Lynni

I'm not blaming Fred, but since I've been married my eating habits have changed, and not for the better. Growing up, we had lots of fruits and veggies with every meal. Even if it was just carrot sticks with lunch and some watermelon with dinner. My mother isn't a gourmet cook, but we had pretty balanced meals. We did eat out and get take out from time to time, but not as often as we do now. Fred prefers everything covered in cheese and hot sauce. White meat and fish are not a part of his diet unless it is deep fried. Veggies need to be cooked within an inch of their life and dipped in butter or cheese. A snack is a Slim Jim and a soda. Dinner is pizza with double cheese and bacon. Breakfast, instead of a bowl of Cheerios is an Egg McMuffin.

I learned long ago that I don't want to eat like that all of the time. Often times, I make something for dinner, Jack and I eat, Fred picks then heads out for Taco Bell later. Fred told me the other day that he wants to start eating fish. I about fell over, and explained that fish sticks dipped in tartar sauce don't count. He agreed.

Now, I am trying to get back to eating the way I was as a kid. I'm thinking about swapping our big meal, like my grandparents did. Lunch was their big meal, dinner was a bowl of soup or a sandwhich. When Fred has a game, most games are at 7pm. He needs to leave around 3, so having a big meal around 1 is doable. I'm hoping this works. Does anyone else have lunch as their big meal of the day? Are you just starving in the eve?

Did you eat better as a kid?

KATin NJ

In a word....NO. My mother was an awful cook. Everything was fried, overcooked, lots of meat & potatoes. (total Irish diet!). There were very few rules like no sugar cereal and limit to candy, but it was a pretty sad diet. We ate out alot, and traveled alot which is not always the most healthy, either.

As a result, I learned to cook very early on, and offered at the age of 12 to take over one night of cooking. I would find a fun recipe, give my mom a list of needs and try to make it one good food night. My sister did the same, except she concentrated more on the desserts (hence, the reason she became a pastry chef!).

I think what I learned was balance. It's okay to have a few no-so-healthy choices as long as you balance it with fruits, veggies and other good-for-you foods. Luckily, DH grew up nearly the same, but his mom was a FABULOUS cook.

jalapeno_76

I'd say I'm about on par with how we grew up... my mom was a SAHM and cooked every.single.meal. We rarely had canned or preprocessed foods. Eating out was a treat saved for birthday parties and the end of the school year. Store-bought cookies were a treat--she mostly baked all of our cookies, cakes, etc.

In the summer we camped a fair bit. A treat then was to be allowed a WHOLE can of pop to yourself And a bag of chips. We never had that stuff when at home.

We did eat white bread, and it took me A LONG time as an adult to switch to wheat.

I try to feed my kids from home if I can. But with 2 working parents that's a little more difficult. I would day they eat out once a week. I've just started to get inspired to bake their cookies/treats from scratch... I'm just leary of *what* is actually in the store bought stuff. (I used to think my mom was nuts, but now I'm turning into her!) DH and I probably have take out twice a week for supper. I eat all lunches at home; DH eats all lunches out!

Anyway, long story short, I would say I am pretty close to how I grew up. (Though through most of my 20s I ate out All.The.Time!!)

AmandaL

I eat better now that I did growing up. My mom is a wonderful cook, but it was a lot of meat and potatoes, pasta, fried chicken, etc. I do not remember eating a lot of fruit or veggies.

Veggies are still not my favorite , but I eat more of them now than I ever have.

DH on the other hand growing up was a member of the clean your plate club and still is. His grandmother cooks everything in cast iron with lard, pork chops, chicken , etc. From that to my cooking was a big shock to his system.

lapoissonne

I ate a lot how Karen described. A home cooked meal was pretty much all processed foods. I am trying to get out of that habit, but that is all I know how to cook! My mom is so much better now as am I and I think trying different diets has taught us to each with my whole foods. I have progressed so much since I had Hannah until now with Christine. Hannah was my Gerber toddler meals kid. Christine is eating my South Beach diet attempts with me (but having the good fruits and grains as well). Lots of whole foods for her and it makes me glad. I wish I could undo the eating damage I did to Hannah and Steven so he wasn't begging for McDonalds at the end of the day because he is hungry from refusing three healthy meals (no kidding) and watching Hannah turn up her nose to a good deal of healthy options on her plate but she is coming along and will taste things. I just eat the second I feel my tummy empty and I love to grab for sweets. I don't see food as my enemy as much anymore as long as I watch my portions...its just getting back to exercise being something I really did enjoy doing each day. I want THAT back. The food part my SMS ladies helped with because they all seem to eat so well.

Oh, and Steve and Fred would get along GREAT!

Puddin'

My mom went through phases. Off the top of my head I remember a frozen phase, meat & potatoes phase, canned phase, fresh food phase...I'm sure there were others, but I don't remember them. We always had a fruit with lunch and veggie with dinner.

We eat like I did growing up when my mom was in teh fresh food phase. I love cooking, so it is fun for me to make dinner. We always have veggies/salads with dinner and fruit through the day. DH has a huge sweet tooth, so he just makes cakes and cookies to have after the kids are asleep and he snacks all the time. He knows he can't do all of the eating in front of the kids. I'd like to think I've taken the best from what my mom did and built upon it.

brandanaleighana

We eat much better now than when I was a kid. The only veggie my mom made was green beans and corn. She only bought apples and melons and our salads had iceberg only. We had soda's on hand at all times and tons of junk.
We do have some junk in the house now, but we try really hard to have healthy, balanced meals at every meal. I never keep any soda in the house.
I cannot tell you how many times our family from both sides have come over and asked what was wrong with soda and chips. Nothing is wrong with them but they aren't a staple here.

KeriKadi

We eat WAY better than when I was a kid.

My Mom is a good cook but she worked and worked and worked. She was rarely home at dinner time so my dinner was usually a baloney sandwich or a bowl of Captain Crunch. On the plus side she was VERY against us having candy so we didn't have sweets in the house. We were poor and since my Mom worked a lot buying fresh veggies wans't a good idea because we didn't know when she'd be off to cook them so almost all our veggies were canned.
Fresh fruit was a treat so if it was ever in the house it always got eaten.
We also never ate at the table and usually in front of the TV.

Our dinner time schedule is exactly what I wanted as a child.

hotgogobot

Yes. Much better. As I got older my parents did give us exclusively canned veggies, but we did have a veggie and a salad with every dinner. And loads of fruit. I'm right there with you. DH likes meat and sauce. Period. He has claimed again and again that he will eat whatever I make, but he has picked at dinner and then ran to Taco Bell. And I've found Pancheros bags in the trash after he makes a "library run" in the evening.

I'm to the point where I don't cater to him or to C anymore. I make what I make. I try to keep him in mind, but it is no longer a priority. Now that at least A will eat with me, I feel like I have enough of a "side." My grandparents always had lunch (what they called dinner) as their big meal. I loved eating that way when I stayed with them in the summers and that's how I ate when I worked because I always brought a big lunch or ate out. So my dinner portion was always smaller.

ETA: When I was under 5, we grew all our own veggies in the garden. My mom was a mad canner. After age 8, my dad cooked every dinner. My mom said her turn was over!

morgan

Not really. My mom often made well balanced meals and we loved to eat them. I do eat a lot less meat now though, so I guess that is better.