Last night for dinner I sauteed chicken and broccoli over brown rice and topped it with an orange and ginger sauce. My picky two-year-old would have nothing to do with it! He refused to even try it. Our menu options are "take it" or "leave it." And leave it he did. We also say that you have to eat it at the next meal if it's not all finished. So that meant that this morning, i came in from my workout to see my heartbroken boy in tears because he's so hungry and mean old Dad will only give him his last nights dinner. My husband swore he'd win this battle, and went off to work leaving me in quite a situation. After eating my own breakfast, and having my boy beg me for "Wheats" which by interpretation is Mini Wheats, I decided to meet him half way.
I took him to the stove where we made an omelet together, and what did we put in that omelet? Yep, his dinner (well half of it). I let him put his dinner in it so he could very clearly see that he still had to eat it. And he did, no more fussing, no more battling, we found a good common ground.
Then snack time came and he agreed to eat some more of his dinner (only two bites). Now lunch, this time both of my boys are crying! My four-year-old hates leftovers. What to do, what to do?!
I pulled out a mixing bowl, whipping cream, and strawberry syrup.
I told my boys over their crying that whoever takes a bit first can put in the first ingredient. Automatic science. My four-year-old shoved food into his mouth immediately, he was not about to miss whatever this was. My other boy, just turned two last week so i don't think he fully understood what was going on. I then let my older boy dump in whipping cream. By now my little one got the picture, I helped him take a bite and he got to put in the syrup.
Magic!!!!
No retaliation, this was working!
As these are the only two ingredients in the recipe I made they next got out beaters and the electric mixer in-between bites.
After that they got to mix it for about 30 seconds each time they took another bite. They were happily eating and happily shearing. To help savor this moment I kept the electric beaters on low, that way they had enough time to eat all of their food.
It's done when it gets stiff. Now that we had a happy lunch, time to enjoy the creation.
I dabbed some onto a graham cracker and topped with a chocolate mint leaf. Gourmet desert at its finest for my tots.
Not only did we have a great mommy-son experience instead of battles and tantrums, but we got a healthy desert to go with it. Oh the joy that was felt. Now let's talk Pediasure and this dessert after you enjoy these pics of my boy.
Many of you may already know what that product is, a supplement for children to help them gain weight. Both if my boys were recommended to take this regularly. They have VERY high metabolisms. My youngest, they wanted him to be medicated so his metabolism would slow down and allow him to gain weight. (I feed the kid, i promise! 2 eggs, yogurt, and 2 bowls of cereal was a typical breakfast for him) But surrender i did not, i was not about to medicate him when he was only 18 months.
Along with medication they wanted the PediaSure, this is what i want to talk about. The problem with PediaSure and other products like it is, sugar and artificial sweeteners and corn syrup and and and...!!
And it tastes like a milkshake, which means if kids are supposed to get it often it becomes a "have to have it," it's all they want. They don't want anything else, who wants peas, and broccoli if they get a sweet shake. This then leads to poor eating habits and deficiency in minerals and vitamins. PediaSure, Boots and other brands fortify it so it does have 4 or so vitamins in it, which is not nearly enough for growing kids or anyone.
I bring this to your attention so you don't have to experience this if your kids are ever told they need weight, or if your there right now what you can do about it. Every kid I know on this stuff has these issues.
So the healthy things to do about this are:
1. Dilute the supplement shake-that way they still get the stuff but it's not at sweet, this will also stretch the shake out which will help your budget, they are expensive.
2. Make your own stuff- Use the whipping cream recipe I just used for my kids. This is what I do to get my kids some weight on. It really works, and with out the cost, preservatives and junk that comes with the shakes. (We do put in the unhealthy syrup but its a small dose, so it's nothing to worry about) Use the same method, if they eat their real food then they get some, and/or use it as a snack. Even give them a bowl of it. This is a healthy all natural fat. Yes, there is some saturated fat in cream but because it's in balance with the good fat in cream it in a sense neutralizes, or councils out.
When I told the Doctors what I had done, they thought it was brilliant. And can i quote "That's something I've never thought of before." Why? Because Dr's are not nutritionists, they are trained to diagnose and provide a medication. I'm not knocking Dr's, it's just what they are trained in. We as parents are in charge of our kids nutritional needs.
Sorry this post was a bit long but hopefully this can be helpful to you or someone you know.
I took him to the stove where we made an omelet together, and what did we put in that omelet? Yep, his dinner (well half of it). I let him put his dinner in it so he could very clearly see that he still had to eat it. And he did, no more fussing, no more battling, we found a good common ground.
Then snack time came and he agreed to eat some more of his dinner (only two bites). Now lunch, this time both of my boys are crying! My four-year-old hates leftovers. What to do, what to do?!
I told my boys over their crying that whoever takes a bit first can put in the first ingredient. Automatic science. My four-year-old shoved food into his mouth immediately, he was not about to miss whatever this was. My other boy, just turned two last week so i don't think he fully understood what was going on. I then let my older boy dump in whipping cream. By now my little one got the picture, I helped him take a bite and he got to put in the syrup.
Magic!!!!
No retaliation, this was working!
As these are the only two ingredients in the recipe I made they next got out beaters and the electric mixer in-between bites.
After that they got to mix it for about 30 seconds each time they took another bite. They were happily eating and happily shearing. To help savor this moment I kept the electric beaters on low, that way they had enough time to eat all of their food.
I dabbed some onto a graham cracker and topped with a chocolate mint leaf. Gourmet desert at its finest for my tots.
Not only did we have a great mommy-son experience instead of battles and tantrums, but we got a healthy desert to go with it. Oh the joy that was felt. Now let's talk Pediasure and this dessert after you enjoy these pics of my boy.
 | |
| this is from Boost another meal supplement |
And it tastes like a milkshake, which means if kids are supposed to get it often it becomes a "have to have it," it's all they want. They don't want anything else, who wants peas, and broccoli if they get a sweet shake. This then leads to poor eating habits and deficiency in minerals and vitamins. PediaSure, Boots and other brands fortify it so it does have 4 or so vitamins in it, which is not nearly enough for growing kids or anyone.
I bring this to your attention so you don't have to experience this if your kids are ever told they need weight, or if your there right now what you can do about it. Every kid I know on this stuff has these issues.
So the healthy things to do about this are:
1. Dilute the supplement shake-that way they still get the stuff but it's not at sweet, this will also stretch the shake out which will help your budget, they are expensive.
2. Make your own stuff- Use the whipping cream recipe I just used for my kids. This is what I do to get my kids some weight on. It really works, and with out the cost, preservatives and junk that comes with the shakes. (We do put in the unhealthy syrup but its a small dose, so it's nothing to worry about) Use the same method, if they eat their real food then they get some, and/or use it as a snack. Even give them a bowl of it. This is a healthy all natural fat. Yes, there is some saturated fat in cream but because it's in balance with the good fat in cream it in a sense neutralizes, or councils out.
When I told the Doctors what I had done, they thought it was brilliant. And can i quote "That's something I've never thought of before." Why? Because Dr's are not nutritionists, they are trained to diagnose and provide a medication. I'm not knocking Dr's, it's just what they are trained in. We as parents are in charge of our kids nutritional needs.
Sorry this post was a bit long but hopefully this can be helpful to you or someone you know.
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