Little ChickFoodDiaries...

I had no idea when I wrote that first post on nutrition, it would crack open Pandora's box. But I'm not going to lie, I love that people are interested in eating better and learning more!  The "10 Things" post I wrote earlier generated the question "What do you feed LC?" from numerous people so I thought I would just make it a post rather than reply to individual emails.  If you're not interested, X out...it won't hurt my feelings, I promise! 

Also, before I continue, I just want to say that I am not a Registered Dietitian or anything like that.  I'm a Certified Nutrition Coach - which an RD might tell you means I probably know just know enough to be dangerous.  HA! I do try to always check my facts and I want you to know up front that we are not "perfect eaters" by any means.  We are pretty "clean eaters" overall but I still could make some changes and need to keep learning.  Just know you shouldn't feel any pressure to agree with me! 

 

We usually start LC's day off with gluten free oats and make oatmeal of some variation. Typically I make the oats with extra water to make them more hydrating, add in a scoop of Greek yogurt, a touch of milk or water (to keep it from getting too thick for her texture issues), a touch of unrefined, virgin coconut oil (can be an allergen so start slow and watch closely), and then a fruit of some sort (for sweetness rather than adding in any simple sugar). I fold in her probiotic last (don't stir it) and let it sit for a min or two like you're supposed to for whatever reason.  Sometimes she will eat scrambled eggs when we make them or munch on our omelet creations.

 

 

 

Fruits: bananas, strawberries (I added this slowly b/c it’s an allergen), blueberries (fav), diced apple, diced mango, tangerines (cut up), pineapple, grapes, etc...she eats it all.  Well, except she  HATES tomatoes by themselves but will eat them in stuff if they aren't too obvious.  I go heavier on the berries because they have less sugar and  the only fruits I don't give her right now are the seeded berries like raspberries and blackberries.  The girl can kill some fruit but I try to limit her intake to equal parts veggies (if not less) because of the sugar content.  I also get these freeze-dried fruits that don't have any additives or preservatives or anything (they're just exactly what they say) for snacking on the go. There is pretty much every fruit you can think of freeze-dried and some veggies as well.

Veggies/Greens: I still do some of LC's greens right now from a jar bc it’s convenient and sometimes I worry she doesn't eat enough greens. She currently eats cucumber, green beans, eggplant, acorn, butternut, and yellow squash and zucchini slices.  I remove the "skins" on stuff right now even though that's a source of good stuff, too, because she can't chew through them.  Also, I cook them until soft-ish but not soft-soft bc I don't want to lose the texture and, most importantly, the vitamins.  She will also eat all colored peppers red, yellow, orange diced up (but doesn't like green) and asparagus.

LC also does sweet potato in any form but especially "fries" (luuuuuuurves them), corn, peas (not happily), and baby carrots (diced and cooked until soft).  Not much has changed since the days of Pimp Slappin her broccoli  around (below)...she wasn't a fan then and she is still not a fan.

 

Protein: she loves any meat we give her - chicken, turkey, beef, bison, venison, fish is meh (but hey, I feel the same way so I can't blame her) - and will pretty much eat any main course item we are eating. Pinto beans, black beans, really any bean are great "finger" foods and she doesn't seem to have any gastro-issues with them. 

Van's Gluten Free waffles (occasionally make an appearance), brown rice, and quinoa are also pretty popular, especially if I add a little lime juice, super finely diced cilantro, and a itty bitty touch of salt for flavor.  Avocado is a win in all forms but she likes it most the way you make guacamole and she will eat hummus with crackers if we break the crackers up and help feed the hummus and cracker to her.

DW also eats PB on rice cakes a lot and she has a conniption when he's eating that...she LOVES it. We started her out slowly on that, checking for a nut allergy - but she has had zero issues with nuts so we give her a little but try to limit it. She will also eat pistachios here and there since they are a fairly soft nut and she has 7ish teeth. She can make it work.

And the kid loves her some cheese. I give her cheese at one meal a day but its  the non-gmo, none of the hormones or what not I mentioned, etc... I use Rumiano Family and the flavor is ridiculously good but Applegate Farms is a good brand too.  There's another one that we use sometimes but I can't think of the name off-hand.  If your kid has issues with milk, try goat milk, yogurt and cheese.  Supposedly, from what I understand, the protein molecule in goat stuff is smaller and, therefore, more easily digestible to those with sensitive tummies.

Snacks are anything GF that's easy for her to pick up and still gluten free...Annie’s GF bunnies, graham crackers, table crackers, Mums, fruit, Happy Family Munchies, Creamies, Yogis (I can eat the poo poo out of those myself...love them),  and Nature's Path Whole O's (like cheerios). There are these little allergen-free cookies by a company called Home Free Treats that are sort of like teething biscuits but I get them instead bc they are GF.  She loves them but I limit them bc they're sweet.  And I get them because I'm addicted.  So, yeaaaaaa, there's also that. 

