Changing the way we eat and drink...

RatLabGuy said:
bc junk food is easier
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“My daddy told me and I believe he told me true. The right things always the hardest thing to do. “
 
RatLabGuy said:
bc junk food is easier
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My kids are fantastic eaters…really tried hard to ‘condition’ that in them…so they didn’t end up like dear ol dad. I’m not sure junk food is easier, my 20 month old has no problems grabbing an orange or banana or apple or celery or whatever, and snacking on it. Chips or little Debbie’s would require some help. They still like their Mac n cheese, nuggets or PB&J’s, but they’ll eat raw fruit/veggies 5:1 to anything else. What I will say is, it’s significantly more expensive keeping fresh produce in the house than junk food or happy meals. I easily spend $250-300/wk in produce, plus meat, plus whatever the wife and I want. Most meals look like this for them (what we send to my moms when she has them for breakfast), not to mention the pint of fruit/veggies they’ll kill for snacks throughout the day:

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shawn said:
You're doing it wrong.
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What’s the right way? Produce prices in my area all seem to be pretty close whether at Aldi or Whole Foods or the farmers market or straight from farms. The Aldi and Walmart produce is a smidge cheaper, but doesn’t last as long. We’ve grown our own, but the cost plus my time, it’s cheaper to buy.
 
UTfball68 said:
What’s the right way?
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No idea, haven't seen your cart. But the OP is either a weird flex or an admission that you're not very good at shopping. We spend less than that every week to feed six all-in, and caloric needs are a lot higher. I see a lot of strawberries and grapes, which are expensive relative to other options and not as nutritious. Seedless grapes are basically sugar and water. You mentioned celery, which has very low caloric density.
 
shawn said:
No idea, haven't seen your cart. But the OP is either a weird flex or an admission that you're not very good at shopping. We spend less than that every week to feed six all-in, and caloric needs are a lot higher. I see a lot of strawberries and grapes, which are expensive relative to other options and not as nutritious. Seedless grapes are basically sugar and water. You mentioned celery, which has very low caloric density.
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Ok…so what fruit/veggies are you putting in your cart?
 
My kids will chow down on all the typical kid foods, if available, but that's why we don't buy them often and encourage them to try new things. They eat what we eat at meals and the rule is 3 bites, no complaints. They have to give new foods a decent shot but they definitely have opinions. One I have to remind to eat his veggies, one doesn't really like pasta, and another is almost 2.5, so every meal is a crap shoot. The older three pretty much eat more than me at every meal now.

We mix up the snacks for variety and nutrients. Typical kid snacks in my house are apples/oranges/bananas, veggies (with or without hummus), pickles, nuts, cheese, crackers or toast with peanut butter, yogurt (chobani (?) low sugar or plain Greek or whole milk), and cereal. Cereal in my house is raisin bran or a mix of bran and other flakes, so not Cap'n Crunch or even Cheerios. The youngest just came in from playing outside for an apple, which she'll eat 1/2 to 2/3 and then I'll finish the rest. :lol:

We buy bananas, apples, oranges/tangerines, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and salad greens every week. We usually have to make a stop halfway through the week for more bananas because they are consumed while still kinda green (or go into banana bread if they ripen too quickly). The mini peppers are a bit more than the regular bell peppers and the cherry tomatoes might not always be the best deal, but it's worth it for the convenience for snacking or using in salad or stir-fry or whatever. We buy mushrooms, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, berries, mango, pears, plums, peaches, or grapes depending on what's on sale. I'll buy the pre-washed bags of broccoli sometimes, so I can steam a couple of handfuls to toss with salad, and pre-washed kale that I stick straight in the freezer so I can toss some into smoothies, soups, or pastas and not worry about it going bad.
 
trailhugger said:
My kids will chow down on all the typical kid foods, if available, but that's why we don't buy them often and encourage them to try new things. They eat what we eat at meals and the rule is 3 bites, no complaints. They have to give new foods a decent shot but they definitely have opinions. One I have to remind to eat his veggies, one doesn't really like pasta, and another is almost 2.5, so every meal is a crap shoot. The older three pretty much eat more than me at every meal now.

We mix up the snacks for variety and nutrients. Typical kid snacks in my house are apples/oranges/bananas, veggies (with or without hummus), pickles, nuts, cheese, crackers or toast with peanut butter, yogurt (chobani (?) low sugar or plain Greek or whole milk), and cereal. Cereal in my house is raisin bran or a mix of bran and other flakes, so not Cap'n Crunch or even Cheerios. The youngest just came in from playing outside for an apple, which she'll eat 1/2 to 2/3 and then I'll finish the rest. :lol:

We buy bananas, apples, oranges/tangerines, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and salad greens every week. We usually have to make a stop halfway through the week for more bananas because they are consumed while still kinda green (or go into banana bread if they ripen too quickly). The mini peppers are a bit more than the regular bell peppers and the cherry tomatoes might not always be the best deal, but it's worth it for the convenience for snacking or using in salad or stir-fry or whatever. We buy mushrooms, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, berries, mango, pears, plums, peaches, or grapes depending on what's on sale. I'll buy the pre-washed bags of broccoli sometimes, so I can steam a couple of handfuls to toss with salad, and pre-washed kale that I stick straight in the freezer so I can toss some into smoothies, soups, or pastas and not worry about it going bad.
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So then my question is where are you shopping…that’s very similar to what we buy, and sounds like my grocery bill is significantly higher than yours. Like I said, doesn’t seem to matter if I go to Aldi, Whole Foods, Publix, farmers market, straight from a farm, etc etc…a cucumber costs what a cucumber costs, a pint of strawberries costs what a pint of strawberries costs. And as I’m packing for GER…the snack of choice for the drive are peppers. Around here, the prices seem to be rather fixed. I could probably save a few cents here or there that would roll up to $20-30/wk, but then what am I spending in gas and time.
 
