Perhaps a dumb question: but best of the worst when it comes to junk food?

[TravelingGal]

So far, Amelia has been generally free from junk food. I notice my friend''s toddlers all eat it. Then the other day, we had pizza (vegetarian from our local pizzeria) and gave Amelia a bite. Now she LOVES pizza. Asks for it.

I looked at the pizza and thought...hm...how bad is this? I know sodium is an issue with junk food. But I figured the pizza had cheese, bread and veggies (she ate all the veggies when she normally doesn''t care for them). I know...it''s the mentality that so many have about pizza when trying to justify it, right?

I think I am going to make my own with the veggies I want for her. She could use the calories. I''m also thinking of making her some homemade burger sliders. So then it got me thinking, what kinds of junk food do you allow for your kids because it does at least have some nutrtional value? I''m talking more fast food kind of junk food (not chips and soda or anything!) What do you find is the best of the worst?

 

[qtiekiki]

M had have pizza, burger, chicken nuggets and fries. The way I see it is that we only eat these fast food occasionally, so I don''t feel bad giving them to her. I am a big snacker myself, and I believe that it''s fine in moderation and as long as we are staying active.

 

[EricaR]

I''ve been known to make "pizza" using a portobello mushroom for the crust. Or with the Trader Joes pizza dough, then loading it up with veggies.

For "chips" I use my food processor to thinly slice potatoes, spritz them with Olive Oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until crispy. Or, my favorite, use sweet potatoes instead of regular.

My other new obsession is meatballs, either for soup or with pasta. I take a package of spicy turkey sausage (could switch it out for sweet), remove the casings and mix it, 1/4 cup of cornmeal and an egg plus various spices (all spice, cumin, pepper, etc). Brown them quickly and throw into the crock pot for soup, or cook them and throw them into pasta sauce.

 

[NovemberBride]

Date: 3/24/2010 12:42:14 PM
Author: qtiekiki
M had have pizza, burger, chicken nuggets and fries. The way I see it is that we only eat these fast food occasionally, so I don''t feel bad giving them to her. I am a big snacker myself, and I believe that it''s fine in moderation and as long as we are staying active.

Obviously Liv is not eating these types of foods yet, but I agree with qtiekiki. Once she is eating solids I''ll allow her to have these things on occasion when DH and I do. We won''t be giving her soda or candy, but I believe in a well-rounded diet, which includes occasional "junk foods". As I see it, they won''t hurt her when given sporadically. I had an eating disorder as a teenager, so it''s really important for me that Olivia have a healthy relationship with food. It took me years to get there, and I think that seeing some foods as "bad" or forbidden does not promote a healthy relationship. Everything in moderation - that''s generally my philosophy.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

A couple foods my kids still eat include goldfish crackers and also the Kebler peanut butter crackers. Aside from that, we cut out almost all junk food because my older son started have issues with odd shoulder movements and eye blinking and after we took out asparatame (basically sugarless gum and Yoplait "light" yogurt w/asparatame, which he was having a lot of) and food dyes all those movements went *entirely* away so I''m actually kind of strict with what the boys eat. If we eat bacon burgers (like last night) I make them at home.

The only "fast" food we have is Subway.

 

[TravelingGal]

I believe in moderation too, so I''m fine with it. I''m just asking, what do you think is the best nutritionally from the junk foods out there? Meaning what would you prefer to give you kids, if you had to give them junk food?

EricaR, those ideas sound great. I like the meatball idea....

 

[kama_s]

The issue I have with junk food is they have zero nutritional value because of all the processing it goes through. I am a big believer of making junk food yourself at home. For instance:

- Pizza: whole wheat thin pita as crust, tomato sauce (sometimes also homemade), veggies, chicken, a small amount of skim mozzarella on top
- Hamburgers: Lean/extra lean ground beef to make your own patties
- Chicken fingers: bread chicken cutlets with panko or regular bread crumbs. Pan fry with a small amount of olive oil

All the ones above are relatively health meals. I'd much rather have home-made chicken fingers than that D-grade-chicken-liver-deep-fried crap at McD's.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

I make pizza from scratch and I''m happy for Amelia eating that. Or chicken fillets cut into nuggets and oven baked in breadcrumbs. Burgers are easy to make from steak. Grind it up, make patties and grill. Anything I can cook at home I think is ok, because I can control the salt and I know it doesn''t have chemicals in it. If she needs extra calories, I can add local cheese or butter or some home made mayo. I don''t choose food that''s been in a factory, but I''m hardcore about it- there is probably a middle ground!

