Time for a No Kid-Food Revolt

Why are we so fat? That's easy, you say. We're fat because we are lazy; because popping through the Taco Bell drive-thru for some Supreme action is so much easier than going home to cook a well-balanced meal. Okay, that's fine for you -- maybe you don't have that many good years left anyway. But what about your kids?

It's no secret that childhood obesity is at an all-time high, the numbers being close to our national deficit last time I checked. It's also no secret that our government still can't manage to give schools sufficient funds to create healthy school lunches. Fatty, processed and mysterious are so much more cost effective. Thank God for Alice Waters and her Edible Education movement, which is already changing the lives of many children. But other than pack healthy lunches, make sure they get sufficient exercise and cook whole foods at home, what can we do for our children? Here's one suggestion: abolish kid food.

I'm serious. With our children's health at stake, I think it's high time for a "no kid-food" revolt. Don't make it. Don't order it off the kiddie menu. Just say no.

What's wrong with us that we can suddenly only feed our toddlers chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs? It wasn't always like this. At the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, all the dining car menus from as far back as the 20's are displayed as silent proof. Guess what was on the "kiddie menu" back in grandpa's day? No chicken nuggets, pizza or even mac 'n cheese. Instead, there were tiny portions of roast chicken, lamb chops, pureed celery root, braised carrots and salads. When did we stop feeding our children real food, and start feeding them 900-calorie "kiddie meals?" And what would happen if we all just started requesting mini-portions of the "real food" on restaurant menus?

Full disclosure: I teach kids to cook. My motto has always been, "no kid food," choosing instead to teach children ages 5-11 how to make dishes like salt-crusted striped bass with lemon-herb vinaigrette, Salade Nicoise and Clementine souffle (sugar in moderation isn't evil; high fructose corn syrup is). I believe that if kids help cook it, they'll at least taste it, so through cooking, we can develop young palates. It works. I have seen six year-olds who eat only "white food" devour this dish in front of their parents' astonished eyes. The truth is most kids would rather eat pizza than Brussels sprouts -- who wouldn't? It's up to us to find a way to introduce real food to them, which I choose to do through cooking.

In the end, we should feed our children food that will make them strong, give them energy, and help them grow up to make this world a better place. So give it a try. Once a week, drag your offspring away from the kiddie menu and into the kitchen for some hands-on family cooking. Because once they cook something like chicken en papillote, they won't be able to resist just one little taste. And before long, they might even stop asking for those little dinosaurs.

 

 

Comments

[Frank gelman]

No HFCS - No Processed Sugars & the only bottled BBQ Sauce with the American Diabetes Association mark on the label Chef Hymie Grande www.chefhymiegrande.com

[whatscooking]

I loved this article. I teach cooking classes to children too and detest the idea of kids meals. Why not just have appetizer portions of the "regular" menu items? It is so insulting to find such garbage on kids menus - people assume that kids can't enjoy real food. Speaking of real food, that's why I avoid high fructose corn syrup. With all due respect to industry professionals, while it may be the "same" nutritionally, the fact that it is in a chemically altered state is enough to keep me away. It shows me that it isn't natural. It isn't real. It doesn't come from the land, as honey and agave nectar do. I teach my kids that if the ingredients in their food sound like they come from a laboratory, they might be worth avoiding. Just saying...
Michelle
www.whatscooking.info

[Pinget]

Good luck. Most of the time when we go out the servers won't even bring my 10 year old son a regular, grown up cup, insisting instead on a styrofoam cup with a lid. Of course a European observer might think none of us knows how to drink out of a cup since everyone uses straws all the time. I agree with you completely, and this is certainly how we eat at home, but the restaurants are extremely patronizing.

[ReesieKitty]

I have never given my son 'kiddie' foods and actually get really annoyed when someone seems to think that just because you have a child, you get sent to the 'family menu' food ghetto!! My son never learned that it was weird to eat all kinds of food, so he grew up eating everything. I have never made a separate meal for him from what the adults were eating, except to make a less spicy portion of something. When my nieces and nephew visited, I was amazed at how their food whims were catered to: mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, trips to McDonalds, even though I would be making a dinner for the whole family.
my son is 10 now. We have cut HFCS totally out of our home diet, only eat out for a hamburger or hotdog at a local restaurant (NOT a McDonalds or Burger King) once or twice in a month and my son will eat Italian, Vegetarian, India, Thai, sushi, ... you name it. Kiddie food is just an unhealthy rip-off!

[Marina Jimenez]

I cook almost every night -we all the same foods (I never allowed each person having their "own meal") but now this week my 3 boys (12, almost 11 and 7) are trying to be non meat eaters....any fun ideas for lunch boxes besides PB & J?

[ReesieKitty]

Now that its getting cold, we do soup in the thermos or leftovers. Spaghetti, macaroni, a little roast beef and potatoes- whatever we have leftover. My son also loves tortillas wrapped around just about ANYTHING.

[lovetoeathealthy]

I don't think I read anything past "900 calorie kiddy meals" Has the world gone crazy?

[Cornrefiner]

According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”

High fructose corn syrup, sugar, and several fruit juices are all nutritionally the same.

