MISSION: HEALTHY KID, PART I

- Diana Jewell Jabour, Contributing Writer

When Tastybaby met up with new step-mom Diana Jewell, we knew we had met a great advocate for healthy kids’ diets. 

In Part I of her 2-Part report, Diana shares her commitment to making one little girl’s food choices healthier …

Now that everyone is getting into the rhythm of juggling school and activities, we look to keeping our families going strong with healthy snacks and meals. There is no better gift you can give your child than a strong and healthy body, and a clear picture of what foods are good for you and why. Give them a head start in life and start while they are young with good eating habits and a healthy food education! Not only are those young years the building blocks for their health later in life, you are setting up their habits that will be deeply ingrained…lets make them positive ones. 

So when time is tight, and kids are picky…what is a health conscious busy mom (or step mom like me!) to do? I have a few helpful hints… some I learned by trial and error, others from my friends and family after becoming the step mom to a beautiful, green-eyed eight year old named Samantha. With the blending of families, I was more than a little worried about Samantha liking how I cook.  Would she find the meals I prepared tasty? I grew up eating organic fruits, veggies and meats. 

Processed and genetically modified foods were and are something we try to limit. “Stick to nature” was always my grandmother’s and mother’s motto, and I am sticking to it! I love the resource www.truefoodnow.org . The list helps us navigate away from the foods that have genetically engineered ingredients. We buy organic whenever possible, especially with our meats and eggs.

Before I met her, Samantha had been on more of a fast food diet. The change in her eating habits and tastes has happened in stages. I decided to layer the information in and to introduce her to how yummy healthy meals can be, and why certain foods are good for her growing body. I was met with some resistance, as she automatically asked for snacks and foods she had seen on TV, or could buy at school. She knew more names of processed snacks, cereals and characters associated with these foods than I could possibly remember. Where was she getting all this information?  I watched a very enlightening special with Peter Jennings on the food industry. Wow! What an education on processed and altered food, and their marketing tactics. Details were given on how using inferior, altered ingredients, like corn syrup and hydrogenated oils make for more profit. The report also detailed how the food industry has studies done on how to directly influence children on what to eat. These are some of the facts they talked about:  90% of the foods marketed each year are processed foods. The majority of foods advertised to children are processed and unhealthy. Last year 2,800 new candies, desserts, ice creams and snacks were introduced to the market place compared to the 230 new fruits of vegetable products. The food industry spends $34 billion a year marketing their products, and $12 billion of that is spent marketing directly to our children.

With childhood obesity and diabetes skyrocketing in epidemic proportions, and the overuse of drugs to treat behavioral problems that may be stemmed from a proper diet, parents need to have their own family marketing campaign in full swing to counter these influences. Take control moms, and don’t let the food industry’s focus on profits ruin your child’s health!

Please read Part II of Diana’s story in our November issue, when she brings us helpful hints and recipes to start your own Healthy Kid Mission!