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While waiting in line at the market last week I looked around at other carts, especially those with a child sitting in the basket or hanging on to Mom.
I had a revelation. You can pretty much identify junk food by the fact it’s packaged which almost always means it’s processed. And you can identify the healthy stuff rolling around on its own.
My cart held a sweet potato, a white potato, an eggplant, romaine lettuce, vine tomatoes, bulk carrots, celery, broccoli, grapefruit, apples, bananas, and blueberries (pricey, but I had this awful craving!) Of course some of the food I was buying was packaged: obviously the blueberries, eggs, milk, cheese, flank steak, a chicken, and a package of crackers. But nothing I bought except the crackers had been precooked or processed. And the crackers only had three ingredients: rye flour, water and salt.
The next cart over was filled with brightly colored bags of chips, cereal, cookies, crackers. Guess what? All the carts I saw that were connected with children were piled high with processed foodstuffs. Lots of bags and cartons. Very few or no foods rolling around on their own.
I know. Moms and Dads are busy. Lots of the fully-dressed (packaged) processed foods are convenient. Kids don’t eat veggies. I’ve heard and used all these arguments myself.
But I learned from experience that if you don’t have chips in the house but you do have cheese, carrot and celery sticks, and sliced apples your kids will eat the healthy stuff. (Household hint: slice apples, sprinkle with orange juice and store in a plastic bag in the fridge. Leave out a jar of peanut butter and a butter knife. Your kids will make sandwiches out of the apple and PB).
So the next time you shop try to buy fewer things sealed in big bags and more naked, or near-naked, food. A big step toward keeping your family healthy.
--Marilyn Heins, M.D.
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Dr. Marilyn Heins is a Tucson pediatrician, parenting columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, author of the book, ParenTips, as well as a mother, stepmother and grandmother. She is available for workshops and lectures to groups of parents, teachers, and grandparents. See: Dr. Heins’ Lectures =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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