Healthy Family, Happy Family

My daughter was three when anything that resembled plant life suddenly became revolting. She also wouldn’t touch tuna, porridge, anything with a hint of spice (or flavour!) and she would suddenly be hungry, again, just before bed. I could have composted for the entire Royal Botanic Gardens with all the nutritious meals I had to throw out each week. Mealtime tantrums are just a part of life, I thought, as another vegetable frittata became destined for landfill. For the next two years I diligently chopped up the carrots, capsicum and anything green from the fridge and popped them on her plate. And later I’d scrape the vegies and half the rice and most of the meat into the bin.

Then I read a few scientific studies that revealed how vegies can reduce a child’s risk of life-threatening diseases when they grow up. I began to panic. Oh dear, I thought. Was I being a bad parent? Or worse: was I a crap nutritionist? This was the catalyst that led me to discover effective ways to get children eating healthy foods.

For those of you who’ve lost hope trying to convince your child to eat meals that include spinach, curry or grainy bread, grab a cuppa, head for the sofa and read on. If you worry your child is not eating enough nutritious foods or are wondering how to slot ‘healthy cooking’ into your hectic schedule, sigh loudly and sit down. This book is designed to help you. More than 90 per cent of parents face these common dilemmas each and every day. You may be the exception. Or you could be one of the majority who want to add a new dimension of fun to your daily activities (and do it while whipping up great family meals). These topics, and more, are covered in the three main sections of this book.

Around 90 per cent of parents often have trouble convincing their kids to eat vegetables. However, even if your child consumes most foods, you might want to persuade them to dig your favourite fish curry or savour your nanna’s famous spinach salad (the meals you’ve banished since your child first pronounced ‘yuck’). Chapter 3, ‘Marketing magic’, gives you the tools to fix fussy eating habits, forever.

Years ago when my daughter became a finicky eater I tried a range of strategies to persuade her to eat. I attempted puréeing vegetables and hiding them in more appealing foods such as muffins, but it just felt wrong. Ayva was five by this stage, not five months, and I wanted her to eat what I was eating. I didn’t want to cook all night so I also bribed her with sugar. I’d say, ‘You can have dessert if you eat all your dinner,’ then I’d hold my breath and anticipate the worst. Reluctantly she ate, complaining the whole time. Great. But then she held me to ransom each night, demanding to know what was on the dessert menu before she’d commit to eating her greens.

I soon realised these tactics were sending her the wrong messages.

Then one night I made up a fun story about the green beans and carrots on her plate. And guess what? She ate them. The whole bowl. She did not complain either and we actually laughed during that meal—the deep-bellied laughter, usually reserved for
Funniest Home Videos,
not carrot consumption.

This event prompted me to do some investigating. Two years of research and writing, studying marketing books, talking to other parents, observing junk food advertising campaigns and sourcing articles about them, and hundreds of scientific studies later, it became clear what was missing in the battle to get our kids eating nutritious foods. These revelations are contained in Chapter 3.

My daughter’s taste buds no longer rule our meal choices. She eats tomato, tuna, porridge, all things green and the curry recipes from this book. She is now nine years old and today we went to a play-centre café, lined with rows of tempting iceblock freezers, giant chocolate freckles and cookies in jars. At lunch she came to the counter with me and excitedly asked for the kid’s pizza option from a list of kids meals that were void of anything green and healthy. And being the optimistic (stubborn?) mother I am, I ordered her the adult-sized wholemeal chicken and salad sandwich (the type with tomato, lettuce, carrot, beetroot and sprouts). When the meal was served to my daughter she didn’t throw herself on the ground in protest. There were no ‘Aww muuuum’ complaints. She just ate it (excuse me for bragging with excitement). And since passing on these techniques to other parents, I’ve heard similar success stories over and over again, and you’ll read some of these soon.

But getting your child to eat healthy foods is only one aspect of this book. Now that your family wants to eat healthy foods, the second half of this book solves that annoying problem called
not enough time.
Yes, it would be great to have more time. Time to cook a healthy dinner. Time to read the newspaper with your partner (time to shave the woolly mammoth off your legs?). As a busy parent, I’m guessing you need to feed your family quickly and without fuss. After all, your child is probably saying ‘Come and play with me—
now.
’

Healthy Family, Happy Family
was written after I had my second child, Jack. This is when it hit me that parents and guardians need as much support as possible in order to juggle household duties, work and raising healthy kids. I was a busy working mum with two children. ‘Arsenic hour’—5p.m.—often crept up without warning. Jack, who was seventeen months old at the time, would fish out the soup ladle from the middle drawer and make dinosaur sounds in front of the refrigerator. Ayva would start circling like a shark at dusk, whining ‘Muuum I’m hungry, what can I eat?’ Then it was a race against time to whip up a tasty meal. To be honest, I was really beginning to feel ungrateful for the family I had. The daily battle to 8p.m. was thankless.

