Salad Looks Pretty
“Kat” McCue washing veggies and fruits
Can you believe she’s 4 going on 5 here and already has these healthy habits? Amazing!
I am friends with a dear woman in England whose nickname is Dot. She was born in Liverpool which as an American I find so fascinating. Dot is a very interesting, thoughtful and kind woman as has so much wisdom to share. Through our conversations over the years, I have come to hear of how precious little Kat has grown up with a healthy attitude towards fruits and veggies. I think her story will inspire you to add more color and "pretty" to your plate!
Dot currently lives in Wallasey which is a small town across the River Mersey from Liverpool with her husband Tony. Dot and Tony have transformed their lives with healthy habits and choices. They had checkups in 2009 that inspired them to change their habits via baby steps. Dot is nearly 7 stone lighter (98 pounds) than her heaviest and the love of her life Tony has lost 4.5 stone (63 pounds).
Dot and Tony 2009
Before their journey to healthier living
Dot and Tony Celebrating healthy habits! Cheer!
Now, through practical experience, I consider Dot an expert. She was before as well in my eyes, as she knew what they should change but just weren’t ready to do. Dot and Tony are living examples of how small changes can add up to big results over time. Dorothy now has all sorts of practical tips on healthy eating and is mentoring healthy habits to Kat (and the rest of her blended family).
These are some she has shared with her beloved granddaughter Kat. Kat is currently turned 5 in November 2020. When I asked Dot about when Kat started helping in the kitchen, Dot stated, “She has helped me with cooking and veg prep since she was able to reach the surface when standing on a step so about 2 years old.”
How does a practice like this happen? Dot took the time to have her granddaughter help in the kitchen and model what healthy eating is like. So many of us have grown up with unhealthy habits, maybe you were a member of the clean plate club, or the starving children in China speech was given or maybe fruits and veggies were just not served. Whatever you learned from your family of origin – good or bad it was taught. You weren’t handed a rule book for family eating. You picked up patterns and habits of all kinds starting at a very young age.
Dot also said that, “Kat loves putting Tony’s salad on the plate as it looks so pretty.” Kat has developed healthy habits and sees the beauty in eating the rainbow. I think we can all learn from a kid, especially one who thinks "salad is pretty"! Her parents aren’t as healthy of eaters. Kat has even been known to question her parents asking, “Why don’t you like cucumber or apples?” Out of the mouth of babes comes so much wisdom.
Dot has given her granddaughter the gift of healthy habits as she helps in the kitchen. Above she is washing fruits and veggies. She begged to spend time with Dot doing this, some kids might see it as a punishment, not Kat! She says she likes fruit and veggies, “because of the pretty colors.” Again, such wisdom from a little tot! She fills her diet with the colors because they are pretty and has an open mind about her food. Her favorite apples are Pink Lady!
“Kat” is cleaning up veggies she helped plant!
Healthy habits start young…in Kat’s case when she was 2!
Kat also has a healthy habit of taking some cucumber slices in her lunch box every day! Dot knows that we all need at least 10 trials of a food to see if we like it. Not the 1,2 or 3 most parents or grandparents give a child. Tastes change, but we need to be given the chance to try the food over and over before really taking it out of the diet. Dot hopes that her natural “curiosity will get the better of her and she’ll try more. Sadly, she learned early on not to rub her eyes after touching onion.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) December 3rd, 2018 has tips on how to get picky eaters to try new things.
Try again: Wait a couple of days before offering the food again. It can take more than 10 times before you toddler might like it.
Mix it up: Mix new foods with foods you know your child likes.
Be silly: Make funny faces with the foods on your child’s plate. It might help your child get excited to eat it.
Me too: Try eating the food first to show your child you like it. Then, let your child try it.
Choices: Give your child a choice of different foods to try. Let your child decide which one to try today.
When I asked Dot what other advice/wisdom she could share she stated, “ I am enjoying trying the modern approach encouraging my grandchildren to eat verses when Kat's Mummy was little a tougher approach was recommended and it didn't work.” Dot feels this created an aversion to healthy choices as her daughter is still a fussy eater and has a weight problem. “
Dot carries some guilt regarding how she introduced fruits and veggies into her children’s life. “My children were never overweight, but both gained weight when away from home at university.” This is common and not just because of Dot’s approach. The Freshman 15 was coined because many children that leave home go crazy with fast food, alcohol and unhealthy choices and gain weight. They were not taught healthy habits that they could take with them when the family of origin structure was no longer there.
Dot also stated that she has “dieted since I was 10 years old and they have witnessed my struggles over the years and my emotional dependency on food. I am a 'feeder" and have by my behaviors shared this dependency. It is only during lockdown that I have explored the reasons for my eating habits and controlled this behavior.”
Dot continues her journey, peeling back the layers like an onion to uncover more hidden wisdom and find her “WHY”. She has continued her weight loss having lost 3 stone initially after her 2009 epiphany, a further 3.5 stone since 2018 and then plateaued for 18 months. I will also add that Dot had a knee replacement which failed and needed to be removed and replaced. This added a challenge for her, but it didn’t curtail her vision to continue to make healthy choices. Dot cooked healthy meals and focused on what she could do, verses giving up with the impending knee replacement ahead.
Her knee redo was successful and she pushed through her rehab like an Olympic Champion getting ready to win gold. She went on to lose another 1.5 stone (21 pounds). Dot “still has 4 stone (56 pounds) to go but feels confident that she will achieve it.” She is currently 6 stone 10 pounds (94 pounds) lighter than in 2009
Dot also involved Kat in her gardening. Teaching her this principle is a documented way to increase a child’s curiosity. When a child can grow, grocery shop, and be involved in the making of healthy food, their desire to eat what they have grown and prepare is raised substantially. Kat enjoyed growing her own vegetables this year (2020) “so that she understands where her food comes from”, that doesn’t mean just the supermarket. “She harvested them, cleaned them but alas didn't eat them but was very proud of what she had grown and liked seeing Nannie and Gagga eat them.” The love of gardening has been instilled in her, and her memories of growing healthy foods has been planted.
The love of gardening has been instilled in “Kat” by Nannie and Gagga as she affectionately calls her grandparents, Dot and Tony.
Dot also said that “Kat started eating apples once she had teeth and she enjoyed sharing one as a snack.” Dot introduced healthy snacks to her granddaughter right away. Dot stated, “I had always peeled the apples for fear of choking when she was little but this week she has finally tried to eat an apple whole and was excited to tell her teachers and friends at school.” Prior to her brave apple whole experience “she had declined apples and opted for another favorite banana.” Through this Kat has gained self-confidence that she can at 4 years old, eat a whole apple without being embarrassed. I am so excited to see the wise and healthy choices this little one continues to make and the influence she will have not only over Nannie, but her entire family of origin and her children…some day!
I hope that YOU are inspired by Dot’s story and how she has broken the chains of unhealthy relationships with food. She is an inspiration and a great example of sustainable lifestyle changes that have enriched her life and the generations to come!
Isn’t this an inspiring and amazing story! I’d love to hear from you on what you’re personally inspired to do in 2021! Email me at Janelleb.Baldwin@SoulisticWell-Being.com!