processed foods

NatesLady1309

I saw somewhere in the UO someone mentioned the squeezie fruit pouches which led to saying that someone knew of someone who gave their child a microwaveable meal for lunch most days. And that is what made me think about processed foods.

So far we have only given DD whole foods, and for some reason I am actually scared for the day she ever has anything processed. I know it is coming eventually because I certainly can't keep her away from it forever, but I still hate the thought. She's going to eat Oreos, "process cheese food" and Doritos at some point. We don't eat very much of this type of stuff but we do eat SOME. So I'm sure that will be the case for DD's diet as well. At what age do you think you will let LO have something processed? I know many of you already have (with a taste of box mix cake, cool whip, Doritos, whatever), so when did you start letting them in that case?

runrinserepeat

Define processed.

A lot of "food" is processed in some way. Flour is processed, so even if you're making a cake from scratch, there's a lot of processed food going into that.

Real cheese is a processed food. We do things to the milk to get it into that delicious, solid form.

We try to minimize the amount of highly processed foods we eat ourselves. Cheese? Fine (not great). Velveeta? Worse. Avocado (a great vegan cheese substitute, btw)? Best. But we're not perfect. Laura eats off of our plates. We try to offer the healthiest of what we're eating, but she did love the homemade french fries we made last week.

I think after a year, maybe 18 months, we'll be a little more lax with it. By that time, I'm sure she'll be a little more vocal about what she's getting. Right now, she's happy to eat what we offer her from our plates. Ideally, I'd love to move us to a whole-foods-plant-based diet (Michael Pollan is my hero, if you couldn't tell already), but it's been slow going, as DH isn't very on board with most veggies.

pennyandandy

kleMcK:

We try to minimize the amount of highly processed foods we eat ourselves. Cheese? Fine (not great). Velveeta? Worse. Avocado (a great vegan cheese substitute, btw)? Best. But we're not perfect. Laura eats off of our plates. We try to offer the healthiest of what we're eating, but she did love the homemade french fries we made last week.

I think after a year, maybe 18 months, we'll be a little more lax with it.

This is us, as well. We are the same with processed foods, GMO foods, etc. Right now we try to do as much whole, organic, "real," food as we can. The thing I am the most adamant about is foods with a lot of additives and preservatives.

NatesLady1309

kleMcK:

Define processed.

I guess I mean highly processed- Velveeta, Doritos, Oreos, like I said in the OP.  

christinak22

Did you eat processed foods as a kid? I know it's not the best argument, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around keeping our babies' bellies "pure" for as long as possible. I guess I started giving tastes of my and DD's snacks a month or two ago, even things like bits of fruit snacks to stay occupied in the grocery cart. I do make a conscious effort trying not to develop a sweet tooth in my kids, because that can be bad for their teeth and overall health as they grow up, but treats every once in a while are special and fun.

sooner1981

Let's see...C has had a lick of my husband's cool ranch doritos (at maybe 4 months) and a bite of Velveeta, rotel and chorizo dip at a party (last month).  She seemed to enjoy them both, but of course neither one is going to be a regular part of her diet now or (hopefully) ever.  I think everything is fine in moderation.  If you look at it like an all-or-nothing thing, than the thinking might become "once she has her first taste of something that isn't "whole foods," she is ruined forever."  And, to me, that is just silly business.  We have all had processed foods, and we eat healthily now as a choice.  So, based on all of our childhoods, the evidence is pretty clear that a few oreos to celebrate a fun summer afternoon, a snack-sized bag of doritos at the zoo, some marshmallows over the fire in the fall, one night of making yourself sick on Halloween candy each year, etc. isn't going to break your kid or cause them to somehow be less "pure/perfect." 

In my opinion, showing your kid that he/she can enjoy the occassional treat or indulgence, while usually eating healthily, is one of the most important lessons we can teach our kids for the future. 

runrinserepeat

I guess my point is, where do you draw the line? Unless you're eating a WFPB diet, they're likely going to get some processed foods. Are Oreos worse than Chips Ahoy? Are Chips Ahoy worse than the bakery cookies?

LOL, I just remembered my mom fed Laura a (homemade) cookie when we went to visit her last. L loved it. Still, though. Is the cookie she made herself (with white flour, refined white sugar, vegetable shortening, butter, imitation vanilla extract, and semisweet chocolate chips) really any better than a cookie from the grocery store bakery would have been?

