Life gets in the way - but we are still doing well!

I haven't had much chance to get online and post an update.  If you are following on twitter, or instagram just search the hashtag #projectprimalkids to find photos and updates through social media.

The kids are actually really embracing this way of eating.  I am encountering very little resistance to the food they are being given.  I honestly thought this was going to be way harder than it is!

A couple nights ago we had pastured organic pork chops with sweet potato and brocolli.  All three kids scored full points that night!

The kids have also been scoring points for eating their veggies in their lunches.  We were growing tired of finding their veggies each day when they came home from school, so we decided to offer a reward.  So far, Chloe has 6 points for eating veggies, Sophie has 5 and Daphne has 5.  

The other night we had salmon  & veg.  Total points available was 14.  

Salmon, sweet potato fries and edamame beans.  Knowing that edamame is soy, which is not considered primal or paleo - I was willing to serve an unprocessed soy after seeing the high protein content and I happen to LOVE these beans!  The kids are not so keen - but hopefully they will grow to love them as much as I do.  I ensure that I buy organic non gmo edamame.  

Daphne 14/14 

Chloe 7/14 3 points for eating sweet potato, 3 points for eating edamame and 1 point for trying salmon

Sophie 5/14 3 points for eating sweet potatoe, 1 point each for trying edamame and salmon

We've had a couple of busy days and the kids have eaten at my parents house.  Last night we went out for sushi - Daphne went to town on the sashimi!  What a kid!  Chloe went crazy with avocado nigiri, and Sophie enjoyed some Maki rolls.  They did eat buffet dishes which included spring rolls, tempura battered items, cookies & ice cream.  We also indulged in lots of rice!  Lots of fun - yummy food!!  

Tonight we are having a roast chicken, sweet potato and broccoli.  

Waffly Good!

This morning we tried Paleo Parent's recipe for Belgium waffles.  Pretty good!  My kids are pretty reluctant to eat grain free breakfast items.  Muffins, pancakes, waffles have generally been a no go in our house.  That's usually due to the addition of almond or coconut flour.  This recipe intrigued me because it only had a tbsp. of  arrowroot powder, and the rest of the ingredients were all things my kids willingly eat and enjoy!

The verdict?  2/3 kids approve.  The other 1/3 was very grumpy this morning, so I don't have a good read on this.  I don't know that they LOVED these, as in, they wanted to eat a lot of them. But, they did eat one, I did offer points for this meal.  Hoping to have these be a weekly regular.  I love the idea of making a big batch and freezing these for toaster waffle breakfasts!

Chloe - 11 points.  5 for clearing her plate and 3 for waffles, 3 for strawberries.
Sophie - 11 points. 5 for clearing her plate and 3 for waffles, 3 for strawberries
Daphne - 4 points 3 for strawberries and 1 for trying the waffles.

Success!!

Today's meals were a huge success.  All primal compliant and the kids ate a lot of food.  Breakfast was fruit & yogurt.  Lunch was tuna salad on cucumber slices with strawberries, apple slices & pineapple.

Supper was a 20 point meal again.

Spinach crust ham & pineapple pizza, frittata with olives, feta & spinach with a side of carrots, snap peas, cucumber.  

Chloe - 20 points 

First full points score!  Yay! Chloe!

Sophie - 14 points

3 points each for eating the frittata, carrots, and snap peas, 1 point for trying the pizza

Daphne - 11 points

3 points for each of the veggies, and 1 point each for trying the frittata & the pizza. 

Feel really good about today!  Kids are responding really well to eating healthy, they seem very motivated by the points system.  We've decided they can cash their points in for "adventures" with mom or dad to the movies, the museum, science centre, mini golf or laser tag.  Rather than rewarding with food, or toys, we figured it would be best to go out and do something fun! 

Hey, this is going pretty well...

Three days in, and I have to say that this has been pretty easy so far.  Yesterday was a bit of a write off, but I did manage to sneak in a healthy bedtime snack of cottage cheese & veggies.

This morning I made the orange scones recipe from the Gather cookbook.  So good.  The kids immediately sensed something suspicious, likely the presence of nuts.  They didn't eat them, but did have a good serving of fruit & more cottage cheese (sensing a trend here).

Supper was taco salad.  No shells - the kids didn't' even miss the shells.  Total points possible for this meal was 20. We allowed 3 points each for meat, avocado, tomato, lettuce, & olives or 1 point for trying those ingredients and 5 points for finishing the bowl.

