Listen moms, sometimes we need mentors to take it slow with us, offer encouragement gently.
I’m sorry. This is not one of those times.
So here it is: if the food isn’t in the house, they can’t sneak it.
Yup, I just threw cold cruel logic right in your face. But it’s okay because you can take it.
(By the way, there’s a good reason your kids are sneaking food, and it’s not just because it tastes good.)
So let’s fix this, Mamas!
The real issue at hand isn’t getting them to stop sneaking food. It’s getting OURSELVES to realize there are endless healthy food options to have in our home that will be BOTH SATISFYING and YUMMY for our children. After that, we simply stock our fridge and pantry in a new way and THEN our kids can eat till their hearts (and tummy’s) desire! EASY PEASY!
NOTE TO THE OVERWHELMED: For those of you who have multiple children or a spouse who IN NO WAY is going to adopt this new way of eating (yet), I hear you and I have a plan to shift your thinking. But just as you wouldn’t bring a recovering alcoholic to a bar, you’re not going to have illegal foods accessible and visible to your sensitive child. Yup, ‘that sucks’ you say. I get it. But Pepperidge Farm Milanos are just as yummy when hiding in your sock drawer. And I KNOW not ordering that takeout Pizza for your Friday Night Family Movie is going to be a real struggle. At First. BUT you’re gonna make delicious French bread pizzas (using DeLand rolls, marinara sauce and dairy free delicious mozzarella) and watch that flick with a bucket of caramel popcorn. If the snow is falling, you’ll snuggle up with creamy hot cocoa, and on those warm summer nights, fruit smoothies (using your favorite frozen fruit u0026amp; non-dairy milk) or chocolate frosties (made by blenderizing your hot cocoa formula with ice) will be your friend.
And when your other children (or hubby!) grumble when they can’t have delivery pizza, you’re gonna give them a big hug and a smooch and remind them how blessed they are that they don’t have to be as careful with their food as their little brother. It’s called Tough Love mamas, and I’m confident you can give it.
3 Steps to Stop Your Kids From Sneaking Food
Step 1: Determine Your YES List.
This is a list of menu items that your child CAN TOLERATE and LIKES to eat. These are foods that won’t increase inflammation and exacerbate behaviors. Not sure where to start? No worries, I’ll help you get in the right mindset before you begin. (You can also steal my personal YES List for Charlie.)
Step 2: Have an Abundance of YES Foods in Kitchen.
Seems elementary, but this is where the problems lie. If your kid doesn’t have healthy, yummy, satisfying choices, they will hunt for the unhealthy ones. Once a week, you are shopping/prepping/stocking the kitchen. Not sure what to buy? Use my List of Menu Ideas. Remember Mamas, IT’S. ONLY. FOOD. and your child JUST wants to be satisfied. We don’t need to create gourmet hard-to-make items. Just simple satisfying stuff. You got this.
Step 3: Now Designate FREE ZONES and You’re Good to Go.
Free Zones are areas in your fridge, freezer AND pantry where you child has Free Access. When they’re hungry, they Know Where to Go!
In the fridge, I have a large drawer that is ONLY for Charlie. In this “Special Drawer” are items he can grab without thought i.e., individually wrapped slices of legal chocolate cake, containers of cooked rice pasta, containers of applesauce or “special” yogurt. I will also keep spreads such as hummus or chocolate/almond dip which he can use on toast or crackers. Perhaps I made extra grilled chicken, chicken nuggets or burgers for last night’s dinner… small ziplocks containing these items go right in the “Special Drawer”. There are also many other foods in the fridge Charlie can have such as almond milk, fruits, cut up veggies, almond butter, and our beloved DeLand GF millet bread, bagels and rolls that he can toast up all by himself! (Yes, I slice the rolls and bagels ahead and return to bag.) But having the ‘Special Drawer” means he never has to ask what he can have. Independence at its finest.
NOTE: I may have taught Charlie by age 7 how to use the microwave. His general rule of thumb is to nuke everything for 30 seconds then test. When he was younger, I made sure he used plastic knives for spreading butters and spreads. These days I’ve walked in on him slicing an avocado like a pro with a paring knife. (YIKES)
In our pantry, I have a shelf where Charlie Knows to Go! for a quick snack. I have almonds, pre-made popcorn in ziplock bags (both regular and caramel depending on the day), Mary’s Gone Crackers plain crackers, and bags of bean chips (Beanitos). I also store cereals here. He knows he can grab a small bowl of Puffed Rice to nosh. If it needs flavoring, he knows where the powdered stevia and ground cinnamon are located.