However, I decided that rather than wishing time away, I’d look for ways to make today okay. So I did some investigating to find out how to fix my new time-poor, cooking-anxiety problem. The solution, I found, did not involve seeing a therapist. I cancelled the acupuncturist and called off the kinesiologist. All I needed was six simple time-saving solutions. And then I redesigned my recipes so there was less traditional, time-consuming measuring and weighing of ingredients and more freehand measuring and using up leftovers. Now dinner is whipped up on schedule. And I look forward to cooking because it’s easier.

In Chapter 4 you’ll also learn why making food preparation faster involves sitting and playing with your child, not standing in the kitchen. In chapters 7, 8 and 9 you’ll find out what to feed your child to give them the best start to life but you won’t have to weigh most of your ingredients or obsess about food choices. When you walk into the supermarket, you’ll never stand in front of the button mushrooms trying to guess how much 200 grams is—instead you’ll just grab three handfuls and be on your way. There are many simple ways to save time in and out of the kitchen so you can spend more quality time with your family.

When I initially developed and tested the menus and set meal plans in this book I felt organised and relaxed for the first time in years. It was as though my brain had just experienced some sort of vacation (minus the sunburn and surprise mini-bar bill). I was so used to rushing each day. I’d go grocery shopping with only two planned meals and then grab the ‘usuals’ off the shelves. Then I’d run out of food mid week (but still have a fridge full of random items like a tonne of wilted silver beet). That’s why Chapter 7, ‘Menus’ and Appendix 4, ‘Shopping lists and further resources’ are my pride and joy. Who needs to meditate halfway up a mountain in order to feel free, when you have all your recipes, menus and shopping lists set out for you?

You’ll never need to worry if you and your family are receiving the right nutrition for growth and development when using these healthy meal plans, recipes and the corresponding shopping lists. You don’t have to figure out if your child’s eating enough protein to grow properly or fret about food additives that can hamper your child’s concentration during class. There are weekly lunch box guides in Chapter 8 to take the guesswork out of packing school lunches so you’ll know your little ones are getting enough calcium, fibre and a range of cancer-busting nutrients each day.

This book has a range of programs that you can either adhere to or use in part. You can follow the weekly menus and print out the shopping lists or you can simply try any of the numerous healthy ways to get your family eating vegies and other nutritious foods outlined in Chapter 3 (including the top 10 must do’s). You can also cook whatever recipes you like, in any order you like. Since I specialise in eczema and other skin conditions, I’ve also included recipes for people with special dietary requirements.

I know at times you’re probably unmotivated to cook but I want you to give yourself a bit of credit when you do whip out the wok. Cooking for both yourself and your family is one of the most loving and kind things you can do for them (and for you). As a parent, eating healthy meals will help you to cope with the daily stressors of family life, you’ll have more energy to play with your children and you’re more likely to be around long enough to know your grandchildren. Food is nourishment and each time you dish up My Favourite Lamb Cutlets, your actions speak volumes about how much you love your family. Healthy foods eaten during childhood can decrease the risk of certain diseases later in life. They help your child to be strong and healthy, and far less moody or hyperactive. So they’re less likely to scream for chocolate or set fire to your garbage bins. Nourishing foods can also give your child energy to play and think properly at school. What could be more rewarding than that?

Okay, mushy stuff aside. Let’s be honest. Family life does have its challenges (hello midnight nappy changes and that emo teen phase), but family meal time does not have to be one of them. A healthy and happy family is attainable and it’s much easier than you’d imagine. It is not reserved for the rich. God did not give out ‘healthy, agreeable family who eat their greens’ to some people and not others in some lotto-like draw that you didn’t buy a ticket for. You do not need a degree in psychology or a black belt in martial arts to get your family to sit calmly and enjoy their food. I believe this is great news as I’d like to think we could all have a healthy household if only we had some sort of guide that was written in plain English saying ‘Do this and your family will eat!’

Healthy Family, Happy Family
is that manual. I hope you enjoy feeding yourself and your family from now on, and if you do, be sure to spread the joy by letting your friends and relatives know your secret. Here’s to a happy life and a healthy future generation who eats their greens.