MOM KNOWS BEST!!
If
you’ve followed the news on childhood obesity lately, you know the
state of affairs is pretty grim. Childhood obesity rates have tripled
over the past two decades, and most signs point to the next generation
being the first whose life expectancy will be shorter than their
parents’. Much of the blame for this trend has deservedly been laid at
the feet of the producers and marketers of unhealthy food aimed at our
youngest consumers, whose parents face an uphill battle: trying to pit
fresh, healthy foods devoid of mascots or sidekicks against superheroes
and cartoon animals in a struggle to tempt their children’s palates and
stomachs.
Since most kids have hummingbird metabolisms that adults can only
envy, it’s often easy to give them a free pass and let them eat whatever
they want. But eventually those metabolisms slow down and the pounds
settle in. Also, as physical activity decreases and processed food
intake increases annually, kids aren’t burning calories the way their
parents might have when they were their age. And even if the kids aren’t
getting fat, they are establishing eating habits they’ll take into
adulthood. As parents, you can help foster a love for healthy eating and
exercise that will last your kids a lifetime—hopefully a long one!
Eating can so often be a classic power struggle where kids try to
finally locate their mom and dad’s last nerve. (I can remember family
dinners with my brother and parents that could teach Hezbollah a thing
or two about standoffs.) There are a number of strategies you can use to
mitigate this type of deadlock. One is to let your kids help with the
selection and preparation of the food. If they picked out the veggies at
the farmers’ market and helped cook them, they might be less inclined
to feed them to the family pet. Another is to frame eating vegetables
and healthy food as being its own reward. Otherwise, by offering dessert
as a reward for finishing vegetables, you create a system where
unhealthy food is a treat and healthy food sucks. With these thoughts in
mind, let’s take a look at some of the unhealthiest foods being
marketed to your kids today, and some healthier alternatives you can
offer to replace each of them.
Note: The following recommendations are for school-aged children.
Infants and toddlers have different specific nutritional needs not
addressed in this article.
1. Chicken nuggets/tenders
These popular kids’ menu items are little nuggets of compressed fat,
sodium, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and some form of chicken.
Depending on the restaurant, chicken might not even be the first
ingredient. Oftentimes, the nuggets or tenders are made of ground pieces
of chicken meat and skin, pressed into a shape, flavored with HFCS and
salt, and batter-fried in hydrogenated oil (the bad, trans-fatty stuff).
Then, as if that weren’t unhealthy enough, you dunk it in a HFCS- or
mayonnaise-based sauce. With all the fat, salt, and sugar, it’s easy to
understand why they’re tasty, but the nutritive value weighed against
the huge amount of calories and fat consumed is incredibly lacking. Even
healthier-sounding menu items can be deceiving, like McDonald’s Premium
Breast Strips (5 pieces), which pack 640 calories and 38 grams of
fat—and that’s before you factor in the dipping sauce. (By comparison, a
Big Mac with sauce has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat.)
Instead: If you’re cooking at home, grill a chicken
breast and cut it into dipping-size pieces either with a knife or, for
extra fun, cookie cutters. Make a healthy dipping sauce from HFCS-free
ketchup, marinara sauce, mustard, or yogurt. Let your kids help make the
shapes or mix up the sauce. Try and go without breading, but if you
must, try dipping the chicken breast in a beaten egg, and then rolling
it in cornflake crumbs before you bake it. It’ll be crunchy and
delicious, but not as fatty.
2. Sugary cereal
I can remember as a child, after going to friends’ houses for overnights
and being treated to breakfast cereals with marshmallows that turned
the milk fluorescent pink or blue, feeling horribly deprived when faced
with the less colorful and sugary options served up in my home kitchen.
But now I can appreciate my mom and her unpopular brans and granolas.
True, they didn’t have any cartoon characters on the box or any toy
surprises, but they also didn’t have the cups of sugar, grams of fat,
and hundreds of empty calories that these Saturday-morning staples are
loaded with.
