"Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table." -William Shakespeare

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Water, Water, Everywhere...

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
-The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge


One problem many mothers face is children who want to drink their calories. Little taste buds get spoiled quickly on milk and juices, and it can seem a lost cause when a mom tries to make changes in the beverage arena.

A major problem with drinking your calories- and smoothies and shakes can actually be overdone in this regard, too- is that your brain never receives signals of satiation. Only chewing will provide the brain with the chemical, physiological signals that make you feel 'full.'

OK, so I mentioned Kool-Aid.
Here's a way, maybe not the greatest way but a step in the right direction, to kick the juice-and-milk addiction.

I would ONLY do this with dye-free Kool-Aid for my kids, but if yours need the color to make it attractive, well, it's up to you! My podunk Kroger store doesn't even carry the dye-free packets, so my sample is colored.

Well, it's not rocket science, folks. Take your packet, empty it into your pitcher, add 1/2 gallon water and ice, then sweeten with liquid stevia to taste.

Mmmm. Smells like childhood.


Really, Maureen, you spent a whole post on stevia-Kool-Aid?

Yep. Is that any better for my kids than fruit juice? Yes, actually, if they drink the pasteurized grocery-store variety. It keeps their tummies open for real foodand won't produce a sugar crash. You can start watering this down a little more every time, till you've got them drinking plain 'ole water.

And tomorrow we're going to turn that red stuff into a cheaters green smoothie.


The human story does not always unfold like a mathematical calculation on the principle that two and two make four. Sometimes in life they make five or minus three; and sometimes the blackboard topples down in the middle of the sum and leaves the class in disorder and the pedagogue with a black eye. ~Winston Churchill

No comments:

Post a Comment