Pomegranates Like Kids!

If you want to get your kid to eat something healthy and something that he or she might even perceive as being candy then try giving them pomegranate pips. These are the shiny juicy seeds of the pomegranate fruit and some kids really love them. If your kids don't like them then it is probably because of the sometimes sour or nutty taste that the pip's hard center might have. However for the most part you should be able fool your kid into thinking that a pomegranate is some kind of candy partly because it is so shiny and red.

A word to the wise – it is probably best to shell your own seeds out of freshly bought fruit no matter how time consuming you find this to be as the prepackaged pips that you can sometimes get taste really sour and fermented.  I wish I had a tip for saving you time when it comes to shelling pomegranates but it is one of those complicated fruits that is labor intensive no matter what you do. One good thing about a pomegranate is that peeling and shelling one can actually be a great activity for an older child, especially a fatter one that needs to learn how to not eat mindlessly in front of the television.  Getting pomegranates out of their shell does take some effort and concentration that encourages the overweight child to focus on the food and be more mindful of what is being consumed. 

Why should you feed your kid pomegranates in the first place? They have a ton of Vitamin C and anthocyns that can help protect your child's vision. Anthocyns, which give the pomegranate its blue red color can also help prevent your child from free radicals in the form of pollution, too much sunshine, carcinogens (from that barbecued hamburger) and tobacco smoke. They are also very good for a child's gums. 

If you can't get your child to eat the pips of a pomegranate then try giving them the juice. Most kids love the juice and you can get all kinds of generic brands of it now that is made from pure fruit without having to invest in that expensive POM stuff. You can also try sneaking into other foods. Pomegranate juice is a great addition to a salad dressing that is made with vinegar, oil, red wine and shallots.  You can also make pomegranate jelly using ordinary gelatin or you can add the juice or pips to strawberry or grape jello. Almost no kid can resist this especially if you have a little shot of whipped cream on the top. 

Pomegranate syrup, the stuff that bars use in cocktails, actually tastes really nice on pancakes so that may be one way of sneaking those anthocyns into your child's diet.  A good combo is pancakes heaped with bananas that is then drooled with a mixture of pomegranate and maple syrup that has been slightly warmed on the stove before serving. 

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You Can’t Always Control Your Kids’ Diet

I want my kids to have the best chance in life by giving them the healthiest diet I can provide. Furthermore whatever this diet it is I also want them to like it. I know that kids need to eat the right stuff to grow up slender, smart and emotionally well off. However sometimes children have other ideas. Sometimes they want to eat food that is unhealthy for them because: 

-They have seen an advertisement on television for a food they find absolutely irresistible.

-Their peers at school put pressure on them to eat in the cafeteria or pay for lunch because it is more 'adult-like'

– it's just not cool to carry a brown bagged lunch.-Some foods are considered uncool (especially cut up vegetables) because the kids seem them as symbols that you are poor.

-They are already so addicted to sugar and carbohydrates they simply have no taste for healthy things. Some of these bad eating habits are in your control and others aren't. It is hard to hand your child a salmon and lettuce  sandwich when their head is filled with visions of sizzling Big Macs slathered with white sauce or exploding microwave Pizza Pops.  This kind of eating you can discourage even if your child is protesting the whole time. Here are some examples of situations where you may not be able to control what your child or adolescent is eating. 

-You are at a restaurant and healthy foods are just not available on a menu.-Your kid is subject to a lot of peer pressure from friends (this is especially true of adolescents in high school who will choose that fat laden chocolate milk shake or glass of Coca Cola with 14 tablespoons of sugar in it rather than an orange at lunch

-Your child is having dinner or lunch at the neighbours and you have no idea what's being served, how it is made or how healthy it is. 

I am not suggesting that you be a control freak and try and correct the above situations. I am merely pointing out what you can't change. 

However you do have more control over your kids eating habits at home.  Keep in mind that people don't like change and the more that you try to make these healthy foods a regular item on your menu the more likely you are to be called a control freak by your kids or husband. I bring up the matter of being a control freak because your neighbours, mother or husband may accuse you of it as you subtly try to sneak in more fruits, vegetables, grains and healthy grilled foods into their diet and somehow make it seem like a bad thing. This is because women, in particular tend to be very neurotic..

Even I sometimes wonder whether all of this neurotic obsessing with food is simply an extension of women obsessing over their own dietary intake.  Sometimes women control their kids when they can't control themselves.  God knows I don't want to be one of those but I do want them to eat in a healthy way.

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