School is getting ready to start and I feel like it's a good time to talk about dinner meals....and why it gets so much pressure .....
When I talk with friends and think about times where dinner feels stressful and tense for my family and me, I think about the thoughts and feelings that often come up around dinner and it all starts to make sense.
Dinner often takes place during the most busy time of day for families and takes the most effort to plan and coordinate, it also has a feeling associated with it like it is the last chance in the day to "get it right".
Wrap all these things into one Mom package and then, when things don't go as planned the mom guilt and destructive self talk starts to seep in....
...We NEED to get the veggies in (ugh have they eaten a vegetable today?!)
...Are they getting the right foods in the right amounts? (they say these nutrients are so important for their development)
...They HAVE to eat now or they will be asking for snacks right before bed (I know healthy eating patterns are really important, eating at night is BAD)
All this pressure leads to a tense feeling that then starts to take over the table.....
"Eat your broccoli......just take ONE bite.....if you don't eat what's on your plate no dessert......you cant get up until you eat all your veggies" ....the POWER struggle is REAL.
But it doesn't HAVE to be that way....let's take the pressure off of dinner and talk about strategies to avoid the struggle.
Make fruits, vegetables and whole grains available and VISABLE so they are more likely to be eaten throughout the day.
The more servings our family gets throughout the day, the less pressure there is at dinner to get them in.
Visual cues are very powerful, if we want our food choices to be healthy ones, make access EASY.
-Prep fruits and vegetables so they're ready to eat or buy them ready to go and DO NOT put them in the crisper
-Put them in plain sight so they're the first thing your family sees when they enter the kitchen (fruit bowl), open the fridge (kids eye level), and out on the counter (while your cooking or prepping).
-Offer fruits and veggies every change you can. In breakfast or on the side, packed in their lunch, offered for snacks. The more times they see the food, the more likely they will be to accept it and start to eat it.
Give them options, but don't be a short order cook
Kids (like adults) like autonomy, they want to feel like they have an aspect of control in the situation, hence the struggle for power at dinner over the one broccoli spear.
-Involve them in the process as much as possible, get them in the kitchen, give them easy tasks (putting options in bowls, cutting when appropriate) and give them the option to come up with their own concoctions. Who cares if they make cantaloupe and carrot soup (This is a real Blakely recipe) if they will eat it, let them make it.
-Serve foods family style with spoons for kids to serve themselves. You choose the time and the foods given, they choose the amount.
-Put two to three options of fruits and veggies on the table (mix in raw and cooked options so your not cooking a million things).
Think outside the box
- Take advantage of the times your child tends to be most hungry. If its breakfast offer fruits and veggies with breakfast or in breakfast (think shredded carrots in morning glory cookies- recipe https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-magazine/morning-glory-breakfast-cookies-2/)
-Make foods familiar even if it's not how you would eat them. Create familiar textures that your child likes. If they like crunchy or crispy foods aim for raw veggies or try mashed up roasted chick peas on the outside of cooked veggies, roasting or air frying veggies might be a good option too! If they like smooth, try a baked sweet potato mixed in with their yogurt or mashed up and let them put any toppings they want on it (featured in this post https://www.instagram.com/p/B1xIrLpnHKK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link ).
Bottom line, it's NOT going to be perfect because nothing is, including nutrition, but remember if we can slowly make fruits, veggies and whole grains present in our lifestyle and choices, that is better than where you and your family started.
STOP feeling guilty, stop comparing and start living a life that includes a less pressure filled dinner.
Comments