How do I introduce healthier foods?

Question

My husband, stepson (4years old) and I are overweight. We're exercising more. We would like to eat more healthy foods.

Questions
1. Is two glasses of juice, milk, Iced tea per meal too much? Should we only have 1 glass of juice/milk/Ice tea and then drink water if still thirsty?
2. Candy, cookies and chips are bad. Is it okay to put them in a kid's lunch? If yes, then do I not allow them to be eaten at home for a snack or part of meal? Do I just eliminate them totally? If I eliminate them in lunches, then what do I put in the lunch instead?
3. When we go to restaurants my son orders off the kids' menus. On the menus they offer pizza, mac and cheese, hamburgers and etc. As an adult I wouldn't eat those things, but are they okay for kids?

Answer 1

The key thing is that food should always be enjoyable, and healthy food doesn't have to be boring or worthy. Good fresh vegetables, quality meat and lots of fruit can be used in so many different ways.

When looking at healthy, you have to consider nutrients and calories. Iced tea, as an example, has zero calories but inhibits iron absorption. Water is always the best thing to drink, or add some natural juice like lemon to it.

I constantly argue with my son about "bad" foods. I say there is no such thing, only foods that should be eaten in moderation. One a day isn't going to harm you, and if it is, then is life worth living?

I hate children's menus, they are full of cheap rubbish. Maybe change where you eat (apart from the occasional treat), or visit the salad bar first.

Answer 2

Good for you for wanting to make changes!
1. Two glasses? Yeah, it could be if the iced tea is sweetened and the milk isn't skim. One 8 oz glass of many juice varieties has 120 calories. Do plain iced tea or mix the plain iced tea with 1/3 glass of lemonade or cranberry juice. 8oz of skim milk has about 80 calories.
2. I wouldn't eliminate the goodies totally - you'll set yourself up for problems like sneaking them or bingeing. I like the 100 calorie packs of Doritos, Sun Chips, and Cheetos. (I think the flavors are cleaner too) Pay attention to the serving sizes on the packages too - most cookies are 2 cookies to a serving. Balance it out with some fruit - like an apple or a tangerine- or some veggies - like carrot sticks or celery sticks. Allow candy once in a while - like for special occasions, and limit it to a small amount. I keep the fun size Mounds and 3 Musketeers in the freezer - frozen solid, they're hard to eat!
3. Most places offer these items to kids because that's pretty much what kids will eat. In moderation, they're not so bad, but a steady diet of them isn't great. Some chains like Olive Garden and Fridays offer "lunch sized" portions of their menu - if something appeals from the regular menu, ask if you can get the lunch size portion. (If not, ask that they wrap half of it before it hits the table - two meals for the price of one!)

If it's feasible, I'd recommend seeing a nutritionist or dietician. Some of them can be drastic, but many of them can point you in the right direction. If not, make appointments with your regular doctors for some nutrition counseling. Keep a food diary for all of you for a week before the appointment so they can see what you're eating and how much and help you make changes from there. (www.fitday.com is an online one and it's got calorie counts for many foods.)

Answer 3

1. Yes milk should be limited to two-three servings a day. I belive a serving of milk is one cup. Ice tea can be consumed only if it is unsweetened. MAYBE one or two glasses of juice per day but ONLY if there is no sugar added.

2. You are better off with other things in lunches. Try fruit cut up (kids eat more fruit if you cut them up) you can dip in yogurt. Veggies and low fat dip or better yet hummus or salsa which are high in fibre. Bake your own muffins or cookies and make them lower in fat and calories. For muffins substitute applesauce for the oil/butter. They will turn out fine. Replace 1/2 the flour with whole wheat or oat flour (you can just grind the oats in a blender. I quite like the flavour of oat flour. If using applesauce and oat flour you may need to slightly increase the amount of flour as both make baked goods moist).

Low fat, whole grain tortillas can replace chips, low fat popcorn isn't a bad choice either. These are treats though, not daily events.

