Idea to get kids etc eating more healthily

[Frog march]

I just had the idea that if things like apples and oranges could be individually wrapped, in the same way as chocolate and crisps(potato chips), with the wrapping having "exciting" graphics on them, maybe kids would be more inclined to buy them, eat them, take them to school.

It would be a bit of a waste of fossil fuels, for the plastic, but maybe it would be worth it, if people would grow up eating more healthily.


If people could move away from eating so much meat in fast food, then that would save vast amounts of fossil fuels, as meat production uses a lot of energy, to make the fertilisers to grow the crops to feed cattle, transport of said crops, running freezers to store meat etc.....so a bit of fossil fuels on wrapping fruit and veg might pay off in the long run.

[SpaceTruthJunkie]

And maybe make them liken dried fruit wraps for kids

[Jens]

Do kids really need to be encouraged to like apples and oranges? I don't think my mom ever encouraged me to like them, but I grew up munching on them and (generally speaking) prefer them to chocolates. Isn't making them available enough? Young kids probably need to have them cut into pieces, so it's a tiny bit of trouble.

[Solfe]

My children are crazy and prefer raw cauliflower to all other foods and treats. They certainly didn't get that trait from me.

[Frog march]

I'm not that good at eating fruit myself, except in muesli; and tinned fruit is nice.....fresh fruit seems to have bad connotation for me, as in it is a 'health' food, like it is some nasty pill that you have to swallow, which I think maybe a lot of people have....which is silly really...but I am a sucker for wrapping, and I thin a lot of people must be, so it may stop that association developing....

Maybe tinned fruit, is the way to go though.

[Solfe]

I forgot... Sunsweet has a product called "Ones" which are prunes wrapped up like candy. I have no idea why they picked prunes.

[Ara Pacis]

IIRC, fruit often comes in biodegradable packaging. Some are even scratch and sniff.

[Jens]

IIRC, fruit often comes in biodegradable packaging. Some are even scratch and sniff.

Yes, and some of the packaging can be downright dangerous and probably should be banned. There's one fruit in particular, an elongated yellow one, whose packaging sometimes leads to gravitational-challenge accidents.

[Jens]

My children are crazy and prefer raw cauliflower to all other foods and treats. They certainly didn't get that trait from me.

You might want to consider a psychiatrist or at least some form of counseling. Before you know it, they might start liking brusselsprouts!

[Solfe]

A psychiatrist can fix the gas problem?

[HenrikOlsen]

Most important part of getting them to eat it is probably that the good stuff is easily available and that the junk stuff isn't.

[mike alexander]

Remove the children from exposure to advertising and, on average, you might have a chance.

[ShinAce]

Most important part of getting them to eat it is probably that the good stuff is easily available and that the junk stuff isn't.

Precisely. My nephew doesn't even like pop because he never had any. It takes a lot of work to properly stock your home with good food, but it's worth it.

[Gillianren]

My nephew doesn't even like pop because he never had any.

If he's never had any, how do you know? Besides, it's my experience that children who never get to have sweets when they're kids are the ones who go crazy as adults. Teaching kids moderation is important, but it's less easy than both laziness and hysterical overreaction.

[redshifter]

Most important part of getting them to eat it is probably that the good stuff is easily available and that the junk stuff isn't.

There's the fundamental issue IMO. Parent(s) need to keep the high fat, high processed, high salt/sugary foods unavailable to their children in the home and leave the junk food for special occasions. Too many homes stock the very stuff kids shouldn't be eating much of as dietary staples, then put their kids in front of the TV. Then they wonder why Jonnie is 50 lbs overweight and has high blood pressure...

Too many schools provide easy access to soda, etc. I can't say I blame them, schools are desparate for funds, and I'll not go down that road any further...However, if stuff like that is readily available, kids that don't really know any better/have it available at home will scarf it down. Kids that were brought up in homes that limited junk foods tend to make better choices on their own. And if they decide to 'go crazy' when they grow up, at least they were brought up with a healthy diet, and are aware of what constitutes 'good' choices regarding diet.

Though FWIW in my personal observations, kids that were brought up in a healthy home regarding diet tend to eat more healthy as they grow up. And kids that were not, usually do not. Of course there are always exceptions...

[closetgeek]

I never had a problem getting my kids to like fruits and veggies. They'll snack on carrots, apples, or what ever is available. The problem they have, a problem I notice myself too, is that fruits and veggies just don't curb hunger. One of them will eat an apple and be back at the fridge, 20 minutes later looking for something else. My oldest likes to dip her apples in peanutbutter and she says it helps but I don't know how great that is, by way of healthy (is the jury still out on peanutbutter?). I suppose it's better than me, who would only eat veggies if they were covered in mayo.

[redshifter]

Peanut butter's not that bad, you still get some goodness from the peanuts. For curbing hunger, protein usually helps me feel 'full', although even a glass of water will sometimes hold off hunger pangs depending on how long it was since my last meal/snack.

Of course, sometimes teens seem to be eternally hungry...

[NEOWatcher]

When I grew up, it was a matter of parenting.
We knew it was wrong to have something without the "mom, can I have a..." for many items. Even the cookie draw was the lowest one in the cabinet, and we never went in there.

