That’s right.  Heads up to all.  The fittest moms are packin’ snacks.  The healthy kind.  For THEMSELVES.

It has come to my attention that one of the biggest obstacles faced by harried, or even not so harried moms today is the snack habit.  Kids need snacks.  Feed them, and they stop crying.  They smile, they play happily.  Moms love to give snacks.  And we try to make them healthy.  Which is great.  Peanut butter on apples, string cheese and whole grain crackers, goldfish, pretzels, Pirate Booty (mmmm), yogurt…

So then, the happy child eats 4 goldfish and moves along.  Mom finishes goldfish, which is fine. An hour later, time for lunch.  Mac n cheese, chicken (ok, mine are soy)nuggets, pasta, pasta, pasta, pb&j. And some fruit and carrots.  Child finishes 3 bites of mac n cheese and moves on, mom finishes mac n cheese, pb and j, and, oh, might as well get rid of that half of a cookie.  Can’t throw that out.  And now it’s time for MOM’S lunch.  Because she didn’t really eat lunch and doesn’t feel satisfied with the bowl of macncheese.

I know you’ve seen it.  I know you’ve been there.  I certainly have. What smart moms are now asking me is how do I snack and eat healthfully throughout the day while also adhering to my mini eater’s schedule as well? Grazing is an art form, and unless you’re a cow (come on, people, no self deprecation please)horse, or other professional grazer, you’re probably not as savvy about the choices you can make for yourself.

Grazing takes planning.  What I suggest is finding some go-to snacks to enjoy at set times throughout the day.  Ideas?  Sure.  Try hummus and baby carrots; low sodium cottage cheese mixed with basil, chives, and garlic, with snap peas and cherry tomatoes; 4 graham crackers with 1 tbsp peanut or almond butter; a cup of low sodium tomato soup ( I like Pacific Foods or Imagine), sprinkled with parm cheese; a Baby Bell cheese wheel; a lowfat greek yogurt(2/3 c) with 1/4 c berries; 1/2 cup shelled edamame, or do the full on pod-it is fun to eat and takes a bit of time-hard to overeat that way!

If you are with your child all day, then make yourselves a schedule.  Eat first thing in the morning.  Make BOTH of your breakfasts.  Try oatmeal;  make 3/4 cup, top with berries or a banana, and give your child 1/4 of the end product.  Or Cheerios.  1 cup for you, 1/2 cup for kids.  Slice an orange, and hand over a couple of pieces to happy baby.  Or if they’re not at orange stage, try a banana.  The point is to make one breakfast, eat yours, and let your child eat theirs.  Clean up, and move on.  Snack time, 3 hrs later.  Have your snacks (see above)prepared, and when you before you put out the goldfish, eat a carrot. And only put out 10 goldfish at a time.  Lunch time, same thing.  It’s all about being prepared.

Dinner time can be problematic, because at this point, you probably need a little adult interaction.  And kids sometimes have a habit of not letting adults talk to each other.  Or do anything that doesn’t directly involve them.  So you have two options.  Option one: Feed the kids early on, and have a small salad with them.  Bath, pjs, then dinner with a functioning, mentally alert adult, OR (sometimes even better!)a nice meal to yourself.

Option two: Attempt to make ONE dinner, for everyone. In a shocking turn of events, one day, out of the blue, my 5 year old asked for broccoli.  After picking myself up off of the floor, I scrambled to steam enough broccoli for a small army.  Even more shocking, she ATE it!  And so did my 14 month old.  With gusto.  Not so much my 3 year old, but she is on a hunger strike these days anyhow.  So I said to myself, I’m going to give “real” dinners a try.  I made grilled chicken, brown rice, and broccoli for 3 days straight.  That’s it.  And everyone (except the 3 year old)ate.  Then I ventured to turkey burgers and sweet potato “fries” (they’re still “fries” if you smother them in ketchup, according to my kids).  And salad.  The kids eat the carrots and broccoli and corn, and we take everything else.  The kids are eating great foods, I’m eating good food, and I’m not eating FOUR different meals, picking as I go along.

Lest you think that my life is a perfect dream, that little stint only lasted a week.  Back to Annie’s mac n cheese.  But it got me in the habit of only eating MY dinner.  And the kids still eat the veggies.  And rice.  Working on the tofu-not there yet.

End lesson here: Remember who YOU are eating for.  It’s you and only you.  Eat for yourself.  Prepare good snacks so you never reach the stage of unbearable hunger, where nothing tastes so good as 3 handfuls of goldfish, including the ones dropped on the floor. Try out your snacks with the kids, too.  They may surprise you.  But in the end, remember that before you were “mom”, you made your choices based solely on how they would affect you.  You can still do that.  It’s ok.  And you may find that as a bonus, you feel stronger, healthier, more energized and alert.  Which how every woman should feel, mom or not.