Kids and Protein Power Plan

[Marilee13]

I have two kids 1 & 4. My husband and I have been on the program since 2000, through pregnancy and all, and have two healthy boys to show for it! Anyway, I enrolled my 4 year old in school (he actually started last year at age 3). We are having a difficult time with snack time at school. All the parents take turns bringing in snacks to share with all the kids. I've passed out information to the other parents on trans fat and how important it is to eliminate this from our children's diet and especially to NOT bring trans fat items for snack but to little to no avail. In addition, the snacks that are brought in are often high in carbs. We cannot bring anything that we make ourselves and there is no refrigeration.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to make my preschoolers snack time healthier and get the rest of the parents on board? My child is going to go to school 3 days next year and I think this is TOO much carb and trans fat. In addition, I'm beginning to worry about full time school. How do you approach this when the kids hit school age?

[Gaelen]

Marilee, I thought this thread might get more of a response in this forum.

[gator8me]

Marilee,
You have VERY vaild concerns. Have you seriously thought of homeschooling? Other than that the only way to make a change is to get a lot of other concerned parents on board. You still won't be able to completely control though unless you offer to bring the snack yourself everyday as there will most probably in all reality be at least a few parents who will balk at complying with anything different unless it is implamented by the school itself. Hmmm was that a run on sentence or what? lol

Another idea would be to fix your child their own snack. Kind of like if you sent them with their own box lunch when they get older.

Personally, I would definitly consider homeschooling at least for awhile as a valid alternative. Not sure where you live but there are homeschooling groups everywhere these days. I never had a problem finding ways for my kids to socialize when I was doing it. :)

[SherryJ]

Marilee, WELCOME, and CONGRATS on getting this far, LOL!

As for you not bringing anything in... wow! Anything?!?!?!

I, personally, would go to the person in charge, and say, "Due to health reasons, my kid can NOT eat anything except what I give him..." It's up to you whether or not you go into the details. I'd ask to be taken OFF the list for bringing in snacks, and ONLY take care of my kid's food.

If you are giving him stuff that needs to be kept cold, a cool insulated lunch bag is just the ticket...

OR, as Ally says... you can always homeschool! :)

Sherry

[Thedabara]

I think what Sherry said is a great idea! The only non refrigerated snack I could think of was pork rinds!:D Although my kids eat them all the time (in leiu of cheese puffs etc...) I can see the other parents reaction that it is junk food. The kids are too little for nuts....
Everytime the subject of schools and food choices are brought up, I am so very grateful we homeschool!:) I'm not going to push that angle though. I realize some people don't really want to, etc...
It is amazing that I cannot come up with anything...but we don't buy processed snacks etc....
although, how about berries and cheddar cheese? If you bring the cheese in an insulated container, it need not be in the fridge at all. Cheese shops leave hard cheeses on the counters all day (I used to work in one, way back). Both of my kids love cheddar. (They are 3 and 5).
anyway, good luck!
Jenny

[PPmama]

The communal snack thing is what they do in my son's kindergarten. From the beginning of the school year, I insisted that nothing he eat at snack contain trans fat (and that means no hydrogenated oils whatsoever, not just "0 per serving"). So...I take sacks of trail mix and they put his name on them for snack--so whatever nonsense the others eat does not include him. On special occasions I am lenient (I won't deny him the odd piece of birthday cake or halloween candy...), but by and large that is the rule.

On the other hand, I hope you have better luck than I--I actually had to go back and re-specify TWICE that I did not approve of sugary snacks or other food being used as part of a lesson plan (graphing with skittles, counting m&m's...).

[Karen J]

PPmama, I'm sorry, but what is a SAHM? :D

My son will be 4 in 9 days (wow!), and he is also in PreSchool. We are also not allowed to bring anything home made, or anything with nuts. According to our county guidelines, all snacks must be prepackaged in a licensed facility and unopened upon arrival at preschool. Most of the Moms bring Graham crackers, cupcakes, cookies, fruit snacks, etc.

When it was my turn for bringing snacks, I was instructed that it was "orange" day. So obviously, I brought oranges. Three different kinds. Lots of sugar, but at least "real".

Usually, I like to bring cheese or deli trays. As long as they are "natural" cheeses, I am OK with that. It's easy to find at the local grocery.
Veggie trays are also OK, but I purchase the dip separately and make sure it's the healthiest dip available. Meat trays are also acceptable at my preschool, although it's impossible to find meat trays that aren't loaded with nitrites, nitrates, etc. One time I bought nitrite free, hormone free, antibiotic free salami at Trader Joe's and brought that in with some cheddar. It was an expensive snack for 13 kids, but worth it IMO. Even the teacher thought I was nuts.

Here are some of "their" ideas for healthy snacks.
Unhealthy (IMO):

fruit roll-ups
Bakery items (sealed)
Pizza from a pizzeria
Microwavable pizza puffs
sub sandwiches
whole grain muffins (Dunkin Donuts)
bagels with jelly
Jello
Ice cream
Bagel dogs
Biscotti
Mini Muffins
Teddy grahams
Goldfish crackers
Mini boxes of raisins
Pretzels
Crackers

Can you believe they think that garbage is healthy?! Add that to the "100% juice" and it makes for a ton of sugar. :mad:

Healthy (IMO):
Veggie trays & dip
Fruit platter
Apples (pre-sliced, in a bag)
Celery, carrots, or other veggies
Deli Tray (meats/cheese cubes)
Wrapped natural cheeses/string
cheese & crackers (?)

