Hellobee Boards

I was a really picky eater so my parents tried to make sure I got enough calories and nutrition. They weren't opposed to junk but I had to eat a proper meal first. They didn't like pop so we hardly ever had it in the house.

I guess it was quite strict, we were only allowed sweets, crisp and soda on Saturdays. All meals were very balanced and cooked from scratch, traditional Norwegian food, lots of fish and meat and always accompanied by lots of veg. The biggest food rule we had though was that you always had to finish everything on your plate. Mom now agrees that we shouldn't have had that rule, I've had such issues with food only recently have I felt able to leave food on my plate.

Yes, healthy food and minimal processed stuff.

Nope. We ate a lot of boxed and semi prepared meals., and there was always soda/chips/candy around.

I hope to clean up my eating for health reasons and instill healthy habits in my children.

Nope, we ate a lot of semi homemade meals and processed snacks. My mom was a single mom for a while and worked A LOT, this was what worked for her. My siblings and I are all at healthy weights now and eat a lot more clean.

I hope to provide fresher options for my family and limit processed 'junk' but I also want to avoid strict rules that can lead to unhealthy views.

Not super strict but we didn't get much junk!

Nope! Basically ate whatever I want. Especially at my dad's house. He didn't know how to cook so he let us fend for ourselves.

Mom made meals but she had a cabinet full of snacks and we got whatever we wanted. She still keeps her cabinets stocked full of snacks!

My diet has junked up a bit since being pregnant (I caved quite a bit) but normally I keep bare basics in the house...just whole foods/ingredients, fruits and veggies, and maybe some healthy snack alternatives. I'm excited to clean my diet back up after baby is born!
That will be the norm in my house and what I will feed my child on a daily basis, but I will also teach him the joys of buying a package of pre made cookie dough every now and then and baking them late at night, having a pop when you go out to eat (when he's older), and having a little too much Halloween candy.

I wouldn't necessarily say they were strict. My mom made dinner every night from scratch, and things like chips, soda, candy, etc. were an occasional treat. Junk food/fast food was a treat. We were always expected to eat what was served, so there was no catering to or special meals made for picky eaters, although we were not forced to eat something if we didn't like it (we always did have to "try" it though). Lunch was brown-bag: sandwich, fruit, etc.

We'll probably follow the same basic set-up; since we didn't eat a lot of junk food growing up, it's still an occasional treat and stuff like soda we never keep around since we rarely drink it at home. Everything in moderation, and making healthy eating just a normal part of life, so it's not a big deal to eat veggies and you don't have to set up a lot of "rules".

I never felt like my parents were strict. We just didn't have junk food, chips, soda etc. in our house so we were healthy by default, but i never felt deprived or like i wanted something more. My mom is a great cook so we just are whatever she made us.

@wonderstruck: you and my brother are cut from the same cloth! He is the pickiest eater I know, which is weird since we just ate whatever my mom made growing up and he wasn't picky then!

Mine were the other way - totally lax, processed food, never sat down as a family. A lot of that was because I was a terrible picky eater, and my father was on a very restrictive renal diet. But they really lost control of the situation when I was very young.

So now I cook all of my family's food from good, whole foods. We sit down every night and many mornings. We have snack food around, but no junk food. We don't do 'good' and 'bad' foods, but we do talk a lot about how different foods make us feel. My daughter is an amazing eater - far better than me - and I feel like my hard work has really paid off, so far.

No, but we didn't have a lot of junk food in the house and never had soda in our house. My mom also cooked a lot. I think she was very intentional about not making food a big deal since her mom did, and as a result my mom has struggled with her weight her whole life.

No. Little Debbie was my best friend. Yeesh..... I wish my folks knew more about proper nutrition when I was growing up. I was a chunkster, and then later formed unhealthy (restrictive) habits. I will do things a lot differently when I have kids.

My mom made sure we had 2 veggies and a protein at dinner and ate relatively healthy during the day. But junk food and sugary snacks were hard to come by in our house.

My parents were very strict. I had no soda, dessert, or junk/processed food in the house, basically, ever. We ate Chinese food cooked from stratch, pretty much every day. We rarely ate out. Dinner time was important, and we always ate as a family. I do tend to enjoy cereals with lots of food coloring since it wasn't allowed when I was a kid, but overall, I still eat pretty healthy. I won't be quite as strict with my kids, but hope to pass along similar principles.