9 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy

I have 4 boys who have all gone through various stages of refusing eat anything healthy.  All of them ate whatever I set before them until just before they turned 2 when all of a sudden either their tastes buds changed or they figured out they can say no.  From 2 until about 8 it seems like it’s a constant struggle to get them to eat the food I prepare for them and I’m a darn good cook!

Here are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years on getting my kids to eat.  If you have any of your own, please comment!  We can all learn from each other’s experiences.

#1 Give Them Choices
Do you want carrot sticks for your veggie, green beans or peas?  I might get some groans from the choices but they make their choice and eat it.  If I just put what I thought they might want on their plate, it’s a fight to get it to their mouths.

#2 Kids Night
I let the boys pick a night of the week where they are in charge of dinner.  They pick out the main dish and veggies and help me prepare it.

#3 Be Sneaky
They hate liver. Hate. Liver.  It’s hard to believe they are my children.  When I was little, I would actually order it at a restaurant if they had it on the menu.  Yeah, I’m a freak.  But I have awesome iron levels!  So I sneak it in hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs.  Just a little.  Too much and they are on to me.  I keep hoping to up the amount a little at a time but each time I put in more, they figure it out.
Vegetables are easy to hide in pasta sauce like my Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce.
Salmon cakes aren’t just made out of salmon.  They have pureed carrots, onions and celery.  Process them into a paste before adding to the salmon and they’ll never know!

#4 Appeal to their competitive spirit.
Who can finish their veggies the fastest without choking!  At least for my boys, this works.

#5  Gross them out
I love this method.  The first time I tried getting them to take cod liver oil, I told them how absolutely disgusting it was.  Horrible!  Kids would hide under their bed trying to get out of taking it.
I double dog dare you to try it.  I bet your brother will.
Close your eyes.
Plug your nose.
Take a deep breath….
Not so bad?  I guess I was wrong.

#6 Don’t underestimate their intelligence.
Educate them so they understand why eating the way we do is worth it.  Let them watch Food Inc and Sugar: The Bitter Truth (Short version).  You might be surprised.  Our goal after all is for them to continue making good nutrition choices throughout their life.  We homeschool and part of our curriculum is Food Renegade’s Real Food Nutrition for Kids.  Even if you don’t homeschool, you can still teach your kids about nutrition.

# 7 Reward Good Choices.
We don’t normally do dessert but I do like to have some reward for finishing their meal.  I’ve never cared for the idea of making kids lick their plates clean but I do want them to have a well rounded meal.  Their first plate of food is very sparse.  Just a spoonful of everything served.  If they are still hungry, they can always have seconds or thirds but they are to at least eat everything on their first plate.  So for a reward I’ll let them have a snack while we watch a movie, like popcorn, dates or cereal and occasionally ice cream.  But only if they ate their dinner.
With an extra picky eater, we trade off bites.  One bite of yucky and then one bit of tasty.

#8 Practice what you preach.
Don’t expect them to give up all their Halloween candy if they know you’re just going to eat it for them after they go to bed.  Don’t tell them they can’t have a soda while you indulge in one yourself.  Actions speak so much louder than words.

#9 Train their taste buds the right way.
I don’t allow babies to eat sugar or any junk food at all.  I even serve them yogurt unsweetened (which they all have gobbled up by the way).  Don’t let them get used to over sweetened, highly processed foods.  I wish I could hide sweets and junk food from them forever but eventually they get a taste when they are out of my control.  I always offer a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Instead of a box of crackers for a snack, they can choose an apple, nuts, yogurt or a tall glass of whole fat milk.

Part of Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fat Tuesday…

Lemonade Kombucha

Lemonade Kombucha… I think I’m in love.  I did use juice from my preserved lemons in this but you don’t have to.  Regular lemon juice works great.  This recipe is perfect if you kombucha is a bit on the sweet side.  

Lemonade Kombucha
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
11 oz of kombucha

I have 12 oz flip top bottles so I just add 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (depending on how sweet the kombucha is) and fill the rest of the way with kombucha.  Cover tightly and let set at room temp for about 2 days.