Chloe scored 16/20 points.
 5- finishing bowl
3 - meat
3 - olives
3 - avocado
1 - tomato
1 - letuce

Sophie scored 14/20 points
5 - finishing bowl
3 - meat
3 - tomato
3 - olives

Daphne scored top points with 18/20
5 - finishing bowl
3 - meat
3 - olives
3 - avocado
3 - lettuce
1 - tomato

This meal was a huge success.  Kids loved it!

Taco Meat

I never measure anything when I cook - I usually eye things out.  So these measurements are approximate, and just a general guideline.  Be creative! You don't need seasoning out of a package to make delicious tacos!

2 lbs grass fed ground beef
2/3 tbsp. chilli powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
salt to taste

Brown ground beef, add seasoning.  Sometimes I like to add some tomato paste to make the meat saucier.

The Particulars - The Primal Diet

Before delving too far into this experiment, I want to explain how we plan to be eating as a family.  The general guidelines for the way of eating we will be following can be found on the Marks Daily Apple website.  We will be following a primal/paleo way of eating, with a few modifications. 

Here are the general guidelines:

1. No grains - except for rice on ocassion

2. No legumes - easy one given that my children really dislike beans

3. Limited dairy - full fat 

4. Limited sugar - natural sugars like maple syrup & honey will be allowed

5. No vegetable oils (exception for commercial mayo & veggie dips until we can transition to home made) 

The primal/paleo diet is a plant based diet - the bulk of the diet is vegetables & fruits.  This is one of the biggest misconceptions I encounter regarding eating a paleo diet.  Most people think I eat meat every day, 3 meals a day.  Not the case.  

Another thing many paleo eaters fail to see is the importance of quality meat.  CAFO meats, in my opinion, are not part of the primal or paleo diet.  We will chose grass fed & pastured meats whenever possible, with a second alternative of locally sourced organic or natural meats (antibiotic and hormone free). 

Bacon is often seen as the "mecca" of all meats in the paleo community, and yes, I did serve bacon last night!  But, I want to stress that we buy nitrate free, natural bacon.  I do not think regular store bought bacon is a healthy alternative for our family.  

Seafood will be sustainably sourced whenever possible, with the hopes of finding good, consistent sources for quality seafood.  

Animal welfare, and stewardship of the earth is very important to me.  If there is not an ethical meat option, I will eat only plants.  I would like to pass this way of eating along to my children.  I want them to get to know the farmers we buy from, and I would like them to understand that food isn't something that we should take for granted.  We plan to make a regular habit out of visiting the farmers market each week, so the kids have a strong connection with their food. 

It is my strong belief that we are omnivorous animals.  I believe that the closer to the source a food is, the healthier it is.  We strive to feed our children REAL food, minimally processed, primarily locally sourced whenever possible.  

Allowable foods: vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, animals, eggs, healthy fats, limited dairy, white rice, natural sweeteners.  

Today started out with a very non primal meal - Rice Krispies & milk for breakfast, and will continue down that path as the children have their hot dog lunch at school this afternoon - this evening they will enjoy a home cooked meal at my mom and dads house (very likely not primal, but filled with love!).  We are focused only on what we can do at home for the time being, hoping to instil habits that the children will take with them as they venture out and make food choices outside of the home.  We want them, in time,  to be internally motivated to eat well.  

In the midst of this we will remember Mark Sisson's words, "Don't let perfection be the enemy of good" 

Day One - the rules.

Kids like games.  That's a given.  Add a little healthy competition and this whole primalizing becomes more interesting.

We've come up with a points system.  The kids will collect points for each meal eaten - and they will later be able to cash in their points for something special.

Here are the rules & the points system:

1. You must try everything - even if you know you don't like it, studies show that it takes 10 tries of something new to determine if you like it.

2. 1 point for each item tried, but if you finish that entire item you will get 3 points

3. 5 bonus points for clearing your plate

Tonight's meal, 17 possible points:

Sweet potato, green beans with almonds, cedar plank salmon, bacon wrapped shrimp.  (Mom and Dad both scored 17 points! Delicious!)

Chloe 

Chloe was most determined to score high on points for this meal.  She received a total of 8/17 points.  She got 3 points each for eating her veggies, and 1 point for trying both meat items.  She was quite scared to eat the shrimp - took some convincing.  She didn't like it.  The bacon was too gristly, and the shrimp texture was not at all appealing for her.

Sophie

Sophie scored 6/17 points.  1 point each for sampling the veggies and salmon.  3 points for finishing her bacon wrapped shrimp.

Daphne

Daphne scored a total of 7/17 points.  3 points each for finishing her salmon & bacon wrapped shrimp.  1 point for sampling (and hating!) the beans.  The sweet potato was a complete no go for her.