Harris Teeter, because likewise it doesn't matter where I go it all works out about the same because I shop unit price. Over the past year I think we've averaged $200 per week. This week I did make a stop at Lidl but that trip combined with my HT trip was like $175.
 
UTfball68 said:
So then my question is where are you shopping…that’s very similar to what we buy, and sounds like my grocery bill is significantly higher than yours. Like I said, doesn’t seem to matter if I go to Aldi, Whole Foods, Publix, farmers market, straight from a farm, etc etc…a cucumber costs what a cucumber costs, a pint of strawberries costs what a pint of strawberries costs. And as I’m packing for GER…the snack of choice for the drive are peppers. Around here, the prices seem to be rather fixed. I could probably save a few cents here or there that would roll up to $20-30/wk, but then what am I spending in gas and time.
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If your house is anything like mine, it's not that the food costs that much per unit, but moreso how much of it is actually consumed. My kids are the same age as yours and looking at those plates/platters, at my house, the chickens would be eating 2/3 of what's seen. I fuss at my wife all the time about giving them too large of a serving. Be it apple juice, milk, fruit etc. Her mom is retarded and will load up a plate for a 3 yr old that a 12yr old couldn't eat. Then dump most of it in the trash.
 
Their stomachs are about the same size as their fists.
 
awheelterd said:
If your house is anything like mine, it's not that the food costs that much per unit, but moreso how much of it is actually consumed. My kids are the same age as yours and looking at those plates/platters, at my house, the chickens would be eating 2/3 of what's seen. I fuss at my wife all the time about giving them too large of a serving. Be it apple juice, milk, fruit etc. Her mom is retarded and will load up a plate for a 3 yr old that a 12yr old couldn't eat. Then dump most of it in the trash.
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The amount of yogurt and avocado thrown away in my house is staggering. But apparently it only matters to those who make the money, not those who spend it :(
 
awheelterd said:
If your house is anything like mine, it's not that the food costs that much per unit, but moreso how much of it is actually consumed. My kids are the same age as yours and looking at those plates/platters, at my house, the chickens would be eating 2/3 of what's seen. I fuss at my wife all the time about giving them too large of a serving. Be it apple juice, milk, fruit etc. Her mom is retarded and will load up a plate for a 3 yr old that a 12yr old couldn't eat. Then dump most of it in the trash.
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I feel this one…… the drink cups for damn sure. A red solo cup full of apple or orange juice…. 5 hours later I throw it away still near full. Way too expensive to just waste
 
awheelterd said:
If your house is anything like mine, it's not that the food costs that much per unit, but moreso how much of it is actually consumed. My kids are the same age as yours and looking at those plates/platters, at my house, the chickens would be eating 2/3 of what's seen. I fuss at my wife all the time about giving them too large of a serving. Be it apple juice, milk, fruit etc. Her mom is retarded and will load up a plate for a 3 yr old that a 12yr old couldn't eat. Then dump most of it in the trash.
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Outside of breakfast, Mine will graze all day…not much gets wasted. We start the day with something like that ‘bunny plate’ an it’ll be gone by lunch. My 20 month old will eat a pint of blueberries in one sitting.

Edit…3hrs in to a 4hr trip…we have a couple carrots, a couple peppers, a few raspberries and a thing of pickles left. There was 5lbs of fruit/veggies when we left.

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We found out that Heath cannot have red dye 40. His grandmother bought him a box of Fruit Loops. He went ballistic. He was so hyper we finally canceled homeschool, and told him to go out and play. He ran through the woods for about 6 hours non stop! The rest of the box went in the trash.
 
UncleWillie said:
We found out that Heath cannot have red dye 40. His grandmother bought him a box of Fruit Loops. He went ballistic. He was so hyper we finally canceled homeschool, and told him to go out and play. He ran through the woods for about 6 hours non stop! The rest of the box went in the trash.
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This is sort of where I was hoping this thread was going. I am looking for snack alternatives that just aren't fruit and veggies because lets face it, Kids want to "feel" like they are eating something they shouldn't be. Meals, we can control, but the child wants 4-5 snacks (or in between meals) and would love a list (which I am sure can be found on the web) of popular snacks for kids that contain yellow 5 and Red 40 and High Fructose corn syrup and all the things maybe they shouldn't be eating for a comparable alternative that makes them think they are eating something like a Pop Tart, but without all the chit.
 
Noel said:
I feel this one…… the drink cups for damn sure. A red solo cup full of apple or orange juice…. 5 hours later I throw it away still near full. Way too expensive to just waste
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This is the one that gets me. I ended up relegating everyone to their own cup. Nothing new until what's in that cup is gone. Don't want the rest? Cup goes in the fridge, you finish it next before anything else.
They eventually figured it out.
Now I just get to be the irritated dad when their spoiled friends come over and do the same thing again. She has one friend in particular that is always just given whatever she wants, this girl always throws away 3/4 plate of food and a full glass of drink.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
This is sort of where I was hoping this thread was going. I am looking for snack alternatives that just aren't fruit and veggies because lets face it, Kids want to "feel" like they are eating something they shouldn't be. Meals, we can control, but the child wants 4-5 snacks (or in between meals) and would love a list (which I am sure can be found on the web) of popular snacks for kids that contain yellow 5 and Red 40 and High Fructose corn syrup and all the things maybe they shouldn't be eating for a comparable alternative that makes them think they are eating something like a Pop Tart, but without all the chit.
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Maybe you should just read the ingredients on the food you buy/consume... or do what any number of people in this thread have said and buy less stuff in boxes that even has to have an "ingredients list". You know, be the adult parent your kid needs and teach her that pop tarts aren't real food.
 
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