Content creator Gretchen Adler often reminds her more than 300,000 Instagram followers that she “prioritizes health over convenience.” But some people think the California mom took it too far when she shared a recipe for homemade Goldfish crackers.
“My kids have never had the opportunity to eat popular kid-marketed foods because my food standards are really high,” Adler began a recent video.
Adler said her children Arabella, 7, Olympia, 5, and Aston, 2, never feel like they are “missing out" because she creates alternatives from scratch. All it takes, according to Adler, is "a little bit of creativity and desire."
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“Their friends at school eat Goldfish at snack time,” Adler explained in the clip. So she decided to make her own version using what she considers to be healthier ingredients.
“They were a big hit,” Adler tells TODAY.com of her homemade crackers, which she says taste like a “savory shortbread.”
Not everyone is convinced.
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“One day your kids are going to move out and eat whatever their friends are eating,” one person wrote in the comments.
Added another, “I literally thought this was satire. Big yikes.”
Other reactions included:
- “Your kids are so lucky to have you!!!”
- “I’m so glad i didn’t have a weird almond mom.”
- “My mom was like this. Started an underground junk food trade at the age of 10. Definitely consumed wayyyyyy more junk food than my peers bc I felt I had to consume as much as possible whenever I could.”
- “I literally thought this was satire. Big yikes.”
- “Y’all are mad bc she eats healthy?? What is wrong with y’all!”
Adler says she lets the negative comments roll off her back, and focuses on those who are interested in leading a natural lifestyle like hers.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” she tells TODAY.com. “I’ve been feeding my kids nourishing and nutrient-dense foods their entire lives. They understand why we eat the way they do, and they don’t feel deprived, because I make doughnuts and chicken nuggets and bagels.”
“We also have a lot of fun together in the kitchen — it’s an interactive experience,” she continues. “My 7-year-old daughter loves editing cookbook recipes to make them healthier. Last week we made an Oreo dupe and she was like, 'Instead of using two cups of white sugar and one cup of brown sugar, we're gonna do half a cup of coconut sugar, which is an unrefined sweetener.'"
Adler says that creating alternatives to certain food isn't as time-consuming as it may appear.
“It’s sort of like brushing your teeth, right? The first time you do it, it’s daunting, but then it becomes second nature,” she says. “It’s the same thing with making your own food. In the beginning it feels intense, and then it’s like, ‘Wow, this is so easy. I can’t believe other people aren’t doing this.’”
Arielle “Dani” Lebovitz, a pediatric registered dietician in Nashville, Tennessee, applauds Adler for finding a way to help her kids feel included at snack time.
“I think it’s wonderful she created a way to give them Goldfish in a way that feels safe for her and her food values,” Lebovitz tells TODAY.com.
She notes, however, there's a dark side as well.
"She is essentially shaming other moms here, making them feel like we have low standards and don’t care about our kids health," Lebovitz says. "Making homemade goldfish is not just about creativity and desire, it’s also the actual time and accessibility."
Lebovitz, author of “Becoming a Food Explorer,” notes that 1 in 5 children worldwide struggle with disordered eating, according to studies.
“Early feeding practices shape a child’s future relationship with food more than than we might realize, affecting everything from their eating habits to their weight management and likelihood of eating disorders,” Lebovitz says. “There is a growing body of research around restrictive feeding practices and a higher association with disordered eating behaviors, including binge eating and emotional eating."
Lebovitz gives her own kids store-bought Goldfish, which provide 3 grams of protein per serving. A 3-year-old needs roughly 13 grams of protein per day, Lebovitz says.
“If you’re looking for a little more staying power, pair your Goldfish with an additional protein, fiber or fat to help keep your kiddos satisfied,” she suggests. “This could look like making a trail mix with Goldfish, or even a grabbing an apple to eat alongside of your crackers.”
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:
