Stop buying juice. it isn't good for anyone to be drinking it in any quantity at all. Mediocre to poor nutrition and calorie wise is a really bad idea.

Instead get them the real deal in fruit. We buy 2 bags of oranges a week for DH and I and bags of different kinds of apples. One pineapple. This is every week for 2 of us. It takes time to eat the apple or other fruit and you get the bulk from the meat of the fruit as well . All around a much better way to get fruit in the diet.

As to DD not getting her share it sounds like separate food stuffs for her is the only way. There is no way a little girl can or should keep up with "da boys" on eating. Would be nice if the boys would be more generous but they are GROWING and when they see food in it goes...a hollow leg LOL.

Hope this helps.

quote from Livestrong :

Keep in mind that whole fruit is better than 100 percent fruit juice concentrate because it supplies higher levels of most nutrients and also contains several grams of fiber. Whole fruit is often lower in calories as well. Stick to just one serving of juice per day to help keep your calorie count healthy, as well as leave room in your diet for whole fruits.

Trailrunner beat me to it. Most juice has too much sugar. I also agree about getting DD her own foods.

tina

I knew people were going to say that! It's pretty much what I wanted to do, but I was feeling like a mean mom for doing it. (And I generally do NOT have a problem with being the mean mom! Just ask my teens!)

Just for the record, we do eat lots of fruit. Well, 4 of us do. Oldest DS hardly eats anything nutritious, but that's a story for another day.

Ahem, also for the record. I hardly ever buy Oreos. :) Before someone gets on me for that.

I don't drink juice because I'm diabetic, but we always solved the problem of disproportionate consumption by making a rule that no one was allowed to take the last of anyone else's favorite item. So, if your DD loves Oreos more than your DS's, they wouldn't be permitted to eat the last one. That helped relieve some, but not all of, the unfairness. (And, if your boys are like mine was, a lot of that consumption comes from visiting bottomless friends:))
De

Juicers are getting popular because consumers are getting sick of (and from) all the unhealthy sugars in our drinks and food. You could stop buying the store stuff all together, get a juicer and make it to better control your family's needs the way you see is best. My daughter is a huge juice lover too, so we bought her one and she loves it. In addition to juice, she makes all kinds of smoothies and healthy drinks with it too. Plus she gets a better variety of fruits that way too.

Instead of not buying the goodies at all(because then it affects disciplined as well), I'd just start putting strict limits on how many cookies or glasses of juice people can have per day. Maybe offer other healthier alternatives to help compensate with that urge to snack. Sugar is addictive and can cause some real health issues if one isn't careful.

I don't think anyone was "getting on you", just making suggestions. Believe me, I am a sweet lover. But I'd rather treat myself to an oreo than a glass of juice LOL. I think people will bring up the sugar issue because it is a big problem in our society and many of us are trying (and notice I said trying!), to eat (drink) healthier. I know here in my area the schools are even changing out snacks, drink machines, school lunches, etc. in favor of healthier items.

I was going to mention making your own juice, but with 5 in the household, I know if it were me in your shoes, I probably wouldn't. ha!

tina

I hear ya loud and clear. I have an 18 year old boy that inhales food, a 13 year old boy that LOVES sweets, and a 9 year old girl that is so incredibly picky, I don't see how she gains weight. We have the same problems at our house, not so much with juice, but with other coveted snack food items, chips, cookies and pop. My solution has been to limit how much they can have per day, buy very little and when it's gone, it's gone, and to hide it. Then I can pass it out as I see fit. Also, with juice, I add water to it to stretch it. I can add 1/3 of water to the container and they do not even taste the difference.
There are always food issues at our house. Someone doesn't like the meal I cooked, someone didin't get his/her favorite snack, someone ate all the snacks or favorite food item, ect. We just try to teach them to respect each other and share, and respect me for taking the time to make usually heathy meals. Also, If they complain repeatedly about a meal I make, they have to help make dinner the next night. My daughter wouldn't mind - in fact she is more likely to try foods that she made herself. But it would be punishment for the boys. However, if I have tried a new recipe and it really isn't good, none of us eat it. I have been known to throw a casserole away and order a pizza!

I'm with Trailrunner, great down-to-earth advice! We were starting to have this same problem when DS was a teen and DD was a little one. DH's soulution was the very same as Trailrunner's . . . and it worked wonderfully.
Lynn

My middle son would do the same thing. I stopped buying it, except for unsweetened cranberry for myself. He won't drink that kind!

Definitely great advice from Trailrunner. We stopped buying juice a long time ago, and make our own veg/fruit smoothies from fresh, whole (organic, when we can easily get it) produce. They're delicious and nutritious.

Nutrition advice aside, have you thought about buying juice boxes? The boys are probably drinking so much because they are chugging it from the carton when no one is looking.

I know some people think individual items are wasteful but they are great for portion control and if you don't use an item regularly the individual packages stay fresh longer. You can set your own "rules" - x boxes per day, Sharpie initials on their boxes, whatever.

Yes, it's silly but sometimes you just need to keep the peace (and your sanity). I have two teenagers and we still have elaborate rules for table setting and dish cleaning. It's ridiculous but the plus side is we don't have to mediate disputes.