Instead: Read the labels and try to find cereal
that’s low in sugar and high in fiber and whole grains. Remember,
“wheat” is not the same as “whole wheat.” Also, avoid cereals (including
some granolas) that have hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, or
chemical preservatives. Add raisins, sliced bananas, berries, or other
seasonal fruit to the cereal for extra flavor and nutrition. Again,
letting your child help design a healthy bowl of cereal from choices you
provide will get you a little more buy-in at the breakfast table.
3. Lunch meat and hot dogs
Kids love hot dogs, bologna, and other processed meats, but these are
all full of potentially carcinogenic nitrates and nitrites, sodium,
saturated fat, and artificial colors and fillers. A study in Los Angeles
found that kids who ate 12 hot dogs a month had 9 times the risk of
developing leukemia. And more health risks are being discovered all the
time. Leaf through any research about kids’ nutrition, and you’re bound
to read about the bane of the cafeteria—Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables. These
and similar prepackaged lunches are loaded with processed meats and
crackers made with hydrogenated oils. These innocent-looking meals can
boast fat counts of up to 38 grams. That’s as much fat as a Burger King
Whopper and more than half the recommended daily allowance of fat for an
adult.
Instead: Get unprocessed meats, like lean turkey
breast, chicken, tuna, or roast beef. Use whole wheat bread for
sandwiches; or if your kid’s dying for Lunchables, fill a small plastic
container with whole-grain, low-fat crackers, lean, unprocessed meat,
and low-fat cheese. This can be another great time to get out the cookie
cutters to make healthy sandwiches more fun. For hot dogs, read labels
carefully. Turkey dogs are usually a good bet, but some are pumped up
with a fair amount of chemicals and extra fat to disguise their fowl
origins. Look for low levels of fat, low sodium, and a list of
ingredients you recognize. There are some tasty veggie dogs on the
market, although a good deal of trial and error may be involved for the
choosy child.
4. Juice and juice-flavored drinks.
Juice—what could be wrong with juice? While 100 percent juice is a good
source of vitamin C, it doesn’t have the fiber of whole fruit, and
provides calories mostly from sugar and carbohydrates. Too much juice
can lead to obesity and tooth decay, among other problems. The American
Academy of Pediatrics suggests 4 to 6 ounces of juice per day for kids
under 6, and 8 to 12 ounces for older kids. Juice drinks that aren’t 100
percent juice are usually laced with artificial colors and that old
standby, high fructose corn syrup, and should be avoided. Your best bet
is to make your own juice from fresh, seasonal fruit. You won’t have to
worry about all the additives, and it’s another way you can involve your
kids in the cooking process. Let them design their own juice
“cocktail.”
Instead: Water is still the best thirst quencher.
Explain the importance of good hydration to your kids, and try to set a
good example yourself by carrying around a healthy reusable hard plastic
or stainless steel water bottle. Get your kids used to carrying a small
bottle of water in their backpack or attached to their bike. If they’re
very water averse, try water with a splash of fruit juice in it. But
just a splash. The idea is to get your kids used to not having things be
overly sweet, overly salty, or overly fatty. Another great beverage is
milk. Growing kids need plenty of milk (or fortified nondairy milks,
like soy or almond)—which is filled with nutrients, calcium, and (in the
case of dairy and soy) protein—but they don’t need too much fat, so
choosing low-fat or nonfat options will help ensure that they get their
milk without actually beginning to resemble a cow.
5. French fries.
High in calories, high in fat, and high in sodium—and unsurprisingly the
most popular “vegetable” among kids. Fries offer virtually none of the
nutrients found in broccoli, carrots, spinach, or other veggies not
cooked up in a deep fryer, and the fat they’re fried in is often trans
fat, the unhealthiest kind for the heart. To top it all off, studies are
beginning to show cancer-causing properties from acrylamide, a toxic
substance that is created when starchy foods like potatoes are heated to
extreme temperatures. In some tests, the amount of acrylamide in French
fries was 300 to 600 times higher than the amount the EPA allows in a
glass of water.
