We Need A Food Revolution

In a few short weeks we will get the emails from my children’s soccer coaches inviting them to show up for the first practices of the season.  As I sit here eating a peach that I plucked from the tree in our garden I am thinking again about the food paradox that exists at so many of my kids’ events.

Everywhere I take my kids they are getting filled up with unhealthy food choices.  When we go to a birthday party the kids are usually served pizza, which is full of saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.  Then they fill up on birthday cake or should I say frosting with a little bit of cake beneath it.  A party at school often involves lots of cookies and candy.  A sleepover with a friend once resulted in my child having eating nothing but banana bread for 24 hours. 

Don’t get me wrong, I like a slice of pizza and a piece of chocolate as much as anyone but I do think we are sending the wrong message to our kids when we are feeding them empty calories at every turn or not encouraging them to eat a wider variety of foods.  My son is twelve and we have only once been to an event where the host provided a healthy spread for the children.  All of those years of birthday parties, school celebrations, and sporting events add up to a lot of missed opportunities to teach children about healthy food choices.

Children’s sports are an arena where I feel we are particularly remiss in the messages we are sending around food.  I sign my kids up for sports so they can get exercise.  I want them to learn new skills and make new friends as well.  I want them to feel strong.  Blocking that shot, making a goal, or swimming a faster time in the pool are all ways they can build their confidence and feel their own power.  All of these are elements of a healthy lifestyle.

I assume many parents have these same goals in mind.  So, if our goal is encouraging healthy behaviors, why are the children given snacks at the end of the event that run so contrary to this goal?  What message are we sending to our children when we teach them to replenish their bodies after a workout by eating all of this unhealthy food?

When my son played baseball each game ended with all of the players sitting in the bleachers sharing a meal together.  It was actually a really nice time.  The players got some time to just hang out and it built community among the parents as we struck up conversations too.  Each family would take a turn bringing the snack/dinner.  My son and I would start discussing our snack weeks beforehand.  My goal was to bring some healthy food that would appeal to the kids.  His goal was to make sure I didn’t embarrass him. 

We watched to see what the families ahead of us in line would bring – Costco pizza, Caesar Caesar Pizza, Round Table Pizza.  Hmm, we were sensing a theme.  The pizzas were often accompanied by huge Gatorades in shocking colors and topped off with a bag of Chips Ahoy or Oreos.  Could we turn this around and create a snack that would appeal to the players but would fit my desire of encouraging better eating habits?

We decided upon hot dogs (nitrate free!) in whole-wheat buns.   Only one kid complained about the whole-wheat bun.  Then we popped popcorn ourselves and added just a touch of salt and butter.  It tasted good but was not overwhelmed with fat like some of the microwave popcorns in a bag.  Lastly, we had 100% apple juice.  Still thirst quenching but free of red dye #40 and yellow dye #5, which are both banned in a number of European countries.  This meal passed my son’s cool test and satisfied the players’ hunger in a healthy way.

During soccer season there is a different protocol in our town.  The kids don’t eat a meal together but instead get snack bags that they take away and eat on their own after the game.  Often my kids get bags that are so full of candy they seem like a trick or treat bag from Halloween.  I don’t think a bag of M and Ms or a Ring Pop really has anything to offer a body that has been running for an hour straight yet family after family follows this model when they put together the snacks.

One year my daughter had a great soccer coach who brought orange slices to every game.  My daughter doesn’t even like oranges but since everyone else was eating them she did too and by the time the snack bags came out she was too full to eat anything in them.  Yay, a little victory for fruit!

A friend of mine has two boys who are actively involved in sports as well.  When it is her family’s turn to do snack my friend makes up a huge batch of smoothies.  She brings those to the park and serves them up.  Thirst quenching and healthy!  She has also done fruit kabobs, which the players gobble up after the games. 

Oprah once said, “… better food is the foundation for a better life.”  We need to show our children the way.  The habits we help our children build now may well last a lifetime.  If we let them eat a steady diet of chicken nuggets, pizza, and sports drinks now these will be the foods they turn to when they are adults.  We need to start seeing the act of providing healthy food choices as important to our job of parenting as helping with homework and encouraging them to play sports.