Fast food was minimal in the beginning of his childhood, and non-existant as he got older and we all chose not to go there anymore because it tastes crappy, is full of crap, and makes us feel bad.

It’s all a matter of spoiling your tast buds with good, healthy, REAL food, so that the processed stuff tastes icky.

He’s twenty now and seeks out real food wherever he goes.

0  0

There are a few different kinds. I like the French Fingerlings because they have a more waxy texture than the mealy texture you get with baking potatoes. New potatoes and red potatoes are in between if that makes sense.

That said, in my layperson’s opinion, dense potatoes like fingerlings, red potatoes and sweet potatoes are harder to get good crispy fries out of since they’re more moist so I don’t blame you guys for frustration.

Try slicing them thinner (shoestring), into chips instead of fries, increasing the heat and/or using a broiler pan, grill rack or other device that lets air get underneath/onto more of the surface of the potato. If that doesn’t work, just eat them a different way.

As for the “not eating again until morning”, with a kid that age, of course it does nothing good to be hardcore. Since I haven’t dealt with picky eaters, on the odd occasion we’ve made something truly objectionable (stuff like curried salmon burgers don’t always go over well), assuming they’ve tried it, we’ve said, “that’s fine, you don’t have to eat it…you can have some crackers if you want”. There have been a few suppers of crackers and a glass of milk over the years.

But, that’s in the context of the other meals/snacks being eaten during the day. I DO know parents who say “that’s fine, you don’t have to eat it” and their kid eats crackers and milk (or worse…stuff like mayonnaise sandwiches) for almost EVERY meal.

0  0

I know/knew you have children, including small children.

For us, and this may have been similar for you with your first child, another challenge is actually telling a 26 month old child that they wont get to eat again until morning if they dont eat whats in front of them. First, they dont really understand some things. Pretty much they operate in real time. Second, there is the probably irrational fear that you are doing the wrong thing. Like, jeez, will he starve? Will he sleep with no food? What if he gets dehydrated, etc. Probably irrational I know, but real just the same.

For a person like me, who had very little experience with children before having my own, ever interaction with the child is a learning experience, and every day that I dont somehow break or damage him is a small miracle.

0  0

0  0

Fingerling potatoes: Cut in half lengthwise. Put in a large ziplock bag with a small amount of olive oil, a dash of sea salt or other coarse salt and a dusting of whatever herbs/spices you’re in the mood for. Zip and shake until they’re coated. Spray cooking spray in a baking dish. Dump the potatoes in and bake at 350 or 400 for about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour depending on the size.

I’ll also do the same as above, but cut into french fries instead of halves or quarters and spread/bake them on an air bake pan until they’re crispy. Fingerling potatoes are good for mashing as well, but that’s kind of like using kobe beef in a burger. Why spend 2x for ingredients with negligible difference in result.

Depending on the time of year/what’s in the CSA box, we’ll also add beets, ramps, onions, garlic, turnips, sunchokes, sweet potatoes, etc. Roasted veggies/baked sweet potato fries are a staple year-round at our house.

0  0

Chances are they will choose to test you when you are at a restraunt, or at the grand parents house, or some other place where other do gooders are likely to try to intervene and sabatotage all your good intentions.

hah, isn’t that the joy of being a grandparent–doing all the things to screw up the kid and then stick them back in the hands of the parent who has to deal with the problems? Fortunately (and quite unfortunately) when we have kids they will not have the exposure to their grandparents that many do as our relatives all live 12+ hours away.

Even if your day care provider is world class (we love ours), the other
children at daycare all come from different homes.

My wife and I hope that this will not be an issue as we have decided to have a stay-at-home parent. If you thought the Budget Nazi was bad now, just wait!

0  0

We try very hard to make sure our child eats healthy food. Certainly he eats healthier than we do, and we now eat alot healthier than we did 3 years ago, so things are moving in the right direction.

Here is the thing a number of you non parents are forgetting. First, for MANY children, a huge part of thier exposure to food will be with other people. Day care providers. Grand Parents. Neighbors. Baby sitters. Etc.

Even if your day care provider is world class (we love ours), the other children at daycare all come from different homes. So its almost without a doubt that your kid will witness other kids throwing food fits. They will hear kids talking about how gross certain things are. The will also, without a doubt choose to test you. Thats what two year olds do. Chances are they will choose to test you when you are at a restraunt, or at the grand parents house, or some other place where other do gooders are likely to try to intervene and sabatotage all your good intentions.

We have been going through a pineapple a week all summer long. Our child LOVES pineapple. Then two days ago Pineapple became the devils food. Seriously, the pineapple must have been attacking him with knives from the screaming that happened when Pineapple was set on the table.

A less than humorous story that fits right in. Its not so much food, but my Brother in law choose to teach our child how to run a water fountain at about 18 months. Now public waterfountains are a true risk to clean dry clothes every time we pass one. I doubt if said brother in law meant to create a water fountain terrorist, but my goodness how fascinating the water fountains are to a two year old.

0  0

I guess I just read the story a bit differently, as though Bill and/or the chef were saying, “Look, its not hard to get kids to eat healthy!”

Chad, I’m sorry I gave that impression. I realize it’s not easy to do, I was just saying that I wasn’t given a choice otherwise. So while it wasn’t a hard thing for me (or my parents), I do realize that it is for others. That said, I still don’t believe I will give my own children a choice when the time comes and hope for the best.

