Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A Food Analysis

I am finally getting around to watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution which I DVRed a few days ago. It is really interesting and I have really been looking forward to seeing his take on American cuisine. As I watch the show, Jamie starts by confronting the school lunch menu. As a former teacher I know what a joke school lunches are and only ate lunch when the school lunch ladies actually prepared Greek Salads...which were outstanding. Yet, this gets me thinking...


Overall, I would say my husband and I's diet is pretty good. We do not eat much processed foods...he often complains because there is nothing to eat that doesn't have to be cooked. He is not a cook...he is nuker...and bad at that most times! You know the type that nuke 'til explosion! Yep! That's my hubbie! God love him. I guess I am more overtly conscious of our diets now that I am pregnant again. I gained a large amount of weight with my first and I have vowed not to do that again...so with my doctors approval I have started a diabetic diet that limits me to 1800 calories a day. I looked at a few menus and I already have some concerns. 1. I don't eat fish...no sea life in my diet except the occasion can of tuna which ironically I have been craving. 2. I am not a veggie person. I eat the staples...carrots, green beans, peas, squash, and occasion salad. Almost every meal includes a veggie...I mean ok I get the point, but I prefer to drink my veggies. They go down a lot smoother (and quicker) that way, plus I eat so much more variety this way. Today I had beets, carrots and strawberries! So, I think I can circumvent that issue. 3. My third big issue is everything on the diet is low-fat this and low-fat that...which is great and all, but most low- fat items contain very little REAL products and instead are filled with fake junk. This is something I have worked hard to REMOVE from my diet. So, the diet junk is out and I will be more cognizant of my fats and we will go from there.

I have started to track my food intake again to accurate detail what I am eating. I am hoping this will help to control my weight gain with this pregnancy. So, far so good, but I have 32 more hard weeks to go! We shall see....
Anyway...I got off on a tangent. What I really realized in watching this show is that although my hubbie and I eat well, when I was watching the Jamie Oliver show all I could think about was my son's diet. Jamie O. was appalled that the kids were only eating chicken nuggets and pizzas as their primary staples. Yet, aren't these the staples of my son's diet?
AJ is Mr. Picky just like his daddy and the only processed foods in the house are his. Processed chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, crackers, ect... It is a bunch of crap. I will say that he does not eat all that much in the way of snacks...like cheezits and stuff. He snacks on some fruit, applesauce, yogurt, peanut butter crackers, and cream cheese toast. But, the point is he eat junk. I know as he gets older and can eat our food he will, but when does that start? He hates meat...no pork shops, steak, hamburger meat (although he loves McD's hamburgers), chicken breast...nothing. So, there is not a lot of our dinner he will eat now. He also does not eat potatoes...unless again it is from McD's. There is something in that food that makes kids predisposed to craving it!

Anyway, so, my new goal is to start searching around and finding some healthy dinner and lunch alternatives for AJ that he will actually eat. I will share what I find...

Oh and let me know what you come up with!