I have to be honest that without my wife supporting me in living a healthy lifestyle, I probably wouldn't be. She's amazing when it comes to preparing greens and lean meats and always having them available for me and the kids. Getting kids to eat healthy is tough, and getting them to go paleo is even harder. So my wife and I had an agreement that the kids would NOT go paleo, however they would ALWAYS have balanced meals (1/3 protein, 2/3 carbs, and a moderate amount of fat). This has worked quite well since our kids usually get to eat what they request (and what they know they can get).
This all fell apart when I come home one day and see the giant bag of pancake mix shown above, that my wife bought from Costco. Since neither my wife nor I eat them, I knew this entire bag was going to my girls (now almost 4 and 2.5 yrs old). I quietly cringed every time they chomped on a piece of toast, but I couldn't deal with knowing the damage this would do to them over time, and considering that they LOVE pancakes this bag would go pretty fast.
After a conversation with my wife, we've agreed to return this bag to Costco. In addition, we're now introducing paleo meals slowly and transitioning away from glutens. Surprisingly – IT'S WORKING! Paleo can be totally fun and kids can totally love it. Check out this conversation with my older daughter the other day:
Mom: "What are you favorite foods hon?"
Shaila: "Eggplant, cauliflower rice, and sweet potatoes!"
I was like "score!" As part of this initiative though, my wife had difficulty finding creative ways to go paleo for the kids. Fortunately that is NOT an issue because I put her on to these awesome blogs that contain recipe after recipe to Nutritionize your kids:
- Every Day Paleo – This site is run by Sarah Fragoso, a CrossFit trainer, wife and mother of three. She posts tons of great recipes that are great for families, or anyone.
- Feasting on Fitness – Run by Kristy Amory, a coach at CrossFit Santa Cruz, and loaded with great recipes
- Eat Move Thrive – Great recipe blog for when you want to get fancy and stay paleo
- Nutrtitionize Favorite Recipes – I've tried most of these that Theo's been posting and they are awesome!
- The Uber Paleo Recipe Book – An awesome resource. It's a 92 page recipe book of all primal/paleo foods. I printed this out for my wife. J
Kale chips anyone? J
Thanks for the shout out! Glad to see you are making the commitment to go paleo with the whole family! I commend your effort! I hope more parents can see through your experience that YES it can be done and is best for your kids’ health now and throughout their lives. I can’t stand it when I see overweight children eating junk food and know that their parents are giving them a lifetime of health problems. You are taking the other route, by feeding your kids the healthiest food to nourish and not harm you are giving them the foundation for a lifetime of health, and a long life at that 🙂 Good job!
Thanks Kristy! Also, Jamie Oliver’s food revolution is a great show that’s raising awareness for millions.
http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/about-the-show
Props to Jamie Oliver!
AJ, you’re raising them right! Good work. I love learning from you and this blog 🙂
Thanks for your support Herm, you rock!
Good for you and Joyti! I miss the little munchkins, when are you going to bring them in!
Well Smita, I was thinking to bring them to an upcoming outdoor event (aka “Big CrossFit”) For some reason Shaila freaks out whenever I bring her to the cell. I’ll bring Saniya sometime soon!
Well Smita, I was thinking to bring them to an upcoming outdoor event (aka “Big CrossFit”) For some reason Shaila freaks out whenever I bring her to the cell. I’ll bring Saniya sometime soon!
Great start with your kids. They are only little so you pretty much have complete control over what they eat — but wait until they start going to birthday parties and sleep overs at other people’s houses: that’s when it starts to get really difficult. Also when other kids come to your house — they’ll be turning their noses up at snack time ‘cos you won’t have Goldfish crackers for them.
That’s for sure Cathy. I think it’s huge that they simply know what a protein is at this point. 🙂 Our intention is that as they grow up they have the foundation to make the right choices!
That’s for sure Cathy. I think it’s huge that they simply know what a protein is at this point. 🙂 Our intention is that as they grow up they have the foundation to make the right choices!