• About Dom and Lori
  • Munchkins
  • The Critters
  • Cancer Chronicles
  • Home Building
  • Recipes
  • Purpose Driven Mom Stuff

Category Archives: lunch

Mama Drama and a Month of Mammoth Change

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by Lori Mainiero in Food and Beverage, Healthy Living, lunch, medical issues, Parenting, The Body at Work, The Bright Side

≈ 13 Comments

I will spend this post sharing more than I am comfortable sharing, and half of you will start the reading thinking that I am crazy or cruel, or both.  By the time I’m done, the weights will have shifted and the other half of you will be convinced that I’m crazy or cruel, or both.  This is not a post in which many of you are going to applaud my maternal actions.  Just know that I’m okay with that.

Also know that before I published this post, I let my son read it, and I got his express permission to share his story.

Oh, and this is a really long post, by the way.  Consider yourself warned. 😉

I had a single recurring nightmare when I was pregnant with Aaron, my firstborn.  I would dream that I had birthed the baby and come home with him.  Like, days ago.  Suddenly I would realize that I had not yet fed the baby.  And I would PANIC because I had no idea if he was going to survive since we had been home ten days or so and he had not been fed even once.  I would wake up in a sweat, grateful that I was still pregnant and had not yet earned jail time as a new mother.  I bet I had that dream six or so times during the pregnancy.  It freaked me out every. single. time.

Contrary to my nightmare, Aaron ate well as an infant and a toddler.  It wasn’t until he turned two and was off of “baby foods” that he started refusing normal table food.  He drank milk.  Lots and lots of milk.  The dream was haunting me.  So I did what any regular, worried, American mom would do: I talked to my pediatrician.

Here’s my disclaimer:  I really, really love my pediatrician.  I do.  I think he is the most gentle and good-hearted man.  When my children are sick and I can’t cure them, he is the only person I want to see.  I wish, though, that I had already come to the realization that physicians are not demi-gods, and that they are not necessarily smarter than I am about me and my children – they just went to school longer and paid more tuition and can explain things about the human body that I cannot.  But that’s about it.  I still respect doctors and I mean none of them any slight.  But now I listen to my own instincts first.  Now, I think Conventional Wisdom may not be so wise.  However, in 2002, I did not have this presence of mind.  I took a doctor’s words as gospel.

My dear pediatrician explained to me that Aaron was getting practically all the nutrients he needed from the milk, and what was not in the milk, I could add as supplement via the miracle of (drum roll, please) Ovaltine.

And that, my friends, is how I addicted my son to a liquid diet of chocolate milk.

Aside from Bob the Builder fruit chews (which would not be allowed in my grocery cart today, much less my home) Aaron subsisted on Ovaltine and milk.  And since the doc said that was all good, by golly who was I to question it?

Ten years later, I can say I really wish I had ignored my pediatrician.

I wish that I had instead listened to people like my dad who said, “The boy’s not gonna starve! Put the meat and veggies in front of him, tell him that’s dinner, and be done with it.”   I thought my dad was so extreme!!  (And now that I write this, I realize that’s twice I have ignored my father’s advice.  Regretted it both times.  Dammit!!)

When Aaron entered pre-school, the teachers told me that they were concerned because he flat would NOT eat lunch.  They asked what he ate at home.  By this time, our culinary tastes had expanded to include the all-holy Cheerio.  The teachers suggested that I pack the cheerios in his lunchbox and they would make sure he was eating.  For the rest of the year, I packed him cheerios and milk for lunch at school.  He ate the same for dinner at home.  We eventually expanded to PB&J sandwiches when he entered kindergarten.  And puffy cheetos.  Woo hoo!  With five items on our son’s menu, we were making progress!!

All the while, our toddler daughter was eating everything Dom and I ate – up to and including crawfish etouffee.  A teacher at my children’s school approached me one day and said, “You have night and day at your house, don’t you?” noting the unmistakable personality differences between my offspring, who otherwise look like twins.  I dropped my shoulders and replied, “Ohhhhhhh, you have no idea!!”

