things like Mirolax to...well y'know. Anyway, we have found spelt flour, sprouted grain breads without preservatives, quinoa pasta, and probably some other things and Olivia has really turned a corner. She is gaining weight for the first time in a couple of years, she is happy with her regular trips to the bathroom. It is really quite exciting and it appears that all we have done is returned to grains that are more natural, which logically means we should be able to digest them better. Like you, we are and she is enjoying her relationship with food again -phew. Was that a sentence?
PT
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