I think that fast food from take-out restaurants has a unique taste that is hard to replicate at home. There''s something in it (MSG, maybe?) that makes it taste different. If I eat it, I want more then next day. I won''t give Amelia food like that, because my own experience is that the more I eat, the more I want and it isn''t good. I learned the hard way that I can''t eat the occasional burger or have the occasional trip to Pizza Hut. It becomes an all-consuming obsession, when can I get my next hit?!

It isn''t the food type I worry about, it''s how it was made. She can eat burgers, pizzas, whatever as part of a mixed diet, but not from a fast food restaurant.

Of course, when she''s old enough to go out alone, I can pretty much guarantee that she''ll go straight to McDonalds. Ok, I''ll have done my best.

 

[jewelz617]

I buy Amy''s pizza for my daughter and add fresh organic veggies. And Peas of Mind veggie fries. She eats them up like crazy and they are relatively nutritious.

She loves apple chips too, and I make most of her snacks using organic ingredients and my handy dandy Deceptively Delicious cookbook. So she can have things like cauliflower mozzarella sticks and still stay within healthy guidelines.

If we''re on the road, she likes Earth''s Best fruit bars and water.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Oh, and one of my favourite ''pizza'' recipes uses a chicken fillet instead of the crust - beaten out thin. It''s surprisingly good.

 

[qtiekiki]

Do you still consider it junk food if you make it at home? Just curious b/c I think it''s the processing that fast food go through that make them bad. So if I am making pizza and burger at home with fresh ingredients, I don''t feel like they are junk food.

To answer the question "what is the best of the worst", I''ll have to say veggie pizza.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Date: 3/24/2010 1:11:15 PM
Author: qtiekiki
Do you still consider it junk food if you make it at home? Just curious b/c I think it''s the processing that fast food go through that make them bad. So if I am making pizza and burger at home with fresh ingredients, I don''t feel like they are junk food.

To answer the question ''what is the best of the worst'', I''ll have to say veggie pizza.

No, not at all. I think that if I make it myself, from ingredients that occur in nature, it isn''t junk.

Home made burgers and pizzas are fairly nutritious, if you make them with good quality ingredients. They may be relatively high in fat, but that doesn''t make them junk. It''s all about balance, I think.

 

[upgrade]

I wish my son would eat pizza! I make it myself using a thin whole grain crust, tomato paste (full of lycopene!), lots of fresh veggies and lower fat cheeses. I think that''s a pretty good meal but my son hates it. He likes sushi and tofu better... Strange little child.

I''m okay with ice cream, obviously in moderation. I think it''s better than a lot of the ''junk'' out there because it''s at least packed with calcium. (we buy ''real'' ice cream, not frozen dairy dessert...)

We do chicken nuggets and fries too, but I make them myself and everything is baked instead of fried. They do get the occassional McDonalds meal, which they love, but my son says my homemade, baked fries are just as good as McDonalds!

I''m really okay with anything made from natural ingredients that I can pronounce! My problem is with the heavily processed foods... anything that can sit on a shelf for months at a time just can''t be good. I have no problem feeding my kids homemade cookies and cakes and pies, etc... in moderation. What I don''t want them eating is store bought, chemical laden, packaged stuff. If it orginated in a 7-11, I don''t really want them to eat it.

 

[steph72276]

Here are some of the things we do at home:

Fiber 1 bars....not sure if A is too young for these, but Andrew (and Adam and I) love these granola bars. The chocolate and oats are the best.

Gogurts...the whole concept grosses me out, but if I can get A to eat yogurt, then I deal with it. We get the Simply Gogurt b/c it doesn't have dyes/preservatives

We also make pizzas...I go to our grocery store and get the premade dough and then load on with sauce, low fat cheese and veggies.