It turned us to veggies and fruits. The problem with fruit was that they needed some minor preparation because of skin and/or seeds which could sometimes be frustrating to a kid.

[Gillianren]

Too many homes stock the very stuff kids shouldn't be eating much of as dietary staples, then put their kids in front of the TV.

The latter is definitely a problem. The problem with the former in a lot of households is that junk food is cheaper. It's much cheaper to buy a bag of frozen chicken nuggets than to buy chicken. Chips are cheaper than carrots. If you are on a limited budget, there's only so much you can do. Unfortunately, that applies to school lunch programs as well--and kids in the cafeteria eat what they like and throw away what they don't, so adding things like carrot sticks only works if the kids are already inclined to eat them.

[Solfe]

When I started shopping for the house hold, I thought that junk food like nuggets were cheaper, it turns out they really aren't. When you price out equal amounts, fresh food tends to be a little bit cheaper but it is hard/impossible to create a one to one correspondence due to preparation.

School lunches vs. bagged lunches are a good example. When I send my kids to school with a lunch, complete with snacks and juicebox the up front cost is more than the lunches purchased at school. At the end of the week I end up having to repurchase the exact same stuff.

But when I actually consider where every bit of food went, it is actually about thirty cents cheaper a day. Typically, the "extra food" from lunches becomes breakfast or a snack. I know $18-20 a month doesn't sound like much, but having extra five bucks in your pocket can be the difference between a good day and a bad day.

*Most things anyway. I can't make potato chips, but trying to bake them is a kid friendly addition to a meal.

[majic]

I know few kids who did not like a banana, mandarin or orange. Getting them to eat veggies...now that´s an entirely different question.

[swampyankee]

I have made potato chips, and French fries.

My wife & I made sure that we had very few items of junk food in the house. Since my wife likes to cook (as do I), we don't often do prepared food (do note that while we both had full-time or nearly full-time jobs while our kids were small, we had largely non-overlapping schedules). We also had stuff like juice, not soda (I don't like soda), lots of fruit, etc.

Incidentally, clementines are probably one of the most kid-friendly fruits ever invented. My kids figured out how to peel them by the time they were about two, even though I sometimes made them sing before they could eat one. Or many. We did, of course, have the occasional desert, but desert was not part of a normal meal.

[Gillianren]

When I started shopping for the house hold, I thought that junk food like nuggets were cheaper, it turns out they really aren't. When you price out equal amounts, fresh food tends to be a little bit cheaper but it is hard/impossible to create a one to one correspondence due to preparation.

I'm on food stamps. I promise you, it is not possible to get through the month without buying a lot of things that aren't good for you unless you plan to live on rice and beans. The amount I get in a month is fixed, and unless I have the time and transportation to go sale-shopping, a lot of the things we have to rely on are bad for us.

[Solfe]

I'm on food stamps. I promise you, it is not possible to get through the month without buying a lot of things that aren't good for you unless you plan to live on rice and beans. The amount I get in a month is fixed, and unless I have the time and transportation to go sale-shopping, a lot of the things we have to rely on are bad for us.

I stand by my assessment BUT I will 100% give you the fact that "cheaper" does not equate to obtainable (sale shopping) or desirable (beans and rice) especially when on a fixed budget. A few cents difference on a dozen products a week will kill someone on a fixed budget.

Budgeting X dollars for milk, bread and other very perishable items a week may sound like a good idea until you use all of your remaining funds on other products. If the price of perishables goes up by a penny, that is an item you can't have due to the budget you committed to.

Gas is another headache. If you need to drive, the price swings wreck exact planning.

Personally I have been on both sides of the "fixed income" thing, having been on food stamps as a child and later working with people at the Dept. of Social Service. It is not especially practical and if I were king of the world I'd fix it (even though I have no idea how to fix such a thing).

[danscope]

If you will learn how to bone out/ cut up a chicken, you will get better value for your money, and some good chicken stock in the bargain. I used to watch the process from start to finish with my Uncle . We finished up with a fine soup later on.
Sure beat what came out of a can, and it didn't cost much.

Dan

[Ara Pacis]

If you will learn how to bone out/ cut up a chicken, you will get better value for your money, and some good chicken stock in the bargain. I used to watch the process from start to finish with my Uncle . We finished up with a fine soup later on.
Sure beat what came out of a can, and it didn't cost much.

Dan

Time is money... and so was salt, once upon a time.

[danscope]

Yes, and if you ever watched Jacques Pepin dispatch a whole chicken in less than a minute, you'd understand how fast and easy it can be, even in the hands of an amateur. Eating better for less is a good thing. Eating poorly at exhorbitant prices is not.
Cook well and prosper.

Dan

[Gillianren]

"It didn't cost much" isn't the same as "it's the same cost per serving as canned soup." I'm capable of making very good soup from scratch, but it costs substantially more per serving, especially to season it well.

[Ara Pacis]

"It didn't cost much" isn't the same as "it's the same cost per serving as canned soup." I'm capable of making very good soup from scratch, but it costs substantially more per serving, especially to season it well.

Really? What do you season it with?

[Gillianren]

A wide array of spices, generally. Some of which are easily available in bulk, but not all of which are. Spices are expensive if you are on a limited budget.