HELP! 10 year old is killing my diet!!
It is soooo frusterating to plan out and prepare healthy meals and then have to turn around and make a seperate meal for my daughter. Am I the only one that has become a short order cook since trying to eat healthier? Her snacks and breakfast are fine but on the weekends when she's home for lunch and dinner, and then dinner throughout the week, I find it so difficult to stay on track. It's nearly impossible for me to do this anymore. For 1, I really cannot afford to make two entirely different meals, and 2, it's just tiring! I know some of you will say, don't make her anything, she will eat what you make if she's hungry enough. But I will say to you.. I HAVE to live with her!
Anyone have any kid friendly, diet recipe ideas, suggestions, advice?
Thanks in advance!
Tiffany
I have 8 y/o and 14 y/o daughters and I have not found this to be a problem. I fix diners that they like and that are healthy for them and I control my proportions so that they are calorie appropriate for me. On the weekends, I eat what I want for breakfast and lunch and they eat what they want. It's not that big a deal for me to make myself a turkey sandwich and make them peanut butter. Even with my 8 y/o who is a very picky eater it hasn't been a problem.
If she's 10 she's old enough to make herself a sandwich if she doesn't like what you made for dinner.
mine is 5 and she eats what we eat, if she does not like it then then she can have a sandwich, I don't make her something else, and she has to try what we are eating. howver that being said I try to make stuff she will like too.
Kabobs - she loves these (chicken, veggies we add a few pieces of pinapple, and then cook some brown rice.
Turkey Tator Tot Casserole - favorite around the house. about 400 cal a serving
Chicken Tacos - grilled chicken, green bell peppers and corn tortillas, with balck beans
Turkey Burger - Jenni-O premade patties, wheat buns, I like a tablesppon of bluecheese on mine and mushrooms DD likes fat free american cheese.
Wheat pasta and Marinera sauce with turkey italian sausage servered with a salad, I usually throw in some broccoli into the sauce too.
Subway one night a week.
Turkey Chili (Crokpot awesome recipe!)
Pot of beans.
Hope that helps get some ideas
I make my 8 and 10 year old what I eat. If they have a problem, the only option is peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't want them to diet when they get older. I want them to have learned a healthy way of eating from day one so they don't have to go through the ups and downs of dieting.
I have to live with my kids too. My daughter might throw a fit because she doesn't like beans and we are having bean soup, but I don't care. Important life lesson learned. You don't always get your way and the world doesn't stop turning because you're having a tantrum. She has the option of making herself a PB&J.
Both have had this option available since the age of five. Before then, same option but I made the sandwich for them.
I'll probably catch some flack for this, anglsmom, and I truly don't mean to be disrespectful, but who's the mom and who's the child? No, I don't have children, but I do have five brothers and sisters. Growing up, we ate what was placed in front of us. There was no question about it. There was no, "If you don't like this, you can have something else." My mom is a great cook, but I didn't like everything she prepared, particularly vegetables. I hated vegetables (still do), but I ate them because Mom told me to. Again, no rudeness is intended here at all. It just amazes me that children dictate to their parents what they will or won't eat. Maybe it's just my ancient age and the fact that times have changed. 
Original Post by augustnkate:
I make my 8 and 10 year old what I eat. If they have a problem, the only option is peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't want them to diet when they get older. I want them to have learned a healthy way of eating from day one so they don't have to go through the ups and downs of dieting.
I have to live with my kids too. My daughter might throw a fit because she doesn't like beans and we are having bean soup, but I don't care. Important life lesson learned. You don't always get your way and the world doesn't stop turning because you're having a tantrum. She has the option of making herself a PB&J.
Both have had this option available since the age of five. Before then, same option but I made the sandwich for them.
THIS and
Original Post by robin9395:
I'll probably catch some flack for this, anglsmom, and I truly don't mean to be disrespectful, but who's the mom and who's the child? No, I don't have children, but I do have five brothers and sisters. Growing up, we ate what was placed in front of us. There was no question about it. There was no, "If you don't like this, you can have something else." My mom is a great cook, but I didn't like everything she prepared, particularly vegetables. I hated vegetables (still do), but I ate them because Mom told me to. Again, no rudeness is intended here at all. It just amazes me that children dictate to their parents what they will or won't eat. Maybe it's just my ancient age and the fact that times have changed.