Peanut Sauce Stir Fry

Do you have a go to recipe that you make when you can’t think of anything else you want?  When I was growing up it was stir fry.  We ate stir fry a lot and now that I’m a mom myself, I see why my mom made it so much.  I love meals that take one, maybe 2 pots and that’s it.  Something you can just open the fridge and think, “What vegetables need to be used before they go bad?” or if you want quick and easy clean up you can use a mixture of frozen veggies.  I also love meals where the focus can be vegetables and it’s one of the easiest ways to get the picky kids to eat their veggies.  At least that’s my experience.

The main character in this stir fry recipe is the Peanut Sauce.  Feel free to mix and match meats and veggies to suit your family and what needs to be used from your fridge.

Peanut Sauce

• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (I prefer brands that contain only peanuts and salt)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp tamari (gluten free fermented soy sauce, one of the only soy products I will use)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/3 cup chicken broth or water
• cayenne pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, whisk together all ingredients and gently heat enough to blend ingredients well.

Stir Fry

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 lbs chicken pieces from pastured birds (I like bone in and skin on)
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1″piece of ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
• 4 cups shirataki noodles or rice

In a wok or over-sized cast iron skillet, melt coconut oil and saute chicken until it is cooked through.  Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm.  Saute sesame seeds, cloves and onions in the wok.  When onions are transparent, add carrots and broccoli.  Cook until broccoli is bright green and still slightly crispy.  Add chicken and top with peanut sauce and crushed peanuts.  Serve on top of shirataki noodles or rice.

How I Cleared Up My Skin

I don’t wear makeup. Do you? Not that I have anything against makeup, at least natural ones. I just like the feel of my skin as it is. And you know what else?  I love my skin!  Something I’ve not always been able to say.  In fact as a teenager and until just recently, I downright hated my skin.  If you look closely at any of the pictures I’ve posted of myself, you’ll see scars.  Yup, acne scares.  I had acne sumfin’ fierce! I remember it first showed up around age 10 and I thought it would never go away.  How did I turn that around finally?  Maybe it’s with age but I find it quite coincidental that my skin improved incredibly once I made serious changes to my diet and washing habits.  Here is what I did to clear up my skin.  Best part, no expensive creams and cleansers.  It’s all super cheap!

First off, get off grains!  I read this article by Dr. Mercola and thought why not give it a try.  I already knew I had a gluten sensitivity and saw a significant improvement after removing wheat from my diet but maybe removing all grains would truly fix it.  Um yeah, it did and fast.  It’s the first thing I tell people who ask about acne.  Get rid of the grains!  Here is the article I read that convinced me http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/28/Simple-Ways-to-Stop-Acne-Naturally.aspx  While you’re at it, get off sugar too. I find when I have a break down and eat too much sugar and huge zit follows close behind.

Secondly, stop washing your face twice a day.  Would you believe I wash my face every 2-3 days and I don’t use soap?  Eeek!  Did I admit that on the world wide web?  Stripping your face of oils just makes your  body scream, “Make more oil!”  And that is what it does.  It’s hard and it takes a good week or two for your face to adjust but it’s worth it.  I went from super, sop-my-face-with-towels, oily skin to normal skin.  Love it!  While washing every 2-3 days isn’t for everyone, try limiting it to just at night to get the grime/make up off (if you wear it) and use a gentle natural cleanser.

Third, I wash my face with baking soda. That’s it.  I was digging through my mom’s vast collection of face cleansing potions and ran across an expensive scrub that’s first ingredient was Sodium Bicarbonate, aka baking soda.  Baking soda is abrasive making it an excellent scrub so you don’t want to use it more than a couple times a week.  I already use it to wash may hair (may do a post about that some day) and thought why not my face too.  Simply wet your face, scoop about 1/2 tsp worth of baking soda into your hand and gently rub your face.  Rinse immediately, rinse well.  If you let it set too long if may irritate your skin.

Fourth, I wash my face once or twice a week with oil.  Yes, oil.  Like this http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/  Depending on your skin type, mix your oil mixture as they recommend.  I use a mixture of 1 part castor oil to 3 parts olive oil.  In the shower seems the best time to do this. First I pour a generous amount in my hand and gently work the oil into my skin.  I let the hot water run over my face and work the oil in.  I’ll use a wash cloth to gently wipe off any excess oil.

Lastly, I moisturize with coconut oil.  Though recently I found a wonderful lotion from Green Pastures that contains shea butter, coconut oil and ferment cod liver oil and I love it!  Good stuff!  No affiliation, I just love it.  I try to use that daily or when my skin feels dry or tight.

