Kid food

I don't get it. 

Why are people obsessed with hiding healthy food?

I never have understood it. The "Sneaky Chef"... why?

I think all kids go through their fazes. Q spent about 6 months eating nothing but beige food- it was odd but he's a kid. What isn't odd about them? I fed him what we were eating and everyday he'd pick out all the beige items, which eventually got to be fewer and fewer on the plate and then he decided the jig was up when, I'm guessing, he got hungry.

We were never into making him his own food, when he had moved off the pureed stuff, he got a plate of what we were having. There were no quesadillas (unless we were having them) made on the side, we didn't open a can of spaghetti O's or nuke dino-nuggets. I mean. Why? What would the message be? They say kids learn by imitation, so how would be he imitate good behavior (eating or otherwise) if I had him do differently? I'm guessing he wouldn't.

I'm not saying this means if you do have kid food your kids will grow up to eat crappy (but they might) and if sneaking vegetables into your pasta sauce makes you feel better- go ahead.

I'd like my kids to grow up knowing what a vegetable looks like. And sure maybe there is something in kids that makes them really not like certain things and I would never force any food on anyone. My husband will not eat mushrooms... it kills me, but he just won't. But what's wrong with growing some herbs and maybe a carrot? Take them to the farmers market or the produce section of the market and let them pick out the fruit and veg?Let them eat food that looks like something. Sure maybe the can of ravioli has a "full serving of vegetables" but if the kids can't see them, if they never know what they look like, how will they ever choose to eat them? And besides that- canned vegetables? I'm doubtful that there's much left after that process. 

I'm worried about nutritional growth sure but more so the health of my kids for the years to come. We are hearing more now than ever that healthy eating is proven to fight disease- cancer, diabetes, etc... why not arm your kids with that information? Why not tell them why the food they put into their mouth is important not only for growth but for longevity?

I do. I have the conversation with my 9 year old, he knows that we makes choices about what he eats and eating well everyday is important not just for today but for years to come... he wants to get old, he wants to be healthy. He's a kid so he'd of course rather eat marshmallow and chocolate but he's aware the importance of feeding your body what it needs everyday and enjoying the things it doesn't need in moderation. It's simple really.