High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the same by the body.

In 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally listed high fructose corn syrup as safe for use in food and reaffirmed that decision in 1996.

Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.

Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you for the clarification, Ms. Erickson. High fructose corn syrup has gotten a bad rap over the years, some arguing that "since its widespread introduction in the 80's, obesity has skyrocketed." Perhaps it's just because high fructose corn syrup is often found in high calorie sodas, etc. It is helpful to learn that it is nutritionally equivalent to sugar and sucrose, reminding us again that "moderation is key."

[Yasmeen Mustaklim-Maxey]

Ms. Erikson,

Thanks for you facts. They sound very much like facts that were formed back in the days before high fructose corn syrup had a chance to show it's true effects. We can see that our society is not like others. Just stand outside of a middle school. Other countries do not have the obesity problem we have here. And surely not with children.

One fact that is left out of your information: corn is what is fed to make our farm animals and livestock fat. Cheaply. If we are feeding our livestock corn to make them fat, then why do we feed them same things to ourselves and our children? What would happen to our corn fed livestock if we switched it to HFCS, HIGHLY CONCENTRATED CORN? Sounds like a bunch of fat animals to me....

As a sidenote: I lost almost 10 ponds when I cut HFCS out of my diet.

I think it is time that people in the food industry start taking responsibility for their product and learn to use it more wisely. How about we use that corn that we don't make HFCS with and make fuel from it? I think your efforts would be much better focused on promoting the positive uses for your product instead of contributing to an epidemic.

[ReesieKitty]

Ms Erikson, your position as president of the Corn Refiners Association would seem to make your position and your research very biased.

In fact, we cut all HFCS out of our family diet last year. It took about two months of label reading, new product choices and careful shopping to REPLACE every old item on our regular shopping list with something that had NO HFCS, but we did it.

Since then I have lost several pounds. My son is an excellent label reader and does not miss any of the products we used to eat. Our grocery bills are NO HIGHER THAN BEFORE. There were no benefits at all that I can see to consuming products made with HFCS, but I cannot argue with the tangible health benefits I have seen since we stopped eating it!

[ecmuddy]

Jennifer, well written and with a sense of humor! My son had a friend over and I cut up some apples for them as part of a snack. When the mom came to pick up her son she was amazed. According to her, he'd never eaten fruit before. (how bizarre is that?). Now, suddenly I'm the mom who makes the "amazing" apples. Go figure!

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

This made me laugh out loud!

[cinemaven]

Excellent article.

When my boys were young, we went to a wonderful buffet restaurant in the area with our whole extended family. My son (then 8) turned to me and asked why his cousins only ate "brown" food. I looked around the tables and every cousin had a plate full of fried, processed, sauced and congealing brown guk on their plate... fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets... while both of my boys were chowing down on sashimi, veggie dumplings, tiny squid and octopus and bbq eel surrounded by greens (mmm garlic snow pea greens and spinach) and fruit. When my guys walked past the "American" section of the buffet, they barely even stopped except at the salad bar and their cousins didn't even wander over to the Asian section.

My son tried to get his cousins to just try some of his food but not one would go for it.
Today, most of their cousins are overweight and all of them refuse to eat vegetables. My youngest (now 17) and my oldest (22) are great cooks and they are both the most adventurous eaters I know. My oldest is the one who taught me to use spaghetti squash in place of pasta and he planted a garden this summer to get the freshest veggies.

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you - I couldn't help but laugh at loud at the "brown food" reference! Your boys are so lucky that you introduced them to such a wide variety of foods - how wonderful!

[jennluv]

My husband is 36 years old.... and kid food is still all he eats. No vegtables. No fruits. No dishes with more than one main ingredient. Pasta with butter, chicken with BBQ sauce (on a seperate plate!), plain cheese pizza, hotdogs with only ketchup.... you get the idea. I rarely even cook for myself anymore because it's too much work for one person. If I cook something new he refuses to try it, so we are stuck eating chicken and rice all the time, or if i do just cook for myself he will go eat McDonald's. He refuses point blank to try any new foods and gets very upset if I try to insist. He's an adult, not a child, if all i cook is healthy food he will just get in the car and go get hotdogs. (He DOES cook for us sometimes, but he only cooks these same plain foods, and doesn't enjoy cooking at all.)
He isn't overweight, his cholesterol and blood pressure are just above normal. but I worry about his health all the time... not to mention what habits will be passed on to our children when we have them....does anyone know how you deal with this in an adult? In 4 years I have never succeeded in getting him to try one new food, I am totally lost here. All the resources I have found are for dealing with children....

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Hmm, well maybe in your husband's case, you are going to have to do the sneaky chef thing and grate some veggies into his spaghetti sauce! Good luck...

[sunnybunny]

Easier said than done. My kids have all grown out of the phase where they ate mostly junk, but not without studying nutrition and consciously making good choices. They didn't start eating carrots instead of chips because they liked them better. None of them are overweight or have any health problems, but they intentionally avoid getting that way. Even my youngest at 14 makes an effort to eat right and exercise.

