Guest Post: Where to Start When Transitioning your Kids to Paleo

Guest Post: Written by Michelle from happypaleokids.com 

Saying “paleo is of overwhelming” is an understatement when you’re just beginning your paleo journey. For me, making the transition to a paleo diet/lifestyle for my kids felt like one of the most overwhelming parts. The best thing I can recommend is taking babysteps. Follow these tips to begin the transition process and wait several weeks until your kids become comfortable before you start increasing the paleo foods on their plates.

1. Have “the conversation:” Have a conversation with your children about why you would like to change the family’s diet. Is it health? To have more energy for playing? To decrease behavioral outbursts? To make their bodies grow strong? Once you have started the conversation, you have opened the doors for an ongoing dialogue. For instance, if your child is eating carrots, explain to them how carrots have vitamin A, which stands for Awesome Eyesight! or when eating fish, describe the healthy fats that help their brain grow smarter and stronger. When they are eating something with gluten, explain that it contains gluten and that gluten makes it hard for their body to use the vitamins in their other food. Explain that you will be starting to have less gluten and will be saving it for special treats. Make sure to meet them at their level of understanding and keep your explanations simple (especially for younger children).
2. Model paleo behavior. Eat paleo, get as much rest as possible, exercise moderately, and do what you can to model stress management.
3. Replace foods in your pantry with better (but not necessarily 100% paleo) “transitional” food options.
   • Instead of trying to go completely grain-free all at once, replace gluten-containing foods with gluten-free versions (that is, gluten-free breads, pastas, mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.)
   • Replace low-fat and nonfat dairy products with whole milk products. Switch from sweetened to unsweetened yogurts and sweeten it yourself with honey, pure maple syrup, and/or fruit. My kids LOVE making their own parfaits!
   • Replace conventional meat with organic or (better yet) grass-fed (if you can afford it; if  it’s too costly, don’t worry about it. more on this topic later)
   • Get rid of all foods containing high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors (especially red dye number 40, which has been proven to contribute to childhood behavioral and attention difficulties)
4. Incorporate nutrient-dense foods into their diets. Before you start removing more foods, start adding foods rich in vital micronutrients: Green vegetables, an abundance of fruit, sweet potatoes, carrots, lots of antioxidant-rich berries, fish, and the paleo superfoods: bone broth and organ meats! This will get your children used to seeing these foods on the table and will get you more comfortable with spending more time in the kitchen. (Don’t worry, you will get better with time management as time goes on). Use every dining opportunity to continue “the conversation.” While there are different points of view on this one, I always request my children take at least one bite of a new food that is on their plate. I remind them that their tongue sheds it’s skin every 21 days (like a snake!) so even if they didn’t like it last time, their “new” taste buds might like it this time.
5. Put the kibosh on grazing. This will make-or-break your success!! Children (especially young ones) are awesome at regulating their own nutritional needs. They are much more attuned than adults to how much of each macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) and micronutrient (vitamins, minerals) they need. However, when we allow them to graze all day on meals and sugary beverages it begins to get more difficult for them to read the hunger and satiety cues their body is sending them. This is because they are never given the chance to get hungry. Why eat the delicious grass-fed burger, sweet potato fries, and broccoli when a) they are not that hungry because they had a banana an hour ago and b) they know they will be able to have some yogurt, applesauce, or other snackfood an hour later

All meals and snacks should be eaten at the table, without exception, and without toys and tv as a distraction. Once the child is finished, the food should be put away and they will have  to wait until the next meal or snack.  Typically, children should be offered food every 2-3 hours, allowing enough time for them to digest and become hungry. If they request a snack between planned snack/meal times, remind them that they had an opportunity to eat and decided they were full and that they will be having another food/snack soon. Nutritionist Ellyn Satter has great resources on her website about this “division of responsibility” where the parent’s role is to decide when, where, and what the child will eat and the child can choose if they eat and how much they eat.

6. Drop the juice habit. “Empty” calories obtained from juice are taking up space that could be used for more nutrient-dense foods. This one was a killer when we took juice away from my oldest (my younger two never got into the habit), but after about 3 weeks she got over it. We still offer 100% juice at a restaurant or birthday parties as a special treat, but it is not an everyday thing. If you do choose to include juice and milk in your child’s diet, make sure they are only consumed with a meal/snack at the table, so that it doesn’t disrupt their natural hunger-satiety rhythm (see above re: snacking).
7. Stock your fridge with paleo treats. The goal is to eventually switch to fruits, vegetables, meats, and nuts as your staples, but in the beginning use paleo treats to show them that eating paleo doesn’t mean eating “yucky.” Here are some of my favorite, easy treat recipes:
   • Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes
   • Paleo Muffins
   • Anytime Cookies
   • Granola
   • Fruit Bars
   • …And keep LOTS of their favorite fruits onhand. I served fruit with almost every snack/meal early in our transition process. Fresh fruit is best, but dried (unsweetened) fruit is also super handy.
8. Play! Get active and get exercise as a family. This is one of my favorite parts of the paleo lifestyle! As often as you can, get outside (or inside) and enjoy physical play WITH your kids. It is so great for all of you! We love going on walks, bike rides, to the park (and don’t be afraid to be that weirdo parent on the monkey bars!), roller skating, mini-golfing, etc. Inside we love this great yoga DVD, we wrestle, have dance parties, play tag… options are endless.  Make your goal 30-60 minutes per day, but, as a real-life mom, I know that’s not always possible.  Just sneak in a few minutes of play here-and-there and it will start to become part of your routine.
9. Sleep. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep (click here for a list of how much sleep your child should be getting by age). Slowly move their bedtime earlier if necessary (15 minute increments every 2-3 days works well) and create a bedtime routine that is predictable and will signal to their brain that it is time to go to sleep. You will be AMAZED at what an extra 30 minutes of sleep can do for you and your child… zzzzzzz……..
10. LOVE. Always remember that you are making this change because you love your child and want the best for them.  It is a difficult adjustment for anyone, so be patient with yourself and with them. When you feel frustrated remind yourself that the goal is simply to be healthier one year from today than you are at this moment and that the goal is NOT paleo perfection. xoxo

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