In resarching the kids book on healthy eating habits that my wife and I are writing, I have come across some fascinating research. For example, Dr Brian Wansink’s research found a typical veggie lover either:
- was a good cook
- lived with a good cook
- or had a parent who was a good cook
I can tell you, from a psychotherapists point of view, that to fall in the first or second categories, you usually needed to have come from the third. His team went on to research 317 ‘good cooks’ (at least one other person had to agree with the person!) to find out what they were doing so right. They identified five different kinds of cooks:
- Giving cooks
- Competitive cooks
- Healthy cooks
- Methodical cooks
- Innovative cooks
All cooks but one, promoted the health of their family. Which one? The Giving cooks – unfortunately the most common type – these are the makers of comfort food! Unconsciously, they know that by giving rich, fattening foods, at one level, they are giving pleasure – if only it didn’t send us to an early grave. Unwittingly, these culinary experts used their skill for evil instead of good (ok, that’s overstating it George!) to make energy-dense, high carb foods such as baked cakes, brownies and other sweet foods for desserts. And what did the other four types do that promoted the health of their families? They used their cooking to increase the variety of foods that those around them ate. Like any great chef, they were much more interested in fresh, wholesome foods as central to this variety.
Wansink gives us five strategies for increasing the variety in kids meals:
- Buying a greater range of foods for the family home
- Trying new recipes (including ethnic ones)
- Substituting different, healthier ingredients (veggies and spices) into favourite recipes
- Taking kids to the grocery store and letting them choose a new, healthy food (something my brilliant Psychologist wife worked out 15 years ago when this research was not yet a light bulb in the researcher’s thought bubble!)
- Visiting a range of authentic ethnic restaurants (kids are more likely to try new foods on a ‘special’ night out with a bit of healthy peer group pressure!)
Food for thought (sorry!) for any parent!