So yeah, we feed L processed foods, but we try to keep her standards higher than our own. At least, for now. I'm hoping that as we even that out, our standards also go up a little bit for our food, so that our standards for her don't have to come all the way down to where we are now. Again, that may be difficult, given DH's affinity for un-veggies.

christinak22

sooner1981:

Let's see...C has had a lick of my husband's cool ranch doritos (at maybe 4 months) and a bite of Velveeta, rotel and chorizo dip at a party (last month).  She seemed to enjoy them both, but of course neither one is going to be a regular part of her diet now or (hopefully) ever.  I think everything is fine in moderation.  If you look at it like an all-or-nothing thing, than the thinking might become "once she has her first taste of something that isn't "whole foods," she is ruined forever."  And, to me, that is just silly business.  We have all had processed foods, and we eat healthily now as a choice.  So, based on all of our childhoods, the evidence is pretty clear that a few oreos to celebrate a fun summer afternoon, a snack-sized bag of doritos at the zoo, some marshmallows over the fire in the fall, one night of making yourself sick on Halloween candy each year, etc. isn't going to break your kid or cause them to somehow be less "pure/perfect." 

In my opinion, showing your kid that he/she can enjoy the occassional treat or indulgence, while usually eating healthily, is one of the most important lessons we can teach our kids for the future. 

This is exactly what I wanted to say, but you said it better  

cheese.fiend

kleMcK I am also a Michael Pollan worshiper!!!

As to OP's question... L eats what we eat, and we set pretty high standards for ourselves in the food department. we dont eat fast food, and we don't keep highly processed food in the house. I cook 6 nights a week and I love doing it. While I definitely believe in "everything in moderation," I also believe children develop a taste for different foods, and tastes develop that much quicker if highly processed foods are easily accessible. I know I start to crave junk around Easter and Halloween when candy is available at every turn, whereas I don't give it a second thought when I'm not in the habit of eating it.

This is not all to say that I'm some junk food vigilante... When she's at friends' homes or its Halloween or if we're at a party, I know she'll taste highly processed foods just like we do on those occasions... but I also don't believe I'm depriving my kid of some sort of childhood right of passage if I don't buy her Lucky Charms and Oreos and McDonalds and Kraft singles when we're at home.

As to the age I'll allow her to sample "junk foods"...it really depends on the food. I do feel there's a big difference in a cookie I've made from scratch and a cookie I buy at the grocery store. Same goes for candy. I can pronounce all the ingredients in the cookie I make, even if they aren't "whole." I think we'll steer clear of straight up candy until she's 2.5 or 3, but I'm very excited for her to have birthday cake on her first birthday. She's already had a tiny taste of homemade Icecream. As for fast food, Doritos, etc... I haven't thought that far ahead, but likely much later.

Lawren

Starbuck128:

Hmm.... Is this about my pouch post last night? I'm going to stay away from the UO thread, but I will say this. Good nutrition is a passion of mine. I eat well, and so will my kids. If I can, I make most things from scratch. I'm a good cook too. I've worked in the restaurant business and even been reviewed, glowingly, in the NYT. That said, Cody hates my homemade leafy green purees and meat purees. I cannot make them smooth enough, so I buy them. If someone is judging me for feeding my kid store bought food, imagine me now flipping you off.

They aren't. UO has gone in a completely different direction.

lancyjo

sooner1981:

Let's see...C has had a lick of my husband's cool ranch doritos (at maybe 4 months) and a bite of Velveeta, rotel and chorizo dip at a party (last month).  She seemed to enjoy them both, but of course neither one is going to be a regular part of her diet now or (hopefully) ever.  I think everything is fine in moderation.  If you look at it like an all-or-nothing thing, than the thinking might become "once she has her first taste of something that isn't "whole foods," she is ruined forever."  And, to me, that is just silly business.  We have all had processed foods, and we eat healthily now as a choice.  So, based on all of our childhoods, the evidence is pretty clear that a few oreos to celebrate a fun summer afternoon, a snack-sized bag of doritos at the zoo, some marshmallows over the fire in the fall, one night of making yourself sick on Halloween candy each year, etc. isn't going to break your kid or cause them to somehow be less "pure/perfect." 

In my opinion, showing your kid that he/she can enjoy the occassional treat or indulgence, while usually eating healthily, is one of the most important lessons we can teach our kids for the future. 

Agreed. One of my favorite sayings is "a little dab will do ya".

