Tag Archive for: pouches

By Any Means Necessary, Part 2

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About a year ago, I wrote about the reasons we buy food pouches for Riley. He’s six and a half, and we’re still using them, because my thinking is I’m going to get those fruits and veggies into him by any means necessary. And the battle continues.

Some evenings we have a battle royal over eating vegetables. Riley would rather eat pasta and nothing else almost every night. While he will eat pouches with just about any vegetable in it but broccoli, he won’t eat the same vegetables on his plate. The other night it was green beans. He’s eaten them before, but he’s demonstrating a rebellious streak lately. We’re not insisting he clean his plate, just eat a few green beans. Paula will wait him out; she’ll sit at the table and read a book on her Kindle until he’s done eating them.

Me? Not so much. I decided we will enhance the flavor of the green beans. Hot sauce—which I knew wouldn’t make it onto his plate. Cinnamon sugar. Whip cream. Paula thought of a savory flavor and added a sandwich sprinkle blend. The winner? Close between the cinnamon sugar and the whipped cream with ketchup, which doesn’t taste nearly as bad as you might think. Even the sandwich sprinkles got a thumbs up. All the green beans were gone in short order.

I know that’s not a traditional approach to getting kids to eat vegetables. And yet, people who would never touch an onion will eat a deep-fried one with fat imploded into it and a creamy sauce to dip it into; compared to that, I think a dusting of cinnamon sugar is just fine. My philosophy is: by any means necessary. The benefit of the vegetable outweighs the little bit of sugar or whipped cream in my opinion, especially for a kid in the 4th percentile of BMI for his age.

It’s a long holiday weekend so we’ll be back with the Memo in a week. Be safe if you’re traveling. If you’re going to spend the weekend with picnics and such, don’t forgot about eating those vegetables—by any means necessary.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

By Any Means Necessary

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Riley has finished his first week of in-classroom school. He seems to have adapted quite well, which is no surprise—he is the most social child I’ve ever known and makes friends with everyone.

Much like me, he’s not much of a morning eater. Occasionally I’ll eat breakfast but for the most part, it’s not going to happen until I’ve been awake for several hours. A cup of Joe isn’t going to work for Riley, so milk and water suffice. I gave him a fruit and vegetable pouch yesterday, but he wanted to take it for a snack at school. I talked him out of it; he ate about half and saved the rest for after school.

Riley is a choosy eater: he chooses to refuse many foods that most kids eat such as apples, oranges, and bananas. Until recently, he had a strong gag reflex that was triggered by many solid foods, so we’ve continued to use pouches as a nutritional stop-gap; we watch for sales and usually pay about a dollar per pouch.

The reason I hesitated to have him take it for snack was that I wasn’t sure kids who are five still use them, and I didn’t want him to get embarrassed among his new friends. Then my health brain kicked in. He’s gotten used to eating blueberries, raspberries, and grapes in small quantities, but that’s about it. Vegetables? Other than potatoes, carrots, and Grampa’s spaghetti sauce with hidden vegetables, it’s a tough sell. But in those pouches, he eats just about everything. What’s more important: eating the fruits and vegetables in whatever form or worrying about what people think? So if he wants to take pouches to school, he will because getting those fruits and veggies into him is more important by far.

Just as serious: how are you doing with your consumption of vegetables and fruit? If you don’t get your five to ten servings, check out the pouches. They contain one or two servings of pureed vegetables and fruits, organic with no additives, and include very interesting blends; some of Riley’s faves are in the illustration. I’ve tried them and if I didn’t like vegetables and fruits, I’d use them. Cold, they’re refreshing. They’re shelf stable, so you can keep them in your desk or locker or car for convenient, healthy snacks. It sure beats making or buying a smoothie every day, and they’re a better alternative than the doughnuts in the break room or whatever you find in the vending machine.

If you’re concerned about the ecological impact, the New York Times reports, “While the pouches are not recyclable through municipal services, they can be mailed to TerraCycle at a cost of at least $93 per shipment, except for a few brands that have set up free mail-in programs with the recycling company. Pouch caps are collected in some locations by Preserve, which manufactures goods like toothbrushes and razors from recycled plastic.”

If you know you’re never going to eat kale or spinach, try a pouch. As I said, get your fruits and vegetables by any means necessary.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet