Do you have to buy "separate" food (m)

Avatar for megs55
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Registered: 03-28-2003
Do you have to buy "separate" food (m)
7
Sun, 12-28-2003 - 10:01pm

"other" family members who are not on SBD? My DH will gladly do the SBD with me, and we have similar palettes, but I also have an 8 y.o. DS and an 18 y.o. SS who have totally different tastes. My 8 y.o. will eat chicken breasts, some of the fish....but forget chili, busy salads, etc. Of course, the 18 y.o. lives on subs and pizzas....carbo heaven. So, what do you do for the kids? Or, do you just force them to join the SBD? Haha.


 

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Registered: 08-08-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 10:40am

Hi meg,


I have a teenager.

Maggie  

"Success is a journey, not a destination"

Avatar for imthebigsister
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 10:51am
Hi, Megs - You really don't need to buy separate things for yourself and your family, especially in Phase I since it's restricted for you and you won't be restricting the kids from what they usually eat. Some of the veggie recipes that are Phase I-approved - the best example is the pureed cauliflower that masquerades as mashed potatoes - might be hard to get past them (and I'm assuming that you would like it). The ricotta cream desserts might pose a challenge for them AND for you. Some SBDers just don't care for them.

Once you enter Phase II, it gets a little trickier. For example, when adding "smart carbs" back in, you have to make the choice of what to add. With breads, since whole-grain breads will be your smartest choice, will your kids eat those willingly? With cereals, will they eat the lower-carb/sugar varieties, or do they die for Lucky Charms or packaged instant oatmeal, neither of which is a good choice for you? With yogurt, will they eat no-sugar-added/low-sugar/low-fat varieties, or do they love sugary fruit-on-the-bottom custardy types? With pasta, will they eat whole-wheat types, or will they resist because the color or texture of the pasta is different from regular semolina pasta? With potatoes, must they have white potatoes every night, or do they like sweet potatoes, which are indeed sweet but pack a better nutritional punch for the sugar content? Will they eat brown rice or wild rice, or will only Uncle Ben's do?

You might have some challenges if cost is an issue, you don't want to buy different things, and the kids are really inflexible about eating different things. But the list of approved foods for both Phase I and Phase II is so broad, I'm sure you'll be able to find something to appeal to everyone. The choices really are yours to make - and don't let your older child's subs and pizza get to you.

Good luck, and welcome to the Beach!

Donna

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 11:48am
Hi, I have four kids and am NOT a big fan of cooking so I knew when I started the SB I would have to think about a way to make it work for myself and my family. The key for me is to make the same, regular meals I had before I would just not serve myself the carbs. For example,

Ham, cheese potatoes, veggies and rolls for the family, ham and veggies for me.

Taco's, rice, and beans for the family, taco meat on a salad for me.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a veggie for the family, baked chicken and the veggie for myself.

Pasta is an easy one too...I use some of the meat (shrimp, tuna, chicken, lean ground turkey) before mixing it into a pasta and put it on my salad.

Pretty easy to do for dinner and the other meals of the day we are all over the place so I eat what I am suppose to and they eat what they like. I still have the kid snacks in the house as well as the healthy ones. I don't believe in taking away their goodies just because I can't handle them. Its not their issue, its mine. I have "small" (age) children who need all of the carbs they can get and are very active and athletic with me. They have chips with a sandwitch, brocolii and carrots with ranch dressing for a snack and fruit snacks or pudding after dinner...and I always get my sugar free jello. :)

Hope I've helped,

andrea

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 2:01pm
Well I look at things a little differently then some people do. I am not just doing South Beach to lose weight. I am doing South Beach because I think it is healthy. Not just for me but for my whole family. In my opinion kids today eat too much junk (mine included especially before sb) so my kids are eating the same foods I eat.

The difference is that I provide LOTS of healthy carbs for them cause I think carbs are SO very important for growing bodies. I still let them have the occasional treat that isn't SB friendly but those foods have become exactly that .... a treat. I make cookies for them but I use natural ingredients in the cookies. The only thing that I do seperate for me is splenda because I am not 100% convinced about the safety of artificial sweeteners so I won't give it to my kids except in SMALL amounts like in homemade breads and I usually use honey so that they don't get even that much. If I am making something we will all be eating I try to use stevia or fructose instead even though I like the splenda better.

I want my kids to learn now that fruit and veggies are a snack and water is the best thing to drink. Those two things are healthy habits that I wish I had of learned earlier in life. I think I have a benifit though in that my kids are young still (5 and 3) so they are still pretty moldable.

Michelle

149, 131, 125

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 2:43pm
Michelle, I think you misunderstood my post about allowing snacks and treats into the house. Of course there are good carbs and bad carbs for children but it is my experience that when offered both they neither feel deprived and will 9 times out of 10 choose the good ones (wish we adults could do the same, ha ha ha).

The SBD IS about being healthy and inturn, you will lose the unhealthy weight.

I think one of the most important things we can pass down to our children is to not create or give them "food issues". Letting them know there are unhealthy snacks around (at home, at friends, in school, in the store) and that they are fine in moderation. Kids are pretty smart. They know to keep their bodies healthy and growing they need to eat the good stuff and they learn more by example than anything else.

Any way just wanted to clarify my previous response.

a.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 5:32pm
I am so sorry if you thought my post was directed at you it really wasn't.

This is just something that after starting South Beach I have come to feel really strongly about. The more I studied and learned about health through eating the more I came to understand the damage I was doing to my children. If offered both choices my kids would take the junk everytime.....why? because that is what they have been eating their whole lives. They cut their teeth on McDonald French fries. I am glad to say neither of my kids are over weight (with all the crap I fed them I don't know why not)but I know that the way they were being fed was NOT good for them.

We had bathroom issues with my son only for me to discover it was totally dietary in cause. So while they do get non-SB treats on occasion that is no longer what they are offered as snack in most cases. They have had quite a bit of candy since Christmas(their stocking was stuffed with it but what can I say blame Santa not me LOL) and I haven't made anything totally off limits I just don't keep the junk in the house. They are adapting and I know they are healthier for it. I honestly don't know if my kids had a glass of water cause they were thirsty before I started South Beach. Now I almost never even buy juice. Anyway I just wanted you to know that I wasn't trying to make you feel like you were making bad choices .. it really sounds like we basically are doing the same.

Michelle

149, 131, 125

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 12-29-2003 - 6:42pm

Hi there. :)

Susan :)