Food Issues with kids

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Are your kids allowed to have food that is just for them? What about lunches.

Nope..whatever we buy is for the whole family, not just one person. The only time that rule is suspended is when I purchase something I know that only I will eat (like tunafish or marshmellow Peeps). Usually we don't buy anything special for DS's lunches to take to school..I just make him something out of whatever we happen to buy that week at the grocery store.

DS LOVES fruits and veg, so I usually try to pack something that's easy for him to deal with at lunch in a baggie. A lot of time he gets canned fruit in light syrup or pear juice because fresh fruit is too expensive/impractical at the moment.
HOWEVER..we are supposed to be getting a farmer's market built in town not too far from where we live. When we do, it'll be easier/cheaper/more practical to buy fresh fruit and veg.

 

[KAMLEM]

We have certain things that my kids (11 & 6) can have whenever they want. They are things like carrots, apples, grapes, blueberries, cheese cubes, crackers, popcorn, peanuts, fruit leather, etc.....

What is "fruit leather"??? I have never heard of it.

 

[EthansMom]

I keep fresh fruit out on the kitchen counter. DS7 and DD4 are allowed to have a piece of fruit pretty much any time they want. I also buy some other favorite snacks in bulk (pretzels, goldfish crackers, nuts) which they are allowed to eat anytime except just before a meal. They can also have fruit juice (out of a jug), milk or water just about any time.

Individually-packaged items are generally for school and the kids have to ask before eating them (or they might not have anything left for lunch). I don't usually buy junk for school lunches... it's usually dried fruit, pretzels, fruit cups, string cheese, little bags of popcorn, so there's really no added incentive for the kids to go eating it all. The kids also have to ask before eating candy or any other sugar item (popsicles, etc...).

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

When my mom would buy stuff for school lunches, it was for school lunches. Don't let your kids eat stuff at home that you buy for their lunch. Problem solved.

 

[what about bob]

We don't buy prepackaged snacks. The kids make cookies or whatever, and when they are gone they are gone.

Mostly we rely on fruits and veggies for snacking. And bites of cheese.

We also make pepparoni rolls for grab and goes.

 

[mjantz]

My kids have a list of after-school snacks they are allowed to have. They can have 2 snacks but they have to ask for the 2nd or anything else not on the approved list. We've had a few setbacks (I insist on chips in a bowl, not out of the bag for portion control) but in general it works well.
I also have a huge bowl that is just for snacks to take to school or when we go on road trips or days out.

Some of the things they can have for after school snacks include:

-cheesestick
-apple or apple slices
-small bowl of chips
-broccoli or carrots with ranch dressing
-small bowl of pretzels
-yogurt or gogurt

They have to ask for:

-a second snack
-candy
-ice cream
-lunch meat (they'll eat it straight out of the package if not stopped)
-cookies
-anything not on the first list

 

[MushyMushy]

With two teenagers and two dogs in the house, yes, we have a ton of food issues! When I was growing up, anything that was in the pantry was fair game for everyone. It kind of drives me nuts that it can't be like that for us.

When I buy food I put it in the cupboard and figure if someone else gets to it first, then thems just the breaks in life. DH really gets upset over it. He'll peg something as "his" without telling the kids and then gets ticked off if they grab them. Just last night he got into spat with my son because DS had grabbed DH's peanuts off the table to eat some (it was a tiny bag of maple covered peanuts from a festival). I told him he was making a mountain out of a molehill and should have hidden them if they were only his.

And then there are the dogs. Nothing is safe from them.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

What is "fruit leather"??? I have never heard of it.

I think another term for this is "Fruit Rollup". Or you can make your own at home w/o all the sugar,etc.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1619,147178-245200,00.html

 

[clarabelle]

When my mom would buy stuff for school lunches, it was for school lunches. Don't let your kids eat stuff at home that you buy for their lunch. Problem solved.

Is that what you do with your kids?
Part of the problem is deciding what is for lunch and what isn't. Something one thinks is fair game the other doesn't. They also squabble a little bit over food (you would think we didn't have any -but we do-I promise )
Also -they just always seem to go for the junk first. So If I have loads of healthy options and a few not so great ones -they go through those pretty quick and then complain that there is nothing to eat.
I am loving all these suggestions
Thanks again

 

[camreesmom]

I feel your pain! People think we're crazy because we have a lock on the fridge in the garage. That's where we keep sodas, juice boxes, gatorades, etc. I'm seriously thinking about putting a lock on the pantry, too. We have 6 kids in the house plus my nephew stays afterschool until his mom gets off work. I buy the individually packaged snacks from Sam's Club and those are for lunches only. The big bags of chips and cookies plus fruits and veggies, string cheese, lunch meat are all free for the taking. We always have milk, koolaid, frozen juices and gatorade mix to drink but the big kids will try to get the sodas and bottled gatorade because they're too lazy to mix a pitcher of juice, koolaid or gatorade. They buy lunch at school so they aren't worried about having snacks/drinks to pack. DH, DD9, DD5 and I all pack lunches. The 100 calorie packs are definitely off limits but DN12 is my sister's only child so he is used to being able to grab whatever he wants to eat/drink. I think it's different when you have only one child so my sister doesn't understand. She only goes thru 1/2 gallon of milk per week where we go thru 4-5 gallons though!

 

[PatsMom]

I think another term for this is "Fruit Rollup". Or you can make your own at home w/o all the sugar,etc.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1619,147178-245200,00.html

Fruit leather is different from a fruit rollup. Its made of real fruit and is all natural. You can buy it in the organic foods section at Hannaford or Shaws. I think it is truly nasty stuff but DD likes it. But not as much as she likes the totally artifcial, loaded with bad for you stuff, fruit roll ups from Betty Crocker!

 

[mytwotinks]

What is "fruit leather"??? I have never heard of it.

I see this was already answered, but I thought I'd add where I buy it. Costco has a great big box with tons (maybe 25 or 30 but I don't know for sure) for $9. If you buy it at Target (same brand) it's like $3.75 for 6. My youngest isn't fooled by it. She wants the junk, but I can't buy that anymore because of the food coloring. It all has red in it. My 11 year old really likes it though. I don't like dehydrated anything so I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole!

It is like a fruit roll-up without the artificial stuff.

 

[slo]

My DD takes her lunch 3 days a week, and the drink that I buy for her lunches are not to be drank at home She knows this and there's no arguing, because she knows that the minute she starts an argument, I'm not going to buy them anymore

Any type of chip, I buy large bags, and put them in a ziploc type bag for her for school. These she can eat at home, because they are for the whole family.

So, I guess the only thing I buy really special is the drink