Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

The first week in August is always World Breastfeeding Week, and in honor of it, I thought I'd post one of my favorite "cult classic" pictures (well, in the breastfeeding world it's a classic). Obviously, this is one smart baby!

The research is astoundingly clear about breastfeeding - it is truly magical stuff. The thing is, it can be difficult to do when you live in a society that doesn't support it. If you haven't grown up witnessing aunties and cousins breastfeed their newborn, or if you feel the glare of other people when you try to nurse in public, you're going to tempted to break out the free formula.

Breastfed babies end up smarter, healthier, and leaner. So, it makes economical sense for our country to embrace breastfeeding and not shun it.

The shirt at the top says it all, and it is a perfect gift for the lactating momma in your life!

The One Bite Rule

Feeding kids can be tough. You do your part and buy the food, cook the food, get everyone to the table, sit down to enjoy the food and... protest from the 4-year old begins. So, you break out your rule: "Just take one bite (or three bites, or whatever your household rule is)".

But, is the one-bite rule a good thing or a bad thing? My answer is - it completetly depends on the mood at the table. If the child is enjoying the attention, and needs a little nudge to remember to take a spoonful of peas once in awhile, then so be it. But, once the mood changes and the child is now feeling bullied, it is time to back off. The reason is simple - nobody has ever been bullied into liking broccoli. Okay, maybe some people were bullied into trying a food and ended up liking it, but if you ask ten adults on the street if they were ever forced into trying a food and later ended up liking it, you'd get about nine NO WAYS. Many adults will tell you about food they still avoid just because of being forced to eat it as a child.

As much as possible, keep the atmosphere at the dinner table light-hearted - this isn't a time to argue, nag, complain, etc. The family meal is a valuable part of children's development, and keeping it pleasant makes it even more powerful. You don't have to do circus tricks, but put it at their level - sing some songs, like this silly one from a popular kids' TV show (I learned it because my 4-year-old was singing it one day as he ate his lunch). Help kids realize the connection between the food they are eating and their muscles, or growing big and strong, or whatever else they are into. Just stop short of forcing - you will know the point.

Soda and beans

I love this kind of nutrition advice, especially when it's based on actual research:

Researchers at the University of Southern California working with overweight Latino teenagers concluded that making small changes similar to cutting out one can of soda a day and adding just a half cup of beans a day can make a big difference in health.

These simple dietary changes do two things - cutting out one can of soda a day wipes out 150 calories of pure sugar - it's the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar that the teens are no longer taking in. Adding just one half cup of beans a day will add in about 7 grams of fiber and about 7 grams of protein - both fiber and protein are very helpful in keeping us full for longer.

The take-home message is that it doesn't have to be huge to make a difference - adding in some nutrient dense foods like beans, vegetables, whole grains and whole fruit really helps; calories can be shaven off in all kinds of places without making you feel deprived or unsatisfied - a can of soda less here, a slice of low-fat cheese there.

If you're in Arizona, tune in to Arizona Midday on Weds, June 24 (Channel 12 from 1-2), when I'll be giving tips for sneaking in nutrition, including a recipe from the Meal Makeover Moms website (with their permission, of course!) for Cheesy Black Bean Burgers - getting in those beans can be yummy!

Spongebob in my kitchen

I found this bag of frozen edamame with Spongebob on the front, and I figured I'd buy it to coaxe my picky little 3-year-old to actually eat a vegetable. Now, as you know from my blog, I believe in putting the veggie on the plate but not forcing the veggie down the hatch - they need to be able to try the veggie in their own (excrutiatingly slow) time.

Being a bit of a slacker mom, my 3-year old has been introduced to Spongebob and his friend, Patrick. So, yes, he was very impressed to see the weird little guy in our refrigerator. His brother, the more ambitious eater of the two, dove right in to the edamame, popping them into his mouth. The 3-year-old watched, amused, and finally - he tried it! And he liked it!

I forget about edamame in the world of veggies, since it's not something I was raised on - the only time I eat it is when I'm out with my husband for sushi, with no kids in sight (aaaaah...) But, edamame is actually very kid-friendly. It has a very mild, almost buttery taste, and it is fun for kids to be able to "play with their food" by popping the soybeans out of the pod into their mouth. It's a great source of protein and fiber, and contains something called isoflavones, which are quite healthy and only found in soy.