Carrots and dip. Yeah, the dip part isn't so great, but it helps him get his veggies down.

We make our own fries to go with burgers. Cut up some potatoes, coat with EVOO and sea salt, bake.

We also make slider burgers, A loves them.

Nutella (sp?) dip to go with fruit.

I make my own chicken fingers with a cooking light recipe using Cornflakes as the crust and "ovenfry" them.

Not really junk, but we do rollups with lunchmeat and cheese as snacks sometimes.

Oh, and I agree with the meatballs...I hide shredded carrots in there too.

And then we allow the occasional fast food, which I see as just fine in moderation b/c A is active and into sports and otherwise eats pretty well.

 

[JulieN]

If it''s honest food, I don''t have a problem with it, and don''t think of pizza as junk food. It''s definitely the fast food stuff that I think is junk. For ex, I could taste the MSG and chemicals in a Chik-fil-a sandwich, and that skeeved me out.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I don't necessarily think pizza or hamburgers are junk food. Sure, when you get them from Pizza Hut and McDonald's they are, but if you make them in your home and you're in control of the ingredients and nutritional value, then what's the harm?

ETA: I think some of it is also the amount you're giving her. Moderation is key. You can whip up an amazing homemade healthy pizza, but if you put away the entire thing that's not much better (calorically speaking) than the one or two slices you might have had from Pizza Hut. Obviously we're talking children and little peanut sized children at that, so I doubt she's going to put away a whole pizza, but healthy food is only healthy if it's eaten as part of a nutritional and calorically well balanced diet.

We need to get a nutritionist on PS. I feel like that's the one career that's not represented here.

 

[janinegirly]

I don''t consider pizza junk food either! I think all kids love it--much like they love pasta. C has had it from early on since she saw us eating it and basically demanded. It''s all the elements she loves--bread, cheese and sauce. To me it''s perfectly fine although I don''t give her the frozen kind.

I consider junk food empty calories (candy, some juices, fast food, processed foods, lots of artificial ingredients etc).

 

[janinegirly]

question on burgers for toddlers--I''ve avoided this since I get nervous with pink burgers and ecoli risk--do you all just cook them well for the little ones? I mean meatballls are fine so I''m guessing yes.

 

[choro72]

Pizza is very healthy if you make it yourself. Whole grain Bagel/toast/English Muffin + veggies + little cheese + toaster oven. The problem with store or restaurant pizza is too big, too oily, too much cheese, and crap bread.

If you''re talking about buying it at the fast food chain, then I think simple grilled chicken sandwiches are the lesser evil. Not the ones that are loaded with guacamole and bacon. If you want to go completely healthy, ask them to hold the sauce. Personally, I need a little flavor in my life.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Altho I don''t consider chocolate milk junk food--some might make an argument for the same. Same with (whole) milk milkshakes--I add banana and blueberries/raspberries and it tastes yummy, has calories, nutrients and protein my growing son needs. Junky? I can live with it.

cheers--Sharon

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 3/24/2010 1:11:15 PM
Author: qtiekiki
Do you still consider it junk food if you make it at home? Just curious b/c I think it's the processing that fast food go through that make them bad. So if I am making pizza and burger at home with fresh ingredients, I don't feel like they are junk food.

To answer the question 'what is the best of the worst', I'll have to say veggie pizza.

Nope, I don't consider pizza and burgers made at home junk food. Seems like most processed burgers from fast food places would have MSG in them and/or they use low-quality hamburger. We use only organic beef at home so I know that it's healthier. Also, I make my own pizza crust. The first few times I made it, it was a PITB and flour and crusty dough covered my countertops and it took about 1/2 to clean up (lol), but now I can whip up crust and do clean up in hardly any time at all. Normally, I make it on the weekends when the kids are home and let them punch down the dough. Usually I do drink a beer with my pizza, though. . .is that junk food?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 3/24/2010 3:03:36 PM
Author: janinegirly
question on burgers for toddlers--I've avoided this since I get nervous with pink burgers and ecoli risk--do you all just cook them well for the little ones? I mean meatballls are fine so I'm guessing yes.

