Little Boys W30: Tweaks & Outings

[Moluv]

I've lost track of how long my boys Alexander (6) and Indeh (2 1/2) have been W30ing with me but it has to have been a few weeks. It's been a pretty major undertaking- I'm not gonna lie. I've had to purchase a lot more food containers for packing food everywhere they go. I've had to rearrange the kitchen, adding storage for said containers. I've also had to really pay attention to what the like and don't like and create an entirely new family eating paradigm. What I mean by that is I used to cook meals and say "eat it or don't" and the kids snacked on GF cereal or granola bars between meals. The new rule in our house is they can eat as much of whatever they like from the refrigerator or fruit bowl, or nuts, whenever. The dried fruits are kept out of reach and are doled out once the meal template has been met. One major tweak that I've allowed for them is the addition of naturally cured pasture raised organic hams and summer sausages. While I would never allow these for myself, they really have helped the boys get more protein- they eat loads of this stuff whereas other meats maybe get a few bites. The addition of cured meats has drastically cut down on their fruit intake do they are netting less sugar and I notice they are far calmer and more stable moods. I'd like to transition away from the ham and sausage but for now it's working really well. I keep a large container with it presliced, next to their cut up veggies, fruits, olives and krauts. They love the freedom they have to make their own meal or snack.

I've become pro at packing out snacks EVERYWHERE we go. Movies- water bottles and trail mix. Library Party- Kombucha and dried strawberries and cashews. Last night we went to a family wedding reception and dance. Since that was a really special occasion we brought 6 larabars, a whole bag of date rolls, 3 cans of coconut water and a bottle of Kombucha. Luckily we arrived post-dinner but desserts and candy were everywhere. I had told the kids they could eat as much of what we brought as they wanted. We came home with ONE larabar.

The dialogue surrounding these new confusing rules about food goes a lot like this: "I think that eating _________ maybe hurts your tummy and gives you crying fits, so we are going to choose something healthy". Or "I love you too much to let you eat food that might make you sick- I know ____ & ______ don't, would you like one of those instead"

[simonec]

my kids have even told me that they feel more calm when they have eaten enough protein ...i try to talk to them about how they feel and their moods all of the time. i think with little guys it helps them make the connection that what they eat can change how they feel emotionally and physically.