by Packing lunches isn’t possible (I’m not a morning person, and neither is she), but luckily Ludlam-Raine isn’t too worried about school canteen food. Encouraging children to eat more plant-based foods in general is more helpful, she says.
I also encourage kids to read the labels themselves. Showing them a super long list is usually not ideal. “In particular, three emulsifiers (P80/E433, E407 and E466), which are sometimes found in ice cream and other baked goods, have been linked to intestinal inflammation in rodent studies,” says Ludlam-Raine.
Dinner is where the adults have to take charge. Neither I nor my ex have time to slave away in the kitchen, but jacket potatoes aren’t exactly labor-intensive. I also renewed a Hello Fresh subscription so the kids can help choose meals and prepare them themselves. When I come home and see the two eldest trying out a Thai green curry recipe together, my heart is filled with joy.
I can’t bear to give up pizza altogether – and I don’t have to. “The store-bought thin-crust varieties are fine,” Ludlam-Raine assures me. “Choose margaritas and then load up on extra veggies and lean chicken. Serve with a big salad. It’s about adding more good things rather than taking things away.”
I “forget” to buy Ben & Jerry’s, but bring Greek yogurt instead, with frozen berries and low-sugar granola to spice it up. They gobble it up.
Chocolate doesn’t have to be given up entirely (thank goodness), and we don’t have to switch to dark chocolate either (which would be nice, but my kids hate it). Although milk chocolate can contain soya lecithin, an emulsifier, it’s only in small amounts, says Ludlam-Raine. “Make sure you get fiber and micronutrients at main meals, then it’s no big deal if you eat 50g of chocolate a day in addition to whole foods.”
Ludlam-Raine suggests I talk to the children about the different Types of hunger.
“Is it the ‘head’ (associating movies with popcorn), the ‘heart’ (emotional eating) or the ‘stomach’ (your body needs fuel),” says Ludlam-Rasine. She doesn’t mean that someone has to go hungry, just that they notice it.
Lucien looks at me in confusion. “I’m just an ordinary hungry person.” OK, I say and give him a banana.
The next day, as I’m looking under his bed for lost socks, I discover an empty Twix wrapper. This is hardly a crime, especially knowing he ate a proper meal of vegetables earlier that evening. Ludlam-Raine says to let go of the things I can’t control, so I try to do that – and move the fruit bowl to a more prominent place.
Results of the third week
Overall, I spent a little more, but what I gained by feeling less guilty is priceless. When I looked at what they ate during the week, I was shocked at how much junk food we mindlessly consumed. And how little fruit and vegetables.
It was surprisingly easy to get them used to healthy things again. I had already done all the hard work of getting them used to healthy things when they were toddlers, but I had just let things slide so terribly.
The most unpleasant realization of the whole mission, I must admit, is that most of their “bad” habits stem from my own parental laziness. They didn’t ask for the garbage, but I was the stupid one who gave it to them. What started as me occasionally slipping “treats” into their shopping basket to keep them happy (perhaps after the separation) has become an ingrained habit.
Of course there was some resistance, especially from the youngest because of the lemonade. But I really haven’t spent that much time in the kitchen in the last week and when I have, the kids have helped me and chatted with me. A little KFC won’t hurt them, but I won’t be ordering from Deliveroo in the future.