I think I'll invite the yellow guy back again soon.

You mean pancakes don't have to be microwaved?

In my son's first grade class, they do journaling on topics given by the teacher. Once every few months, they send home the journal and the parents get to read all the interesting things that come out of their 6-year-old's mind. This is how I found out that I am slacking in the pancake department. In one of my son's journal entries, he bragged that he can make pancakes - just put them in the microwave! hmmmm....



So, I decided to actually "make" pancakes once in awhile instead of pulling them out of the freezer. I found a mix that I really like - the Krusteaz Wheat and Honey mix worked out nicely - it's first ingredient is whole wheat flour, meaning that it qualifies as a whole grain serving, and it doesn't contain trans-fats. Also, it gives about 4 g of fiber per serving - the best part is that you only have to add water - adding eggs and water is too much for this slacker mom in the morning. OK, I added a couple chocolate chips to make it pass the kid test, but they gobbled them up!

Lentils that a 3-year old will eat

Have I mentioned that my 3-year old is one of the pickiest eaters I have met? I actually suspect that he may be a supertaster, but I'll write about that later. I do want to share an easy, yummy, and healthy recipe that he has actually eaten more than once. I got it out of one of my favorite cookbooks, which I bought on a whim while at a car wash:

Hamburger and Lentil soup

Throw all of this into a crockpot and cook it all day - yum!

1 pound lean hamburger, chopped onions, diced carrots, 2 cups (or one package) lentils, 1 quart tomato juice, 2 to 3 cups water, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp marjoram, 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Perception becomes reality?

In the July 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, there is a fascinating study that looked at teens over time. They tracked 1,728 normal weight teens over about a year, to try to figure out why some of those normal weight kids crossed over into the overweight category. In other words, they were trying to figure out what typically predicts that a teenager will become overweight.

Do you know what they found? The strongest predictors for the teens to become overweight were their self perception that they were overweight (that is, even when they were not overweight, they thought they were fat), and their attempts to diet, even when they were at a normal weight.

Folks, this is huge. This the diet mentality at work - a normal weight teen feels fat, decides to do something about it, falls into the diet mentality, and a real weight problem now begins. For some of them, they will continue to cycle like this (crash dieting, losing a little weight, then going off the diet and gaining everything plus a few pounds back). On top of it all, their relationship with food and their body will begin to take up way too much of their time and attention.

Of course, further studies need to be done - I would like to learn more about why some normal weight kids think they are fat, while others don't. I have a few suspicions, as you probably do, too. I know that studies have shown that kids model dieting behavior learned in the home - little girls as young as 8 have been heard complaining about their weight, usually because they hear their mom complain about her weight. Maybe the teens that feel fat (even though they are not fat), simply hear their mom or other relative talk about being fat a lot. Maybe they have even been warned not to eat too much because they could become fat.

This is what worries me so much about all of the attention we give to childhood obesity - yes, it is a problem, but is all of our blabber about it creating more of a problem? Are kids feeling fat because we're talking about them being fat so much? What can we do to convince normal weight kids that they are not fat and they will only make the problem worse if they try to go on a diet?

A broccoli story

We have experienced a success with broccoli in my house.

My six year old is a pretty good eater, but he definitely has his opinions about food. But, I've been following my own advice, and continue to serve him a variety of food while not pressuring him to eat it.

Broccoli has continued to sit untouched on his plate. We serve broccoli at least once a week, as I happen to love broccoli, as does my husband. I've tried covering his with a bit of cheese - didn't work. I've asked him to try it, and once in awhile he will dare to put a little bit on his tongue. So far, the result has been the same. "Yuck".

The boy loves soy sauce, and even prefers it to ketchup on most food. It had never occurred to me before to tell him to try his broccoli with a little soy sauce on it until the other night. Bingo - we now have a magic formula for broccoli consumption.

The moral of the story is to keep trying - in a low-key way. He would never have discovered the yumminess that soy sauce brings to steamed broccoli if I had given up and stopped serving him broccoli. Also, if I had forced him to eat his broccoli when he declared it was "yuck", he would have hated the thought of broccoli by now.