Jen0204

Highly processed foods will obviously not be a large part of their diet, but they will have it and we won't make a big deal of it. If you're scared of them having it and let your LO see that then the food will seem forbidden and they'll want it more. It won't be offered often and when they're old enough we will explain why, but they'll have snacks from time to time. They've already had tastes of a few things, though admittedly most of those were courtesy of their grandparents.

NatesLady1309

cheese.fiend:

I do feel there's a big difference in a cookie I've made from scratch and a cookie I buy at the grocery store. Same goes for candy. I can pronounce all the ingredients in the cookie I make, even if they aren't "whole."

This is definitely how I feel as well.  

sooner1981

NatesLady1309:

cheese.fiend:

I do feel there's a big difference in a cookie I've made from scratch and a cookie I buy at the grocery store. Same goes for candy. I can pronounce all the ingredients in the cookie I make, even if they aren't "whole."

This is definitely how I feel as well.  

Meh.  We can only "pronounce the names" of the ingredients we use to make cookies from scratch because the ingredients themselves have to have easily pronouncable names in English to be sold in a store, so that customers can inquire about that specific product.  Being pronounceable, in my opinion, has so very little to do with whether they are healthy or not, that I just don't get this mindset.

The "scientific" name for the sugar you use in cookies is "disaccharide."   The "scientific" name for salt is "sodium chlorine," etc.  Lard (super easy to pronounce, super natural fat straight from an animal) is undeniably bad for your heart and not healthy.  "Cyanocobalamin," which appears in many cereals and packaged foods, sounds super scary...but in reality, that is just the scientific name for Vitamin B12, a necessary vitamin for growing bodies.  Another common ingredient is "docosahexaenoic acid."  Super hard to pronounce, but it is actually just Omega 3 fatty acids that are found in fatty fish and are incredibly healthy and necessary for brain development (also called DHA--easy to pronounce, and the ingredient in your prenatal vitamins).  The reason that you see these "scary sounding" ingredients on the labels of store-bought goods is that the FDA has a rule that the scientific names MUST be on the product (but then the manufacturer may use the common name for the ingredient in parenthesis if they choose).  So, you can buy "Vitamin C" tablets in the store (super easy to pronounce, must be healthy), but if that same vitamin C is included in a food product to keep a product fresh, it must be labeled as "ascorbic acid."  (scary because hard to pronounce).

The ?hard-to-pronounce-equals-unhealthy? mindset seems to relate back to the idea that ?natural? is good and ?artificial? or man-made, is bad and you can assume it?s ?artificial? because it has more than one syllable.  How difficult an ingredient is to pronounce has little to nothing to do with how healthful that ingredient is. 

MollySm

I answered the post farther up, but I agree with the everything in moderation PPs.  Super processed foods are not a big part of our lives, so they won't be a big part of her life.  We don't have chips, or Halloween candy, or ice cream or things like that in our house most of the time, because we just don't think about it or want to spend the money on it.  We don't buy mac and cheese, campbells soups, chicken nuggets, etc.  But I wouldn't say never about anything, and we let her eat what we eat with the exception of honey or anything as hard as whole nuts.  Or anything too, too spicy, though that seems hard to find things that she thinks are too spicy.  

NatesLady1309

sooner1981:

NatesLady1309:

cheese.fiend:

I do feel there's a big difference in a cookie I've made from scratch and a cookie I buy at the grocery store. Same goes for candy. I can pronounce all the ingredients in the cookie I make, even if they aren't "whole."

This is definitely how I feel as well.  

Meh.  We can only "pronounce the names" of the ingredients we use to make cookies from scratch because the ingredients themselves have to have easily pronouncable names in English to be sold in a store, so that customers can inquire about that specific product.  Being pronounceable, in my opinion, has so very little to do with whether they are healthy or not, that I just don't get this mindset.