Instead: Vegetables like baby carrots, celery
sticks, and other crudités are great options, but if potatoes must be
had, there are some options that don’t involve melting a brick of fat. A
scooped-out potato skin with low-fat chili and a little cheese can
provide lots of fiber and vitamins, with even higher amounts if the
chili has beans. You can also try making baked fries, using slices of
potato with a light brushing of olive oil. Or the classic baked potato
could be a hit, with plain yogurt or cottage cheese instead of sour
cream and butter.
6. Potato chips, Cheetos, Doritos, etc.
These are full of fat, oftentimes saturated, and way more sodium than
any child or adult should eat. Some chips also have the acrylamide
problem discussed in #5, French fries, above. Also, watch out for
innocent-seeming baked and low-fat chips that contain olestra or other
fake fats and chemicals that could present health issues for kids.
Instead: Kids gotta snack, and in fact, since their
stomachs are smaller, they aren’t usually able to go as long between
meals as adults. Cut-up vegetables are the best thing if your kids want
to get their crunch on, but air-popped popcorn and some baked chips are
okay, too. You can control how much salt goes on the popcorn, or involve
your child in experimenting with other toppings like red pepper,
Parmesan cheese, or dried herbs. Try making your own trail mix with your
kids. They might be more excited to eat their own personal blend, and
that way you can avoid certain store-bought trail mixes, which sometimes
contain ingredients like chocolate chips and marshmallows that aren’t
exactly on the healthy snack trail.
7. Fruit leather
Many of these gelatinous snacks like roll-ups or fruit bites contain
just a trace amount of fruit, but lots of sugar or HFCS and bright
artificial colors. Don’t be misled by all the products that include the
word “fruit” on their box. Real fruit is in the produce section, not the
candy aisle.
Instead: If your child doesn’t show interest in
fruit in its natural state, there are some ways you can make it more
interesting without losing its nutritional value. For a healthy frozen
treat, try filling ice-cube or frozen-pop trays with fruit juice, or
freezing grapes. Or buy unflavored gelatin and mix it with fruit juice
and/or pieces of fruit to make gelatin treats without the added sugar
and color (let it solidify in big flat casserole dishes or roasting
pans—another good time for the cookie cutters!) Try serving some
raisins, dried apricots, apples, peaches, or other dried fruits that
might give you that chewy, leathery texture without the sugar.
8. Doughnuts.
These little deep-fried gobs of joy are favorites for kids and adults
alike, but they are full of fat and trans-fatty acids, and of course,
sugar. Toaster pastries, muffins, and cinnamon buns aren’t much better.
The worst thing about doughnuts and these other pastries, aside from
their nutritional content, is that they’re often presented to children
as acceptable breakfast choices. These delicious deadlies need to be
categorized properly—as desserts, to be eaten very sparingly. And you
can’t have dessert for breakfast.
Instead: Honestly, a slice of whole wheat toast
spread with sugar-free fruit spread or peanut butter isn’t going to get
as many fans as a chocolate-filled Krispy Kreme doughnut, but at some
point, you have to stand firm. Be the cop who doesn’t like doughnuts.
Doughnuts—not for breakfast. Period.
9. Pizza
In moderation, pizza can be a fairly decent choice. If you order the
right toppings, you can get in most of your food groups. The problem
comes with processed meats like pepperoni and sausage, which add fat and
nitrates/nitrites (see #3, Lunch meat and hot dogs, above); and the
overabundance of cheese, which will also provide more calories and fat
than a child needs.
Instead: Try making your own pizza with your kids.
Use premade whole wheat crusts, or whole wheat tortillas, English
muffins, or bread as a base. Then brush on HFCS-free sauce, and set up a
workstation with healthy ingredients like diced chicken breast, sliced
turkey dogs, and vegetables that each child can use to build his or her
own pizza. Then sprinkle on a little cheese, bake, and serve. If your
child gets used to eating pizza like this, delivery pizzas may seem
unbearably greasy after awhile.
Someday your children will come to realize that caped men in tights
and sponges who live under the sea might not have their best interests
at heart when it comes to food. Until then, however, why not involve
them in the process of selecting and preparing healthier alternatives?
Some of these cleverly disguised wholesome foods might become their
favorites. Who knows, they may even tempt some of the overgrown children
among us!
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