I get a lot of email requests to post my family’s weekly menu. Truth is, I’m not much of a meal planner. My approach to healthy eating is to keep the junk out of the refrigerator and the pantry (I’m pretty vigilant about this) and keep us fairly loaded up with many healthy food options at all times. I learned this from my Mom whose side of the family has some pretty significant weight issues. She taught me that if it’s not in the house, you’re not gonna be eating it. It really works!
With the fridge and freezer full of healthy options, whipping up a nutritious meal is the only option and I can be flexible and open to whatever my family is hungry for at any given meal. I tend not to cook very gourmet most of the time as two of my kids are still at the age where they prefer simple foods.
This is not to say that I don’t plan out leftovers. I do this quite a bit and will have a post primarily dedicated to this coming out in the next few weeks.
I’ve also shied away from posting my personal food log as I don’t want people who read it to think this is how you have to eat if you’re eating traditionally. There are many ways to successfully implement a traditional diet as discovered and written about by Dr. Weston A. Price in his epic work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
I actually did post 4 days of my menu when I was on the GAPS Diet. Those of you eating that way right now might find this helpful.
But what about meals for kids?
My Child’s Food Diary for One Week
My first grader had a school project assigned last week to log everything she ate for a solid week. This project will be turned in tomorrow, so I thought it might be helpful to post this food diary for others who are new to traditional eating and basically struggling to figure out how to feed their children.
I am a little tentative to post this for the same reason I’ve avoided posting my own food diary … I don’t want folks getting hung up on the details.
The basic premise is to feed your children whole, locally produced, unprocessed foods as much as possible with liberal amounts of nutrient dense animal fats which are loaded with the fat soluble activators A, D, and K2.
Remember that the Eskimos ate very differently from the South Sea Islanders as well as the other cultures identified in Dr. Price’s book, but the common denominator is that they ate what was available locally in unprocessed form and greatly revered the nutrient dense animal fats available to them. These fats were considered of particular importance to growing children.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Breakfast
Grassfed sausage, raw grassfed milk, homemade ginger ale
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch (at school)
Antibiotic free turkey slices, organic fruit roll, veggie stix, organic grapes
Dinner
Homemade chicken nuggets (cooked in expeller pressed coconut oil), organic green beans cooked in butter, raw grassfed milk
Friday, September 2, 2011
Breakfast
Sprouted toast with sunflower butter, raw grassfed milk
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch (at school)
Boiled egg, organic fruit roll, homemade macaroons, veggie stix
Dinner
Rice mac & cheese, grassfed beef with juices, organic cucumber and carrots, raw grassfed milk
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Breakfast
Sprouted toast with sunflower butter and raw honey, kombucha
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch
Homemade chicken soup (soup had rice and veggies in it), raw grassfed milk
Snack
Carob chips and organic lollipop at a movie
Dinner
Soaked waffles, bacon, peas cooked in butter, raw grassfed milk
Sunday, September 3, 2011
Breakfast
Soaked waffles, raw grassfed milk, kombucha
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Snack
Organic peanut butter and raw honey on a spoon
Lunch
Grassfed burger, carrot stix, fresh orange juice
Dinner
Homemade chicken soup (with veggies and rice in it), raw grassfed milk
Monday, September 5, 2011
Breakfast
Soaked waffles, raw grassfed milk, kombucha
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch
Grilled cheese with bacon, broccoli cooked in butter
Snack
Milkshake (made with raw homemade vanilla ice cream)
Dinner
Pastured chicken with chicken broth, asparagus cooked in butter, raw grassfed milk
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Breakfast
Sprouted toast with sunflower butter, raw grassfed milk, kombucha
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch (at school)
Roast beef, sprouted pretzels, organic fruit roll, organic raspberry pop tart
Snacks
Organic lollipop, milkshake (made with raw ice cream)
Dinner
Grassfed burger, broccoli cooked in butter, cucumbers, raw grassfed milk
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Breakfast
Organic peanut butter and raw honey on sprouted toast, raw grassfed milk, kombucha
1/4 tsp butter oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil, 1/2 tsp high vitamin skate liver oil
Lunch (at school)
Boiled egg, organic fruit roll, sprouted pretzels, carob chips
Snack
Organic lollipop, sunflower butter toast
Dinner
Pastured chicken, broccoli cooked in butter, raw grassfed milk
I know one of the very first questions I will get about this food diary is where to get the high vitamin cod liver oil and butter oil. If you check out my Shopping Guide, vetted brands of quality fish liver oil companies are provided.
Was this food diary helpful to you? Did you get any ideas for your own kids’ meals and school lunches?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Nice 🙂 I was surprised to see “organic poptart” though.
Yes, I don’t like that either. I do let my kids have treats on occasion. As I mentioned above, I think being militant about it fails in the long run as you just get rebellion. I think what we parents are all after is teaching our kids balance and moderation. We have to live in the real world after all.
“I” think . . . (sorry)
My think my children would be very hungry on that menu. Do you think the supplements help reduce the amount of food needed?
Rebalancing the gut helps with the carb and sugar cravings. I don’t think supplements would have much effect unless it was a strong probiotic.
Hi, what would you recommend if your children cannot tolerate dairy?
If your children cannot do dairy, you need to do lots and lots of broth! Broth contains lots of calcium and it a really good substitute for dairy where necessary. You can see from my menu that my family consumes broth based soups several times a week .. you should do this more often if not consuming any dairy. Every day would not be too frequently IMO
Hi Sara, thank you Thank you for this. I’m struggling with some very serious issues right now that have almost shut me down completely. I’ve not been cooking, and have been afraid to spend any money on food, which is insane because we need to eat. When I saw the daily menu … it helped take some burden off me. I’m going to use it, as is, to make food for my family. I don’t have any of the supplements, nor could even buy anything right now, ( husbands job is closing in two weeks, no income, loosing our house etc) but looking at the basic menu, gives me something to follow without having to think, is a big help and took a lot of my fear away. I would like to ask you for a link to receipes, I see some there, but the nuggets, ginger ale, rice mac and cheese etc would be helpful. Also, If I could find a way to purchase just ONE of the supplements …. which one would be the best to start with?