The "scientific" name for the sugar you use in cookies is "disaccharide."   The "scientific" name for salt is "sodium chlorine," etc.  Lard (super easy to pronounce, super natural fat straight from an animal) is undeniably bad for your heart and not healthy.  "Cyanocobalamin," which appears in many cereals and packaged foods, sounds super scary...but in reality, that is just the scientific name for Vitamin B12, a necessary vitamin for growing bodies.  Another common ingredient is "docosahexaenoic acid."  Super hard to pronounce, but it is actually just Omega 3 fatty acids that are found in fatty fish and are incredibly healthy and necessary for brain development (also called DHA--easy to pronounce, and the ingredient in your prenatal vitamins).  The reason that you see these "scary sounding" ingredients on the labels of store-bought goods is that the FDA has a rule that the scientific names MUST be on the product (but then the manufacturer may use the common name for the ingredient in parenthesis if they choose).  So, you can buy "Vitamin C" tablets in the store (super easy to pronounce, must be healthy), but if that same vitamin C is included in a food product to keep a product fresh, it must be labeled as "ascorbic acid."  (scary because hard to pronounce).

The ?hard-to-pronounce-equals-unhealthy? mindset seems to relate back to the idea that ?natural? is good and ?artificial? or man-made, is bad and you can assume it?s ?artificial? because it has more than one syllable.  How difficult an ingredient is to pronounce has little to nothing to do with how healthful that ingredient is. 

Grah! Of course you would take it to this level, Sooner.

Also, the part about lard being bad for you... we could debate that. ;-) 

jja0812

Starbuck-- I was the one who wrote the UO about food pouches. My UO was definitely not geared toward you or anyone on here who give the puree pouches to their babies. I was talking about people who give them to their older kids (think 18+ months) and never teach them to eat real fruits and veggies (I gave the example of someone I know IRL). Just wanted to clear that up since you said you were going to avoid the UO thread!!

cheese.fiend

sooner1981:

NatesLady1309:

cheese.fiend:

I do feel there's a big difference in a cookie I've made from scratch and a cookie I buy at the grocery store. Same goes for candy. I can pronounce all the ingredients in the cookie I make, even if they aren't "whole."

This is definitely how I feel as well.  

Meh.  We can only "pronounce the names" of the ingredients we use to make cookies from scratch because the ingredients themselves have to have easily pronouncable names in English to be sold in a store, so that customers can inquire about that specific product.  Being pronounceable, in my opinion, has so very little to do with whether they are healthy or not, that I just don't get this mindset.

The "scientific" name for the sugar you use in cookies is "disaccharide."   The "scientific" name for salt is "sodium chlorine," etc.  Lard (super easy to pronounce, super natural fat straight from an animal) is undeniably bad for your heart and not healthy.  "Cyanocobalamin," which appears in many cereals and packaged foods, sounds super scary...but in reality, that is just the scientific name for Vitamin B12, a necessary vitamin for growing bodies.  Another common ingredient is "docosahexaenoic acid."  Super hard to pronounce, but it is actually just Omega 3 fatty acids that are found in fatty fish and are incredibly healthy and necessary for brain development (also called DHA--easy to pronounce, and the ingredient in your prenatal vitamins).  The reason that you see these "scary sounding" ingredients on the labels of store-bought goods is that the FDA has a rule that the scientific names MUST be on the product (but then the manufacturer may use the common name for the ingredient in parenthesis if they choose).  So, you can buy "Vitamin C" tablets in the store (super easy to pronounce, must be healthy), but if that same vitamin C is included in a food product to keep a product fresh, it must be labeled as "ascorbic acid."  (scary because hard to pronounce).

The ?hard-to-pronounce-equals-unhealthy? mindset seems to relate back to the idea that ?natural? is good and ?artificial? or man-made, is bad and you can assume it?s ?artificial? because it has more than one syllable.  How difficult an ingredient is to pronounce has little to nothing to do with how healthful that ingredient is. 

Oh for Pete's sake. This isn't a moot court competition - no need to take every single word so literally.  I understand how the FDA works, and, trust me, I am not losing sleep over scientific names of vitamins, etc {almost all of which, when listed on a the back of a food packaging, are followed by a parenthetical stating their common, "friendly" name so that those of us without a PhD in chemistry understand what we're putting in our mouths}.  

Perhaps my word choice was poor... Let me rephrase.  When I make a cookie, I know everything I'm putting into it. {And if you're in the mood to split hairs and really get down to the minutiae,I can even give you an informed description as to the bleaching and leavening agents in my flour.}  My homemade cookie?  Is not going to taste good in a week. It's going to be stale and potentially a little moldy, because it was made with pretty basic {unprocessed or lightly processed} ingredients.  An Oreo?  That cookie is still going to look and taste delicious months after its production thanks to preservatives and dyes.  THAT was my point about home cooking vs. packaged ingredients. 

