Ok, here goes. Have you ever wondered if I have a snarky side? Here she is…
Just because it may be commonplace doesn’t make it okay. Do you ever get annoyed about people discussing your food or body? I do because over the years I’ve learned it’s not okay, often harmful, and simply rude. Enjoy. 😉
Hi there Born to Eat readers! You may have noticed my motto or slogan which is Eat Real Food. Feel Real Good.™ So, I’ve made a quick video to tell you about it. Enjoy!
A few weeks ago you may have seen an article titled, Children with Eating Disorders: Are Parents to Blame? by Judith Brisman, PhD. In the world of eating disorders, treatment professionals remain divided on this issue. I think the answer is… it depends. Fellow registered dietitian, Jill Castle, owner of Pediatric Nutrition of Green Hills in Nashville responds.
The environment a parent creates is the environment a child grows up in. This includes what kids eat, how they view food and their body, as well as how they deal with problems. As you know, research shows when it comes to food and attitudes about food and eating, parents are the strongest influence over a child, even in the face of growing outside influencers. If a parent diets, a child is more likely to diet; if a parent struggles with weight, a child is more likely to struggle with weight; and if a parent has a poor or negative relationship with food or his/her body, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is the unspoken (or maybe spoken) environment a child is growing in.
While parental influence becomes diluted as a child ages, parents still wield a powerful influence, more than other outside factors. So how can we not assess/weigh the role of the parent and/or the environment created by the parent in the evolution of an eating disorder? This is not to say a parent causes an ED, but the environment and the interactions in that environment weigh in to form the child’s attitudes, beliefs and actions around food and eating (as well as other lifestyle behaviors). Even if a parent feels afraid or powerless to address suspicions or concerns for their child, isn’t that a contribution in and of itself?
I feel a great empathy for parents in today’s world—there is a lot of pressure to be a great parent, to raise smart achievers, and bring up healthy, great eaters who are at a healthy body weight (oh, and with no hang-ups about food)—those are some big shoes to fill. Meanwhile, our society does a very poor job of preparing parents for the job of parenthood, especially with regard to feeding kids (and I am not just talking about food here—but how to interact around feeding and food, what to say/how to answer and approach questions/concerns, why kids behave the way they do around food, and so on). And our society perseverates the thin ideal and “healthy” mantra, leaving parents to struggle with how to get their kids there. We expect great things from parents but we give them few tools; and parents are trying to achieve more and more in the world everyday, which takes away from their time to connect and interact with their kids.
While I don’t think it is useful to blame parents, parents are part of the puzzle—and if you don’t assemble all the pieces of the puzzle, you never get the complete picture/masterpiece.
Just my .02…
Jill
Thank you Jill for a very thoughtful response! If you’d like to read more from Jill, check out her wonderful blog, Just the Right Byte and follow @PediRD tweets on Twitter.
I stumbled across Camilla Saulsbury’s Almond Flour muffins a few months ago. Almost immediately, the state of my kitchen became a recipe experimenting laboratory. You see, I have this issue. Well, maybe I have more than 1 ;-).
1) I can never follow a recipe
2) I can never make a recipe the same way as the new recipe I created
3) I usually do not write down what changes I make to recipes
But with this recipe, we are in luck. The first time I made them my mom rushed some out the door to her friends, and then of course everyone was asking me for the recipe. So, when I made them again, and again… and again (see the bottom!), I paid more attention to what I was doing.
These recipes are naturally gluten free but can be enjoyed by all, and they are very satisfying and delicious tasting. But don’t just take my word for it, bake them and try for yourself!
So, without further a-do… behold the recipes:
Recipe:
Makes 12 Muffins or 30 Mini Muffins
Preheat oven to 325*F
Ingredients:
3 cups almond meal (or almond flour)
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
¼ cup maple syrup (or honey)
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil melted (or Unsalted Butter) *I love the coconut oil flavor but it is just preference.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 ripe bananas chopped or mashed
½ cup Pecans chopped (or walnuts)
½ cup dried Cherries (or raisins if preferred but dried cherries taste incredible)
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda together.
2. In medium bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in finely diced or mashed bananas .
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in nuts and dried fruit.
4. Divide batter equally into sprayed muffin tins (or muffin tins lined with cups).
5. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes for big muffins (or 17-20 minutes for mini muffins) and test with a toothpick to see that it comes out clean.
6. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Enjoy!
Substitutions to make Hearty Banana Peanut butter Chocolate Chip Muffins:
*Only adding 1 diced banana
*Substitute the pecans for 3 Tbsp natural peanut butter
*Substitute the dried cherries for 3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips.
Substitution for Almond Meal and Oats Dried Cherry and Choc Chip Muffins:
*1-1/2 cups almond meal and 1-1/4 cups oats (or keep 3 cups almond flour)
*Substitute 3 Tbsp Dark Chocolate Chips for the nuts
You can see I enjoy these muffins tremendously. Well, or the fact that I have a hard time sticking to one recipe! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and friends do. If you make these, we’d love to hear how you like them or even see a picture of your creations in the comments!
Born to Eat® 