For the next five years, Aaron continued to eat Cheerios and PB&J sandwiches.  He outgrew the Ovaltine, going on a multi-year self-imposed hiatus from chocolate.  (Is he really my son?!!) We flavored the milk with Strawberry Quik.  (Yes, really.  I gag just thinking about it!) Sugar, grains and milk were his steady diet.  We managed to work in plain pasta, and he preferred the whole wheat versions, to my immense satisfaction. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, he fell in love with Whataburger chicken strips.  Other chicken strips get snubbed; Whataburger’s chicken apparently rocks.

During this time we also had a few trips to the pediatrician for tummy troubles.  He was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and we were told to add Benefiber to his milk and not worry that he only consumed pale-brown and white foods.  The symptoms came and went, the Benefiber brought hit-or-miss results, but for the most part he seemed to do okay.  He was growing, after all, and aside from random tummy issues wasn’t ever sick, so what did I really have to worry about??

But then in 2010, I went down the rabbit hole and dragged everyone with me.  It has taken two years to secure foods and snacks that are “Lori-approved.”  Ingredient lists have to be practically virginal before I will buy a food.  Allowing no petrochemicals or partially-hydrogenated oils in my pantry meant many of my kids’ favorite cereals and snacks got the boot.  Cheerios remained, for their lack of the preservative BHT (where other cereals failed us).  Only a few brands of bread survived my inquisition, and as you know I started baking much of my own.

I considered bread to be foundational not only on my dinner plate, but in life around me.  I naturally therefore considered grains to be wholesome, pure and body beneficial.  “Living on Cheerios, crackers and bread is not completely awful,” I would protest.  “At least he gets plenty of fiber!”

This is the point where many of you have already been shaking your head, and you are now chastising me because I feed my child such poorly chosen foods.  No veggies, no greens.  Chicken, of all animals, and not even the eggs!!  Yes, I have heard it all before… “make him eat different foods.  He won’t starve!  You have to force it on him.  Be strong!”  Folks, I tried.  I got all mean and big and bad and threatened to not let him leave the table until he had tried whatever I had cooked.  You know where that put us?  Back at the doctor’s office with chronic upset stomachs (“brought on by stress”) where I was told his dietary preference was simply not that big a deal.  I clung to that and convinced myself that he was going to be just fine, despite all the personal stories I knew of people who had lived on a similar diet and suffered digestive distress as adults.

My choices have never been perfect.  They never will be.  I am still learning.  I am still reading…a lot.  And I am still making changes that affect my whole family.  We are still in the rabbit hole; we just found another tunnel within it.

I’ve been talking to my kids about the things that we don’t need to eat, a list which has very recently expanded to include grains, sugars and starches – the very basis of the foods they love.  Dom and I have switched to a new food lifestyle where we eat primarily meats and veggies.  I say primarily because I still incorporate fruit, coffee and occasional wine into the lifestyle.  And a tiny bit of soft cheese and bittersweet dark chocolate.  (If I ever give those things up I will be totally surprised.)  But here’s where most of you will revolt…I’m making my kids do it too.  My kids who eat sandwiches, cereal and everything sugary are about to go paleo with us.  Oh-Em-to-the-double-Gee, right?

I realize you can’t quite agree with me yet because you have not yet wrapped your mind around why in the heck I would promote and follow something so quirky.  So I will explain…

In my reading and research I have learned that our bodies are not really meant to digest grains and use them for the body’s benefit.  Go figure.  If you have seen Food, Inc, think of the grain-fed cows and the vet/scientist guy who was explaining that cows are not meant to digest grains, so when factory farms feed them grains instead of grass, their digestive systems get all whacked out.  Their bodies still function, but not as efficiently, and certainly not as they are meant to.  This is one of the many reasons to buy grass-fed beef.  It’s better for the animal’s health, better for the quality of meat, and that in turn is better for the person eating it.

In my opinion, the same principle works for humans.  Our bodies were not meant to digest grains because, as Mark explains so well on Mark’s Daily Apple, grains are meant to be planted.  Grain’s natural defense when eaten is to pass right on through so that it can eventually land in fertile soil and grow.  So on its way through our body, it wreaks havoc on our digestive system, leaving virtually no nutritional value in its wake, filling us only with cheap and empty calories.  We cope and we medicate and we deal with all the symptoms that our minds don’t automatically connect to our consumption of things like dinner rolls and oatmeal, but there we are anyway with aches and pains, reflux and gastrointestinal issues.   (These are not to all be totally blamed on grains, by the way.  That’s why we avoid sugars, dairy and starches as well.)