For burgers, I cook them on low heat. . .my range is 0-10 and I cook the burgers on 4 so they cook slowly enough to heat through without burning. When they look done, I cut one open to make sure it's thoroughly done. . .Meatballs are cooked in the oven at 350.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 3/24/2010 3:03:36 PM
Author: janinegirly
question on burgers for toddlers--I've avoided this since I get nervous with pink burgers and ecoli risk--do you all just cook them well for the little ones? I mean meatballls are fine so I'm guessing yes.

HI:

I only use ground sirloin, cooked med well--no pink. Leaner too.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Mara]

my friend''s 3 year old eats ANYTHING they do... including sushi and things like oysters, mussels. i think it''s awesome and we plan to do the same thing. basically whenever they''d eat something they would let him try some if he wanted to...and as a result he eats pretty much anything, has no hangups on ONE thing he wants to eat or obsessions with food so far. i don''t want to have forbidden foods and ''for special occasions'' kind of foods because to me that can be a recipe for a future issue with food.

that said i don''t plan to give J anything like fake sugar or things like that... we will TRY to stay as natural as possible with him.

and pizza and burgers etc aren''t unhealthy at all depending on how you make them. you can make your own whole wheat crust or use one from TJ''s, you can put just veggies on it, low fat cheese. burgers can be made using 4% fat meat and a slice of 50 cal cheese, lettuce, tomato, whole wheat bun, etc. i don''t typically put mayo and things like that on our stuff anyway.

now if we''re talking TWINKIES.... mmmm but pretty unnatural hehe.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 3/24/2010 6:17:27 PM
Author: Mara
my friend's 3 year old eats ANYTHING they do... including sushi and things like oysters, mussels. i think it's awesome and we plan to do the same thing. basically whenever they'd eat something they would let him try some if he wanted to...and as a result he eats pretty much anything, has no hangups on ONE thing he wants to eat or obsessions with food so far. i don't want to have forbidden foods and 'for special occasions' kind of foods because to me that can be a recipe for a future issue with food.


that said i don't plan to give J anything like fake sugar or things like that... we will TRY to stay as natural as possible with him.


and pizza and burgers etc aren't unhealthy at all depending on how you make them. you can make your own whole wheat crust or use one from TJ's, you can put just veggies on it, low fat cheese. burgers can be made using 4% fat meat and a slice of 50 cal cheese, lettuce, tomato, whole wheat bun, etc. i don't typically put mayo and things like that on our stuff anyway.


now if we're talking TWINKIES.... mmmm but pretty unnatural hehe.

this is what we do with our kids. they usually eat whatever we do. What's interesting is that none of my kids like spaghetti o's but all of them love salmon and I think some of it's attributed to what they were exposed to as babies/toddlers. I do think they are weird that they won't eat spaghetti o's though

you probably already know I'm not super restrictive when it comes to junk food..i.e jake ate a bit of an ice cream cone just a few days ago. I let my kids have treats in moderation. I have a big sweet tooth and I don't have a problem with them having a mini candy bar or a couple of cookies in their packed school lunches. we have dessert a few nights a week too, usually homemade cookies or ice-cream. I don't think of burgers and homemade pizza as junk food at all. I'd rather my kids eat that kind of stuff than a ton of goldfish or crackers that although low in sugar have zero nutritional value at all. I always like to try and find healthy versions of junk food that are still tasty, like sweet potato fries. I bake them with a little seasoning and my kids love them. They are packed with vitamin's and have some fiber.

ETA; to answer your fast food question, on the rare occasion we do have fast food, I let my kids get a kids meal with fries and a drink. Jake still gets water though. We eat it so seldom that once or twice a month isn't going to hurt them IMO.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I once had the most amazing twinkie. It was made by this organic baker and it was gluten and dairy free. Mmmm so amazing, better than the real thing, no doubt.