Bacon wrapped shrimp recipe was found in the cookbook "Gather".  And the cedar plank salmon was my own creation - which was a near disaster as the plank caught fire (see burned edges) and the salmon ended up slightly overcooked.  Tasted delicious though!!

Tomorrow the kids have a hot dog lunch at school....  I wish they wouldn't do such events. The school is often the source of information on "healthy" eating, yet the kids seem to eat a fair amount of junk food there.  Seems like a bit of a disconnect.  My hope is that one day the kids will opt out of junk food at school voluntarily.

If you would like to follow the day's meals, please check out my Instagram Feed for regular updates & photos, username "suryayogaregina" or twitter, same user name, hash tag #projectprimalkids. 

My kids - and why this blog exists.

These are my kids.  They are a little bit crazy, a little bit goofy, a LOT picky, and completely awesome.

Chloe is 11.  She's your typical pre teen (you know, not quite teen - but not quite kid!  I remember this age well.).  She's typically been our pickiest eater.  Right from when she was a baby.  I remember trying to transition her to solids, but she was determined to survive on breastmilk alone (smart kid!).  Her diet as a toddler consisted of breastmilk, avocado & cheese.  She refused any and all vegetables and her lone fruit was the wholesome avocado.  Chloe's favorite food is Mac n Cheese (boxed variety).  She refuses to eat seafood or fish, will not eat gristle (in fact, has stated "gristle" as her least favorite food).

Sophie is 7.  Sophie has been probably the more adventurous eater of the three.  She will usually try most foods and is the only one who will happily eat tomatoes.  She loves candy.  Her favorite food is popcorn with tomato being a close second.   She quite dislikes avocado.

Daphne is 5.  Daphne is a meat eater.  Always has been.  Our most primal of the bunch.  Since I began eating a primal diet about 4 years ago, Daphne is most used to seeing primal foods in the house.  Daphne's favorite food is sushi - salmon sashimi to be exact.  She also loves bacon, shrimp, pork chops (bone only please), and steak.  She also eats a nice variety of fruit and veg.  She dislikes toast, but LOVES candy!  LOVES it.  Transitioning Daphne to primal eating will be a breeze, except for her love of candy.

All in all - my kids eat pretty well.  I'm usually pretty careful to minimize processed foods, and we cook real food meals a lot of the time.  But, sometimes amidst our busy lives, we can barely manage to get a frozen pizza on the table.  And this is supper, more often than I care to admit.

A few lightbulb moments over the past month has made me realize that we need to get serious about our children's diet.

The most recent was at Chloe's 11th birthday party.  We served typical party fare - pizza, cupcakes, candy.  One of her guests had dietary restrictions against dairy & gluten.  Typically, this would be no issue for me.  Most often our meals, and even past birthday menus, have been primal or paleo.  Time to change! I felt badly not being able to offer kid friendly GF/DF alternatives to Chloe's party guest.

Before this, was our most eye opening realization.  Over the past year, our family was split up.  The kids father & I had separated, and we were sharing custody of the girls.  Communication was limited and neither of us placed a huge priority on feeding the kids the same way we had been feeding them prior to the split.  We fed them convenient food (I was also feeding them a vegetarian diet during this time) - and both of us gave them a fair amount of junk food.  It was definitely easier to give in to their requests for candy - than to say no. Thankfully, dad & I reunited this past January and have been working to rebuild routine and predictability for the kids again, which included a trip to the dentist.

We were shocked and disappointed to see that Daphne & Sophie's teeth were in terrible condition.  They have had to have extensive dental work done to remedy the damage done by a poor diet.  The dentist commented that the change was dramatic and asked if there was any change to overall health or if something had happened.   It was clearly the inattention to diet, and probably inconsistency with oral hygiene.

Both their dad and I decided that it was time to change.  So, we are.  This isn't going to be easy.  I often think I might have the pickiest eaters ever.  I often look at kid friendly recipes and think, "not a chance!" - but maybe I haven't given my kids the opportunity to prove me wrong.  So - we are starting this in earnest now, a primal diet.  No grains, limited (high fat) dairy, no legumes, limited sugar.  They will eat a plant based diet with ethically sourced meat & eggs for protein.  Maybe we can even get them eating nuts!

We still have a lot of grains in the house, so we did decide to transition slowly so that the food we have does not go to waste.  Main meals will be mostly primal, lunches will slowly transition (a very challenging meal to keep primal when nuts are not allowed at school), and breakfast will be the last to go (we are moving from wheat based cereals to rice & corn based, and then eventually on to the typical primal breakfast foods).

This blog will follow our progress!  Join in!  We'd love to share this adventure with you!