An overwhelming number of Mark’s readers chimed in with testimony to their own health benefits after giving up grains.  All I could think of was my son, destined for a life of tummy troubles if I did not intervene.  Suddenly every doubt and wonder that had crossed my mind over the last decade – What if I’ve been doing it all wrong? What if I don’t listen to the doctor? – came crashing back down on me as escapees from their prison of my own insecurity and self-doubt.  Every what if suddenly had an answer.  And the answer was: I’ve got to change it and I’ve got to change it NOW!!!

The gist of it is that I am taking away all the cereals, breads, pastas – GRAINS – from my children’s diets.  Dom and I have already removed them from our own food choices, so it’s not like I’m forcing something on my kids that I’m not willing to do myself.  They are not insanely giddy over the idea, don’t get me wrong.  But as I started this journey back in 2010 I shared with them everything that I learned and explained the reasons behind the changes I was making.  It is no different now.  I have shared the reasons and the potential benefits I expect to see.  If we do this for a month and the kids don’t notice positive changes in their own bodies, then I will concede to the food pyramid and take back all the nasty things I have said about grains and the FDA.  I can say that because I totally doubt it will come to pass.  My biggest battle will be the attitudes and the wills of my children.  But because I believe so strongly in their health, I will not be deterred until we have clear results – and answers that do not exist only in my head.

Ironically, you know who was freaking out the most when I told them of my plan?  Victoria. (I’m ruining EVERYTHING, you know!!)  Aaron, on the other hand, asked if he could try some scrambled eggs for the first time.  He said he wanted to eat better and feel better and, even though it was scary, he understood what I was doing.

I love that boy.  I love him so very, very much.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Day 234: Double Decker PBJ

02 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by Lori Mainiero in Food and Beverage, lunch, Parenting

≈ 4 Comments

I finally made a bread my kids will eat.  (Yes, sadly, I had to eat everything else!!) The dinner rolls that I have spent four weeks trying to perfect are now the hit of the household.  So much so that the kids decided they’d love to take them to school with peanut butter and jelly on them. 

But, you see, these rolls are right at three inches tall.  I mean, I have some high-flyin’ dinner rolls over here!  I thought that surely was too much bread for the sandwich, so I offered to make two slices in the bread and put PB&J on each slice, then stack it all up neatly the way it was before it met the knife.  And, ala Dagwood Bumstead, the Double Decker PBJ was born!

It can’t be the worst thing I’ve sent them to school with.  When Aaron was in preschool his teachers noticed that he was incredibly finicky and they worried that he wasn’t eating enough.  And, being the super-sweet teachers that they were, they would rather see him eat whatever he wanted rather than go hungry.  (Hungry preschoolers make for some cranky students, so I really can’t blame them.)  One teacher asked if there was anything Aaron was particularly fond of at home. 

“He loves Cheerios.”

“Bring ‘em!”

“What?  Seriously???  You think I should pack Cheerios for his lunch?  What will the school cafeteria say?”

“Don’t worry about that.  I’ll just say, ‘I don’t know why that crazy mom sent her kid to school with cereal!’”

We laughed, but essentially that is where Aaron’s dependence on Cheerios originated.  I would pack a Ziploc baggie of cereal with a paper bowl and plastic spoon in his lunchbox.  He would buy two packs of milk in the cafeteria – one to drink and one to pour over the cereal.  It really did make life very easy.

Although, as we are learning now, easy is not always the most productive route. 

Now, seven years later, PBJ is the lunch of choice.  I have tried to introduce various other breads into the kids’ menus lately, but to no avail.  And I fear I am almost burning them out on the rolls.  While I was making rolls two weeks ago, Victoria watched me off and on during the day, finally asking, “WHYYYY do you keep taking pictures of BREAD, Mommy?!” 

So I can do THIS, my dear:

She thinks I’m crazy.  I’m good with that…

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Day 162: Pizza and Pumpkin Seeds

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by Lori Mainiero in Food and Beverage, lunch, reporting on progress

≈ 3 Comments

The other day I mentioned that I was going to make my own version of pizza lunchables for Victoria’s lunchbox, and I did just that.  I wasn’t sure how my pizza crusts were going to turn out, or if she was even going to be willing to eat them after I added milled flaxseed to the dough and turned them “wheat-brown.”

