Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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My daughter is a chocolate milk junkie...I have been cutting back on the amount of chocolate milk she gets in my home, but she lives with her father part time, so cutting it out completely is impossible...He feeds her junk and McDonalds and Hershey's syrup chocolate milk...I have been giving her Chocolate Ovaltine in whole milk about half the time, and chocolate soymilk the other half (she is only allowed chocolate milk when she wakes up from rest and bed)...Would you recommend I switch her to chocolate almond milk?

I wish I could cut it out, but she's got enough going on (her dad and I have been divorcing for half her life now...She's 4 and we're almost to the 2 year point in our divorce)...

My aim is not to make her 100% paleo or primal...I just want her to have the healthiest food I can give her while she is with me...

Thanks :-)

flag	asked Aug 28 at 15:46 Karma 200●1●1●6

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Keep in mind Ovaltine is malt=wheat! – Celton Aug 28 at 22:44

tonysolo · Answer 1 · 2012-08-28 16:24:27Z UTC

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A girl (4) and her chocolate milk…Which is the lesser evil?

The girl.

answered Aug 28 at 16:24

tonysolo
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LOL You're funny...I like it ;-) – Karma Aug 28 at 18:20

Martine · Answer 2 · 2012-08-28 16:32:24Z UTC

My son is the same age, and I have the exact same situation. I share custody with his father, who feeds him crap. I have found that he LOVES the chocolate almond milk and last night, he actually got upset at what I was eating (eggs,onion,spinach,mushrooms,bacon, and avocado) vs. what he had. He wanted my dinner! I inadvertently made him paleo. lol. I've been cooking a lot and only healthy foods. The more I cook and the more variety I have, the more he wants to try. He already snacks on almonds with me and loves them. I think it was better to not force paleo, but to slowly switch/transition some of his foods. That way he feels like it's his choice. I'm not trying to get him on Paleo but the healthier he'll eat on his own, the better :)

Susan · Answer 3 · 2012-08-28 16:34:12Z UTC

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I know many may judge giving her chocolate milk at all but i sympathize with your situation.

Here is what i would do: First: no more soy! Second: slowly dilute the amount of chocolate with more milk. I'm not anti dairy and my daughter drinks organic whole milk mixed with breastmilk (she's one though) Third: learn about all of the tasty paleo treats and try them out. Even better, make them with her around the time when she would get chocolate milk. It's a good distraction, she will be more inclined to try them, she will enjoy helping mommy, and she'll be exposed to healthier food. Win-win-win-win! :)

answered Aug 28 at 16:34

Susan
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Why give your daughter cow's milk if she already has access to breastmilk? – BoneBrothFast Aug 28 at 17:07

I guess the biggest problem I have is that I have her all day during the week, but then she goes home to her fathers Monday and Tuesday nights...When she's not here her diet is terrible... I'm not so worried about people judging me...She's my child, after all ;-) – Karma Aug 28 at 18:23

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@bonebroth: full time working military mom. I can only pump so much and she still nurses through the night because of it. :( @Kate: I completely understand. I'm about to enter a similar situation. – Susan Aug 28 at 18:48

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I'm sorry to hear that...Thank you for all the sacrifices I know that your family makes <3 As a side note, I had insufficient milk supply when my daughter was an infant...I did everything that I could to keep her fed...I got the job done until I had to go back to work, but then I had to supplement...It's tough being a nursing mom...Often people don't know what it's like and can't imagine the internal turmoil that it can cause (for me it was terrible) <3 – Karma Aug 29 at 0:00

Crowbar · Answer 4 · 2012-08-28 17:40:51Z UTC

How about making hot chocolate milk with organic milk and a quality dark couverture? Couverture is a chocolate that has at least 32% cocoa butter in it. You can buy it in small disks at bulk stores, heat the milk, pour it over the chocolate, and let the chocolate melt, almost like making a ganache. After about 5-10 minutes, stir it really well. If it needs sweetening, add honey or Xylitol. This way you're controlling the quality of the ingredients, the sugar, and using a whole fat milk. There's no reason you could not do this with whipping cream.

Make sure it's couverture, not coating chocolate, which has had all the cocoa butter removed and replaced with bad oils.