Now I still don’t have the best skin ever (found a little zit this morning) but if you saw me at my worst, you’ll know I’ve come a loooong way.  I do still get a pimple here and there but no more painful outbreaks and it’s just one not fifty and I have not had one cystic pimple since going gluten free.  I truly hope that all I’ve learned about skin care will help my children.  So far so good.  My 11 yo has yet to have a zit and has a beautiful complexion!

Part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday

Facebook and Breastfeeding

Detail from Pablo de San Leocadio (1445-1520) Virgen de la Leche (Virgin of the milk).

What does Facebook and breastfeeding have to do with each other and why am I blogging about it on my food blog?  I’ve decided to blog about this because breastmilk is (and should be) baby’s first food so I think it is very  much so food/nutrition related.

What does Facebook have to do with breastfeeding?  Facebook seems to have declared war on moms posting breastfeeding pictures. It’s ok to show women with everything but the nipple showing, thongs and all sorts of inappropriate things but a woman breastfeeding is labeled as obscene, offensive, containing sexual content and even pornographic.  What?!  Since when is breastfeeding any of the above.  It’s a messed up society that would label breastfeeding pictures as such.  Breastfeeding was photographed, painted and sculpted before formula came on the scene and breast were then sexualized. If you would like to see some example of historical pictures of breastfeeding (to shut up anyone who says they are “old fashioned” and think breastfeeding is a private act that should be covered up) see this beautiful Facebook page devoted to this very thing: Historical Photos & Prints of Breastfeeding.  Before formula, it was a normal part of life meaning when baby was hungry, baby ate and if a photographer was present there was a good chance this beautiful scene would be captured on film.

So why am I up in arms now?  A very good friend of mine who I have known for years, a lactivist on a mission to normalize breastfeeding, has had her Facebook account suspended 2 times in one week for breastfeeding photos. Emma posts these photos is hopes that if more people saw breastfeeding, it would become normal again.  We hear the message constantly, breast is best… but don’t do it here, or there or good grief not there.  Emma wrote an excellent piece about why seeing breastfeeding is important here.

For those who say they don’t want to see, don’t look.  But I hope you do and begin to see breastfeeding for what it really is, feeding a child.  Simple as that.

News Release

Facebook continues its war with Canadian breastfeeding activists

Vancouver, January 9, 2012

Canadian mother and Vancouver breastfeeding activist Emma Kwasnica has been banned by Facebook for posting pictures of breastfeeding. Kwasnica says Facebook has an ongoing campaign to rid its site of photos of nursing mothers.

There is an occasional flip-flop. Today in the UK the American social media site apologized for deleting several breastfeeding-related photos from UK-based Facebook accounts – photos of little girls pretending to breastfeed their dolls. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/09/facebook-photos-girls-pretending-breastfeed

Kwasnica and several supporters in other Canadian and U.S. cities remain banned.

Kwasnica has had her Facebook account deleted four times and has also been suspended numerous other times. It has always been for breastfeeding photos that Facebook mistakes for photos of a pornographic or sexual nature. This latest action came over a photo of her breastfeeding daughter that has been up on her account for several years.

Although Facebook has recently apologized for several similar incidents, its way of handling breastfeeding photos is distressing for their users. Kwasnica’s latest suspension notice arrived when she woke up on Saturday morning and discovered the photo had been removed and she had been given a 24-hour suspension that limited her access. Facebook briefly reinstated her account but then removed another older photo and issued a 3 day ban.

Kwasnica says, “Facebook has to stop harassing women for posting pictures of breastfeeding. It’s that simple. They have to stop. It’s no different than harassing a woman in public for breastfeeding. We aren’t doing anything wrong, and it’s not right that they harass, intimidate and bully us because they have unclear policies and can’t figure out how to get their employees to follow them correctly.”

Over 2,400 people have joined a Facebook page to show support for Emma and other women who feel harassed by Facebook’s policy of disabling accounts and deleting photos first, and apologizing later when it realizes its error. A petition is also circulating on Twitter.

Facebook support page:

FB! Stop Harassing… http://www.facebook.com/StopHarassingKwasnicaAndALLBreastfeedingWomen

A petition is also circulating on Twitter at act.ly/5dj.