By the way, this works for adults, too - even if you don't like a particular food, it's important to keep trying it prepared in different ways. Green beans out of the can taste completely different than fresh green beans, steamed slightly. There are all kinds of different tricks and techniques that make food taste good, or not taste good.

You don't have to eat it....

I've written about this before in another blog that I write for, but it's worth mentioning here.

I've found that the phrase "you don't have to eat it" is magic when feeding my two kids.

Before I had kids, I attended an Ellyn Satter seminar, where she showed various clips of kids being fed - some of the clips showed examples of what not to do, as in the case of a chubby little boy crying when his food was taken away from him in an effort to help him lose weight. Another clip that really stood out to me was of a daycare worker, sitting down to eat a snack with about four children. One of the boys asked her "what is this", as he held up a chunk of cheese. She told him, and he proclaimed "I don't like cheese". Instead of trying to convince him otherwise ("you liked cheese yesterday, how about just one bite?" and so on), she simply said "it's ok, you don't have to eat it". Then, she continued with her snack, pleasantly talking to the children. Sure enough, when the boy realized the choice was his and that he wasn't going to get a rise out of his teacher, he popped the cheese in his mouth.

Now, I know plenty of parents who live by the "three bites" rule, and I also admit to enforcing that rule from time to time in my house. But, I have witnessed magic happen at my dinner table when I simply say "it's ok, you don't have to eat it". Of course, after I say these words, I proceed to eat the accused food and enjoy it (without making a big scene of course - that would cause suspicion in the kiddo's sharp mind).

You must remember that kids are always taking mental notes. Even if they don't eat the broccoli this time, they are observing you eat it (without dying!), and they are getting used to the fact that broccoli exists and sometimes shows up on their plate. It is reassuring to them that they are not in control of what appears on their plate (the adults are in charge of that), but that they will not be forced to eat something before they are ready (they are in charge of their own body).

This is a marathon, not a sprint - our job is not to force them to eat the broccoli this time (and possibly turn them into broccoli haters for the balance of their life); our job is to raise people who are willing to try foods, assess if they like it or not, and not freak out if that food is served to them at the White House, or wherever they may be eating (a parent can dream...).

Feeding Kids - Everybody, act casual....

One of the tricks of feeding kids is to act casual. They are watching.

Here's what I mean - you carefully prepare a healthy dinner, complete with two vegetables and a lean protein source (OK, a dinner of marinated chicken breast, buttered noodles, sauteed spinach and brussel sprouts). You put the plate in front of 4-year old, who promptly proclaims "Ewww - I'm not eating this".

Here's the moment of truth - what do you do?
A. Beg. Then bribe. Then plead. Then play choo-choo. Then repeat.
B. Jump up to make him hot dogs and Mac & Cheese. Put it on his favorite plate.
C. Make him eat it or sit there until bedtime. Serve said food for breakfast. Repeat.
D. Say "you don't have to eat it". Then sit and enjoy your dinner and act like you haven't a care in the world.

If you picked anything but "D", you may be creating the picky eating problem in your house.

See, there is a psychology to feeding kids (see my post about feeding kids here). These little guys get very suspicious when they sense that we are trying too hard. In their minds, trying too hard = something unpleasant. Think shots at the doctor's office. We don't have to try too hard when there is an ice cream cone, involved, now do we? They are on to us....

The best way to feed these little detectives is to simply do our job - provide the structure (meals and snacks), and decide on the menu. Then, back off. Cool as a cucumber. Couldn't care less if he touches the spinach. Before you know it.... Houston, he has tried the spinach!

The magic of hunger

I've been thinking about hunger a lot lately; being hungry is really an essential ingredient to enjoying food. Our bodies give us hunger pangs for a reason, but we tend to ignore them one way or another.

Many people don't like the feeling of hunger (as I've mentioned in a previous post). They will try to and stay ahead of the hunger pangs by munching all day, and by overeating when possible. Most of the time, this occurs because of a negative experience with hunger - either because of a period of time when food was not available, or, more commonly, a self-imposed starvation diet.