3. Kids menus are disgusting, and should be avoided. Most restaraunts serve way to much for adult portions. So just get an extra plate and give the four year old part of what you and your husband are eating. You may consider ordering an extra side of veggies (most restaraunts will do this even though it isn't on the menu), low fat salad or a veggie appetizer that is low fat if you think that it isn't quite enough food.

Answer 4

Good for you for getting healthy!! 1. Yes, two glasses of juice is too much for one meal, for any of you. Juice is almost always too much sugar, and too little nutrients. You should drink one glass of one percent or skim milk, then water. Your stepson should not drink iced tea, unless it's decaf. One glass of juice a day is enough for him, then low fat milk or water.
2. Snacks like that are never good for you, at any time. Put baggies of cut up fruit and veggies, bags of WHOLE WHEAT crackers, bags of cheese cubes, dried fruit even. Stick to portion sizes, get the small ziplock baggies & keep in mind that your stepson does not need the full serving size that is on adult foods. Check out the food guide pyramid's website to find out what your son (& you & your husband) actually need to eat each day.
3. No, those foods are not good, either (actually, hamburgers are good, but don't get cheese on them, and don't ever get fries, ask for fruit, or a side salad (with low-fat dressing), etc.) Or order him a healthy adult meal, and ask for a to-go box right away. Then put at least half in the to-go box right away, and take it home for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Good luck~

Answer 5

Cut out the juce if it's from concentrate. you want low sugar natural juces. Low fat milk (no more than 2%) un sweetened iced tea and you could probably skip the pear meal. Lots of water will be best ofcourse.

The sweets are ok to give on occation. Perhaps 2 days a week, nothing big. Just not every day.

The items on the kids menu tend to have alot of starches. If your not eating out alot it's ok to enjoy something out of the ordinary. He will enjoy it and he will be healthier. Try to get a healthy drink instead of soda or high sugar drinks. If there is no other options, one glass and no refills. Too much sugar will be bad not only for his health but for his teeth.

Increase his fruit intake, this will be good. Don't force him, introduce it into his lunch. Cut fruit are great snacks and are sweet. I remember when I was young I loved fruit... but that was me.

Answer 6

I think it's a wonderful idea that you try to encourage your family to become healthier eaters. It's not easy, but here are my ideas:
Yes, you caloric intake through your beverages is too great, and i think you have left out 'soda'. If not that's great, leave the carbonated sodas out of your diet. I think the best thing for your family to do is set two drinks out for dinner, a small glass of juice/milk/ice tea, and a large glass of ice water. Do water for refills. Also stick to skim/soy/2% milk, and be careful when choosing juices. Some of them are as bad for you as sodas. Look for 100% juice, no sugar added, etc.

2. Candy, cookies, and chips are bad, but like most things, moderation is the key. I'm not going to tell you to never buy your kids a bag of Oreo's, but don't pack a lunch of sandwich, bag of Frito's, two homemade cookies, a Milky Way and a Mountain Dew. Try what I do: A sandwich or heatable entree, two healthy snacks, and a "treat" in the form of cookie or a few sugar wafers. For healthy snacks, I pack sliced apples or baby carrots with a small cup of ranch dressing or caramel, sliced pears, bananas, dried fruit (we do it ourselves), and our daughters favorite: strawberries. For a drink I go with Welch's, and she loves the colored Crayola water (she says she tastes the colors...too cute.) Also, introduce fruit and vegetables at HOME as snacks. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll stop on the way home and pick up a party tray of mixed watermelon, kiwi, cantalope, honeydew, and berries. It costs about the same amount as a pizza, and we eat it while we watch a movie instead.
Another good idea is to only allow your family to purchase 1 or 2 "treat items" like candy and chips each week, and to let everyone compete to chose them by handing out tickets for completed chores. Have a weekly raffle. If you're really firm about it, you'll really see some work out of them trying to get some Doritos!
Remember- by changing what YOU eat, you will influence what the other members of your family eat. Start with this, and the rest will follow.
3. Going out can be difficult. Kid's are picky, and the their options are usually unhealthy. One option is to let your kids pack their own meals when they go out. This is usually very appealing to smaller children. If it's an impromtu outing, take a close look at the kids menu. There may be a vegetarian option, which is almost always healther than the rest of the menu, or you may be able to make healthy substitutions (eg. broccoli for french fries)
For older kids, let them order off the adult menu. There will be more options for them there.