I am happy to report that she loved them!  The pizza dough baked up a little fluffier than I expected, to the point that they looked like little whoopie cushions, so I had to try to flatten them out while they were still hot.  (What an image, huh?) I figured they needed to be about 3” in diameter.  Here are our pizza crusts, before being flattened:

She has been taking about 3 or 4 each day in her lunchbox with a small container of Newman’s Own Marinara sauce and a Ziploc baggie of shredded mozzarella cheese.  Aside from the marinara leaking out of the container I put it in and staining the entire inside of the lunchbox, this experiment gets an A+.

On the same night, I was determined to roast pumpkin seeds for the first time.  (I seem to recall trying it before, but I don’t remember the end result, so I’m not sure if I dreamed it, or what…)  Anyhoo, roasting them was amazingly easy to do.  I sprayed one batch with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and then sprinkled some sea salt on them.  The other batches I just sprinkled with sea salt and baked.  (about 12-15 minutes at 350.) What a great treat!  And we ended up with about 3 cups of seeds – enough to make several snacks!

Happy Fiber and Omega-3s, everybody!

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Day 84: Bread, Bread, and More Bread

06 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by Lori Mainiero in Food and Beverage, Healthy Living, lunch

≈ 2 Comments

I have too much bread. Bread is expensive. Therefore, I must have too much expensive bread.

I do not buy gourmet bread varieties fresh from my local bakery, lest you get the wrong impression of me here on Day 84. I buy one loaf of whole wheat, and one loaf of white wheat (all Nature’s Own brand) straight off the shelf, and I giggle to myself when I find them on sale at WalMart. Aaron LOVES wheat bread, and Victoria is a white bread kind of girl. However, you may recall from the few days before school started when I referenced the kids using Sandwich Thins for their lunch sandwiches so they wouldn’t have to cut the crust off. I now buy those by the literal dozen.

So I gotta wonder: what all goes into a loaf of bread? How many preservative ingredients are used to keep it fresh on the shelf until I find it on sale? And then, with all that little $2.79 loaf has been through, the cashier stuffs it into a bag with my 59-cent canned goods. Arrrggghhhhhhhh.

I’ve decided to try something new, and I hope it flies. I am going to start making my own bread. I found organic flour last week, and picked up several yeast packets. I have a bread machine, so it’s not like you’ll drop by and find me covered in flour, kneading my little heart out at my kitchen countertop. Bread machine bread makes taller, more square-shaped loaves. I think this will keep the kids’ sandwiches from losing half their size with the cutting of the crust. And two whole bread machine loaves will definitely fit in my bread box.

I am headed into the kitchen now to make the first loaf. Wish me luck.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Day 78: Lockin’ Up the Lunches

31 Tuesday Aug 2010

Posted by Lori Mainiero in lunch, organization, Parenting

≈ 1 Comment

It’s grocery day once again in my personal land of Oz. Because grocery shopping is the precursor to everything else that I do in this house, you will likely hear a lot about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

We are completely out of everything we like to eat. We are almost out of bread, but we have enough to last one or two more days in the event of near catastrophe, so we haven’t outright starved. Although, if you ask Aaron and Victoria, they may have a different take on the matter.

As a positive change for all involved, the kids are now responsible for packing their lunchboxes for school the night before, with the exception of the sandwich, which they make themselves the next morning. As they prepared their lunchboxes Thursday night both kids were at a loss once they realized we were out of their lunchtime staples: natural cheetos and organic gummy chews. What’s a kid to do?

“Mommy, when are you going to the grocery store?”

“Tuesday. We will have food again on Tuesday.” (Ever since emptying my pantry in June we have not had real “overstock” of anything. And if the kids find something they like, it goes fast!)

“That doesn’t help us much for tomorrow,” I heard Aaron say as both kids peered into the empty vastness of their lunchboxes.

I couldn’t resist pointing out that I had previously purchased just enough lunch snacks to last until the next grocery visit. But, when they snack on those items during the weekend, that leaves them in a bind later on before the next grocery run. My point finally hit home.

