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My elder daughter describes her 3 children as 'Fridge hoovers '

I saw a lady at Wal-Mart with four gallons of milk. I looked at the milk, then looked at her and said, "I see you have teenagers."

Terry

Don't worry, you get away with a lot more as a grandfather


"You gave him a piece of donut?"




I think my regular buy was up to four gallon before the first of my four hit teenage . . . then try three still at home, and another daughter and 18 year old son in law *shudder*



and the grandson isn't on to real milk yet . . .

hawk

I like that. I cannot believe the amount of food that my children (7, 5, 2, and 6 months)can put away. Well, the 6 month old isn't really eating yet, but the rest of them are amazing. How can such a little body need that much food?

One summer we sent our teenage son to spend some time with my wife's cousin and her husband in Philadelphia. He was supposed to look at schools and they just wanted to host him.

Well it wasn't long and Loretta's cousin called and asked if we ever fed this young man because she couldn't believe how much he ate. And Loretta simply told her she'd never had a teenage boy. (They never had children.)

They brought out fried calimari and passed it around. Well, they thought they'd have leftovers until Nick cleaned up all the leftovers. And almost everything else they put on the table.

Our daughter is a dancer and has danced since she was eight. She still drinks a gallon of skim milk every other day. Whe she comes to visit, we go from a quart to a gallon and it lasts as long as her visit.

But when you consider the kids whose parents spend their money on rented movies and they go to school hungry . . . I'll put the money into groceries every day.

BOB

You guys are really scaring me. I think it might be time to buy a cow.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth:

Christ is in our midst!!

Don't be afraid. Parenting isn't for sissies, as anyone here will tell you. But it's something I count as one of the biggest blessings I've ever received. If I had it to do over again, I'd start tonight.

Come back and some of the seasoned veterans will tell you how to stretch food to keep them full.

BOB

Terry:

It's from one of the psalms I used to recite as part of my evening prayers.

"Man's days are like those of the grass. Like a flower of the field he blooms; the wind passes over him and he is gone and his place knows him no more."

BOB

It reminds me of "ashes to ashes".

Most of the children I know who did not have good appetites during the periods of slower growth (not toddlerhood or adolescence obviously) are now healthy adults with good metabolisms and no weight problems, so I would be careful about ravenous appetites during periods of slower growth because alot of the hungrier ones I know in my family are now adults struggling with weight problems. Please note, this is only my own personal observation and is no way scientific or documented!! I honestly know children that had to be force fed or who ate practically nothing, and who are now taller and/or healthier in weight now than the ones who ate everything!

If the appetite is big and consumes all natural foods, sugarless (American foods are notoriously high in sugar) and not salty processed foods and sweets, I am sure that all will be okay. The problem is that in trying to satisfy an appetite, it is often tempting to add in some filling foods which are not always that healthful.

Another theory I have come up with in retrospect of my own children is that those healthy veggie and legume dishes which I fed them often during those hungry toddler days are dishes which they continued to like into their childhood.

For instance, my daughter would touch no other vegetable other than a Greek spinach, tomato, olive oil for flavor, and rice dish which I used to prepare (actually a Greek Lenten dish)--I would add a hunk of tasty feta cheese on the side to make it a complete protein. She wouldn't eat spinach prepared any other way for the rest of her childhood. The same happened with her and my son with another Greek Lenten dish I used to prepare alot when they were toddlers--orzo pasta and chick peas cooked together with a bit of olive oil (topped with lots of fresh parmigiano to make it a more complete protein) It is sort of like a risotto. They dubbed it: mommy's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (!) and they continued to love it even during the childhood years of school when, thanks to the influence of their peers ( ), most other healthy foods started looking unappetizing to them.

The same happened with fruit. The only way I was able to get fruit into my son (because other than bananas and some summer fruits, I did not feed them to him as much as I should have) when he was older was to mix lots of different fruits with orange juice, honey and yoghurt in the blender to make a smoothie. This healthful smoothie, though time consuming, was, at times a daily life saver on the healthy food front of trying to meet the daily 'five'.

So, my theory is to feed them tasty vegetable dishes and legume dishes (and fruit) ALOT when they are ravenous toddlers in order to ensure there is something that they will like which is very healthy when they become more finicky.

Good luck to all the young parents here!!

Alice

"So, my theory is to feed them tasty vegetable dishes and legume dishes (and fruit) ALOT when they are ravenous toddlers in order to ensure there is something that they will like which is very healthy when they become more finicky."

What kind of legume dishes? I have a lot of different kinds of beans. A legume pancake? soups? pastes (like refried beans)?

There are many ways to cook legumes. Right now I am more versed in ways too cook vegetables and meats.

Terry

They all sound good to me! As long as he likes them, keep on feeding them to him!! As long as it is a meal that you all like and will include in your meal planning often...that is what counts..that you all enjoy it together and that it is eaten often... Children seem to like chick peas (at an age where they don't pose a choking risk)...As a kid, I loved kidney beans when my grandmother would make them as a side dish. The difference between her and me is that I was trying to replace meat, whereas she was adding to it.

I know that you are a great cook, Terry..your son is very fortunate!

Regards,
Alice

P.S. In my experience, I have found that pasta dishes (with veggies, legumes) are very likeable to children as it is both filling and tasty...

TERRY:

Does your son like green beans? My son ate canned green beans as one of his first finger foods. We'd put a dish of them--cold--in front of him and he'd eat as many as we'd put down.

BOB

Bob,

We haven't tried green beans yet, but he just has two teeth so far.

If we give him white rice and we are eating grilled cheese sandwiches, he will beg from us for what we have. It must be the smell.

As he gets older I'll see what he likes. I haven't given him any legumes yet. I'll start off with a cold puree, like with mung beans that have soaked overnight and then blended fine.

Terry

Terry:

When Nicholas ate green beans, he had no teeth at all. Out of the can, they're already cooked and soft enough to "gum." Actually it was kind of funny to watch him pick them up and "gnaw" on them.

Bob