[liviapeacock]

Thank you Jennifer! Sometimes I want to shake the parents I know who feed their children such unhealthy and unimaginative crap.

Funny story. My now 18 year old grew up in a real food household, as I did. (thanks, mom). He is pretty adventurous in his food habits, and has eaten rabbit, bison, sushi, squid and octopus, mostly while we were traveling. Sure he likes crispy chicken sandwiches too, but he's not afraid to try new things.

He met a girl at school and she's adorable, but he confessed to me that he's wary about her food choices. I guess she's pretty white bread and still eats what our family calls "kiddy food". As one who likes to go out for sushi or Thai food, I guess he thought she was a dull culinary companion.

I suggested that he may be the perfect person to get her to try new things!

[Eek909]

For some people, cooking and food preparation is fun. But for the vast majority of people, it's work. It may be your hobby, but it's not mine.

So when I'm making lunch for my kids, I want it to be quick. Turkey sandwiches or peanut butter or oatmeal, something like that. Yes, sometimes I do throw chicken nuggets in the stove. I usually want to eat a salad or something light, and my kids don't, so no, I'm not going to sit and make two big meals.

When it comes to the kitchen, I want to get in, and get out. I don't think I'm a bad parent because I don't enjoy cooking. Like I said, you might love cooking but just because it's your passion, you shouldn't expect other parents to love it just because you do.

[liviapeacock]

Good point, Eek909, but instead of chicken nuggets, you could throw white meat, skinned chicken tenders on the stove, which are just as easy to prepare but have no breading. Give your kids a little store bought pesto or marinara sauce to dip them in rather than sugary catsup or BBQ sauce to open up their food pallets.

That being said, I think the author is attempting to point out that this lack of attention, or caring about the quality of what we feed our kids on the whole, sets them up for a lifetime of bad habits that many children have a hard time shedding as adults.

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Even for someone with a passion for cooking, it's still work. Turkey sandwiches and oatmeal are great, and surely there are chicken nuggets (or chicken-less nuggets) out there that have nutritional value. My point is that we should try to steer our kids toward a variety of healthy choices, at home or in a restaurant. Many people don't realize that kiddie menus is rife with high fat, high calorie choices when the rest of the menu actually offers better choices. Should it be only adults who get to eat "real food" while the kids eat junk? By the way, don't completely throw out the idea of your kids learning to cook -- my 11 year old now makes dinner for our family once a week and it's great!

[ReesieKitty]

I work full time so I know that it can be hard to squeeze in family meals. But that doesn't mean they have to be unhealthy just to be fast! My son eats salad- not because he LOVES every salad in front of him, but because he has always been served it, and he knows that he is expected to eat his portion - especially if he plans on having a dessert or more of some other entree that he likes better! Sometimes you just have to get your kids used to things- they will LEARN to like the healthier food. You don't have to be the only one eating a salad! I never make two meals, big or otherwise. If I am cooking, everyone eats what I make, or they fend for themselves, lol!

[kbella]

My husband and I are already planning ahead for when we have children. I love baking, and he loves cooking. We have already discussed how we want to prepare our own baby food and give our kids wholesome and nutritious food when they are older. We more or less eat clean at home--no processed food. I even make my own whole wheat hamburger buns from scratch! Cooking is a bonding experience for us and it is a huge part of our lives. I am looking forward to sharing it with our future children.

[PhilipB]

I loved this part of your post
Full disclosure: I teach kids to cook."

That is the key, and I did that with my daughter, now an adult with her own children.
Get your children involved. Be impassioned yourself, and make it FUN!. Cooking is fun, and I remember how excited I was that in summer school we would make sloppy joes for ourselves.
Now, Sloppy joes are not healthy, i know that, but it was the idea that i could do something and participate.
I began a lifelong love affair with gardening and food when I was given a plot of land, some sunflower seeds and a hose. I was aged six. I marvelled at how big the sunflowers grew, and I have a sense of direction today in the world, by observing these plants and their reach to the sun: in the east and then as the sun set in the West. I have hiked remote the high Sierras, based on this sense of direction and the love of tha natural world, I have planted vegetables WITH my family.
Talk to children. Involve them. I love the edible schoolyard, where lesson plans of history, geography, science and more are incorporated into growing plants.

The same feeling of contributing and helping the planet can be done. Children want to save the planet.
I mean, just involve and listen to them!
All the best,

[Jennifer Evans Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Hey, Sloppy Joe's can be healthy (turkey sloppy joe's!), yum. How wonderful that you were given your own plot of land at that age; imagine if all children could plant their own veggies and watch them grow like that. I did the same thing as a child on my aunt's farm, and loved going out to rip fresh corn off the stalks or pull carrots from the ground - even pick strawberries from the patch. I will never forget it, and am striving for my son to have at least a tiny bit of that experience, even if he is just pulling tomatoes off the vine... thanks for your insightful comment.

[ReesieKitty]

We garden and cook too! I couldn't agree more- connecting with where your food comes from is essential to having a happy, healthy diet! My son loves to garden with me and his friends all want to come to our house to pick green beans and tomatoes. Cooking and then eating something you've grown yourself is a great experience for any kid!