Growing up we were limited certain things and when it was gone, it was gone.

I agree with just making the kids drink water. For saving money on juice, I don't think that making your own juice is the answer. It is my experience that is more expensive to make juice than to buy it. When my kids were still at home we they didn't drink a ton of juice (I really pushed water), but the juice that I did buy was the frozen concentrate, which I could stretch further by adding water. I've also always felt that eating the whole fruit is better for you. It is more filling and you get more fiber. Now that the kids are out of the house, and our budget is bigger I splurge and buy the not-from-concentrate orange juice for myself.

Apart from the sugar problem, another down side to drinking lots of juice -- pesticides. When you drink juice you are getting the concentrated form of fruit which means anything on or in the fruit goes on or into you. There is a not-for-profit consumer organication called Environmental Working Group, they have analyzed the pesticide content of most conventionally grown fruits and vegetables and the NUMBER ONE fruit loaded with pesticides is APPLES. The EWG says you should always eat the organic form. Unless you are buying organic apple juice, your children are gulping tons of pesticides with their juice. You can visit the www.ewg.org web site for lists of other highly contaminated fruits and vegetables. What do do? Well, my husband and son do like juice. I will have it occasionally but very watered down to dilute the sweetness. Organic juice can be expensive but I have found that BJs sells very large jugs of organic Apple Juice for $4. They are probably 120 oz. This is a great deal. If you look at the EWG lists you will see that some fruits, like pineapples and kiwis, do not require much pesticide during growing, so it is okay to eat the conventional (ie: non-organic) versions. But apples? I don't know if it's something about the plant itself or the marketplace's requirement for perfect unblemished fruit, but they are dousing them with all kinds of nasty stuff that no one should be drinking.

I just realized the neighbor's kid, who plays here several days a week, must not be allowed juice at home ... he always drinks ours!!! He does ask politely if he can have some. lol

My kids (and the kids next door) love Bolthouse Farms Juice in the Mango Lemonade flavor. Mine usually have one glass a day, so not too bad.

We pretty much stopped buying juice when my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. We also have instituted portion control. My daughter has to measure her food for correct insulin dosing and now we use it for all 4 of the kids. For cereal, they measure out the amount (3/4-1 cup depending on the cereal); ice cream is limited to 1/2 cup, yogurt, aagain 1/2 cup. They are also only allowed 1 cup of milk a day. If they are still thirsty, they can have water. If they are hungry, they can have unlimited amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts or seeds. During the winter, I generally have a veggie soup in the fridge that they can help themselves too and if they are eating soup, they can have 1 piece of bread with it. If we did have juice, they would be limited to one measured serving a day.

This may seem strict but for one thing, money is tight and food is expensive. If not watched, they could easily pour themselves a triple serving of cereal and milk. We are also trying to teach them that these measured foods are the things we need to limit and fruits and vegetables (or all plants) have the micronutrients that are bodies really need to stay healthy. We do buy Oreos too (actually, normally Jojos from Trader Joe's, taste better) but even at measured servings, they do not last long.

I have announced to DH and DD that I am no longer buying juice. (Both DS are not home yet.) We actually have one more bottle of juice in the basement fridge that I will bring up tonight. Bet it will be gone by the weekend! Or maybe they'll ration it... LOL.

I may also do something we started doing after we went to Nevis last winter. Every day by the pool, they had water flavored with a different fruit (fresh fruit). One day we'd have orange water, the next day lemon water, etc. When I got home I started making pitchers of flavored water and everyone loved it.

Your teenage boys need many more calories than your ten year old girl. Just wait. They'll stop growing and she will start.

I remember when I was fifteen. My mother would buy two dozen rolls a day. The rest of my family would eat one roll apiece. I had twenty. A day. I still have the stretch marks on my legs from the six inches I grew that summer.

sueb that reminded me the core of the pineapple really makes lovely fruit water.

As to comments above about snacks...I don't know if I am in the minority but I never had snacks as a kid in our home and I never had them for my kids...2 boys and a girl. Never bought cookies or chips or any other thing that you would think of as snacks. We had home made bread and they made a quick sandwich or had a piece of cheese and a cracker...we did have saltines. They had fruit...grapes were a fave for years..but never any "snacks" per se..I tried to never have empty calories. It was mentioned that the boys and girls need really good quality foods especially if they play sports...rhome has had some very good comments on her blog "friday is pizza, monday is soup" about that very issue. That was my goal, anything that they ate , between meals or not, was to be something that was good for them. I made quick breads more than cookies so they got lots of fruit that way and I used applesauce instead of oil /shortening.

We also had tons of smoothies...they called it Special , as I told them I was making something special :) I always used frozen banana in it and yogurt...the rest was whatever I had on hand.

Hope this helps you ...you are a great Mom !! c

Even though I know it's healthy, I have a hard time drinking water without anything in it. It's weird, but it just doesn't seem to go down. My dad had the same thing. I keep a bottle of water in the fridge with lemon and orange slices in it. Somehow this goes down like juice. Maybe your kids would go for this? All they'd have to do is refill with water when they finished it and you'd just have to refresh the slices every day or two.

