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Something I've noticed


AmyS

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Although I haven't made any attempt to switch my children to Whole30, I'm noticing that my own changes are affecting what food is in the house, and that seems to be affecting their overall eating habits. They eat more veggies and fruits, they eat nuts instead of chips, and I've noticed that my one daughter who has allergic rhinitis (lots of nose-blowing, basically) has improved by about 50%.

In the new year, when I start cooking more and really working this thing as a lifestyle, I'm eager to see what happens. The best thing is that I've been getting them into the kitchen with me recently, and they are loving cooking and prepping food.

I didn't realize how just taking out the active junk from the house would affect their health, even without switching them to Whole30. I'm very relieved and optimistic about the new year.

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Amy I think that's wonderful. I really wish I'd started all this when my kids were younger and I could still influence them. My son is 24 and on the autistic spectrum, there's only about 6 foods he eats, none of which I would choose but there's absolutely no changing it. My daughter is 27 and much more influenced by what her partner eats which to be honest is not great but there it is. It's great to start them young and hopefully they'll grow up with habits that will last.

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Amy I think that's wonderful. I really wish I'd started all this when my kids were younger and I could still influence them. My son is 24 and on the autistic spectrum, there's only about 6 foods he eats, none of which I would choose but there's absolutely no changing it. My daughter is 27 and much more influenced by what her partner eats which to be honest is not great but there it is. It's great to start them young and hopefully they'll grow up with habits that will last.

Thank you Kirsteen. My girls are nine and they are very interested in how dishes are created. Also, since they are nine, I can have them in the kitchen with me and not worry about Imminent Death or World War III anymore. Ha! So I'm looking forward to more cooking together. I told them today that in the new year we'd be cooking together from Well Fed and the Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook, and this would mean that we wouldn't be watching Disney channel but it would be worth it. So they each grabbed a cookbook and started looking through it, reading out dishes and ingredients and picking favorites.

Also, I pointed out to my daughter that her allergies have improved significantly already, and she said she had noticed it and wondered why. I told her that it was because of no more junk food (I haven't sprung on them yet that at some point we'll be calling pasta junk food, hehe), and she was pretty happy.

I like these kids. I think I'll keep 'em.

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I've noticed that my kids eat a lot more food now. I still have stuff around for them that I don't eat, but the meals I make are paleo so that's what they get. Not having chips gives them the choice of fruit or nuts for a snack. They ask for salad every night. One of my daughters doesn't like cooked veggies. She eats them, but isn't happy about it. Give her some meat and raw veggies and she's in Heaven. They have done well with the changes. It's a gradual process for us, but it is coming along faster than I thought it would.

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I've noticed that my kids eat a lot more food now. I still have stuff around for them that I don't eat, but the meals I make are paleo so that's what they get. Not having chips gives them the choice of fruit or nuts for a snack. They ask for salad every night. One of my daughters doesn't like cooked veggies. She eats them, but isn't happy about it. Give her some meat and raw veggies and she's in Heaven. They have done well with the changes. It's a gradual process for us, but it is coming along faster than I thought it would.

Yes, and with my one kid who still would eat pasta and Ragu three meals a day if I'd let her, I have instituted the "no thank you" bite rule. She has to eat a full bite of everything offered before she can move on to the pasta and sauce. She is not happy, but she isn't gagging either, and I know the more I expose her to good food the more she'll appreciate it. The other one wants to try EVERYTHING and gets really excited about new foods. So interesting.

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AWESOME! You are leading by super duper good example MamaBear. My friends always say things like "my kids would never eat that!" DUH because you don't either! And then they do silly things like making certain food forbidden for their kiddos but not for them which kids don't understand. I am so happy that your change has flowed over into their lives too, it's so important to build healthy habits early on. I always remember eating dinner ONLY to eat dessert. Without the promise of dessert I never would have eaten a bite. I remember gagging and actually puking into my mouth on some meals my parents made (stewed tomatoes, rice and cut up hotdogs being the worst offender...I actually am gagging just thinking of it). I don't think I have ever seen my father eat vegetable that wasn't lettuce or corn in my whole life and he was scarred by his mothers boiled to crap vegetables. We are either influenced by our parents be it good or bad and you my friend are a good influence your girls are so lucky.

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I love that your daughters are interested in cooking! I can't wait to make that a part of my child's life. I also won't mind her making her own breakfast some day! And good for you for setting a good example. A lot of people use their kids as an excuse to not exercise or eat a bunch of craptastic food, and here you are going out of your way to eat good food in front of them and they're picking it up on their own!

My husband doesn't eat paleo but I try to stick to a paleo diet (plus some dairy) and I pretty much insist my kid eat as paleo as I can. And I have to say, I love that she clearly thinks of bananas as dessert. The other day she saw cookies on Grandma and Grandpa's table and kept on movin'. It did not occur to her to request one. And it didn't occur to me to eat one!

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I love that your daughters are interested in cooking! I can't wait to make that a part of my child's life. I also won't mind her making her own breakfast some day! And good for you for setting a good example. A lot of people use their kids as an excuse to not exercise or eat a bunch of craptastic food, and here you are going out of your way to eat good food in front of them and they're picking it up on their own!

My husband doesn't eat paleo but I try to stick to a paleo diet (plus some dairy) and I pretty much insist my kid eat as paleo as I can and I love that she clearly thinks of bananas as dessert. The other day she saw cookies on Grandma and Grandpa's table and kept on movin'. It did not occur to her to request one. And it didn't occur to me to eat one!

Love that! Also, your baby is adorable!!!! You should have ten more. (No pressure, heehee)

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I love this thread. I know folks look at us like we're crazy when our kids say "no, thank you" to candy or ask if something is gluten-free, when they hog all the broccoli on the veggie tray and eat man sized portions of roasted chicken, but we are changing our family trees. I love to hear your kiddos are eating more, and better, and feeling much better. I can only imagine how much struggle I would have avoided if my mom had known what I know, you know?

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I love this thread as well. It has been a huge lesson for me to learn as well, and like Robin, I can only imagine how my life would be different now if the nutritional wisdom we have now was more prominent back then. I can't change that, but I CAN change things in my own family. And I've realized as so many others have that authenticity with our kids is more important than the words we say. If we give them all the facts and tell them all the reasons why we should eat this way, but they don't see it happening in our own lives, then our words will fall short and our message will be lost. The more we lead by quiet example, even in our own families, the better off our kids will be. The science is important too, but our own behavior needs to be the start. Thanks for sharing this Amy!

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ladyhoward, you've hit on something, I think. I made several major changes without discussing them with my children, and really without entirely including them in the changes. I wanted to see what I thought/felt/experienced first. Now that I'm realizing this is a lifestyle for me, I feel more comfortable talking about it. We just had a conversation today about how, since we haven't started the new year yet, we're having some things that are treats when we're out, that we don't have or bring into the house anymore. They just nodded and seemed very happy. I thought that was wildly cool, from these kids who used to beg for chips all. the. time.

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