What a typical day might look like:

breakfast: oatmeal concoction w/Greek yogurt, fruit, the probiotic, water and milk

mid-morning snack: mix of yogurt melts, cereal, hummus (with or without crackers)...just whatever she wants fed in small amounts as I gauge if she's hungry or just bored eating. Her "bored eating" is pretty clear because she ends up "sharing" about 90% of what I'm giving her - when she's not really hungry - with the pups. She has a poker-tell. ;-)

lunch: protein source, green or veggie, fruit, cheese, possibly hummus and crackers if she skipped her snack, water

snack: milk around 2 before nap time

dinner: protein source (sometimes not to give her kidneys a break), whatever veggie/green we are eating, sweet potato fries, avocado/guac, sometimes a fruit, or whatever she wants to try that we are eating, water

snack: rarely but sometimes...usually if we are being grazers and she wants to try what we are eating

bed time: milk or water

If you want to, stop reading now because no one really asked for this next part.  I'm just sharing it because it's my philosophy now and I'm writing it down to see how much it changes over time. 

Here are the things we don't feed or do with LC:

We don't give her juice right now - just water and her milk. From what I remembered from child nutrition class stuff, it’s really hard to get a kid to like water after they have learned to like juice.  It's not so hard right now because LC doesn't know the difference.  Currently she is always trying to drink our water when she sees us drinking from the straw. It's like a game and I consider that winning! 

Every now and then, she asks to eat our lemon.  She has mixed feelings on that:

We don't do raisins or any dehydrated fruits (freeze DRIED is different) b/c she could eat a lot of more of them in one sitting than she would eating whole, fresh fruit or even freeze dried fruit.  that equals a lot more sugars and calories versus fresh.  Also, it sounds weird but dehydrated fruits actually take hydration out of the body - they're like little sponges plus you lose some of the nutrients in the dehydration process.

I don't put all of her food on the tray at one time. I put just a few varied things and let her eat all of it, then give her a couple minutes (or as long as she can stand) before I put more on her tray. This sort of slows her down and gives her time to recognize when she is full rather than just pounding it all because it’s there. It takes a couple minutes before our stomach signals to our brain, so I consciously try to make the meal process relaxed and unhurried so she learns to eat in an "unhurried" way.

DW and I agreed not to have a "clean your plate" rule in the future because we believe it perpetuates overeating. The "clean your plate" mentality can make people feel "guilty" if they don't finish all of their food even if they are full. I don't want to teach LC to ignore her "I'm full" signal. Obviously, this isn't the right method for all families and we respect that. No doubt this can backfire if the kid chooses willfully not to eat at all. I have decided its ok with me if LC one day decides to skimp on eating at meal time to play instead or whatever and realizes, "Whoa, I'm hungry... probably should have eaten when I could have". This is a personal philosophy only...obviously to each their own here.

Speaking of the "I'm full" signal, we taught her "all done" in sign language and some days she eats like she has six stomachs and sometimes she grazes. However, she consistently seems to stop when she is full and lets us know "I'm full" with her sign. Even if we aren't sure she has eaten enough, I let her stop if she says that. She also knows the "I'm hungry" signal so if she gets hungry again she will tell me. I know there are people who think that meals should be when you eat, but I'm an all-day "grazer" so I really don't mind if LC chooses to graze, too.  As long as she is truly eating for need and not for boredom (remember, I know this because she feeds the dogs), I think small "meals" throughout the day are really better anyway. 

Last thing, we TRY not to reward with food. This is one of the things I learned in nutrition and child psychology class...kids associate joy and comfort with things that are used as a reward. So, not saying it’s bad, but it’s not my preference that LC learn to think of food as a "reward" that she gets for doing a good behavior or that she associates making us happy with food. "Food rewards" encourage kids to have very emotional eating habits/responses ("food makes me happy") so it can lead toward comfort/emotional eating later in life rather than eating as a means of nourishment.

We are planning (know that I recognize planning in parenting is laughable) to try to reward with an "activity" or praise of some sort instead of food. Do I see that rewarding kids with food works? Yup. I do...I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge it can be successful. But for future-LC, that's something we plan to very much try to avoid. 

Bottom line, every family can think, feel, feed, operate how ever they want...its really up to each family individually.  If this helps someone get ideas, great.  If you feel sorry that LC has to eat this way...also understandable. ;-)  She can eat however she wants...you know, when she's thirty.