This past weekend I had the privilege to hear some amazing and inspiring speakers at the Institute For Integrative Nutrition Conference. The message among all of the speakers was we need to go back to the basics and eat more whole foods, fruits, vegetables, organic grass fed meats and whole grains and limit processed foods. Wonderful I thought - that's what my family does now. Or does it??
I spent this summer with my two beautiful boys and husband on vacation for a month (bread and cheese in France, etc.) and down at the beach club for the remainder of the the time. No alarm clocks, lunchboxes to be packed, homework or schedules. We relaxed and had fun. What I didn't realize over this time was how quickly processed foods crept into our diets, with whole fresh living foods being crowded out. We were eating more foods from concession stands, restaurants and I wasn't cooking as much.
I looked around my own kitchen and couldn't believe how many boxed items I have here. What happened to the real grains, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables? My husband asked "Don't you always cook healthy meals?" Do we really eat a lot of processed foods? When I went through the list : bread, pasta, pretzels, bagels, waffles, cold cereals, chips, cookies, ice cream. Yup - pretty much at every meal and no nutritional value. It's not that these foods should never be included in your diet, it's that they should be a small part. They don't provide any source of phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals or fiber that are found in fresh fruit and vegetables.
As a nutritionist I strive to keep the balance within my own family, but now realize how quickly processed foods became a staple in our home. I don't want my children to feel deprived, but where do you draw the line. No honey we don't drink soda in our home - followed by begging, whining and crying. Don't give in I tell myself and I almost crack, but we make it through dinner with water and the kids are happy. I was a happy to receive a note from the director of my sons school asking parents to send in water instead of juice and noting that juice is filled with sugar, empty calories and tends to fill the kids up.
The good news is that in one day we were eating a lot of processed foods and the next day with a conscious effort it was more fruits and vegetables, and less processed foods. I taught the kids what a processed food was (my next post will talk about this) and said we need to eat more from the whole food category. When I got them involved in the process they were more open to trying new foods and eating the vegetables that were on their plate. Last night it was broccoli, string beans and asparagus - they tried them all.
As a nutritionist I strive to keep the balance within my own family, but now realize how quickly processed foods became a staple in our home. I don't want my children to feel deprived, but where do you draw the line. No honey we don't drink soda in our home - followed by begging, whining and crying. Don't give in I tell myself and I almost crack, but we make it through dinner with water and the kids are happy. I was a happy to receive a note from the director of my sons school asking parents to send in water instead of juice and noting that juice is filled with sugar, empty calories and tends to fill the kids up.
The good news is that in one day we were eating a lot of processed foods and the next day with a conscious effort it was more fruits and vegetables, and less processed foods. I taught the kids what a processed food was (my next post will talk about this) and said we need to eat more from the whole food category. When I got them involved in the process they were more open to trying new foods and eating the vegetables that were on their plate. Last night it was broccoli, string beans and asparagus - they tried them all.
