Three Steps to Healthy Eating Ideas in Social Situations or
Don’t Give Kindergarten Kids
Guns and Donuts
I realized I needed healthy eating ideas for when I ate at a friend's house or at a party. As usual, life's lessons came from my children.
Like most parents, my husband and I worry about our children’s safety. It is mostly the usual stuff of look both ways before you cross the street, don’t play with matches and don’t go swimming in your cement shoes. We have also decided to ask parents of our kids’ potential playmates if they have guns in their houses.
The other day, a new play date for our daughter passed the gun test, and we felt very comfortable with her family. My daughter went to their house, and came home jubilant while scaling our family room walls. After I peeled her off the ceiling, she told me she had fun on her play date, and that she had the best lunch ever.
Her lunch consisted of bagels and tater tots, followed by a donut for desert, which is pretty much a “white food” lunch containing plenty of calories, sugar, and no nutrients. No wonder my daughter was doing her best caged monkey on steroids imitation.
No one ever told me that to protect my children I had to check for guns AND bad foods. I can hear this telephone conversation now:
Hello Mrs. Smith. I was wondering if you had any guns in your house and if you were planning on serving any Ding Dongs today at the girls’ play date? No to the guns, but yes to the Ding Dongs? I see. I’m sorry, but my little Sally can’t play at your house. Would you like for your daughter Nancy to come to my house for some whole grain bread and flax meal?
My poor kids are doomed.
Healthy Eating Idea Step 1: Evaluation
From this experience I learned to do my own “guns and donuts” evaluation when I ate away from home. Some of the best eating sabotage I know is done by my neighbor Betty. I feel guilty about not eating her home made treats, especially since I appreciate the time and effort with which they were prepared.
When I visit Betty, she offers me double chocolate frosted brownies made from a recipe which has been in her family for five generations. As I am truly trying to make the best choices for my health, I tell Betty I just had a snack (true, I had some almonds before coming to her home), but I would love to take some of her treats home with me for later.
She gleefully packages up more than I ate last week and I am on my way. I tag the package of goodies with her name, date, and type of food item and freeze it.
I take it out to serve to my guests at a later date, who now think I can cook.
It is as if I were “re-gifting” homemade treats. One of my better healthy eating ideas?
Seriously, when I was tempted by delicious goodies baked with love and Crisco by my friends, I decided that being their friend was not about eating all the food they offered, but about celebrating our friendship. I have confirmed this theory by serving people my cooking and realizing they still want to visit me despite the food I have put in front of them.
Healthy Eating Idea Step 2 : Bring Your Own
One of my favorite healthy eating ideas is to I bring my own healthy dish when I go to a potluck, so I know I will always have a good choice on the buffet table.
Healthy Eating Idea Step 3: Focus on Yourself
In any social situation, I realized if my friends couldn’t allow me to eat what nourished my body, I had to reevaluate that friendship as toxic to my health. But as I looked and ate healthier, I sensed I made others around me feel uncomfortable.
I remember being loudly teased at a party when I did not consume any of the mountains of potato chips that were spread across all the buffet tables. Someone sneered at me and announced to everyone in the room, “Oh, I knew YOU wouldn’t eat anything here at this party, because you are way too healthy”.
I admit I was hurt by that comment.
When I later saw the look of guilt on my assailant’s face as she devoured a crème-filled snack cake, I realized I could not solve everyone else’s issues. I could only make my own choices, and hopefully help guide the choices made by my family.
I don’t talk about why I make certain food choices unless I am specifically asked. I honestly feel my healthy eating is a personal choice, independent of anyone else in a social situation.
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