Liane Weintraub and her family in their organic garden
We tend to think if we raise children who turn their noses up at sweets, we’ve successfully navigated the minefield of childhood nutrition. But it’s so much more complicated than that.
I definitely don’t advocate candy as part of a child’s daily diet, and I am passionately against the bland offerings that typically make up the usual children’s food selections in restaurants. No one should subsist on chicken fingers and fries alone, but I think it’s in kids’ best interests to taste the foods the world has to offer—the good, the bad and the ugly.
My newfound attitude comes as a surprise to most who know me. After all, I am the cofounder of an organic-food company for babies and children, Tasty Brand, Inc., so I’m supposed to be 100 percent hard core about nutrition, right? I’ve found that hard-nosed approach often leads to kids devouring every Big
Mac in sight if given the opportunity. Some laxity here and there actually encourages mature and intelligent selfrestraint. I’ll be unleashing these children on the world at some point, so shouldn’t they be able to choose wisely?
In my house we’ve somehow gotten our children to drink the Kool-Aid—figuratively speaking, of course. My husband has a list of “muscle foods,” such as broccoli, beets, avocado, edamame and organic chicken, which our children beg for so they can grow strong. They want to be big and strong. They want their brains and bodies to function well. It’s so much better (not to mention easier) to get the kids invested in the process. Everyone comes out feeling satisfied.