Contact

Emma Kwasnica

604-2150433

emma.kwasnica@gmail.com

Melanie, decaffeinated

Day 6 of weaning from caffeine

Taking an unflattering picture of myself that isn’t so horrible that I don’t want to post it is hard.  Does this picture express how tired I feel?  Remind me again why I’m doing this?

I’m down to 1 part leaded to 6 parts unleaded which was what I was planning on being the last stage.  Good news, no headaches or flu like symptoms that I experienced when going cold turkey (you’d think that kind of withdrawal would scare me from getting back on it, nope).  Like the other times, I’m not craving coffee like I normally would.  One cup satisfies me where before I’ve been known to cry when I thought there was a full cup in the pot but there was only a few drips.

I do know this tired stage will go away and I’ll have more energy than before.  I just have to keep reminding myself of that.  It doesn’t really help when the house is a disaster, I’m too tired to care and I have important company coming over on Wednesday.  Maybe I’ll be up for cleaning tomorrow…

Another New Year’s Resolution Post

Another New Year’s resolution post?  Yeah.  A little late to the game but better late than never.  

I do like doing New Year’s resolutions.  Some I’ve kept, some I’ve not been successful keeping.  Last year I had 2.  One was a success and one was a partial success.  I ran a half-marathon (go me!) and I got off coffee for part of the year.  I was hoping to add a full marathon to my year this year but due to the flood and having to rearrange our house, turning my workout room into a much needed bedroom, my treadmill is gathering dust in the garage.

This year I’m going to retackle coffee.  I know it’s not a good idea to do the same resolution over and over since it can lead to discouragement but I have good cause.  I fell off the wagon last year because the baby was just not sleeping well, thus Mommy was not getting enough rest.   I reasoned that during that season in my life, coffee and I were just going to have to get along.  Being a good, patient, happy mom was more important than not drinking coffee.  That was the difference my 2 cups of half-caff made.

Enter this year.  Baby is consistently sleeping through the night finally so I have no excuse.  Instead of listing off all the reasons coffee is bad here, you can read all about it at Cheese Slave’s blog here http://www.cheeseslave.com/30-reasons-to-quit-coffee/

My reasons for quitting?  First, heart arrythmias. There are others things that I am doing in addition to removing coffee to improve this.  I actually haven’t had a serious bout since I took my nutrition extra serious this last fall.  But coffee still sends my heart racing and it doesn’t feel good.

Second, I feel it interferes with my appetite.  Most people would think “Awesome!”. But for me it’s not a good thing.  I’m hovering on the edge of being underweight and nursing an active toddler doesn’t help.  I need to eat more and coffee makes me not hungry.

Third, I’ve been off caffeine before and I know I just feel better.  Especially when I’m well rested.  Now that small is sleeping well, I know I’ll feel better for it.  Also since I’ve improved my nutrition, I’m sleeping much better than I ever have (I’m a bit of an insomniac).  

My plan?  I’ m going to do what worked for me in the past.  Not the cold turkey method that I accidentally did twice (bought decaf on accident and then thought I had the flu only to find out I was just drinking decaf).  I’m just going to slowly replace my caffeinated for decaf.  When I get to the point of full decaf, I revisit whether I want to cut coffee completely.  

My last cup of full caff.

I do plan on starting up running again after we do a little more home renovations.  So maybe a marathon next year?

 

Top Post of 2011

I’ve only been blogging on Pickle Me Too since the end of October and am so excited about how well it’s been received.  So I thought I’d share with you my top posts of this short year.

#1 Lactofermented Purple Eggs, what a wacky treat!

#2 Lactofermented Carrots with Indian Spices, yes they are as good as they sound!

#3 Chocolate Eggnog, need I say more?

#4 Apple Cinnamon Grain Free Granola, yes you can have cereal on the GAPS diet.

#5 What Are We Feeding Our Kids, guest post by my wonderful step mom.

Honorary Mention Our Journey With Autism, this post describes my family’s experience with diet and autism.  Yes, nutrition matters.  While it’s not the most visited article on this website, it was on personal blog and it’s my personal favorite post.  

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Make Your Own Extracts

Do you have a couple last minute Christmas gifts to give out and don’t have a lot to spend?  With just a little spice (or peel) and a bit of vodka, you can make your extracts.  Not only do you save money but you know exactly what is going into your extracts.  Be sure to include instructions for how long the extract needs to set before using.  You don’t want to disappoint your gift recipient with a flavorless extract!