THIS!
When my kids were growing up I refused to cook seperately for them. They should learn to appreciate a variety of foods if they are going to be healty adult eaters. If they don't like what I cook, they can cook their own food! At 10 a kid should be able to make a sandwich, heat up a can of chili or ravioli, or even make a box of mac & cheese.
What I did compromise on was that I kept a "snack box" for each of them in the pantry. I bought a few items for them on the weekend and it had to last tham all week (some fruit rollups, chewy granola bars and a bag of sun chips, for example). I had a rule that all snacks had to have SOME redeeming value - vitamins, fiber or protein (no little debbie cupcakes!). They were allowed to enjoy snacks after school, after dinner (but not INSTEAD OF dinner) or on the weekend, but they only got so much each week so learned to pace themselves.
Another advantage was that it was a way to essentially keep junk food out of the house for myself. Since it was "theirs" and they had to make it last, they were quick to get on my case if I was tempted and snuck some of their snack food!
A big ditto for sherriphx. And fruit was free game any time, of course.
I always said you need to take at least 2 bites to know if you like it and if you don't, then you can go make a sandwich. To this day they will try anything and the younger one is quite a good cook.
I would bet that once she gets the message that Mom's Diner isn't taking special orders you'll find that she is more willing to eat what is offered.
I'll chime in and agree with what everyone has said, with two points:
She probably has no need to restrict her consumption (provided she's a healthy weight etc) of things like whole milk, butter, cheese, fat (from real food sources, not from treats) and eggs. A growing 10 year old needs plenty of calcium and iron, and if it means she gets full-fat yogurt and you get fat-free, that seems like a reasonable compromise.
I agree that her dietary whims shouldn't dictate dinner, but there's no reason she can't be an active participant in deciding what's for dinner and how to make it. I love this blog about a mother dealing with her picky son: http://greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.com/ Maybe you can take some ideas from that about getting her to enjoy things she currently thinks are icky.
I don't have any children, but when I was brought up my parents never made 2 different meals.
My brother and I were picky eaters, although he was worse than me, we still had to eat what was in front of us. If we decided not to eat what was on our plate, there were 2 solutions, either we went straight to bed, or we had to stay at the dinner table until it was bedtime. Most of the time we did eat what was there because we were hungry. My parents always had a balanced supper, so we could leave the table if our vegetables and protein were eaten. they didn't care about the carbs.
Another thing we used to like to do was help out in the kitchen, we would make our own pizza's with pita bread and we would put our own toppings on, we loved cucumber and tomato salad (because not many kids like lettuce I guess) at her age, I loved hanging out in the kitchen, it made me want to eat different things :)
I don't make two dinners but I do make myself extra veggies (usually salad) I have the meat and veg like them add more veg and if after that I need the starch I will but I try to stay away.
Like last night they had roasted chicken, mash potatoes, honey glazed carrots, and salad. I shipped the potatoes and carrots (just wasn't in the mood for carrots had them for snack minus the honey) and made my salad my whole plate. with the chicken on top.
honey carrots are great after you steam them add a bit of black pepper and 2 tbsp of honey (thats for a whole bag of baby carrots) they work great on the grill wrapped in foil like that too just toss all in the foil and put on the top rack of grill.
My kids only object to things that are spicy so I add the heat to mine after I plate theirs.
I agree with everyone else - your 10 year old isn't killing your diet...you are! I have 2 stepchildren (10 year old girl & 13 year-old boy), a BF who has a very strenuous job, I have lost 19 pounds in 8 weeks and there is one meal prepared. Each weekend, I spend an hour with the flyers and my recipes (I use Living Cookbook on the computer - it is amazing) and plan out our week in advance based on what we have in the house and what is on sale.
For example last night was enchiladas & salad. I put the recipe into the analyzer ahead of time, figured out how much fit into my daily plan and went from there. I had one enchilada and about 3 1/2 cups of salad. BF had 2 1/2 and the kids gobbled them up.
I would never, never make two meals for the kids. One of them doesn't care for shrimp - she picks it out, the other isn't a big fan of sauces and gravies, he doesn't add them... Of course this doesn't happen without some consistency. When I first met the kids - they were very picky and meal-times were not fun. But we stuck to our guns and said, no, this is dinner... now they have a wide range of favourite foods. Meals are fun.
