There have been a lot of changes around our house lately. Mommy seems to be in a “health phase” right now. At least, that’s what it must seem like to the kids. We were the typical fast food consumers before, and the kids got used to the frequent visits to McDonalds and Burger King. Then, suddenly, something changed. Ahhh! Mom’s buying organic now? It came like a shock to my kids. But, this is not a phase, this is a lifestyle change. I’m hoping their adjustment phase will soon come to an end.

            Why did I make this change? The main reason is energy levels. As a family, our energy level was too low. In the past, we were spending too much time in front of the TV and not enough time playing outside or doing other activities. I just didn’t have the energy levels required to keep up with 3 little ones (my baby is almost walking now…), so we switched. I was browsing through the Sunday paper when an advertisement for a new organic food store seemed to jump right out at me. It was having it’s grand opening that weekend and I knew we had to go check it out.

            I had thought about making this change before, but it always seemed that you have to choose between healthy food and a healthy budget, with shopping trips to places like Nature’s breaking the bank. This new store was the perfect answer to my dilemma. Everything I needed AND within our budget.

            The kids don’t seem to agree. They have suddenly lost their “appurtites” when I put food on the table. I don’t understand how they can even tell the difference. Sure, the bread is a bit different, but we were eating brown bread before. I was even able to get them to eat some vegetables in the past. They would be canned or frozen veggies, stripped of all their nutritious content, and the kids would eat them right up. I present them with REAL food, and they look at it like eating it will kill them. Grimacing, they tell me that their “appurtite is gone”. “Where did it go,” I ask them. They smile a bit, playing along and then look under the table, over their shoulders and then back at me, “I don’t know..it’s hiding.”

            I want my kids to eat well, and they are gradually losing their fear of this new food, but they are skipping dinner more than they used to. I know they’re hungry, because they ask for snacks all day long. Luckily, they can’t tell organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the stuff they used to eat. But, children cannot live off of cheerios and pb&j sandwiches exclusively, as much as they’d like to.

I’ll keep experimenting to see what works and hopefully soon I’ll find a way to help them find their “appurtites” when it comes to dinner time.

Amy Topham