Are you an independent eater?

Yesterday I was informed that my son had decided that he would eat the same as the rest of his classmates during snack time. I can understand wanting to share socially in a meal with those you are with. I have seen how even those who have just eaten and declared they are full, would gladly sit down and put more food in to share in the company of family and friends.

This has recently been a learning process in our household with 3 boys who do not all eat the same. My 2 boys have inherited food intolerances/allergies and it has expanded our culinary knowledge and palette in order to meet their nutritional needs. Not that I was not already eating a gluten-free diet and have cut most all refined sugar (chocolate is still my vice.....and yes I can get some made without refined sugar) and preservatives from my diet, but to see how doing the same for the way my children eat and how DRASTICALLY different their moods, sleeping patterns, behaviours, and bowel movements have changed because of it has convinced me that I will do for my kids as I do for me. I will look to meet their needs nutritionally as best I can and help them to develop the habits of healthy and mindful eating in the process. That also includes making social choices that are still beneficial when it comes to eating.

As I arrived at my son's class to pick him up I was informed that he had some of the snack that was on his allergy list. He seemed relatively okay for the rest and the other affects involve the change in bowel movements and his stomach being upset for the next day or so. I will aim to balance that out with foods that support his body to function well and helps his body to get rid of what is not beneficial. My other son is pretty good about accepting what it is that he can't eat, but I think it is because his symptoms come on a lot stronger and quicker with higher intensity of pain and immediate consequences. He is quite happy with eating similar to what others are eating instead of having the same as everyone else. And for the most part he is not so eager to join in and eat when and how others are eating just because they are. It's more because he is hungry and sees food available that he would join in and it has really helped me to be more independent when it comes to eating.

DO you find that you are compromising your nutritional plan or intentions due to social gathering or influence? With the summer season upon us with all the outdoor activities, and social gatherings, how are you going to choose to maintain a healthy approach to eating and still encourage your friends and family. Engage in conversation more (and not while standing next to the snack table or at the bar), carry a bottle of water with you when you head to a barbeque, or even bring a healthy option with you to a picnic so you have it available when the other dishes may not be so supportive to how you eat. I am going to pack more than one snack option in my son's school bag today so that he will be more encouraged to go for the healthy option instead of choosing to compromise and eating food that is not beneficial to his growing needs. I want to encourage his healthy choices and help him to make those choices the best he can. I can't always be there to stand over him and say "don't eat this or that" and I don't want to. I want him to feel the encouragement of making a good choice for himself. And that, for me, is socially acceptable, responsible, and on the road to independent eating.