I don't want my daughters to worry about food
Can we please all agree to make this post a non-judgmental space today? Just like most other parents I am simply trying to do the best I can, and just like most parents - I do not claim to have all the answers. And as a result of some recent non-judgmental and constructive feedback from blog readers I've been doing some thinking...and my thoughts are this: I never want my daughters to have to worry about food (or anything for that matter).
People sometimes imply that allowing your children to have free rein on junk food means "letting your kid be a kid," but in reality I think they are confusing "eating junk food" with the happy-go-lucky, carefree feeling we often see in children. And in my opinion there are many ways to achieve that bliss, which I can assure you, is not only from junk food.
But I am the first to admit it's not easy to constantly find that fine line between standing up for what you believe in (nourishing my children with the healthiest foods on the planet!) and also not being too uptight. Whether we like it or not, there is a social aspect to junk food. I tell my husband all the time "we've been there done that" ...therefore I don't care if I never again chow down on a Little Debbie Snack, a box of Nerds, or a Push Up (really, I don't). But my children have not had the same experiences as me and no matter how much they "understand" why those foods are unhealthy who can blame them for wanting to see what they are all about? They are literally surrounded by this stuff after all - just look at school lunch rooms, TV commercials and even check-out lines at the store.
The Feedback I Couldn't Ignore
Aside from our 100-day pledge (which ended in 2010) we have never been fully restrictive on what our girls can and can't eat. We certainly eat almost all "real food" at home, but now that our pledge is over our children indulge in processed "treats" at birthday parties, school celebrations, friend's houses, etc. I certainly wish they weren't offered junk food at so many events, but this is reality and I try not to stress about it (although I have become involved at their school in hopes of continuing to see positive changes there). We also usually offer our girls a "once a week treat," which is pretty much the only time we eat any big sweets (other than a super dark chocolate square), but more often than not they have junk food elsewhere so others were almost always beating me to the punch when it was treat time. This means our treats together as a family didn't happen very often - or if they did my daughters would have to decide to forgo a treat that was being offered to them by someone else. These decisions were what started bothering me deep down.
Then it just so happens that last weekend we had the chance to buy our kids their weekly treat, and by request we headed out for donuts (which I shared with this picture on Facebook). It was on that post where some interesting discussions started.
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really work. A blog reader actually shared this suggestion with me, and it took me a while to work up enough courage to try it out. I am so glad I finally did because approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds later I had fresh, fluffy, whole-grain popcorn that hadn’t been touched by a drop of oil, salt, sugar, or any other additives. And after lightly seasoning it myself with a tad of oil and salt it was delicious! I will never waste my money on those store-bought microwave bags ever again.
I have had a Nordic Ware Microwave Popcorn Popper for years and love it! It was around $10 at Walmart (at least 10 years ago). It’s healthier and environmentally friendlier ;)
Not sure what I did wrong but mine started burning with 1:30 left to go! Won’t do this again!
This method doesn’t work for me, leaves too many unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bag. For our family of 6, we need at least 3 bags and each subsequent bag has more unpopped kernels than the last.
I bought the stainless steele stovetop popper and use organic cococnut oil, non-GMO popcorn, grass-fed butter and unrefined sea salt. The stuff gives me a headache, but the $2/8ct box of off brand store bought variety doesn’t bother me.
Would love to know what gives.
My bag caught on fire. :(
We just pop our corn in a pyrex bowl with a microwave safe plate on top, tilted a bit to let the steam out. Works great! Add butter and salt after if you want.
I love this idea, BUT…..my popcorn burned! I used 1/4 cup of popcorn kernals and pulled it out after about 2 minutes. BURNT POPCORN! It popped really fast but definitely couldn’t eat it. Is there another trick?
I have concerns about the food’s nutritional value being diminished by the microwave cooking process. I have done some research and the opinions are mixed.
My favorite example is microwaved water does not sustain a plant… And yes, I have tried this myself – with a control plant. That’s scary to me!
What is your take on this?
Lisa really has taken a strong position on microwave use. :) Here are some articles that offer insight: http://theconversation.com/health-check-is-it-safe-to-microwave-your-food-66776, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/how-safe-is-your-microwave/2014/11/11/eea75518-6452-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html?utm_term=.76e57bf15b26 and https://www.thepaleomom.com/are-microwaves-safe-to-use/.
Better check your research or actually do the experiment correctly. It’s a total myth.
http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp
I have burned mine so bad it almost caught fire doing it this way. I like the comment that someone uses a pyrex bowl with a plate on top. I just gave my biggest one away because it is heavy and awkward, now I wish I’d have kept it. I have a “whirly pop” that I use, i like it a lot, it’s just kind of hard to clean. Guess an old fashioned pan is my best bet!