Do I think Oreos are Satan?  No.  I love me a damn double stuff Oreo. But it's processed crap.  Processed crap that I'll be happy to let my kid enjoy at a slumber party or class picnic or WHATEVER when she's older. You will not see me shoving homemade fruit leather down my child's throat while all the other kiddos enjoy Scooby Fruit Snacks. However, in our  home life at this time and into perpetuity {wanna do a RAP hypothetical next?}, I'd prefer to keep highly processed foods out of our pantry and everyday diets. 

sooner1981

Hey, Cheese, I wasn't trying to start a fight!  That is whole "I only buy foods where I can pronounce all the ingredients" thing is just one of my personal (unpopular opinion) pet peeves.  A lot of preservatives used in commercial baked goods are completely natural and haven't been shown to cause any kind of harmful side effects. The advantages of being able to buy store-bought bread that last a week in our household is much better for our family than baking bread every 2 days that doesn't contain any preservatives.  But to each his own--just wanted to throw that out there about the whole "ingredients you can't pronounce" issue.  But keep doing whatever works for you

cheese.fiend

sooner1981:

Hey, Cheese, I wasn't trying to start a fight!  That is whole "I only buy foods where I can pronounce all the ingredients" thing is just one of my personal (unpopular opinion) pet peeves.  A lot of preservatives used in commercial baked goods are completely natural and haven't been shown to cause any kind of harmful side effects. The advantages of being able to buy store-bought bread that last a week in our household is much better for our family than baking bread every 2 days that doesn't contain any preservatives.  But to each his own--just wanted to throw that out there about the whole "ingredients you can't pronounce" issue.  But keep doing whatever works for you

Ha!  I know!  I love a good debate,,, but can get so excited about it that I potentially come across as an asshat - I didn't mean to get antagonistic... And I mostly meant just to clarify (ie: I'm not afraid of double-digit-syllable ingredients / just like to try and keep the preservatives and dyes to a minimum, yada yada yada).  

sooner1981

cheese.fiend:

sooner1981:

Hey, Cheese, I wasn't trying to start a fight!  That is whole "I only buy foods where I can pronounce all the ingredients" thing is just one of my personal (unpopular opinion) pet peeves.  A lot of preservatives used in commercial baked goods are completely natural and haven't been shown to cause any kind of harmful side effects. The advantages of being able to buy store-bought bread that last a week in our household is much better for our family than baking bread every 2 days that doesn't contain any preservatives.  But to each his own--just wanted to throw that out there about the whole "ingredients you can't pronounce" issue.  But keep doing whatever works for you

 

Ha!  I know!  I love a good debate,,, but can get so excited about it that I potentially come across as an asshat - I didn't mean to get antagonistic... And I mostly meant just to clarify (ie: I'm not afraid of double-digit-syllable ingredients / just like to try and keep the preservatives and dyes to a minimum, yada yada yada).  

I gotcha.  And by the way, I LOVED the RAP reference.  But if I never have to think about RAP again, I will die a happy lawyer.  Brings back painful bar memories...yuck!

cheese.fiend

sooner1981:

cheese.fiend:

sooner1981:

Hey, Cheese, I wasn't trying to start a fight!  That is whole "I only buy foods where I can pronounce all the ingredients" thing is just one of my personal (unpopular opinion) pet peeves.  A lot of preservatives used in commercial baked goods are completely natural and haven't been shown to cause any kind of harmful side effects. The advantages of being able to buy store-bought bread that last a week in our household is much better for our family than baking bread every 2 days that doesn't contain any preservatives.  But to each his own--just wanted to throw that out there about the whole "ingredients you can't pronounce" issue.  But keep doing whatever works for you

 

Ha!  I know!  I love a good debate,,, but can get so excited about it that I potentially come across as an asshat - I didn't mean to get antagonistic... And I mostly meant just to clarify (ie: I'm not afraid of double-digit-syllable ingredients / just like to try and keep the preservatives and dyes to a minimum, yada yada yada).  

I gotcha.  And by the way, I LOVED the RAP reference.  But if I never have to think about RAP again, I will die a happy lawyer.  Brings back painful bar memories...yuck!

Oh, at this point, I couldn't answer a RAP question correctly if there was a gun held to my head.  I probably couldn't even really answer one correctly when I took the bar.  I did get ridiculously, nerdily excited when RAP was mentioned in The Descendants.  My husband (also an attorney) and I had a total geek-out moment!