We tend to expect our hunger to be predictable - that we should always be hungry at set times, for a certain amount of food. So, we eat this way, whether our bodies are telling us to or not. We could learn a lot by watching children eat - sometimes they are hungry and eat a lot, sometimes they are not hungry. It really doesn't matter that it is 6pm and dinner is served. If their body is not sending the signals, they will sit there and pick at their food. Until. Until the adults take charge and somehow make them override themselves and eat despite the lack of desire. (How many of today's adults learned to overeat this way?)

Some adults have become so out of touch with their bodies, that they report they don't even know what it feels like to be hungry. They have simply avoided hunger for years, and can't remember what it really feels like.

Others have learned to apply the label "hungry" to unrelated emotions, such as actual boredom, fear, anxiety, anger, etc. They have learned to distract themselves from negative emotions by labeling those emotions as "I'm hungry". Needless to say, this is a contributor to unwanted weight and does not deal with the actual emotion.

Allowing our body enough time between eating to get nice and hungry is a very healthy thing to do - plus it makes food taste much better! We also need to allow our children to get hungry - this is a tricky thing to explain to parents, because it sounds alarmingly like I am proposing we starve our chilren to make them better eaters (I am not). But, when we allow kids to munch all day, giving them access to food whenever they feel like it, they end up not hungry - ever. With kids, this also applies to drinking all day - I have talked to many parents with picky children who reveal that their child is a big all-day milk drinker or juice drinker.

Try it for a few days - really check in with your body, and don't eat until it is sending clear hunger signals. Notice how much better the food tastes. If you have children, try to limit between meal eating and drinking (except for water), and see if they don't eat better when they come to the dinner table with an actual appetite. Don't push them to eat more than they want, because you are overriding their own internal hunger cue! More on feeding kids later....

Feeding Kids 101

There are great battles going on every night at the dinner table all across the world. The main problem is that we never got the job description for parenting - the one that would have detailed the rules for feeding kids. So, we make it up as we go, and many of us mistakingly believe that getting the food into the kid's belly is main task number one. We don't feel satisfied until the child has eaten the required serving of broccoli, because if they don't eat it, we're a bad parent - right?

Maybe this is why I love this area - it comes as such a relief to many parents when they finally hear and believe the message - you don't have to get the food into the child! Your job is to get the food to the child!

I'm not making this up - the correct way to feed children is to allow them to have some responsibility in the process. Ellyn Satter, author and the pioneer of this method, calls it the Division of Responsiblity. From her website:

Feeding demands a division of responsibility. Parents are responsible for the what, when and where of feeding; Children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating...Ellyn Satter

This requires a bit of attention to fully digest (bad pun, sorry); but, it really boils down to this - you as the parent need to get the food to the child in a structured way - meaning meals and snacks. Then, your job is done. It is not up to you to get the food into the child - that's his job. Barring medical problems, healthy children will eat well this way and will thrive.

This is really the way to raise healthy eaters - this method helps kids to learn about food at their own pace, try new foods at their own comfort level, and grow to the weight they are supposed to be.

Peace to the dinner table!

How we teach kids to break the hunger scale

Remember that movie Monster's Ball? In it, there was a single mom and her overweight boy - in one scene, the mom discovered that the boy was hiding candy and she got angry at him; this is called hoarding, and it is caused by someone forcing that boy to break his own hunger scale.

When we withhold food from kids, or make comments that they have had enough or remind them that they are eating too much, we take away their power and incentive to listen to their own internal hunger cues. In some cases, children feel so guilty about wanting food and so conflicted about what they "should" be doing and what they want to do, that they start developing some dysfunctional behaviors, such as hoarding food. They are not being bad kids, it's a matter of survival.

Another way we teach kids to break their hunger scale is by encouraging them to graze all the time; I see this at the playground a lot - a child will be running around, having fun, and the mom will be holding out crackers that the child zooms by and takes, never really slowing down. In this situation, the child never gets to the lower parts of the hunger scale, and never really feels hunger pangs. It's no wonder when the child becomes a picky eater!

I'll talk more about feeding kids in this blog, but for now, I need to mention that everything you need to know about feeding kids can be found in books by Ellyn Satter - visit her website http://www.ellynsatter.com/ for loads of information and books.