5 Ways My Daughter Helps Me Eat Better
By: Ellie Krieger, MS, RD
Image Courtesy of: Lisa Houlgrave
If your lunch regularly includes sandwich crusts or leftover mac-and-cheese you know how motherhood can take its toll on a woman’s eating. I have been in that rut myself, and as a nutritionist, I should know better. But when you have little ones to feed, it is easy to let your own eating slip. Besides all the plate scraps you mindlessly munch, you are regularly faced with pizza party and bake sale temptations, and with all the juggling you do, sitting down to a proper meal can be a struggle. But I recently realized there is a flipside to this pancake: Your children can actually help improve how you eat! Remarkably, my daughter, Bella, has inspired me to eat better and helped me view my body in a more positive light. Because of my daughter I now . . .
Pack Snacks
I wouldn’t dream of heading out the door for the day without an arsenal of healthy snacks for my daughter. But I would regularly find myself famished with nothing on hand for myself, begging Bella to share her cheese stick with me. Finally a light bulb went off: While I’m packing snacks for her, why not pack some for me too? Now I travel with enough healthy nibbles for both of us, such as apple slices or baby carrots and reduced-fat cheese, peanut butter and banana sandwich halves (crust-less, of course), dried fruit, and nuts. It takes no extra effort, and I am so much better off.
Eat Fewer Chips
Pre-Bella, I would regularly have a handful of chips with my sandwich at lunch, or I’d munch on some while I was getting dinner started. No big deal, but it wasn’t exactly the best habit. Then Bella discovered chips, and if they were out, that’s all she’d eat. So I rethought my routine. Now I serve veggies (red peppers, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, etc.) with our sandwiches and as a bite before dinner. We still have chips sometimes, but we have far more vegetables now, and the whole family benefits.
Go Organic
As a nutritionist, I have always been an advocate of organic and locally grown food but becoming a mom stepped up my commitment to it. I don’t get myself nuts about it when we are out to eat, but at home, I buy this fare more than ever before. I want my daughter’s growing body to have every advantage, including having nutrient-rich foods that are as free as possible of pesticides and added hormones. Not to mention that I want the environment to be healthy for her kids. Being responsible for another person’s well-being makes you even more aware of your own—and the well-being of the world.
Eat Like a Model, Um, Role Model
How would you eat if someone was carefully watching you and mimicking your every move? That is basically what is happening when you have a kid around. Children may not listen when you tell them how and what to eat, but they are watching you and will most likely, do what you do. They are the most honest mirror you can have. My pint-size mirror compels me to avoid bad habits like eating in front of the TV and gulping food down, as well as foster good ones such as relishing shopping for and preparing different foods, as well as sitting down to enjoy and savor a meal.
Love (Or Don’t Hate) Your Dimples
I have stood in front of the mirror countless times in my life criticizing every bump and layer of extra flesh on me. What woman hasn’t? It’s an awful tendency that steals confidence and can put us in a negative tailspin, leading us directly to that comforting bowl of ice cream. I’m not saying I like everything about my body now, but I have found that the appreciation I have for my daughter’s body—perfect in all its imperfections—has helped me see my own in a more loving and forgiving light. The more I adore all of her dimples and folds, the kinder I can be toward my own. So all things considered, I would like to say to my daughter Bella: Thank you!
To learn more about Ellie Krieger, MS, RD -- New York Times bestselling author and host of Food Network’s Healthy Appetite -- go to www.elliekrieger.com
For more of Ellie Krieger's recipes, eat-smart advice, and tips, check out her Kaboose column, Great Food, Healthy Family.
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