Go Foods and Slow Foods

Do you remember being a kid and being told to “not put so much butter on your potatoes” because “it’s bad for you,” and to put the potato chips away because they’re “bad for you” and that you didn’t need to have any ice cream because it was “bad for you.”

I heard those exact words more times than I can count.

When I complained that I was hungry as I was reluctantly putting the ice cream back in the freezer (why the heck did we have it in the house if it was so bad for us?), I was told to “have an apple,” “peel yourself an orange” or “eat some carrots,” because they were “good for me.”

The Mom at Weight Watchers that shared the “go foods” and “slow foods” concept says it has dramatically changed how her kids view food. Sure, they still have some of the not so healthy choices but the kids willingly choose to eat less of it in favor of foods that are health and help them “go.”

How great is that?

Yeah, that was real motivation to want to eat the apples, oranges and carrots. NOT!

Being told I couldn’t or shouldn’t have something made me want it even more because it was now a forbidden and therefore more attractive food. I started to crave bad food and ate it on the “sly” anytime I could. Is it any surprise that I became a “chubby” child?

As for the “good for me food,” what kid really puts those words in a positive context? Good for me started to equate with “tastes bad” because I was never given any reasons why the food was good for me other than my Mother saying it was (and there comes a certain age where kids question everything their mother says).

Then someone at my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday mentioned how her child’s teacher had a great way of teaching kids about healthy foods and actually getting them to want to choose them over less healthy choices.

Because I think the concept is so great I’m going to shamelessly steal it.

It’s “GO FOODS” and “SLOW FOODS,” meaning healthy foods help you go and unhealthy foods slow you down. What kid doesn’t want to be able to run and jump and play as fast as possible? Kids love to be on the go and in constant motion!

That’s a concept I could have gotten my head around as a kid; equating those fruits and vegetables with energy and being able to “go” versus eating too much “slow” foods such as those chips and ice cream that aren’t so healthy and caused me to have the horrible nickname of “two-ton Tessie”.