I know, I know, it's been a while. Life has gotten in the way of blogging, what can I say? I have so many things I want to blog about too, I just can't find the time to sit down and write a well thought out post.
We recently returned from a family vacation in Arizona. It was a wonderful time spent with my beautiful family and we made some great memories. We also spent a lot of time eating terribly. I know most people do that on vacation, but it really got me thinking about my families eating habits. I don't know what crawled up my butt this week, but I have been really focused and very aware of every little thing that goes in our mouths. For some time I have been eating healthy on my own, but my family can not say the same.
Yesterday, I made a grocery list, cleaned out or fridge and cupboards and went on a mission to a healthier "us". I really made a solid effort at the store to buy more natural items for us to eat. The kids eat a lot of processed snacks on a daily basis and while it is the easy alternative, I am no longer ok with it. So I ditched the snack aisle almost completely (save for a few healthier options) and went fresh. My new rule is this: only 2 snacks a day, the morning snack can be from the cupboard (I only have it stocked with less processed and baked snacks now) and the afternoon snack must be something fresh (cheese, yogurt, fruit, veggies). I tried to make wiser decisions in the bread department looking for breads with low sodium and no added high fructose corn syrup. I bought a "healthier" juice, but am really looking into making my own juice since your average apple juice out there has so much sugar and literally no nutritional value. On that note, they only get 1 water bottle of juice a day (and that is only 1/2 juice too). The rest is either milk or water.
Man, I sound like a mean mom. It's not that I want bully my kids into eating healthier, I want them to start thinking about how the food they eat effects their bodies. I want them to grow up knowing the right way to eat. I read a statistic yesterday that was incredibly disturbing. 1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will develop type II diabetes by the time they are 50. Based on that statistic alone, at least one of my kids will develop the disease. I don't know about you, but that is enough to scare me into ditching all refined sugars and processed snacks. As the mother, I am responsible for changing that statistic. My kids are not old enough nor do they know enough to take action, so it is my job to do it for them and raise them to be healthy people.
Here are a few sites I have stumbled upon that have been incredibly inspiring and helpful:
Weelicious : Tons and tons of awesome recipes. This lady is superwoman!
This Lunch Rox: Can I just say amazing?!?! Wow, talk about talent and dedication.
Maria's Food and Nutrition Journal: Great recipes that are easy and very family friendly.
I can't wait to get menu planning. Last night I got the kids involved in making fresh guacamole. The kids had a blast smashing the avocados, adding the fresh ingredients and 2/3 of the clan taste tested it too. I'm hoping the other 1/3 will come around soon! We enjoyed our guac with our awesome chicken and veggie fajitas (on low carb tortillas of course) with baked tortilla chips. Eating healthy and natural really can be tasty, it just involves a little more planning but in the end it's totally worth it.
Would you consider your family healthy? If so, do you have any ideas or tips for me and the other readers? I would love to hear from you!
I try to be fairly healthy. I do allow some bad things. I know most fruit snacks are not healthy and they are considered candy in our house. I try to do whole wheat and no high fructose corn syrup. I was much better Maggie's first 2 years. But I still try to be conscious about what we eat. Thankfully she will consider string cheese, veggies, and yogurt as snacks, even though she does like chips and donuts. I have a recipe for peanut butter oatmeal cookies, that doesn't use sugar or butter if you are interested. I admit they are different, but I actually prefer them now.
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