As far as lunch - if she's 10 - she can make a sandwich and open a can of soup...
Good-luck...
anglsmom722, I have a 7 year old daughter and what we do is every Saturday over breakfast we both get a sheet of paper and a pencil. Each of us will write Monday - Sunday and we will write down what we each want for dinner on the weekdays and then what we want for brunch and linner (lunch / dinner). We take both of our suggestions and we decide which menu we like the best and which is most nutritious. We take some suggestions from her menu and some from mine and combine them to make "our" menu, which we both vow to each. The good thing is once we are going through the menu's I tell her which is most nutritious and it helps her understand a little better why her choice isn't the best (or mine). This has worked wonders for us because she use to not like broccoli or carrots and now she loves them. Plus, from my understanding, it takes about two weeks to adjust your taste buds so maybe if you keep at it with your child, it will get better. Hope this helps ... good luck.
Have you tried getting her involved in meal planning? You could give her some nutrition guidelines and see if SHE can come up with some healthy meals on her own. Another biggie is to get her involved in the kitchen. Is she mature enough to safely chop veggies? Certainly she can help in other ways too. Kids are much more likely to eat something they prepare. Not to mention you will be turning her into a great (and healthy) cook! :) I have a picky eater too. Though he is only 4. If I put corn on his plate, he's not interested. If he dumps the corn in the bowl to heat in the microwave, he eats it all! And I agree that if she refuses, she's old enough to make her own sandwich. Good luck!
What foods is she refusing to eat? If you're trying to get a 10 year old to eat bland tofu than I could see where you'd find a problem. If your 10 year old refuses to eat anything except frozen pizza and chicken nuggets then that's a seperate problem in and of itself that needs to be corrected. There's not "healthy food" and then normal food....make flavorful and nutritious meals and you should be good!
I don't have any children either, but my parents growing up always had a prepared dinner once I arrived home from school. I didn't always like what was there and if I didn't I just ate the sides they did have or if I didn't like any of it I would either make a sandwich, soup, or a bowl of cereal. Sometimes it was called "grab night." As in, grab whatever you want. Ha Ha.
My parents were never healthy eaters, but they made sure we had a decent meal of protein, veggies and some starch.
If your daughter doesn't like what is prepared, tell her to make a sandwich or something of the sort. Tantrums I imagine are a pain and a hassle to deal with, but they can only last so long. ;)
Good luck.
I agree she is old enough to make something herself but I did find a book on Amazon that you may be interested in having...
Healthy food for kids: Quick and easy recipes for busy parents by:Rachael Hill
9781841728148
*BTW* Why can't I copy and paste on here?
I, personally, am a fan of having her help with the meal planning.
We're all trying to eat healthier and some of us are trying to get past years of bad food choices and unlearning lots of bad habits we've had for years. If you involve her in meal planning and at the same time make it an opportunity to learn about healthy food choices and good nutrition it could be something that brings the two ofyou together rather than divide. That way even if it's something she's never tried, or thinks she won't like, at least she has the "buy in" because she helped make the decisions.
Huh. Once I was old enough to open the fridge, my parents didn't cook for me at all. There's always that option.
Realistically, try working with her, not around her, not for her. Have both of you decide what you're eating, make it healthy, fun, and pleasant. She won't always win, but the days she throws a tantrum over salad will probably level out the days you both decide to have popcorn for lunch.
Thank you to all of you for the advice even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. Ya know, we're not given a set of rules, or a handbook when we give birth. I've made some mistakes in the past that have gotten me to this point with my daughter and I'm telling you, it's mighty difficult changing things. Some days it's easier to give in than to fight, and that's why I am struggling so with her... And you are all correct, she does know where the fridge is and knows how to make a sandwich. So I will definately start sticking to my guns when it comes to meal time. I talked to her tonight about thinking of some things she would like made for dinner and what she thinks is a healthy meal. Tomorrow we will sit down and do our planning. Tonight we made together homemade cheese pizza. She loved it! She ate about half of it herself! :) Just a little more insight here... I'm not much of a cook, and we were/are frequent visitors to the 3 restaurants we have in the town where we live. :( I know it's horrible. And I can thank those choices right there for my weight gain.
So thank you again for all your feedback. I really appreciate it!
Tiffany
