Both of my kiddos were formula fed after attempts at breastfeeding failed. So, following the recommendation of my son's pediatrician, it was easy for me to make the transition from bottled formula to sippy cup milk - especially since my children used their milk cups as a comfort before bed and nap time.
Even after learning that dairy can be a gut irritant during our paleo transition a year ago, I convinced myself that at least there was some protein and my kids needed fat for healthy brain development. I told myself at least I was buying whole fat organic milk. Milk seemed to be the only thing I could reliably get them to drink/eat. I chose to ignore the insulinogenic effects of milk, just for the peace and ease of giving my kids a cup whenever they were crabby or tired. You see, the special combination of protein and sugar in milk of all kinds make it very, very good at driving up insulin in the blood - causing blood sugar crashes and eventually insulin resistance.. yea, that little thing that eventually becomes full blown diabetes.
To give you an idea, my kids (2 and 3) were given 6-8oz of milk upon waking, after lunch/before nap, and right before bed every night. They sometimes were given a mid-morning cup if things were crazy and I just needed fighting to stop. And they weren't eating anything at mealtime. Plates of veggies and pastured meats would go untouched and eventually be fed to the dogs. About the only thing my kids would eat in addition were sausage links and fruit. It was supremely frustrating and entirely my fault.
I was purchasing 4 gallons of milk every week to support this and my husband's occasional glass of milk. The best price you can find on a gallon of organic milk is about $6.00. Often, though, the gallons would be out of stock at the local Target where I found them, so I would go for the $3.60 half-gallons in the Commissary. Every single week I spent anywhere from $24-$29 on milk alone. Plus the money on pastured meat and organic veggies that were getting thrown away!!
The money issue coupled with the concern that my kids weren't getting the best nutrition without consuming SOME vegetable matter led me to examine whether or not milk deserved a place in my kids' diet.
Milk's nutrition data. 1 cup has:
144 calories
8 grams fat
12 grams sugar
8 grams protein
5% RDA of Vitamin A
28% RDA of Calcium
Not really impressive in my opinion. Even better, the USDA recommends low-fat milk.. so get rid of the fat and you are left with a little protein and a lot of sugar. Get rid of the fat and you make milk worthless nutritionally (in my humble opinion). It is considered a good source of Vitamin D (because it's fortified), riboflavin, B12, Calcium and Phosphorus.. but you can get that and more from sunshine and vegetables. In fact, not only can you get enough calcium from vegetables, the key nutrients are needed for calcium absorption are higher in a paleo style diet and the phytic acid in whole-grains can block calcium absorption. Check out the article: How Will I Get Calcium on a Paleo Diet? Armed with this info, I decided to ditch the milk.
How I Got Rid of Milk
1. Stopped giving the kids milk other than right before nap/bed at first. This was tough because the kids would still open of the fridge and cry about 'wanting milkie' during waking hours. I learned eventually that this was code for 'I'm hungry' or 'I'm tired.' If I had observed my children and helped them express their needs better, they would have learned that they were hungry or tired instead of needing milk. This is hard - stick to your guns.
2. Put out plates of chopped veggies and a bowl filled with mixed nuts + dried fruit like raisins all the time for snacking. In addition, I made water available ALL the time in cups that were age appropriate (i.e. spill proof). I did not go from milk to juice.
3. Offered calcium rich vegetables every single day. Leafy green veggies like kale, spinach, bok choy all make their way to my kids' plates. Heck, even broccoli and almonds have calcium in them. One thing I do use is pastured Kerry Gold butter that my kiddos love on sweet potatoes or even just eating little pieces of it.
Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium:
Almonds, Broccoli, Kale, Spinach, Mustard Greens, Sardines, Seaweed, even some fruits like dates have calcium and so do eggs!
4. Offered other comforting warm beverages like chamomile tea.. which my oldest just started drinking.
5. Started making my kids drink milk (if they wanted it) with their lunch/dinner instead of just before going to sleep to separate it from their sleep/comfort routine. We already read books and said prayers, so we still kept those parts of the routine.
6. After a couple of weeks of this I decided that once the last gallon of milk ran out, I would not buy any more. And I didn't. When my kids told me they wanted milk, I told them matter-of-factly that it was all gone and moved them onto the next thing. We didn't dwell and I kept a positive tone. It only took a few days for them to stop asking.
We have been milk-free for nearly three months now, though my kids do have the occasional milk at Starbucks if we stop by or some cream from my coffee. My kids have been eating more vegetables and meats than ever before and I completely attribute this to the lack of milk filling their bellies.
Breakfast Now:
Tips/Resources
* Don't panic if your kids aren't eating leafy greens - just keep putting them out there. Mine go through phases where they want nothing to do with green veggies and then eat a ton. It helps if you are positive and cheer them on when they do eat their veggies. Ignore it when they don't.. no nagging.
* I'm going to try to give my kids SeaSnax. I've been wanting to check out this snack for awhile and seaweed is one of the richest sources of calcium, magnesium, and many other minerals that are bioavailable. That is, they can easily be used by the body.
Articles:
Kids, Paleo and Nutrient Density by Robb Wolf
How Will I Get Calcium on a Paleo Diet? by Diane Sanfilippo .. Love this post because of the graphics.
Hope this helps, best wishes!
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| This has become funny to me now... |
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