Friday, April 27, 2007

The stuff in hotdogs

We have decided to make a few changes in the way we eat at home. Slowly we've been working our way through the food in the pantry and the fridge and as soon as the "bad" foods are all gone, I'll be replacing them with nothing but fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains. We are going to pretty strictly limit the meat, eliminate the white flour and try to eliminate the refined sugars and preservatives.

Why? Well, research I've done has indicated that quite a few behavioral issues in young children MAY be caused by the fake, processed foods they are eating. It makes sense to me. You are what you eat, right? If you eat empty, worthless foods, then won't your head be pretty empty and worthless, too? Unruly's behavior isn't getting better, in fact, it may even be getting worse. The defiance is at an all time high, she does what she wants when she wants with complete disregard towards any rules, both at school and at home.

We are nearly out of options and ready to try ANYTHING.

Enough is enough. Before we resort to any kind of pharmaceutical intervention, we are going to try the diet changes first and hope we see a difference.

I can pretty much predict what's going to happen at first, though. See, Unruly, she has this thing. It's a weird thing.

She eats animal food. Dog food, cat food, horse feed, chicken feed. She doesn't care what it is, she doesn't care how many times I've told her what's in it. I busted her coming upstairs two days ago with her mouth crammed full of grain. She'd been digging around in the horse feed tub and decide to partake in a light snack. Last night I caught her shoving my poor old cat out of the way so she could settle in front of HIS dinner to grab handfuls of his food and stuff it in her face. Poor guy had NO idea how to respond. He just sat there watching helplessly as the human child gobbled up his dinner.

So, I ask her. "Unruly, why do you eat the pet food? Do I not feed you enough?"

She looked at me for a moment, worked her jaws a bit and swallowed the cat food before answering. "Well, mom, if you'd make me stuff I LIKE for dinner, I wouldn't be hungry. So, if I'm hungry, I'll just eat the other food. They eat it."

Ahhh....logic from the six year old. How can you argue with that?

"So, do you know what they put in that food?" I inquire.

"Yup. The same stuff they put in hotdogs!" she answers, grinning.

Ugh. Well, at least she listens when I tell her things. Even when I tell her the stuff in hotdogs is the leftover stuff they scrape up off the slaughterhouse floor. Like eyeballs and feet and lips and tongues and ummm...buttholes.

"I told you that to gross you out. So you wouldn't eat the cat food or dog food any more."

"I like hotdogs.

So much for six-year-old logic.

I have a feeling this new diet is going to be an uphill battle, pitting the fresh peas and whole wheat pasta against the Friskies Indoor Formula.

5 comments:

Lisa said...

I'm sorry but your conversation with her made me laugh out loud! That is SO funny.

You know you can totally use this info against her some day when she's a teen. Especially when it comes to boyfriends. heehee.

We've phased out alot of that stuff too.

KPB said...

Wow. How do you work with that! Hilarious and EWWWW all at the same time.

We are well versed on the whole 'whole foods' diet. It really really really does work. But it takes time. And persistence. And lots of six-year-old foot stamping. And that's not necessarily from the six-year-old.

But you know, how to pit the whole wheat pasta against the Friskies? That is a tough tough call.

Maybe wholewheat pasta in animal shapes?

Maybe put a bowl of food for her next to the bowls of food for the animals?

Sorry. Not helping.

Jenn said...

Kim, she has begged for a dog food bowl of her own, and asked to just sit on the floor next to the dogs to eat. Trust me, I've been tempted, but I'm not gonna go there! If I do, the kid will NEVER learn proper manners.

I'm so hoping the whole foods route will help. I've heard good things from so many people, and now you two have added two more positive responses. All in all, I can't see anything negative, besides getting the kids to actually EAT it, of course. But I imagine they'll only get so hungry before they decide to eat, yes?

Hehe, Lisa, I've started printing out my posts and keeping them in a notebook to pass on to both girls when they get older. Definitely some date dirt to dig here!

Anonymous said...

Moms aren't supposed to leak info on their daughter in 'comments' on a certain duaghter's own blog? Right? No comments on the meals prepared straight from the field in pretend cabins, as daughter played "little house on the prairie"? Not a word about nibbling the sweet feed with a certain sweet mare? I am laughing so hard.... you have given birth to your own clone!

Jenn said...

Hey, mom! Shhhh....no telling! Sheesh, you're gonna blow my cover here! To imply I EVER ate horse feed, or stuff growing out in the fields and woods? Why, I don't know what to say!

'Cept maybe, ummm...I'm guilty?