In the freezer, the top roll out drawer is where Charlie Knows to Go! I have a number of small plastic tumblers that are containing frozen beverages such as strawberry/banana smoothies or chocolate frosties. Charlie will microwave these at half power for a minute and use a spoon to have his frozen treat. I will also store the homemade avocado fudgesicles in this space. (I’m a BIG proponent of cooking once, eating 5 times so my freezer is always a collection of ziplock bags containing various foods including previously cooked meats, rice and even my orange cheesy sauce to be turned into Macc u0026amp; Cheese in less than 5 minutes.)
You can see that by having healthy, satisfying foods on hand, your children do not need to sneak food. But to really make this a homerun, you must put into place the following 2 Rules for Success.
2 Rules to Ensure Success For Keeping Your Kid On A Healthy Diet
Rule #1: If You Don’t Want Your Child to Sneak It, DON’T HAVE IT ACCESSIBLE.
Remember the alcoholic in the bar analogy? Yea, the one that means you need to be a really awesome mama and put your needs aside right now while you go save this one kiddo? Well, here’s where you get to really shine as a parent. You’re welcome.
I’m betting you have one favorite snack that you can’t live without. That’s fine, just find a place where it can be stored without tempting your child. (This holds true for other family members. The temptation is too great to have processed illegal foods in plain sight. And remind yourselves that the foods you really crave are most likely not giving you much nutritional value anyway. Just sayin.)
True Confessions. One of my biggest loves requirements was Coffee Creamer. Coffee Mate French Vanilla. Full dairy. Full fat. Full sugar. My one vice, at least in the morning. I couldn’t function without IT. The only problem was that it was also Charlie’s Favorite Sneak Item. No matter how well I hid the darn thing, he’d find it. I literally found him in the garage one morning, crouching behind the bicycles swigging the creamer before school. I startled him and the bikes fell over and the creamer went everywhere. He and I both cried as he cleaned it up. His tears reflected guilt, mine, sheer longing.
But that’s not the end of this sad tale! I didn’t give up, and you don’t need to either! It took months but I finally thought outside the box. I bought that Coffee Mate again and this time I pulled the entire label off and wrote in clear black permanent ink: MUSHROOM MILK. That creamer was never touched again.
Rule #2: Make It a Household Rule That All Eating Is Done in the Kitchen
I know I just lost you and you think you can forego this piece of advice. But this one is the Game Changer. Let me explain why, especially since this was NOT one of MY rules and I had no idea how much it would change the PSYCHOLOGY OF SNACKING in my house. This was my husband’s rule after getting so incredibly ticked off at the kids when he needed to move the sofa for me one day. That sweet man of mine almost had a heart attack when he saw not only the RIDICULOUS amount of food buried in the cushions, but the sheer volume of wrappers and food remnants that were living UNDERNEATH the sofa. I was certainly appalled but Glenn took his anger to a whole new level and put HIS PARENTAL FOOT DOWN once and for all. “THERE WILL BE NO FOOD EATEN ANYWHERE IN THIS HOUSE EXCEPT IN THE KITCHEN!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!? PIGS WOULDN’T EVEN LIVE HERE!”
The proclamation had been made, and I was going to uphold it even if it killed me. (Except the part about My not eating in my bedroom. I birthed and am raising half a dozen children and I’ll be damned if I can’t snack whilst streaming Netflix with my hubby. Just sayin.)
But something unexpected happened as a result of the NO EATING ALL OVER THE HOUSE RULE.
My Charlie drastically decreased the number of times he asked for food. Say WHAT?! Yes, you heard me. The child who liked to pop food in his mouth at all times of the day, was NO LONGER bothering me for snacks.
When you remove the link between food and TV/electronics/open play, you break a very strong connection. It’s been a few months since that rule and my kids know the only time the food can be in the family room is if mom or dad are with them and we are watching something together. As I write this I’m realizing now why my kids have a newfound interest in hanging with me to watch the latest family film.
Quick Recap
- Fill your designated Free Zones with satisfying options, whilst removing the tempting Illegal foods.
- Reframe your thinking. Realize doing this will be the BEST thing for your family and in the end it will be cost effective and convenient (I promise.)
- Remember that doing anything new isn’t HARD, its just DIFFERENT. And we can do Different. We’re moms; we can do Anything.
Carolyn offers encouragement and knowledge so other moms can experience the same successful results as her son. One of her older sons, also ADHD, struggled for YEARS with O.D.D. symptoms. She wants you to know you can have control over symptoms even when given that VERY overwhelming ADHD or O.D.D. diagnosis.