An Apple a Day…

An apple a day (and an apple journal)...may increase your child’s desire to eat right

Trying to break your kids (and maybe yourself) of the candy habit and develop better eating habits? You may want to start an apple journal. There are many varieties now making their way to grocery stores, and farmer’s markets. It is certainly worth a look. Your local library or used bookstore will probably have at least one book devoted to the apple. For an inviting site about apples, take a visit to

http://www.orangepippin.com/

and be sure to check out why they chose that name. Your local stores often carry an increased level of varieties during the fall, so even if you do your normal shopping at your favorite store, you may want to take a trip to other stores you don’t normally patronize just to check their produce section. Locally, only one store carries the Sonya apple.

While I really like red delicious apples, I began my apple journal and was wowed by Braeburn and Johnagold. I wasn’t so impressed with Fuji, and haven’t been able to get a fresh enough Ambrosia apple to make a true assessment. It is important that you rate an apple’s freshness as well, since no apple tastes very good that is old and mushy. Some of the apples, of course, will cost a bit more per pound…but if you are just taste testing--one or two shouldn’t break the budget and taste testing will be a fun family activity.

Apples are easy to start with as most children will eat apples even if it isn’t their favorite fruit. Apples usually have stickers on them, and children generally like to keep track of their apples (and other fruits or veggies) using those.

You can start with whatever you have handy in the fridge, with what they know and what is easily available, especially if there is something that they already like and can use to start the journal. If they are too young to write things for themselves, then, of course, you can question them (at their level) and write their responses down…they will probably come up with some really funny comparisons and you may treasure their comments for a long time, and be glad that you took the time to record it for the future. They may only be able to give you the color and whether or not the like it. Let them rate the food on a scale of 1-5 by using a shaped tip marker (hearts or stars)
(or little stickers). The next trip to the grocery store will be an adventure to find a new apple (or other food) to try and compare. (If you or your child are camera buffs, you can take your own photos, too!)


(Any food will work where you can find a wide variety available, even types of breads from around the world: pita, tortilla, French Baguette, Marble Rye, sourdough…or beans: pinto, kidney, black, navy, etc. I keep a journal of different types of honey. So, if apples won‘t work for you there are many other things to choose from.)

There are so many more varieties available now that you could try a different apple or pear or peach each week for a long time. Smaller notebooks or journals work well. Place the sticker ( or label from other foods) from the apple or pear and add notes on the

• sweetness or tartness

• describing the color (green, yellow, red, green with a red blush, pink with a green blush)

• the texture (firm, crunchy, crispy, solid, mushy)

• the flavor

• where it was purchased (what store, shop, or market)

• the date is also important as some apples, pears and other foods are only available for a short period of time. (There’s a tiny little pear that I can only find around Thanksgiving that I really enjoy.)

How about a weekly contest? Who will try the most new things? Who will eat the greatest variety? Whoever “wins” may get to choose what will be served for dinner one night that week, or what book to read, or movie to watch, or game to play at a designated reward time. Who ate foods from the farthest country? (Yes, you can throw some geography in for fun.)

It’s all in how we frame things. If we associate trying new foods with a sense of adventure and accomplishment, with a sense of fun, and not with a sense that we “must eat everything on our plate or else”, we will make more converts.

Another ploy that I have used with smaller children is to make it a point to NOT serve them something, and then comment amongst the parents (and others) how good it tastes. If they haven’t asked to try some by halfway through the meal, you may open a discussion with them.

“Would you like to have some of this very good food? We should probably share a little bit of this with you in case you might enjoy it as much as we do.” (Then only offer a very very small amount.) “If you like it, we will have to stop being so “piggy” about it and share with you.”

Truly, if they act as if they really don’t like it, in most cases it will be alright to exempt them, at least for a while. This only works with foods that really are new to them. The goal is to create a mind set that no food will be forced on them--as long as they will taste it. If they have a fairly good diet otherwise, food needn’t become a battle.

Exposing children to positive activities involving fruits and vegetables, whole grains, etc., could include

• food journals

• coloring books with food as a theme: (If you happen across any food choices you don’t like in the coloring book, you can either photocopy the ones you do approve of or use a razor or scissors to edit out what you don’t like)

• grocery ads: weekly ads often have very colorful fruits and veggies page. Let them cut out the pictures of the fruits and veggies or foods they like and keep a scrapbook or 3 x 5 card file. Older children can help cut out coupons and match up what is on sale with the coupons (Though, there are not many that are for fresh produce)
  

• faux foods: While working in a resale shop years ago, I was very surprised to see how well faux fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. sold. People used them for making wreaths and other decorative arrangements, but also as foods for their children to play with. Toy stores often offer the apple, banana, orange…thrift stores often have bags full of artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, pea pods, onions, eggplant, squashes, mushroom, eggs, strawberries, pineapples, and much more.

• recipe books with lots of pictures

• single subject books are often well illustrated and will have a lot of fun info on a single produce item, like apples, corn, beans, potatoes, etc.

• garden catalogs will show a wide variety of foods available with smiling folks and lots of color. Ever seen a purple potato? Spaghetti squash? Both are available in many expanded produce markets. How about white eggplants, or red, not orange, carrots?
  

• on-line you can find growers associations that sometimes offer free videos, coloring books, and many recipes to entice you to spend your money on what they grow! (try watermelons!)

• Introduce new or challenging things as a special event. Make a little invitation featuring an apple pattern, or in the shape of an apple. (Remember garden catalogs or grocery ads will often have an apple you can cut out.) Invite them to a special apple party. It can be simple, but make a big production out of it. You could serve apple juice, or spiced cider, or apple pie, or apple crisp…and have a small journal or notebook wrapped as a gift. If they are old enough, let them decorate the front of it with apple cut outs or stickers. Explain what the apple journal is all about, and how you will be interacting with them--reading about apples, making foods that contain apples, tasting new varieties, trips to the grocery store to pick out a new apple! It’s a party, an event!!
  

• Introduce a new or challenging thing as a face to face cuddle time…sitting with an appropriate book or magazine and talking in a comforting tone, and introducing the subject in a very safe and comfortable way. Whatever works.
  

The best (and most able to teach) teachers are the ones who are passionate about what they teach. Their enthusiasm about their subject will spill out of them and into their students. So if you “model” enthusiasm, and a sense of adventure when it comes to foods, (or anything) that will be more contagious.

So, Let’s get ready for the new apple crops this fall. If you are fortunate enough to live near an area where you can go pick a basket of apples on a farm, you will have a lovely day. Don’t miss out if they also have fresh juice and cider available, too.

Recommended Reading:

FARMER BOY
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This book is about her husband's life as a boy growing up in New York. It is appropriate and enjoyed by both boys and girls, and most parents, too. It is often included in her "Little House" series, but the book stands alone very well. (You may want to check out the Little House series, for a really fine family reading time.)