What do you do when kids crave for junk food

[MrsTaylorP]

I am gluten intolerant and my husband and step-daughters aren't. Because of this, we've really hard to get a lot of the 'junk food' out of the house. I've had to find a lot of foods for myself that are gluten free but also taste really good. I have a cook book that has all gluten free foods, some which include desserts. The desserts are a lot healthier than regular desserts. The girls really enjoy them too, so we do what I call "Snack Out Saturday." I'll make a few really good desserts, get one or two regular foods with gluten, and make either gluten free pizza or pasta. They girls LOVE this and look forward to it every Saturday. When we were teaching them about me being Gluten Intolerant, we also taught them how some goods were really good for your body, wihle others are like poison and are very harmful. They seemed to really understand this. It's funny watching them when they go to parties and stuff because if they see other kids eating a lot of junk food, they'll say "You know your like poisoning your body right?"

[akmom]

MrsTaylorP, do you have a grain mill?

I ask because I notice that a lot of the gluten-free flours are expensive compared to wheat flour (even whole wheat flour) and only come in small quantities. Whereas grain itself is pretty cheap. I bought a grain mill because whole wheat flour goes rancid so fast, and I like to get my supplies in bulk. Wheatberries last pretty much forever if you store them right, and then you can grind only what you need, as you need it. Rice, oats and corn are all pretty cheap, and grind up very nicely in a grain mill. Just make sure you buy a new one, so you know it has never been used to mill wheat, barley or rye.

[Antoinette]

my kids don't eat "Junk food" per se. not to say that they don't eat things that are bad for them but my children have never tasted hungry jacks for example. if they want chips we buy potato's and cut them into chips and then cook them in the oven. i let them have a healthier (not necessarily healthy) alternative to the junk food. i make burgers at home so i can control the bread i use and how much salad i include in the burger..

[Antoinette]

so saying that though, my oldest is 4

[edgar]

Originally Posted by jack123

Lot of kids these days crave for pizzas and burgers. What do you do then. Do you give it to them. All these things and colas and candys are very bad for kids health. We need to put them into a habit of eating fruits and freshly prepared healthy food. But how do you inculcate this in a child.

Our pediatrician advised us that the more you introduce certain things to a baby, kid or child, the more you'll also take away. Bottom line is to not introduced to them these junks in the first place. But realistically speaking you don't get to control that when they reach certain age & they eventually will be exposed to these things in your absence. So it's better to just link to them so much pain in eating junk foods to the point that they'll find it disgusting. I mean it worked for me when I & my brothers were growing up, our mom linked so much pain w/ using cigarettes that we never get to tried it not even once. Try to be graphic about it and show to them images in the internet the consequences of eating junk food to the point of seeing junks will make them want to vomit.

[bssage]

Originally Posted by akmom

I notice that a lot of the gluten-free flours are expensive compared to wheat flour

I was going to say something simular. We looked into going gluten free for a bit. Even gave it a shot because of Chloe. We did not see that it resulted in any advantage for her. Even though we are well aware it does for many people.

If your reading this thread. You should be aware that in order to "go gluten free" it takes some work and added expense. Gluten is just in soooo many things. And like AK mentioned many of the purchased products are specialized foods that cost a premium. A person could probably reduce their gluten easily enough. Gluten free involves some actual work. Sounds like AK has gotten her hands around the cost issue.

There are a ton of reported health benefits for going Gluten Free. We have only reduced ours.

[cybele]

I read something, and I cannot remember where, it's just one of those things that stuck in my head, so please correct me if I am wrong, that a lot of problems with gluten in western society is that we over-refine our foods during production. Hence why you don't see anywhere near as much gluten intolerance, or issues with gluten in high gluten consuming countries, like throughout Asia and Southern Europe.

But again, not too sure on how true that is, wouldn't surprise me though.

[bssage]

IMHO The "gluten free" became popular mainly because it was touted that they improve our immune systems. At the time we tried and I had researched there were many blogs to that effect. Today it appears the only supported cause for going "Gluten free" is celiac disease. Kinda glad this thread was made because I was working under my previous assumptions. It is also suggested that Americans are no more susceptible to celiac disease than other nations who used processed wheat. That's 0.5 to 1.0 percent of the population.

[akmom]

Some studies suggest that the cumulative exposure to gluten over a lifetime can cause one to develop celiac disease. Here is one article, featuring the development of celiac disease in elderly patients:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100927083811.htm

We have selectively grown wheat to be high in gluten, because it's nice and stretchy and is great for bread-making. For products that don't require that stretchiness, one could substitute a gluten-free grain to reduce their total gluten intake. (Some advocate that reducing total gluten intake can stave off the development of celiac disease.)

If you buy packaged versions of gravy mix, sauces, pie crust, tempura, etc. then it will probably include wheat flour. That's just a standard ingredient. But it's not because there's anything crucial about it. That's just what manufacturers tend to use. It doesn't require any special process to make your gravy, crust or noodles with corn, oat or rice flour. So if you are making it yourself, you can just substitute the type of flour, rather than drastically alter the type of foods you eat. You only need wheat for products that need to rise (bread, pancakes, muffins).