Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Dillema



Regina and Veronica were a ball of emotions today. Dang Valentine's day cookie. Actually, I don't know if that as enough of a sugar-rush to cause all crying and grumpiness today, but it seems like it correlated. 


So here's the dilemma: How do you keep kids Primal/healthy while still allowing them to partake of foods at parties/school/friend's houses. etc.?  

 I don't believe in taking the line of "you can never eat anything off the primal "plan." All that will create is children who at the age of 16, will drive to McDonald's as soon as they pass their driving test.


Yet, the fall-out of allowing them to cheat is not a barrel of laughs. 

Now, Regina (8) is old enough to realize there is a link between what she eats and how she feels. 

Veronica (barely 7) seems to be hit the hardest with food cheats. And she's not quiet mature enough to realize that the cheating is the cause of her emotional issues the next day.

 Amy (5.5) seems to react really well to cheating. She doesn't seem to have emotional or physical issues. I tend not to worry about her anyway since she has always been good about freely choosing healthy foods over the unhealthy ones.


And the baby (2) ... well, we can't tell much of anything with her since her standard mode is to cry and be generally difficult (even though she's cute). 

I have to be on top of their allergies and I don't allow them leeway with these foods, but what should I do with the Primal diet in general? At this point they are too young to fully understand the consequences, and yet, they're not animals, so they do need some sense of control. It's also very important that they learn to make good choices in life, even when Mom and Dad aren't around. 


Thoughts?




This morning we had eggs for breakfast. Veronica had requested eggs last night, so in an attempt to boost her spirits, I made her extra. (It didn't work.)


Then the kids packed left over chicken and steak, peppers, trail mix, and water. 


I didn't eat anything all day. I just wasn't hungry. I did drink plenty of water though. 


I'm not sure about Tom. I haven't debriefed with him yet. 


For dinner, my wonderful Mother In Law came over to babysit, while Tom and I met up with friends for some Mexican food.  We ordered fajitas minus the rice, beans, and tortillas. I had no chips, but Tom decided he wanted to eat them. Hopefully they will not cause him a problem since he seems to be more sensitive to gluten, and those were corn chips.


And now I'm drinking more water.   

This weekend I hope to play around with some more baking recipes. Veronica had mentioned feeling "weird" and "not normal" because her friends don't know why she can't eat grains. Given that she is so sensitive to food changes, I don't want to reintroduce grains/carbs yet. So maybe I can find a coconut flour recipe for a mock-bread or something....

10 comments:

  1. I make this Coconut Bread from PaleoPlan.com, it is a nice slightly sweet (I do put in the honey) bread and makes delicious french toast which I top with fresh blueberries! Yum!

    COCONUT BREAD

    Ingredients


    6 eggs
    1/2 c. Virgin Coconut Oil
    2 tablespoons honey (optional)
    ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
    3/4 c. sifted Coconut Flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder

    Instructions
    Blend together eggs, oil, honey and salt.
    Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps.
    Pour into greased 9x5x3 inch or smaller loaf pan and bake at 175C (350F) for 40 minutes.
    Remove from pan and cool on rack.

    Bon Appetit!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just finished reading the Primal Blueprint a couple of days ago.
    It seems to me a major theme of the book is this is not a strict regimen. You have to not obsess over it. Follow the guidelines. They include room for cheating about 15% of the time.
    Also, I would say, there is no way to keep control of your children all of the time. You have to accept that. Teach your kids the best you can why you feed them the way you do and let them know they are the ones who suffer when they cheat and what form the suffering will take - no, it isn't "timeout." It is allergic reactions. It us up to them to decide, even though they are small, what they are going to eat when you are not there because you aren't there. There is nothing you can do about it except train them as best you can.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True. The problem is: people think "I'll cheat just a little here and there..." but it adds up and you don't realize your every once and a while cheat, is really more like 40% of the time. I dont' want that.

      Yeah, I have no desire to control my kids. And as I've stated, we do talk a lot about food and what it does for/to you. So we're set there. They just want to fit in. Ugh

      Thanks for the thoughts!

      Delete
  3. I just saw this bread recipe the other day made of almond meal, coconut flour and jack cheese... sounds delicious:

    "JIFFY CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD -- This bread is very reminiscent of the real thing. It is soft, flavorful and bread-like. In addition, it toasts well."
    http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/plain-bread-and-grilled-cheese.html

    It does call for some oat flour... I'd replace it with flaxseed or more almond meal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well, I have one child who is allergic to almonds, so I'd have to find something to switch it out with... thanks for the idea!

      Delete
  4. I admit, it's much easier for me since we homeschool and my mother in law (only place we regularly visit) is very similar to us. It allows me to be ok with cheats since they are so rare.
    I know a lot of moms who send their kids to social situations will send along legal snacks if they know there is going to be an event or treats. It might help to have something legal that you don't overuse at home so the specialness is maintained and they can be excited about having their legal treat for a special occasion, even if others are eating something else. Larabars, maybe? A certain special dried fruit you reserve for occasions (apricots? mangoes?) Something like that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. http://www.lifeasaplate.com/2010/12/16/the-best-grain-free-gluten-free-sandwich-bread-in-the-history-of-man/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kudos to your kids for not cheating with the treats! They have character.

    If you're still looking for additional Primal Approved treats, there is an excellent website you may want to look at if you haven't already: www.elenaspantry.com. She also has a cookbook that I just received today via Amazon. I note that she says Bob's Red Mill almond flour is more of an almond meal than a finely ground flour and that's the almond "flour" I have, so I'll need to find an online source or get a better food processor and make my own from blanched almonds. The receipes in her cookbook include everything from bread, cookies, crackers and pie crusts to main meals.

    On a side note, for our Valentines dinner I made steak and shrimp with spinach tossed in butter and a bit of finely grated fresh Romano cheese. For dessert I made the baked custard in Mark Sisson's cookbook. It tasted a bit of the coconut flavor since it uses coconut milk, but I love that flavor. The texture was equal to a cow's milk custard. We ate the rest of it for breakfast today. We figured it had as many eggs as an omelet so why not! I bet your kids would enjoy that.

    I hope you will continue to find replacements for the foods you must give up. Have you and the girls tried the "Muffin in a Minute" yet? We had a young man over today that works with my husband doing odd jobs and he got a kick out of the "mug muffin." He liked it so well he asked me for the receipe!

    I think you may need to develop a few primal baked goods that your kids can take to friends’ houses and share with them, otherwise it will be tougher for them not to give in and eat wheat and other grain based snacks. It sounds like your kids have genuine food sensitivities, so they should just tell friends and their parents that they are allergic to grains. If the parents understand the alergy situation they should proactively avoid placing temptations in front of your girls.

    ReplyDelete