Janice poses with Aevin, a Mother’s Day Out Student at K-2 Academy of Kid’s Sports.

SPOTLIGHT:

Fighting Back Against the Food Industry

By Janice Welch
K2 Academy of Kid’s Sports

Everywhere you look these days you see horrible excuses for food, marketed directly to our children. You have shocking pink and electric blue drinks (Can you imagine how much dye shocking pink takes?). There is oatmeal in easy individualized packs that actually have dinosaurs pop up when you add the water and heat it. The garbage contained in boxes of cereal for kids is astonishing. We wonder why seemingly typical children have behavioral issues. Look at the way we start their day. Breakfasts containing Pop Tarts, Toaster Strudel, Chocolate Chip Waffles, just to name a few. Even many of the Natural Organic cereals are loaded with Evaporated Organic Cane Juice (fancy name for SUGAR). And in all reality we as parents struggling to make a healthy diet, are at a disadvantage. The Food industry bombards our children with wonderful bright colors, exciting characters, and products that actually are quite addictive.

So, I guess it is time to fight back. Let’s be honest, the packaging of most health foods leaves little to be desired in the minds of young children. Especially when in the other isles there is a cool cheetah wearing shades on a brightly colored bag of snack chips. And lets be real, does your oatmeal that you sweetened yourself with just a little raw honey, stevia*, and cinnamon stand a chance against bright colored dinosaur magic?

Quite simply the answer is yes. You are a mom (or a dad), and you are the expert on your child, not the advertising departments at these food companies. Make it your goal to be the best marketer of the healthy food you make for your family. Take the plain oatmeal box and some Ziploc baggies. Hit the toy store and invest in stickers of your child’s favorite characters. Also pick up some small little toys, maybe a pack of assorted dinosaur figures (just make sure they aren’t on the list for lead recall – but that is a different topic altogether).

Decorate the bags differently so there is plenty of variety to choose from. Then measure out one small serving of oats, cinnamon, raisins (or other dried fruit they like – remember you are the expert), and maybe a sweetener like Xylitol* into each bag. Throw in a little toy (you know, the prize in the cereal box thinking) to make it even more exciting. The great thing about having it in one bag is that your child can pour it in their bowl, retrieve their prize, measure the water with a measuring cup, and then let you heat it for them. If your child is on a gluten free diet, try this idea with Cream of Buckwheat or Quinoa cereal (actually the deviation from traditional grains is very important for all kids).

Of course to balance out this fun bowl of carbohydrates, make sure to include a generous portion of protein. Nothing is worse than a big bowl of what will sooner than later turn into sugar. That is a terrible way to start the day, a sugar high and then a late morning crash! Add an egg, natural cheese, natural nitrate free bacon or sausage on the side.

Use your imagination and creativity to fight back. Remember, they are your children, and when health problems arise later, the Food industry won’t be there to help, and it will be all up to you.

(*Stevia can be found at your local health food store, it is a non-caloric naturally super sweet plant extract that has the taste of licorice – I like to use a few drops in combination with raw honey, molasses, pure maple syrup, or Xylitol to cut down on the sugar load.)

(*Xylitol can be found at your local health food store, it is a naturally sweet substance made from birch tree bark or corn. It can be used exactly like sugar, but is not digestible and actually has the added benefit of being a natural antibacterial – a word of caution though, too much of it may cause loose stools, so don’t go crazy – the idea is to lightly sweeten foods to break you or your child from sugar cravings).

For more information, please contact Janet Welch at K-2 Academy of Kid's Sports, 12603 Louetta Road, Suite 114, Cypress, TX, 77429, (281) 655-7272. Visit the web site for information on gymnastics, cheer and tumbling classes, SOAR, Mother’s Day Out and After-Care programs.