Other quick tips: Try to limit the red meat and increase your intake of fish and chicken, use olive oil whenever possible instead of vegetable oil or butter, try decreasing portion sizes, drink lots of water, and Good Luck!

Answer 7

I'm not sure about the quantities of milk/juice per meal, etc.... we only have one glass of milk at dinner - lunches we do 1 glass of juice. We drink lots of water. It also depends on the juices you're serving. Are they really high in sugar or 100% juice? I know that drinking too much juice can reduce your appetite, so my daughter generally gets only two glasses a day of 100% juice.

My husband and I got rid of the soda in our house. We eat junk food only occasionally, and I don't give junk food to our daughter with meals......for instance, a lunch might be pb&j with sliced cheese and a bunch of grapes, or grilled cheese, sliced strawberries and some other healthy food item like sliced carrots. Once in awhile she'll get baked chips (like Pringles) with her meal, but not often. If I let her have snacks, like hersheys kisses she gets maybe 5 tops per day (she's 2, by the way) Sometimes we bake cake or cookies and she'll only get two cookies or one slice of cake. But she doesn't get a lot of junk, so she really doesn't have much of an appetite for the stuff. I gave her a brownie the other day and she only ate three bites and abandoned it. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my baking! lol They tasted fine to me! When we grocery shop, we just avoid the candy/soda/chip aisle.

We order off the kids menus when eating out for her (or else just give her some of ours). Most of the time it's probably not too bad. We don't eat out too often, though. Just encourage healthy eating habits at home and make sure to provide a good example and everything else should fall in line. By the way, if it's not in the house it's kind of hard to eat it! Goodluck!

Answer 8

Question #1: As an adult woman or growing child you need 4 glasses of milk or 4 servings of dairy products per day. If you are drinking them with your meal great.
One serving of juice a day is fine, but no more. Try Orange Juice in place of other juices, it packs more bang for the buck, (for calories consumed.)
Drink up on the tea, it is full of antioxidants.
#2 Try the 90/10 approach when it comes to junk. Give your family 90% good stuff, 10% fun stuff. You choose when and where.
#3 If you are modeling good eating habits, you kids will pick up on them eventually. Having said that, kids are just that, kids, let them eat more junk than we would as adults, because they can get away with it. They have higher metabolisms than we do, so they can get away with more in their food consumption.
What to put in the lunch in place of crap:
My kids love veggies with dip.
Dry Cereal (Golden grahams are good for snacking)
Kashi Brand whole wheat crackers, they taste really good and are available at Wal-Mart
Hard Boiled Eggs
String cheese
Pretzels
Nuts
Homemade trail mix with a few M&M's for color and appeal!!

Answer 9

1. 1 glass of skim milk, not fat free, 2% and water if you are still thirsty.
2. No sweets! Fresh fruit is a perfect substatute, Strawberries are in season now.
3. I would avoid going to restaurants, until you've gotten used to the healthier eating.

Answer 10

Here's a GREAT website that helped me with the same problem: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_childrenlunchbox.shtml
Also, studies have shown (this may sound crazy to you but it is 100% true) the only truly healthy foods is organic RAW fruits, RAW vegetables, RAW nuts, and RAW seeds. When i say raw i mean untoasted, unpasturized and uncooked. When it comes to the juice, milk, iced tea thing if you really want to be healthy not just skinney, dont drink any of it, espesially milk. It may seem hard, but dairy should be the first thing to go from your diet along with meat. Meat and dairy are always cooked and never have enough nutrients to be worth while. There are soooo many other foods that taste even better while still being heatlthy.