Hi Barbara, I understand the need to just not think and just follow a prescribed plan for a period of time until you can breathe again. I am glad this very simple menu can assist you at this time.
If you click on recipes at the top of the blog, all my recipes are organized by type. This should help you find what you need quickly.
If you can only buy a single supplement, I would recommend fermented cod liver oil from Green Pasture Products. This is what I would buy if in your situation.
Thanks,
Hi Again
Sarah I was just thinking what do you do if your kids go on camp for a few days or a friends house. My son is going to camp and I think of all the nitrate meats, non organic produce, Artifical colours and flavours, rancid oils things will be cooked in, Pasturised hormone milk etc and cringe but he is desperate not to look different to everyone else. Any thoughts?
I Lara, my son went to a two week summer camp out of town last summer and I posted about this. Just do a search on “summer camp” in the search box at the top of the blog.
Hi Sarah
Just wondering if Skate oil is similar to krill oil?
Thanks again
Lara
Hi Lara,
No skate oil is very different from krill oil. I personally would not take the krill oil. It is highly processed at industrialized temperatures and is not beneficial to be consuming. The skate liver oil is raw and fermented. Very very different products.
I’m really enjoying your posts and I’m new to eating a traditional diet. I also have young kids and I’m looking for ways to transition away from processed food, so it’s nice to get suggestions. I’ve heard about soaking grains before and I was wondering if your waffle recipe would work as pancakes?
Hi Laura, the waffle recipe would probably work ok as pancakes, just use whole eggs instead of the egg yolks and leave out the whipped egg whites.
I make the fluffiest, lightest, tastiest pancakes ever using whipped egg whites!
Here’s my recipe:
3 eggs, separated (keep the whites)
1 2/3 cups buttermilk (I use my homemade stuff, but cultured, store-bought buttermilk would work I suppose)
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 TBSP sugar or sucanat (optional)
3 TBSP butter or oil
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (optional, and pick good stuff not cheap imitation flavorings)
1 1/2 cups flour of choice (I use a spelt and white whole wheat mixture most of the time)
Beat the egg whites first and set aside; whip 3 egg yolks until light and foamy then add the rest of the ingredients, beating together just before adding the flour, then beating again. Fold in the egg whites with a spatula until well blended. Pour a large spoonful of batter onto a hot grill, leave until the top bubbles a bit, then turn. Serve with lots of good butter and grade B maple syrup!
My kids loved theirs with blueberry syrup (I made my own but there are some good ones on the market now), and they also liked them with peanut butter and rolled up into a carry-along finger food when they were doing chores or in a big hurry.
Thanks!
We are fostering two children. We got our 18mon old boy at 11mon. and he weighed about 15-16lbs. He weighs about 27lbs. now and will eat anything:) If I make jambalya I cut up the shrimp for him and he has eaten fried pastured chicken livers. He pretty much just drinks milk. Our nine year old girl is learning why we don’t eat things with alot of sugar and why we don’t drink the chocolate milk at school. I have to say though that I’m trying a little at a time with her and let her eat her cereal for breakfast that she is used to. She is asking for yoghurt for snacks though and she eats what we do for meals. It is really helpful to see what other kids are eating and that simple really is good:)
Thank you for posting this! I’m going to add FCLO and Butter oil to my 18month old’s daily routine this fall.
I couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t much fruit on the list (just thinking of my daughter who eats 3-4 servings of fruit/day). I’m wondering if maybe I should limit fruit more or is this just one of those personal preference things?
Fruit is overrated and typically children eat way too much IMO. My oldest hardly ever eats fruit. You can be totally healthy without it. Sometimes parents give fruit too much as a sub for sweets and kids love it because it is still a form of sugar after all. My kids eat fruit just a few times a week and rarely drink fruit juice unless it’s fresh squeezed when our citrus trees are in season.
I agree with a lot of things on this blog, but this one I have to disagree on. How exactly is fruit overrated? I think fruit is one of the best things that a person can give to their child. When my daughter was 2 years old I used to juice oranges, tangerines, and tangelos everyday and not one of my family members got sick that winter at all. I had a lot of energy and wasn’t tired at all. It helped to build up my immune system and we all felt great. Some people would say that vitamin C doesn’t work, but I beg to differ because I know how well it worked for my family and me.
Fruit is fine to eat with cream etc but to eat on its own like most people do is dangerous to health. It spikes and crashes the blood sugar when eaten alone. If you fresh squeeze the juice and stir in a bit of cream or eat the fruit with cream, this damaging effect is moderated.
My MIL ate fruit every morning for breakfast for quite some time many years ago and credits this unwise practice to giving her a nearly intractable case of candida (she is a nurse). Fruit for kids is fine, just understand the downside and make sure you compensate for it. Fruit is definitely highly overrated though. You can be perfectly healthy if you never eat it ever.
I can’t agree with that to be honest. I’ve heard of candida, but I don’t know exactly what it is. I will look it up now that you’ve brought it up. I eat fruit on it’s own as well as with full-fat yogurt and so does my child. I’m still not convinced that fruit is overrated and that it’s unwise to eat it alone. Would you mind directing me to some information about how fruit is supposedly overrated and dangerous to health because I would really like to know where you got this information from.