PinkPika · Answer 5 · 2012-08-28 17:54:30Z UTC

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Cut out the soymilk first, that is a giant step in the right direction. If chocolate almond milk is not cost prohibitive, that is great. If it is, then just stick with whole milk.

answered Aug 28 at 17:54

PinkPika
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Chocolate almond is pretty much the same price as the soy...I'll do the switcheroo and hope she likes it ;-) – Karma Aug 28 at 18:30

VB · Answer 6 · 2012-08-28 18:55:31Z UTC

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How about taking raw organic milk and mixing it with some real organic cocoa powder using a shaker or a blender? I would also add organic cream and .... something sweet. It will taste like a milkshake.

answered Aug 28 at 18:55

VB
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	I didn't know that...I'll have to give that a shot :-) – Karma Aug 29 at 0:05
	+10000000000000. – raydawg Aug 29 at 1:17
	I want to warn you about raw honey. It depends on her immune system, wait to introduce it a bit later. I would add over-ripe banana. – VB Aug 29 at 4:47

PlantGirl · Answer 7 · 2012-08-28 17:33:00Z UTC

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I personally don't mind my daughter having dairy. I wouldn't say that chocolate itself and milk itself are bad. The added ingredients and sugars in commercially bought and prepared chocolate milk is what's going to be the worst. If you want to do chocolate milk, maybe use unsweetened or less sweetened chocolate and real milk?

answered Aug 28 at 17:33

PlantGirl
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When I mix chocolate milk myself, I've been using ovaltine (at a fraction of the serving size...it's HUGE)...It seemed to be the least terrible commercially prepared mix. – Karma Aug 28 at 18:36

Allie · Answer 8 · 2012-08-28 20:36:23Z UTC

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Like many have suggested, I'd start mixing her your own chocolate milk. Whole milk + cocoa powder + raw honey to sweeten. Make a couple extra bottles of it for her when she goes to see her dad.

(As an aside, if you decide to send her with some chocolate milk - mention you made some that are a healthier alternative and you were trying to make it a little easier for him. If he's receptive to this idea, then maybe you can start making other paleo snacks she can take with her in the future.)

answered Aug 28 at 20:36

Allie
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That's a nice idea, Allie...Hopefully some day we will have that kind of relationship...We are in year two of a very messy divorce...Anything that I have to say is immediately smacked down and I'm treated like a jerk. – Karma Aug 29 at 0:09

Kate, I went through the same thing. It is because he wants to show you that he rejects you because you rejected him. All you have to do is 1. keep all your interactions to a bare minimum, less is more. Do not initiate any communication. 2. When you talk, be very business like and receptive to his ideas. Basically, just say "OK" and "sure" many times. Treat him as you would a business partner. Good luck! – VB Aug 29 at 4:52

Carissa · Answer 9 · 2012-08-28 21:02:43Z UTC

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What about smoothies? I do a frozen ripe banana in the blender w/ cocoa powder and a mix of coconut and almond milk and my 3 year old and 1 year old both love it.

answered Aug 28 at 21:02

Carissa
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Oh and this is one of those things where when the kid gets involved they are much more likely to eat it. My 3 year old gets very excited about selecting and adding the ingredients to the blender and pushing the button. – Carissa Aug 28 at 21:03

I'll have to try it with cocoa powder...I've tried to get her to drink smoothies repeatedly (even gave her one when I served one to her cousins, thinking monkey see, you know?) and she always turns her nose up at it...I have the pickiest kid :rolleyes: – Karma Aug 29 at 0:02

Chelsea · Answer 10 · 2012-08-28 19:34:46Z UTC

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Just add some cocoa powder and add it to full fat coconut milk, refrigerate and it becomes a pudding or just drink it as a drink.

answered Aug 28 at 19:34

Chelsea
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	Very cool...Might be a good naughty snack for when a mama needs a lil'chocolate too, you know? – Karma Aug 29 at 0:05
	Why not? The coconut milk is so sweet there's no sugar needed. – Chelsea Aug 29 at 12:11

raydawg · Answer 11 · 2012-08-29 01:20:42Z UTC

You could also take an ounce of dark chocolate and melt it with a metal whisk in a sauce pan and pour milk over it, and keep stirring it as it heats up until the chocolate dissolves. You can absolutely use 100% baking chocolate for this.

Then, once it's done, sweeten with something you approve of: honey, maple syrup, stevia for example. (Avoid agave, it's pure fructose, avoid artificial sweeteners, they're toxic.)

Add a tablespoon of real vanilla extract and you'll have a chocolate milk that's much tastier than anything that comes from a supermarket.

If she likes it cold, make it ahead of time and put it in the fridge. If not, you could also include coconut oil in it for an extra kick.

And best of all you can use whole milk, or cream, instead of that low-fat abomination.

A girl (4) and her chocolate milk…Which is the lesser evil?

11 Answers