Love the idea about the fruit flavored water. I think I'll get out my pretty glass pitcher and try it tomorrow. My kids always go for the juice and pop. I'll push this. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry sueb20, I read your post quickly and didn't look at all the replies - you've already discovered the fruit flavoured water!

I also have a citrus juicer and usually make a weak lemonade everyday in the summer. One juiced lemon, just over half a cup of sugar in a really big jug (sorry don't know how big our jug is). My kids are still fairly young, so we only have to make one big jug a day and my 12 year old will make it herself when it runs out.

This is what I do- I'll save Gatorade & Dasani water bottles & fill it with drinks for the kids. Hub has his own stuff; no one touches it. He has his own cookies & chips. I've found it's easier to keep all of hub's stuff in one cabinet; it's over our coffee maker; & is where we keep the coffee & sugar- the rest of the cabinet is his; his bread for sandwiches; cereal; oatmeal & anything else I buy him. He also has a drawer in the fridge for his lunch meat & puddings or yogurt.

I will do a junk food run at Walmart because they're cheapest for cereal; chips; Oreo's & Chips Ahoy. I have 3 wicker baskets in my master closet & all excess snacks go there. No one is allowed in my closet & for the longest time; they never knew I did this.

My daughters favorite bottle is the Gatorade one with the sip cap. Once she drinks the Gatorade; I'll refill it & she knows that's her's.

Am I the only one who would just buy more juice?

I think that teenage boys require a whole lot more food than a 10 year old girl does.

I've always had lots of food in the house. Fruit and veggies cut and ready to snack on, various chips and snacks and I usually bake cookies or brownies once a week. There is also a big bin of candy in the kitchen. My kids (girl 19, boy 15) have always just sort of balanced their own diets with the choices we have day to day. I always ended up tossing their Halloween candy at Christmas, their Christmas candy at Easter...etc.

That said, I think If their habits were different I suppose I would limit some things. My son right now is just about to turn 15, he is 6'2" tall and weighs in at about 150 pounds. I'm trying to find ways to get him to eat MORE! Nothing like making French toast every morning at 5:45. He probably drinks a half gallon of OJ a week, a big Powerade every day, lots of water and about a half gallon of milk a week. (he plays football). For lunch he has a big turkey sub, chips or pretzels, a cookie or brownie, red peppers cut up, a granola bar and DH usually tosses in a snack sized candy bar. This has to last him from lunch until after practice, when he usually has something small, then we have dinner around 7.

It's been funny over the years when other kids visit they don't quite know what to do. But the carrots and red peppers go just as fast as Chex Mix and chips when they're playing football or swimming. The cookies are another story. In the summer when all of his friends are around I make about 2 dozen a week.

Beth P.

I think that teenage boys require a whole lot more food than a 10 year old girl does.

But I don't think that they need more juice. Serving kids water instead of juice keeps them from developing the bad habit that many adults have of only drinking flavored beverages, which are usually full of empty calories. Teach kids to drink water when they are thirsty from an early age, and more importantly, model that behavior yourself.

I am not that fond of oranges, and I must have oj juice in the morning, but I can eat grapefruit all day. Just love them.

I just made the fruit water. It sure is pretty, but I don't taste much of a difference. Maybe it just has to sit awhile, right???

I love SoBee Life Water. It helped me lick my diet coke addiction. Comes in various fruit flavor: pear, pomegranate, etc. I have no idea, though I have read the ingredients label, how it tastes so great. Unless someone here knows better ( and please tell if you do!),I'd recommend that. I get cases of it at Costco.

I would buy a juicer and have lots of fruit and veggies available then tell the kids, "Have at it!"

That way they can have juice anytime they want it but it's going to require a little work. Then Mom can juice up a bunch of oranges or whatever on Sunday morning as a special treat or for Dad whenever he asks sweetly. ;)

I love SoBee Life Water. It helped me lick my diet coke addiction.

Again, if we teach our kids to drink water, rather than flavored beverages when they are young they shouldn't have this problem when they get older.

This is not just a juice problem. Take away the juice and the boys will eat or drink something else to excess.

I grew up with 5 brothers--I know how much a teenaged boy can eat and drink in a day.

My mom simply labeled some foods for meals and some for snacks. So we had OJ for breakfast. Then it was simply not on the table for drinking until the next day's breakfast. She'd bake cookies and we'd open the cookie tin to see a big note: "These are for dessert for dinner. DO NOT EAT!!!!"

There were certain things that were always available for snacks--fruit, crackers, pretzels, generic Kool-aid type drinks, PB&J sandwiches, leftovers, popcorn (popped on the stove), carrot and celery sticks, Jello, and other stuff I can't remember. There was always plenty of food if you were hungry--maybe not your favorite food, but there was always something to eat.

There really weren't any problems with this system--we all knew that the wrath of the siblings would descend on us if we ate all the cookies that were meant for dessert, or if the OJ disappeared and no one could have juice at breakfast that week. Sibling peer pressure can be a powerful thing--my parents never had to worry about food that was meant for a meal disappearing down the maw of a hungry teenaged boy.