0  0

I guess I just read the story a bit differently, as though Bill and/or the chef were saying, “Look, its not hard to get kids to eat healthy!” Following up a statement like that by feeding the kid fresh fruit, soda, a cheeseburger, and ice cream is not really going to help most parents who struggle daily with feeding healthy food to thier kids.

Can you share how you make the fingerling potatoes? I am curious.

0  0

“Healthy” means more than just calories/fat/cholesterol. Many times “healthy” is measured by what foods/ingredients DON’T have. A flax seed whole grain bun is going to be healthier than one with refined flour and preservatives. Flax seed is a great source of fiber and fatty acids which, among other things, are said to promote healthy cholesterol levels. “Artisan” cheese may be on par numbers-wise with processed cheese, but you aren’t getting dyes, preservatives and additives. Grass-fed beef is superior nutritionally to run-of-the-mill corn-fed. It has a better balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Plum katsup (ketchup for me) is probably better. Roasted fingerling potatoes (which my kids devour) are clearly better than McDonalds french fries.

If you really want to get into the details, and Lenny Russo is incredibly articulate about ALL of this, the health benefits of that meal extend to the health of the land and the food supply itself. There are a lot of great lessons for kids in understanding local, sustainable and organic food. I’d much rather support an artisan cheese maker who is going to be a good steward of his land than Kraft. I find comfort knowing that Chef Russo is sourcing his beef from a farm/farmer he’s visited and has likely butchered himself rather than eating beef from a slaughterhouse with questionable food safety practices and rampant with e-coli. That’s the second picture of “healthy”.

Third, goes to simple appreciation of the flavor of foods. The more I experience high quality food, the less tolerance I have for things like McDonalds, Culvers, etc. This is where being a “food snob” (which I am not 100%) has some positive benefits.

My kids don’t like fast food as much because they simply know how great food can taste. Put McDonalds “Apple Dippers” next to a Honeycrisp that we picked ourselves and see what happens. Same for just about anything else.

Of course fast food has a role in the reality of our lives (traveling, etc.) But we use high-quality food at home and seek it when we go out whenever possible and they have less tolerance/desire for the junk food because it simply doesn’t taste good.

0  0

Greg #2, you could have said that you prefer Pepsi over Coke after that statement, and I STILL would have thought you were a rock star. I don’t know who Greg #1 is, but you’re aces in my book.

Regarding feeding kids, if I had to do it all over again, I would have put the kibosh on fast food for our youngest until he had established good eating habits, demonstrated a willingness to try new things, etc. The eldest was raised this way, and i should have put fast food on hold even for him for a while when the youngest was starting to eat regular food to make sure that those good habits were nurtured in Mini-Whit. Now its a continuous struggle with him, while the eldest willingly chooses to try various melons, pickled daikon radish, etc.,

0  0

How many times have we seen a kid fall and act fine UNTIL the parent says “oh are you ok” suddenly we give the kids a different kind of attention and the kid suddenly starts crying. The kid was fine until we acted differently and placed a value.

Im not a parent, Loves these kids, I know every kid is different but this seems to work for these kids. Free choice, no food value.

0  0

0  0

I grew up being picky, and there were foods that I just didn’t like, beans, beets, etc, but my parents always found some alternative that I would eat. I loved carrots, apples, and enough other fruits and veggies that it was OK I think.

It far surpasses the parents who deal with the issue by getting McDonalds or any other host of crappy fast food that makes you feel crappy later, and contributes to the obesity factor in our country.

Plain and simple, kids will always be a pain in the ass about something, so find replacements for the weird crap, heck I still don’t eat broccoli. No, I don’t have kids, but I can say that of my friends that do have kids, I can see a distinct difference in kids that walk all over their parents, and get whatever they want for food, or parents that just don’t care enough, vs. the parents that include a balanced and healthy meal plan in their child’s life. Part of it falls back on the parenting methods, but I can see a distinct difference in the attitudes and behaviors of these kids too. I know I sure feel better when I eat healthy than when I eat like crap for a week, and am less crabby to boot.

Aside from Chipotle and BW3, I haven’t really eaten fast food in as long as I can recall. Mainly, because it’s a HUGE FREAKING WASTE of money – 5$ a head for a crappy meal, family of 4, that’s 20$ a day that could easily be spent on fixings for a healthy meal at home.

0  0

0  0

0  0

Now, the parent I mention above that I spoke with recently about feeding children just laughed and laughed when I told him that I was going to treat my children the way I was treated at the dinner table. His response was something along the lines of do I really want to have my child grow up like I did. My answer to that was, “yes.”

I hope that my children are as easy to feed as I was but I do realize that this can be a challenge. Will I ever let myself stoop to the level of feeding multiple dinners to multiple children? Absolutely not. But I probably will limit what I feed them so that they are at least somewhat more willing to eat what’s put in front of them.

Ugh.

0  0

0  0

Joey has it right. The ‘choice’ is eat this food or be hungry until the next meal. I watch my sister-in-law prepare three plates of food for her three children. One child will ONLY eat dinosaur chicken nuggets. This is a learned behavior. Period. My brother-in-law follows a more traditional “this is dinner” approach. Neither of his two children are starving, they might not like everything presented but they know better than to make a fuss…and they don’t treat their parents like staff.

0  0

‘Course – some folks will eat anything if they can chase it with Pepsi! ;))))))

Oh no he didn’t…

0  0