You are what you eat
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
United States
July 15, 2017 7:03am CST
A woman I know through Facebook for the last four years doesn't have an easy life. Her husband is a trucker and he is not healthy. She is not healthy. They have three kids who are also not healthy. They also live from hand to mouth. It's always one thing or another.
She posts photos of the kids and when I see them I think, 'what is she feeding them?'....the youngest will be in first grade and the other two are about 9 and 11. They are all overweight. When I say overweight I mean fat. They all have health issues and I would assume that being overweight it contributing to some of those ills.
Everyday the mom posts on Facebook the menu for dinner - seriously every day! Here is her menu from yesterday:
'Supper tonight was hamburger steak little red buttered potatoes and Mac and cheese.'
I realize Mac n Cheese is a staple in the south, but to eat that plus potatoes - I am wondering who decided that Mac n Cheese is a vegetable? Yes, I am being facetious. Seriously, where is the salad? What about veggies?
When she posts these things her whole family replies with things like "oh sounds good"..."we had that yesterday"....I guess poor eating habits are inherited but someone needs to break the chain.
Photo from Pixabay
11 people like this
15 responses
@LadyDuck (458942)
• Switzerland
15 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill I know that we had healthy meals when I went to school, but in our days I doubt the kids get healthy meals.
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
@LadyDuck I have no clue what kids have for lunch. When we got the newspaper they listed the lunch meals for the week but I can't remember nor did I pay much attention. I know when I was in grammar school we had typical school food - beans/franks, pizza, pasta - none of which was gourmet food LOL!
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I always wonder what those kids eat at school. The mom isn't skinny either. The husband is the only one who appears to be a good weight.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53677)
•
15 Jul 17
That is a very true statement - we are what we eat. The favorite words of a radio doctor I listen to every Friday night is "let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food". Of course being human we all have our different tastes and some people simply eat what they can afford.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I think if she planned properly she could provide better food - she is always stopping off at a fast food place for a giant soda or a coffee..she could put that money into better food for her kids.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53677)
•
15 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill Definitely, she is thinking of something quick and easy.
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
@Kandae11 Yes she is and she feeds them a lot of fried stuff.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36494)
• Toccoa, Georgia
16 Jul 17
That is definitely not a balanced meal. I would never have potatoes and mac and cheese in the same meal. Both are starches and should not be put together. I agree, where are the green vegetables. They don't eat right and I can see why they are fat.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
16 Jul 17
Plus she is always showing photos of them eating chips....huge bags of chips.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (49098)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I'm with you on this. I try to always have salad or green vegetables everyday. Sometimes we have 
both.
both.1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I think many of us eat potatoes or pasta but not both at the same meal! Like you we always have a veggie/salad. Even when we go out we always start with salad.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
16 Jul 17
That's really sad, especially when kids grow up in a household that considers such menu as normal.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
16 Jul 17
It sure is and they will grow up feeding their kids the same poor food choices.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34405)
•
15 Jul 17
I agree with what Anna said, way to much starch. Unfortunately, these types of foods are more affordable than the healthier ones, and with their financial situation, It might play a factor in their food decisions.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I am sure it does, but give up the sodas and coffee that she is paying a bundle for and buy some veggies and fruit. Believe me, those kids could stand to live on a lot less calories and not notice!
@dgobucks226 (34405)
•
15 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill You are so right! Those item are expensive and should be substituted.
Those item are expensive and should be substituted.
@pumpkinjam (8539)
• United Kingdom
17 Jul 17
I've had some odd combinations of foods when I've been low on funds or it's just before shopping day but that sort of thing - steak and potatoes is OK (I don't know what hamburger steak is - is that more like a burger or more like a steak?) and throwing on some whatever you happen to have to bulk it out is OK on occasion but it's not good as a regular thing.
Eating healthily is often more expensive than junk food but it's not impossible for most people. Sometimes it's just laziness, sometimes it is a lack of knowledge. I've known a lot of people (including myself) believe they're eating healthily when they're not and then wondering why they are overweight. While for some it is total ignorance - like 'well I had a piece of lettuce with my Big Mac, large fries, full-sugar Coke and two McFlurrys so I really don't understand why I put weight on this week' - but sometimes it is a lack of knowledge such as eating a 'low fat' yoghurt without realising that it's crammed full of sugar.
Anyway, if we are what we eat then I am mostly noodles!
@prashu228 (37526)
• India
15 Jul 17
we don't use cheese here in our recipes, its not common here , but the young generation is leaving all the traditional things and into all the cheesy things, so they are facing problems now, they are realizing how healthy is the traditional food.
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I don't eat cheese at all due to stomach issues. But I also like plane foods.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
15 Jul 17
@JolietJake Lots of starch though. She needs some greens going JJ. I am half Spud so fine with me.
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
@JolietJake they are starch - just like the pasta I should have stated that more clearly. By veggies I mean salad, beans, broccoli, etc.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
@JolietJake of couse, some down here think fat/oil are veggies LOL. Oh, I forgot - peanut oil haha.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
16 Jul 17
Many don't eat correctly and some are quick to criticize those of us who do eat correctly. We hear people say their kids won't eat veggies, but the truth there is that the parents don't eat veggies, so the kids were not taught what real food is all about @AbbyGreenhill
You know they would not want to eat what you are growing in your yard, but that would be the best thing for them!
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
16 Jul 17
Yesterday - again - meat, potatoes and mac n cheese...she must have an endless supply of the stuff. She eats the same way her mom cooked...her mom posts her dinner menus also. She always says she wishes she could get some of my veggies...I don't think she would know what to do with them.
@amadeo (111948)
• United States
15 Jul 17
not sure if this woman has been educated on this.Many things.How about her childhood.She may have pick up the habit from her family?
There are many things wrong here.First how about there doctors.Do they check them out etc.
Yes,eating habit from the parents.Then again they need help to conquer the fat.
I feel sorry for the kids as they will go through their moment of bullying for being fat.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
The little girl was so cute when she about a year or two...now it's a shame. Yes, she learned to cook and eat like that since her family eats the same way. They all post their dinner menu on Facebook. Doctors around here don't seem to say things like 'you need to lose weight'...many in the medical profession are also over-weight.
@1creekgirl (40604)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I agree. Sounds like their unhealthy weight and eating habits are contributing to their health problems.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
With the husband on the road all week it's all left to her and she has a hard time, they don't listen to her to begin with so she feeds them what they like to shut them up.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40246)
• United States
25 May 18
Mmmm I love that kind of mac and cheese. Though I get what you're saying -- a more balanced meal would be the meat, the mac *or* the potato and a salad and/or vegetable.
As a side note only -- some health issues cause weight gain no matter what. But that meal doesn't sound healthy for sure.
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
15 Jul 17
I don't think you can educate this woman at all. She is a diabetic (she says) yet she eats all kinds of stuff she shouldn't. She has all kinds of ailments and I think some are due to her diet.
1 person likes this
@vsai2008 (11796)
• India
15 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill Oh my, now I think most of her ailments are due to her diet
@Neiltarquin (1062)
• Rass, Saudi Arabia
16 Jul 17
Its easy to consume unhealthy foods because they are delicious. Some of there are our all time favorites and comfort foods. Breaking the chain will never be easy. The hardest will always the first few days but as you gain momentum. It will be easier.
