As her health-conscious mom put her on a strict diet as soon as she was born, Little Grace has never had a bit of refined sugar. Today, the young girl looks like this right now.
The majority of the things that an average child eats are off-limits to Shan Cooper’s daughter Grace. Grace has been on a “Paleo Diet” by Shan. In place of items that “cavemen could hunt for,” such as meat, fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables; as the paleo diet forbids grains and dairy, little Grace is more likely to consume organic chicken and a plate of vegetables as opposed to a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Although Grace’s lifestyle may seem a little extreme, Shan, an Australian mother, insists that Grace “loves” eating healthy meals and hardly ever gets sick.
Grace might have eggs fried in coconut oil with roasted vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, potatoes, and steamed broccoli, along with a quarter of an avocado and a tiny amount of sauerkraut, for breakfast on a regular basis. Although it may sound like a meal from a fancy cafe, the Australian child is simply enjoying a typical morning snack.
Typically, lunch consists of roasted organic chicken and steamed or roasted veggies like broccoli. Fruit is Grace’s favorite snack throughout the day. Her favorite foods are bananas and strawberries. She could then have a dinner of spaghetti bolognese with organic meat, zucchini noodles, and organic tomato sauce. Of course, pasta noodles would be used in place of them.
The mother, Shan who’s an agricultural scientist with an e-book of healthy recipes under her belt, reports that in her daughter’s brief life, she has only experienced one cold. Shan attributes her daughter’s immune-boosting diet, which is high in fruits and vegetables, to achievement. The pleased mother told Daily Mail:
“She spends a lot of time around other kids who are sick all the time — who have snotty noses, coughs, colds — but she just doesn’t pick it up. It’s certainly not because I’m shielding her from any of that stuff. I absolutely think a nutrient-dense diet is giving her a strong immune system.”
“(What she eats now) is not weird, not anything strange that normal people wouldn’t eat. She loves it. I don’t feed her toast or cereal or anything like that. Again I think, ‘Sure that stuff is not going to kill her.’ If she eats a piece of bread I’m not going to have a conniption,” said Shan, claiming that she’s relaxed about the idea of her daughter eating sweet and grainy foods one day despite the amount of planning that goes into her daughter’s diet, especially with birthday parties full of cake and soda on the horizon.
Shan said, “I don’t want there to be any disordered eating around food. Females particularly have enough problems with eating disorders … I want Grace to eat what makes her feel good. That’s the reason I eat this way. I don’t think eating a piece of bread is going to kill me. When I go out to dinner with friends… I’m just going to eat what’s on the menu. I’m not going to be a jerk about it. She’ll also learn what makes her feel good and what doesn’t.”
However, mothers considering following Shan down this path, Dr. Rosemary Stanton, a well-known nutritionist, asserted that she would “certainly sound a note of caution” to other mothers.
According to Stanton, “It’s really not usually a good idea to put a child on such a restricted diet, particularly when there’s no valid grounds for it.”
She went on to say that she hoped Shan “knows an awful lot about nutrition,” since she was worried about Grace’s diet lacking in grains and legumes. “Depriving her child of grains and legumes will make it much more difficult to achieve a balanced diet,” Santon said.
Parents who had concerns were urged by Dr. Stanton to contact a qualified nutritionist. But when her daughter’s healthy diet is criticized, Shan Cooper scoffs, saying, “(Why) eating real food is such a scandalous topic is just bizarre.” Shan Cooper also questions why parents who frequently feed their kids’ junk food are not advised to “tread gently.”
But you simply can’t go wrong by limiting processed sugars and foods and introducing more whole, real foods into your child’s diet.
“If you want to feed your kid one of the most nutrient-void pieces of crap ever, knock your socks off. I’m not going to internet troll you. You do the right thing you think for (your) kid. Why people think it’s offensive to eat a plate of vegetables (over) a piece of bread — that’s bizarre,” she added.
Sources: TapHaps, Hooch.net, SecretLifeOfMom