:D Wouldn't it be nice to expose them to sardines??? Can you see the looks on their faces? Can you see the looks on the TEACHERS faces?! :D

[Thedabara]

Oh the thought of all those kids and Sardines had me rolling on the floor! :) I needed that pick me up this morning! By the way, a SAHM means a stay at home mom. It sounds to me, Karen that you do a great job with bringing good food to eat! as for expense, I decided a few years ago that I would no longer scrimp and save money by buying cheap (unhealthy) foods. I'd much rather my kids eat well, than have a few extra dollars in my pocket. So, I think if my kids were in your situation I wouldn't bat an eyelash about brinning in a meat tray! We have (homemade) meat/cheese/veggie trays at lunch here all the time! Well, usually when I don't feel like cooking.
Jenny

[Karen J]

Thedabara, Oohh silly me! I couldn't figure that out, even though I am a SAHM too. Thank you.

You make a good point about the expense. The right nutrition is worth every penny.

Come to think of it, if I had taken all the money that I used to spend on junk, and put it in the bank.... :eek:... I could buy a giant freezer for all those nice, grass fed cows... :D... and then some!

[PPmama]

KarenJ:
Stay At Home Mom :)

If I were given the rule that nothing could be homemade or fresh (like fruit, which doesn't come in a sealed package), I would absolutely fly through the roof and insist that I provide my kid's own snack.

That list is nothing but junk.

Or...do what I do: specify 3 rules and you will wipe 3/4 of the unhealthy items from this list, easily: No soy (including TVP and so on), no hydrogenated oils of any kind, no High Fructose Corn Syrup or juices from concentrate. You will seriously get the attention of every parent if they had to start looking for those needles in a haystack that don't contain one or more of those.;)

IN other news, there is a show being advertised on The Learning Channel called "Honey, we're killing the kids!" in which they supposedly project what the kids will look like based on current eating trends and so on. If they did it right, woudln't it be wonderful (alas...somehow I just know they are going to bang the low fat drum...or hold up some low-protein vegan waif as an example of "fit."):rolleyes:

[LisaS]

man - when I was a kid (K, 1st grade) - we did get a snack - but it was a carton of milk, provided (as far as I know) by the school. probably full-fat milk too, as this was the mid-60s.

[glendak]

Hi
I agree PPmama!!! I just joined and not as informed about the jiuces from concentrate....is it because they are so high in sugars? :confused: :( I wasn't sure if there was something else I should know about them. I tell me kids they are only allowed 1 juice glass per day and that the fruit is prefered to the juice!!! I had a particular challenge when my ballet-dancing teenager was in the "grey-area" of an eating disorder.:( ...it was stemming alot from the pressure of competitions and festivals. The dietician she saw on a weekly basis at the adolescent health centre taught her about the "old" Canadian Food Guide and the counsellor we saw didn't agree with our PP approach to eating. This guide and counselling lead her to believe that she needed a whole slew of high-carb foods which she choose to eat. We have never lead our children to a strict PP diet and restricted them but guided them to healthier choices. :cool: My family has a history of metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disorders ect. It was a big source of conflict for our family for a period of time.....All resolved now I may add:D
Glenda

[PPmama]

Glenda:

Juices from concentrate are a bit of a harsh one for some people. The concentrations of fructose are a little extreme and because fructose is metabolized differently it is a bit hard on the body and can seriously upset mineral balances (thus also potentially impairing glucose tolerance over time). A glass of OJ from concentrate (depending on brand) has the sugars from 8 oranges or so. (I teach my kids to drink water and eat their fruit.) Every now and then I whip up a good berry frosty or something.

Sorry to hear about your daughter and her troubles. (Boy don't we wish there could be a wand to wave for the teenage years?)

I can honestly say I hope my kid never brings home another food pyramid when he is old enough to tell me I am wrong-wrong-wrongy-wrong about everything and should be eating heaping mounds of pasta. :rolleyes: Hopefully he will listen when I tell him that there is a genetic predisposition in our family to a lot of problems that can be exacerbated by eating lots of grain and so on. But aside from laying the groundwork, you also don't want to set up a future rebellion. IT is a fine line to walk. I guide and allow for plenty of exploration. There are only 3 things I "forbid" to enter my house on a normal day: high fructose corn syrup, unfermented soy, trans fats. After that it is negotiable (and on special occasions like Xmas and Halloween--they are allowed treats of candy if they want and usually they don't or else they prefer mom's candy/cookies to the prepackaged stuff ;) )

It is amazing how their tastes adjust to accomodate a healthy lifestyle. My son loves to go trick-or-treating and will sample a piece of candy shortly before chucking it into the trash with a "how do people eat that crap" expression. When walking past a local pub on the way home from school, the smell of rancid fry oil was wafting around the street. The neighbor boy was saying, "mmmmmm that smells goooood!" while my son was saying, "Ewwww Nassssty!" I saw a recent report about how children's tastes have actually changed such that they prefer artificial flavors to natural ones because it is what they have known. After seeing this, I believe it. There was a day last summer when my son was eating spinach off the plant (just picking a leaf and munching it...picking another and so on). The neighbor kids saw him do this and decided to try it. After one bite they were both looking at him like he was out of his tree. :D

[sarabelle]

Hey other SAHMS! I have gotten to know another mom in my 4 year olds' class who is a nutritionist and who also brings healthy snacks. Lucky for us, we don't have the prepackaged rule. But, once when I was in a hurry, I picked up sugarfree Jello snacks and string cheese for snackday. For Valentine's Day, I am the mom in charge!! Won't everyone be in for a shock when there's no candy!? Just kidding- I won't prohibit it for all the kids, but my new dietician friend and I are going to provide the main foods playing up the Valentine theme with a "Heart Healthy" menu for the kids. The good thing is, other moms in the group are wanting to lose weight and get in shape right now. Peer pressure can work- when they see us make eating healthy fun, they get on board!