With husband deployed and having 4 kids, I had to find a babysitter so I could go to the liquor store and get my 1.75 liters of vodka.  That was the hardest part of this recipe for me.  The rest is easy peasy lemon squeezy as my 11 yo says.  

The most fun part was shopping for the bottles for the extract to go in.  Since I’m planning on making quite a few of these, I opted for square bottles that fit neatly together.  You can find all sorts of fun bottles at your local craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.  I purchased mine online at http://www.specialtybottle.com. They also have Grolsch swing top bottles, eeee!  

Today I’m going to share with you Lemon, Orange, Vanilla, Star Anise and Imitation Maple Extract.  For the best quality extract, use the best quality spices or fruit.  You can order high quality organic spices online at Mountain Rose Herbs. Have fun!

Left to Right: Lemon, Orange, Vanilla, Almond Extract (almond is a trial so the recipe is not posted yet).

Vanilla Extract

• 2 vanilla beans
• 2 cups vodka

When selecting vanilla beans, make sure they are moist and stored cool. Slice beans from the bottom to about 1/4″ from the top.  Place inside bottle and cover with vodka.  Store in a cool dark place for about 2 months before using. Give it a good shake every so often. As you use the vanilla, you can top it off with more vodka and your beans will continue to give you extract for years.

Star Anise Extract

• Star Anise, whole (enough to fill whatever jar you are using)
• vodka

Fill jar with star anise and cover with vodka.  Store in a cool dark place for several months, giving it a good shake every so often.  The longer it sets, the stronger the flavor.  You can strain the vodka from the anise or leave it in the jar.

Imitation Maple Extract

• 1/3 cup fenugreek seeds
• 3/4 cup vodka
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1/4 piece of vanilla bean

Didn’t know you could make your own imitation maple extract did you?  I like to use this in granola and cereal recipes.  Warm fenugreek seeds in an unoiled skillet (just warm, don’t toast).  Place in a coffee grinder and grind up just to break up seeds.  Don’t make it too fine.  Place in jar with vanilla bean and top with 3/4 cup vodka. Store in a cool dark place, shaking occasionally.  Let set for about 1-2 months, you can taste for desired strength.  Strain and store.

Orange Extract

• Zest of 1 organic orange
• 1 cup vodka

It is important to choose organic oranges since it is the skin that you are using.  Place zest in jar and top with vodka.  Let set for about 2 months in a cool dark place.  Give it a good shake occasionally.  You can strain the zest or leave. I think it’s pretty with the zest in it.  *Mandarin oranges make an excellent extract as well.

Lemon Extract

• Zest of 1organic lemon
• 1 cup vodka

It is important to choose organic lemons since it is the skin that you are using.  Place zest in jar and top with vodka.  Let set for about 2 months in a cool dark place.  Give it a good shake occasionally.  You can strain the zest or leave. I think it’s pretty with the zest in it.

Ferment Friday: Olives, lots and lots of olives!

Last year, The Nourished Kitchen posted about home-cured olives and I’ve been wanting to try this ever since reading that post.  After Jenny reposted the blog on Facebook last month, I decided to go for it!

 I received my 20lbs of olives in the mail from Chaffin Family Orchards and using her instructions for Home-Cured Olives and Moroccan Olives (I had plenty to experiment with), I got cracking!  Literally.

This is the cracking station in my ridiculously small kitchen.  Note the pot and the box are both precariously perched on the edges.  I have less than 3ft of counter space to work on.    Once I figured out to line up the olives and crack 8-10 at a time, the cracking went smoothly.  20lbs of olives fits quite nicely in my biggest stock pot.

Filled to the top!  Now comes the soaking, draining and rinsing.  Twice a day for at least a week.  I did it for almost 4 weeks.  This step removes the bitter taste.

Once the olives were ready, I started packing them into jars with various spices. Some have garlic, bay leaf an red chili pepper, some have turmeric and ginger added as well.  A salt water brine was poured over the top and now I just need to give them another 2 weeks to cure.  Patience is a virtue. I’ll let you know in 2 weeks how they taste!

20lbs of olives fills about 3 1/2 gallons of jars.  I have 1 full gallon jar plus 9 quarts and 1 pint.

For the full recipes, please visit The Nourished Kitchen.