 

[upgrade]

Date: 3/24/2010 6:17:27 PM
Author: Mara
my friend''s 3 year old eats ANYTHING they do... including sushi and things like oysters, mussels. i think it''s awesome and we plan to do the same thing. basically whenever they''d eat something they would let him try some if he wanted to...and as a result he eats pretty much anything, has no hangups on ONE thing he wants to eat or obsessions with food so far. i don''t want to have forbidden foods and ''for special occasions'' kind of foods because to me that can be a recipe for a future issue with food.

that said i don''t plan to give J anything like fake sugar or things like that... we will TRY to stay as natural as possible with him.

and pizza and burgers etc aren''t unhealthy at all depending on how you make them. you can make your own whole wheat crust or use one from TJ''s, you can put just veggies on it, low fat cheese. burgers can be made using 4% fat meat and a slice of 50 cal cheese, lettuce, tomato, whole wheat bun, etc. i don''t typically put mayo and things like that on our stuff anyway.

now if we''re talking TWINKIES.... mmmm but pretty unnatural hehe.

We''ve done this with both our kids. One of them will eat anything you put in front of him (he loves seafood, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, etc...) and the other likes almost nothing and is the pickiest eater I''ve ever known. He frequently leaves birthday parties having eaten nothing because he doesn''t like hot dogs or hamburgers or pizza or cheezies or Doritos or any of the ''kid'' foods. If it looks funny, smells funny or even just looks ever so slightly different from last time he refuses it.

It''s a great idea... just be prepared for the fact that it doesn''t always work! I always thought that picky kids just weren''t exposed to enough. Nope. Mine have been exposed to the same things and one is picky, one isn''t. Maybe this is my punishment for judging people with picky kids in my past (pre-kid) life.

 

[curlygirl]

I definitely don''t think pizza is junk food. We make our own at least once a week with either a pre-made crust or we''ll buy some dough from our local pizza place and roll it out ourselves. We put on healthy toppings like Gimme Lean soy sausage, olives, peppers, etc. We also will do chicken nuggets, turkey hot dogs, nutella sandwiches, quesadillas, grilled cheese. We expose them to everything we eat. They either try it and like it or try it and spit it out! As long as they try everything, I can''t complain. But that doesn''t mean we don''t also give them french fries from time to time at a restaurant and they love Trader Joe''s Joe Joes!! We don''t go to fast food restaurants at all so I guess the closest to fast food that we''ll do is pizza. As long as they''re not chowing down on junk at every meal, I think it''s ok to have a little of everything in moderation. I will say that they eat better/more nutritious meals at preschool than they do at home!

 

[Mara]

re: picky kids... yep like adults you don''t have to like everything! but it would be great if my kid would prefer salmon over spaghetti-os hehee. even though i do like those canned raviolis.

funny though when i was a kid i hated lentils and lots of veggies but now i love them!! i think a lot of it too has to do with how things are ''prepared''.

and HH i imagine that twinkie was amazing. a tube of yellow cake filled with yummy sugar is my idea of fun no matter where it comes from!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 3/24/2010 1:00:41 PM
Author: kama_s
The issue I have with junk food is they have zero nutritional value because of all the processing it goes through. I am a big believer of making junk food yourself at home. For instance:


- Pizza: whole wheat thin pita as crust, tomato sauce (sometimes also homemade), veggies, chicken, a small amount of skim mozzarella on top

- Hamburgers: Lean/extra lean ground beef to make your own patties

- Chicken fingers: bread chicken cutlets with panko or regular bread crumbs. Pan fry with a small amount of olive oil


All the ones above are relatively health meals. I'd much rather have home-made chicken fingers than that D-grade-chicken-liver-deep-fried crap at McD's.

I always agree with you Kama! We do all of these things too. All of these "junk" foods can be easily made a bit healthier.

I do allow the kids to have chicken nuggets, takeout pizza, real french fries, fresh cookies, etc. on occasion. I strongly believe in everything in moderation and although my little Dex loves his cookie when he gets a piece he still eats all his veggies too. So I don't stress about it.

And as far as "preferred" junk foods when we are out? Sweet potato fries and pizza loaded with veggies are two things that I think aren't that bad in the scheme of things even if the fries are really fried and the pizza is loaded with cheese.