• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Feels Like Home™ logo

  • Shop
    • Christianity Downloads
    • Family Downloads
    • Food & Cooking Downloads
    • Hobbies & Crafts Downloads
    • Learning Downloads
  • Blog
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Marriage
    • Kids activities
      • Kids Crafts
      • Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers
      • Christmas Crafts for Kids
      • Christmas Crafts for Tweens & Teens
    • Learning
      • Reading & Writing
      • STEM
  • Faith
    • Bible Study
    • Encouragement
  • Recipes
    • Comfort Food
    • Eating after Bariatric Surgery
    • Gluten-Free
    • Recipes for Foodie Kids
    • Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals
  • Health
    • Mental Health
      • Hobbies & Crafts
      • Self-Care
    • Physical Health
      • Bariatric Surgery
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • SHOP
  • RECIPES
  • FAMILY
  • FAITH
  • HEALTH
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    See More:   Good Health Parenting Physical Health Raising Foodie Kids Recipes for Beginners

    Last Modified: May 25, 2022 by Tara Ziegmont 4 Comments

    What I (Used to) Feed My Kids

    1FacebookMessenger1PinterestTwitterWhatsAppEmail
    2
    SHARES

    Because they ate breakfast before 7, my girls were ready for lunch by 10 yesterday. I made them a nutritious feast of chicken nuggets, baked beans, and fuji apples and had beans and rice myself.

    I had a doctor's appointment, and Allie fell asleep on the way home.

    {Hallelujah!}

    By the time she woke up, it was almost 2 o'clock.

    And they were both hungry again.feeding-my-kidsPin

    Grace asked for a pineapple Greek yogurt, easy. Allie wanted bay-ees (berries), which meant grapes or strawberries. I think she has them confused, so either will do.

    "Allie, we don't have any berries. What would you like instead."

    BAY-EES! BAY-EES! BAAAAAAAAY-EEEEEEEEEES! she screamed. When screaming didn't work, she moaned. When moaning didn't work, she collapsed with a sigh.

    Bay-ees, she pouted. Bay-ees.

    I texted Joe and asked him to buy grapes and strawberries on his way home.

    "Allie, how about some yogurt?"

    No.

    "A hot dog?"

    No.

    "Some chocolate bears?" She never passes up chocolate teddy grahams.

    No.

    Well, crap, I thought. What else can I offer her?

    "That's all there is. How about some of these?" I showed her the bears again.

    Yeah, yeth (yes). She agreed, despondent.

    I poured the bears into the bowl and handed it to her. She nibbled one.

    Realizing that I was hungry, too, I carefully weighed out 30 grams of nut chips (my inexpensive alternative to gluten-free crackers), measured 6 tablespoons of hummus, and sat down at the table.

    I've gained 4 pounds {ice cream and Girl Scout cookies mostly}, so I am being extra careful with my choices and my portions.

    Allie sat her bowl of bears on the table, pointed to my chips, and grunted.

    "Do you want a chip?"

    Yeth (yes).

    I handed her a chip, but she pointed and grunted again.

    "Do you want some hummus?"

    Yeth (yes).

    I smeared some hummus on her chip.

    And she ate it.

    Muy (more).

    I double dipped on her behalf.

    She licked it off in one sweep.

    Muy (more).

    We ended up eating hummus from the container together. Even Grace came along and shared in the nut chips and hummus snack.

    What's my point?

    As I watched my 2-year-old and 5-year-old lap hummus from their soggy baked chips next to a nearly untouched bowl of sugary bear-shaped crackers, I was hit in the head {not really} by what I'd done.

    Allie asked over and over for healthy food, for fruit. I pushed sugary crackers over and over.

    At first, I tried to excuse myself, rationalizing that chips and crackers are together on the not exactly healthy side of things, but then I read the labels.

    The crackers I was pushing have 15 ingredients including sugar, dextrose {which is sugar}, maltodextrin {which is a non-sugar sweetener}, and calcium carbonate {which is chalk. Chalk?!}. The chips have 6 ingredients: rice flour, almonds, potato starch, safflower oil, sea salt, natural almond flavor.

    I'm working hard on eating healthy foods myself, and I'm pushing cheap junk on my kids.

    I'm eating healthier and feeding my kids junk.

    Before you leave me a comment saying how one snack isn't really that bad {Cindy, I'm looking at you}, do know that I feed my kids well a lot of the time. They eat a lot of fresh fruit, and I offer a lot of fresh vegetables {that they usually don't eat}. They drink plenty of low-fat milk and eat a balanced diet.

    Starting today, though, I'm going to be more cognizant of all the other stuff, the snacky foods that they eat because we buy them, the junk that wouldn't be missed if it weren't here.

    What do your kids eat for snacks?

    This isn't a sponsored post, but since I know I'm going to get emails about the brand, here are the nut chips I buy on Amazon. We get ours at Walmart because they're cheaper.

    1FacebookMessenger1PinterestTwitterWhatsAppEmail
    2
    SHARES

    More Good Health

    • How to Get Started Bible Journaling - The Basics
    • Best Audiobooks for Women
    • 50 Fun Things to Do Outside as a Family
    • 15 Best Pool Floats for Adults

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Cindy says

      February 28, 2013 at 2:14 pm

      You caught me. I was totally thinking "She is just way too hard on herself. Crackers are OK!" I thought my computer was damaged when I spit my coffee all over the keyboard reading this the other morning. Glad it was your plugin crashing the browser instead. 😉

      Seriously, though, you're right! It doesn't do any good at all to model good choices for our kids if we just turn around and push them to do the easy thing just to give ourselves a break. Nor does it help much if we make them clean their rooms and then fail to clean ours (she said as she surveyed her own bedroom, guiltily). Most life lessons are more caught than taught.

      Reply
      • Tara Ziegmont says

        February 28, 2013 at 3:57 pm

        I know you. 😉

        Figuring out the crashing has taken over a week. It's insane! There was an ad widget causing trouble, and then the plugin I was using to have the cool Pin It button when you hover over images was the ultimate culprit. Anyway, it's all fixed.

        You are full of sage one-liners. I'm going to put this on a pillow or something: Most life lessons are more caught than taught.

        Reply
        • Cindy says

          February 28, 2013 at 3:59 pm

          I probably heard that one somewhere before. I can't remember, I've said it so much.

          Reply
    2. Alyssa says

      May 31, 2013 at 10:53 pm

      My kids, the younger two by themselves ate a huge bag of grapes in the last two days. I wanted to put some in a chicken salad for tomorrow and all but a tiny handful are GONE!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Tara.

    Harrisburg PA mom blogger Tara Ziegmont
    I am passionate about helping women to care for themselves and their families physically, emotionally, and spiritually by making time for what matters most through a combination of delectable recipes, Christian inspiration, and family fun. If you're tired of feeling so weary and uninspired, you're in the right place. I'm so glad you're here!
    Read more about me...

    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram LinkedIn email me subscribe

    Popular Recipes

    • Cheeseburger Soup from Taste of Home
    • Cracker Barrel Copycat Fried Apples
    • Sweet Balsamic Pork Roast in the Instant Pot
    • Couldn't Be Easier Cherry Pie

    Food with an Instant Pot in the background

    AS SEEN ON

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Popular Bible Studies

    • A Grateful Heart - 2 week printable study
    • 10 Bible Verses on Anger
    • 13 Bible Verses on Disappointment
    • 50 Bible Verses Every Christian Should Know
    • 10 Bible Verses to Overcome Worry

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    As seen on

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Contact Tara


    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy.

    Copyright © 2022 Feels Like Home Blog

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    SettingsAccept
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT