Gwyneth Paltrow and avoiding carbs for kids - what do you think?

[JaneGMumsnet]

Hi,

You may have read news stories today about Gwynneth Paltrow avoiding carbs for the whole family, including her children aged eight and six:

"Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains like white rice, we're left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs."

We'd be interested to hear what you think about this story.

Does your own diet influence the way you feed your children?

Thanks,

MNHQ

I rather love sardines. Especially with - ahem - pasta.

That sounds like something that I might try Mintyy-it sounds delicious, for very little extra effort.

I reckon the "Chris Martin and kids eating crisps" photo is 100% staged, and I don't blame them.

GP didn't say she never let her DC carbs, she said they sometimes avoided white bread, pasta and rice. She has not "banned carbs" which is how the press have interpreted what she said. The press and many of the public have reacted hysterically, it's almost as if she'd said she gave them crack cocaine twice a week.

It would be a start if the quality of fast food wasn't so poor.

DS1 absolutely insisted on lunch in MacDonalds a couple of years ago. Aside from the fact that I could have got several huge mumsnet threads out of the family sat behind us, it was a pretty dire experience. I ordered myself a filet o'fish (wtf?) "meal" A soggy, bland square fish finger thing in a sticky sweet bread roll with some excuse for lettuce sneezed onto it and some tasteless fries. DS2, a hardened beige food eater (ASD and huge sensory issues around food) wouldn't even touch my fries. By the time I'd eaten what I could, I felt bloated but still light headed, as if I'd had nothing to eat.

In contrast, I can make myself a fish finger sandwich at home, with some sort of wholegrain bread, lots of flavour (even with cheap birds eye pollack fish fingers) and lots of crunch, with fewer calories, more complex carbs and undoubtedly more protein (not to mention the huge pile of lettuce, if I have any) and I feel satisfied, afterwards.

My beige eater, despite his restricted tastes, undoubtedly eats a lot better than many people without his sensory difficulties do.

And this is where I admit that we're having cauliflower cheese with roast chicken, tonight. I made a big pan of it (not with cream, the stomach cramps would be unbearable), last night as the centrepiece of our meal and have some left over.

The humble sardine is much maligned in my view. People don't eat anything like enough fish.

The public have reacted badly to GP as most of them feed their children utter rubbish most of the time and they feel guilty about that.

Wouldn't sardines, brown rice and carrot all look a bit, erm, beige on a plate? :o

I am perfectly aware that oily fish consumption is well below the recommended levels in the UK; I write about this stuff, and have done specific features on omega oils for different women's magazines. I am also fully aware of the issue of marine sustainability - and sardines score well here too. I don't feed my children 'utter rubbish'. (Well, I don't think I do. Clearly their pasta-rich diet would appal many on this thread. Not to speak of the white rice.) But, like 'the public', I don't like some glossy bint thinking her food fads should somehow become widespread on account of the fact she gets photographed a lot.

I can tell you a lovely story about brown rice and too much booze, when I was at Oxford. But I won't. Suffice it to say I think St John's front quad has finally recovered from it.

I want dinner at motherinferiors, I love spinach and I love cucumber raita!

xenia it really ahs got nothing to do with what I feed my DC. I cook each evening. Properly delicious food (BTW sardines mixed with cpaers and buttery mash make super fish cakes), properly healthy (my DC both play sport at elite level)...but I cannot take anyhting GP says seriously. The woman called her own granny a cunt on national television!!!!!

Could one do the sardines with baked potatoes, WF? I am about to do baked potatoes with (sustainable) (tinned) salmon and sweetcorn (in a bit of mayo/yogurt) and salad for tea...

I see no reason why you couldn't MI. A deconstructed fish cake might be considered more chic.

And I need all the help towards chic that I can get, dammit.

"A nice meal is a tin of sardines some brown rice and a raw carrot"

Do you have no taste buds?

If you ever come down to the South of France, Xenia, please look me up. I will consider it a personal honor to introduce you to real food.

Thanks, Fellatio. I would also be happy to share what I think about vegans, but maybe another time

I've eaten plenty of sardines in the south of France in the many years I spent visiting my family there. Very nice they were too.

I've just had sardines on toast. With fresh chilli, sliced tomato, sliced onion, coriander and a squeeze of lemon with a glass of Fitou. Followed by Greek yoghurt, apricot compote and a cup of Darjeeling.
Splendid.

Dh and I once found ourselves in a small town on the west coast of Portugal where they were having their annual sardine festival. It was very crowded and you couldn't move for sardine! They are so gorgeous barbecued.

Sounds heavenly Minty.
I've never been to Portugal.
I'm tempted.

That sounds delicious, moondog. I might try it.

Also, brown rice is not a 'quick' option, Xenia. Takes 40 bloody minutes to cook. You lose the will to live even before it's on your plate.

It is one of my most-visited countries Moony. A wonderful place. We are going this year and will have at least 3 days in Lisbon, can't wait.

I always fancy myself eating custard tarts and listening to fado in some fantastically tiled bar......
Don't tell me it is all sunburnt Brits with MUFC tatts on their shins.

Not on the West coast, or at least from Lisbon upwards. The single most delicious thing I have ever eaten was a giant grilled prawn in a fado place in Lisbon.

All cultures have their carbs, don't they?

We just don't need them so much in the UK in 2013 cos we are very inactive and lazy. Just 70 years ago (WW2) we could get away with eating shed loads of them and very little protein and fat (which were rationed) without being overweight, because we worked hard and didn't have cars.

I would rather my dc were physically active and eating carbs, than carb-free and inert.

I came into this late and have zero interest in Gwyneth Paltrow but the carbs thing is interesting to me as my dd was recently diagnosed as having Type 1 diabetes and carb counting is crucial to managing that.
I'm no scientist but have done a lot of reading recently about both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Latter is of course soaring and carbs play a major role.

This lecture by Robert Lustig, a very respected endocrinolgist is gripping.

as is his book here

What I fialed to understand is that something like white rice or white bread is really not very different to sugar. Fructose as well seems to do particulalrly bad things to us.
As a result the whole family eats far fewer carbs. I like good food and I like cooking. I'm no joyless husk but it really does seem that we are all overdoing them seriously.

On another tangent entirely I just wanted you to know that I read The Checklist Manifesto on your recommendation (I asked for it for Christmas from someone, actually, because as usual I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted so I randomly checked out Mumsnet for ideas) and I loved it as a piece of writing and have passed it on to many others since then.

Xenia has thoroughly cheered me up with her idea of what might constitute a nice cheap meal. Has anyone read 'The Sea, The Sea' by Iris Murdoch? There's a man in that who'd get on well with Xenia, in terms of food.