I shared this bit with a co-worker who suggested that I get a large clear plastic bin to keep on the bottom shelf of the pantry, and all the lunch foods can go inside. Then, if it’s in the box, it’s off limits to anything but packing your lunch. Everything outside of the box is fair game for weekends and after school snacks.

I love this idea. I am hoping to implement it this week, and see how we do as the next few weeks go by. Now, to find my stash of Rubbermaid containers…

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Looking for Something??

Categories

  • anniversary (6)
  • Birthday Wishes (8)
  • Cancer Chronicles (7)
  • Co-Workers (15)
  • DIY Tutorials (1)
  • Dominic (14)
    • Crazy Little Thing Called Love (11)
  • Education Station (15)
    • College (2)
    • Elementary (8)
    • High School (3)
    • Middle School (2)
  • Growing My Garden (10)
  • Holiday Happiness (18)
  • Home Building (33)
    • Exterior (8)
    • Interior (5)
    • The Details (7)
    • The People (4)
    • The Plan (6)
    • The Process (15)
  • I Love My Job (4)
  • Inspiration (22)
  • Life (109)
  • Life Is Good (24)
  • love songs (2)
  • Munchkins (61)
    • Aaron (28)
    • My Kids Crack Me Up! (13)
    • Victoria (35)
  • Parenting (313)
    • Purpose Driven Mom Stuff (281)
      • ADHD (14)
      • artificial colors (13)
      • Beauty Care (34)
      • Cleaning (13)
      • coffee (9)
      • Composting (3)
      • Cooking and Kitchen Stuff (4)
      • dental (2)
      • driving (5)
      • floss (2)
      • food (13)
      • Food and Beverage (67)
      • gardening (16)
      • Grocery Shopping (14)
      • habits (46)
      • Hair Care (5)
      • harmful ingredients (49)
      • Healthy Living (85)
      • interpersonal skills (28)
      • iPhone apps (8)
      • Kroger (4)
      • lifestyle (46)
      • Local Stores (8)
      • lunch (5)
      • medical issues (28)
      • Medical Maladies (2)
      • One Green Thing (2)
      • organic (33)
      • organization (26)
      • outside commitments (6)
      • paleo (3)
      • parabens (8)
      • Recycling (2)
      • reporting on progress (44)
      • School Matters (21)
      • skin care (18)
      • Specific Product Recommendations (44)
      • Sunshine Health Foods (9)
      • TechnoBabble (15)
      • The Body at Work (27)
      • The Holiday Rush (16)
      • This Sibling Thing (1)
      • volunteering (1)
  • pets (16)
  • Recipes (53)
    • Appetizers (1)
    • Beverages (3)
    • Breads (4)
    • Breakfast (6)
    • COOK IT HOW LONG??? (2)
    • Crock Pot Favorites (1)
    • Great on the Grill (2)
    • Holiday Favorites (8)
    • Lori's Favorites (16)
    • Main Dishes (7)
    • Make-Ahead Meals (3)
    • Meaty Meals (4)
    • Party Fare (4)
    • Pasta Favorites (2)
    • Quick Fixes (6)
    • Recipes with Variations (3)
    • Salads (1)
    • Sides (3)
    • Soups and Stews (2)
    • Summer Favorites (3)
    • Sweets and Desserts (15)
      • From the Era of Cake (6)
      • Icings and Finishing Touches (3)
    • THAT DOESN'T SUCK! (10)
    • Time-Hogs (1)
    • Tips and Tricks (2)
    • Winter Favorites (1)
  • Reflections (78)
  • Religion (25)
    • Catholic (19)
    • My Teaching Gig (1)
  • Sad Stuff (29)
  • Spiritual Matters (20)
  • The Bright Side (75)
  • The Critters (50)
    • Mabel (27)
    • Mason (15)
    • Maximus (1)
    • Random Critters (2)
    • Wascally Wabbits (4)
  • Things (37)
  • Traditions (10)
  • Uncategorized (59)
  • Welcome to My World (93)
  • What-Not (108)
  • Where Did THAT Come From?! (19)
  • Year in Review (10)

Copyright Lori Mainiero 2019

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
Lori Mainiero

Lori Mainiero

Wife, Mother, Daughter, Friend...

View Full Profile →

Greatest Hits

  • Well-Versed

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • domandlori.wordpress.com
    • Join 76 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • domandlori.wordpress.com
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: