Have Your Kids Only Eat Thanksgiving Buns
Thanksgiving is approaching, which means we have the opportunity to gorge ourselves once a year to a ridiculous degree, and we say how much we will regret it later, as we simultaneously insist that little Billy try some of Grandma’s green bean casserole. … …
Thanksgiving dinner is good food. Obviously; there is gravy. But a child? This is a whole table of lumpy foods in different shades of beige that they usually don’t eat. Take the filling , for example. Earlier, when my husband and I lived on the other side of the country, away from our families, we had Thanksgiving with a group of friends. And one of those friends made an apple sausage filling that will forever remain in my top 5 favorite foods of all time. But to be honest, it looks like dog vomit.
Mashed potatoes are good, but would a child prefer to have their potatoes sliced longitudinally, fried and salted ? Of course it will be. I know the sweet potato casserole recipe has been in the family for four generations, but the kid looks at it with a fresh eye and asks himself, “Why would they spoil the marshmallows?”
Thanksgiving has a special focus on food because it’s a celebration that culminates in one weirdly specific meal. It takes so long to get ready because it has to be a labor of love and love has to be over-consumed.
But as registered dietitian Krystal Karges told the New York Times , all these traditions and preparations can cause us to have unrealistic expectations for our children. For them, it’s just another meal. And if the only thing they’re attracted to is a basket of buns or a plate of mashed potatoes, that’s okay. One very meaty meal won’t hurt them:
“Even our pickiest eaters have the ability to self-regulate what they need to eat, and their body’s innate signals largely determine their food choices,” Karges explained. “No meal or day is representative of anyone’s nutritional value. If they eat carbohydrate-rich foods today, they will likely balance them out in the next few days by gravitating towards other food groups. ”
We also send our kids some very controversial messages about food consumption on this particular holiday. We put on “elastic” pants and punish ourselves by not stopping at “seconds”, even if we continue “thirds.” We’re talking about overdoing it when encouraging the kids to eat more.
Even if you’ve long ago decided that you didn’t care if your child ate their share of the corn, other relatives can take on the task. Make sure your kids understand beforehand that they can politely give up anything they don’t want with a simple “No thanks.” If someone keeps pushing for it, you can swoop in to redirect: “I told Billy that he can choose what he likes; we are just grateful that we can be together. “
Because while it may seem like food is the point, it really is the collection for food, which is the point. And the collection can be completed and the memories can be made with a plate full of all the fixins or two handfuls of bread.