Friday, April 26, 2013

Ok, So We Had a Setback...

So my hubs is not completely on board with my new "healthy" lifestyle. He claims that because I lived in San Francisco for so long, it was a just a matter of time before my inner hippie came out.

Last night we went out to eat to celebrate a job well done. My twins were, of all things, GARDEN gnomes in a school play. I had chicken with a side of roasted veggies. I even ate mushrooms (something I normally abhor). The kids ate what I presumed was boxed mac and cheese and Dr. Pepper. And I did nothing to stop them. They all made good choices with their side items. My daughter got broccoli and my sons got orange wedges. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon.
One ingredient

I'm trying to change a whole lifetime of eating habits in one day. I'm making this decision for myself and it's not too bad, but this isn't something they're choosing. I guess if I train them to recognize what they eat and what they put in their body, that is a huge step in the right direction.

This morning we read the ingredients of the bread we sometimes use for sandwiches (too many to name). Then we read the ingredients from my homemade bread (water, yeast, butter, salt, flour. no butter if it's my French bread)  We read the ingredients of soda, raisins, organic maple syrup, and pancake syrup (which the hubs has instructed me to replenish today).

Can I? Can I in good conscience buy him something that is so full of artificial ingredients it's alarming? It's a dilemma. He's a grown man and has to make this choice for himself. But we also need to be good examples for our kids. I honestly don't know what to do.

So many ingredients. But as stone ground whole wheat is
the first ingredient, it's a better choice than
 some other breads
(But it doesn't compare to my homemade bread, hee hee)
Ahhh, the internet to the rescue. Who knew there were so many homemade pancake syrups out there? I'm going to try one and see what happens!! The hubs may not know what hit him. He may love it!! Then again, he may banish me from the kitchen then run to Target for nearest bottle of sticky fakeness. Note: I get my organic pure maple syrup from Target so it is our go to store for EVERYTHING.

Setbacks are going to happen on our journey to wellness. Acceptance is the key. I'm not going to beat myself over the little things (or little cups of soda) but I'm going to praise my family for the good choices they ARE making.

I am so new to this concept of food. What do you feed your kids to keep them whole and healthy?

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bye, bye junk food (for the most part)

Let me start by asking you a question: What is food? I mean in it's most basic, true form, what is FOOD?

I guess food is what we use to nourish our bodies, this glorious machine God gave us to help us with His work here on earth. But what are we actually putting IN our bodies?


Less chemistry and more veggies!!
We don't have cable or an antenna, so I watch a lot of Netflix; which means I watch documentaries that I normally wouldn't. There are a whole lot of them about food and America's obsession with food. Some of what I've taken out of these programs is that Americans are some of the most overfed, but undernourished people in the world. We have an overabundance of stuff we call food, but is it doing what God intended food to do? Is what we buy at the grocery store producing healthy bodies or sick ones? Let our doctor's bills answer that.

Now I am not a new age vegetarian, meat hating, all organic kind of gal (no disrespect to my sister who is) and frankly up until yesterday I didn't see a problem with stuffing my face with Dorritos while watching these documentaries on health and food until I thought about my kids.

Ugh, I feel awful just thinking about it. I am old enough to choose what poisons I put in my body. If I want to pump my body full aspartame and high fructose corn syrup, I am a grown woman and can make that choice. My babies eat what I give them and it's been, truthfully, a lot of junk. I sometimes read labels, and most of the time I can't pronounce half the stuff that's in my "food." We need less chemistry and more veggies!!


My boys made this smoothie. It's got apple,
carrot, pear, and spinach. And it's
 REALLY Good!
I may love chips and doughnuts and nuggets and some seemingly "healthy" stuff, but I love my kids too much to give them nothing but the best. And the best is NOT partially hydrogenated oils and lots of sugars. What have I been feeding my kids their whole lives? It's scary to think about. Are they getting the adequate nutrition? Probably not. Shame on me!!
I have to make changes and believe me it's not going to be easy. (My husband got pretty annoyed when he found out I threw the chips away). My kids (and me) are used to eating a certain way and, to be honest, there wasn't a lot of variety.

Come on, if we fuel our cars with the wrong stuff, it doesn't work right. So why do we expect our bodies to work right when they're fueled with chemicals that most of us can't pronounce? I don't believe we honor God when we destroy his creation with what we're putting in it. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Are we treating our bodies accordingly? Are we treating our bodies (and our children's bodies) as though they were "wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) by God, or are we giving in to fleshly desires and filling these temples with trash?

"As for me and my house we will serve the Lord..." (Josh. 24:15)  and my family will serve Him by treating our bodies, God's glorious creation, with respect. I WILL start feeding my kids the way they deserve to be fed. With nutritious, NATURAL foods. Will they get cookies? Yes, I tend to make my own, so I know what goes in them. I'm not trying to deprive my kids. Rather, I'm allowing them to thrive!!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink the carrot, apple, pear, spinach smoothie my 7-year-old twins just made for me. ;)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Life in the Trenches

This morning one of my six-year-olds lit a fire under me! No, seriously. The little bugger was playing with matches. And I thought he'd learned his lesson when he was four. Back then, I made the mistake of dozing off while the twins were watching TV. I came in to find them standing on the back of the couch, one of them stark naked, and charred matches scattered everywhere.  Thankfully nothing happened, then or now.  The last few days have been sharp reminders that I am outnumbered 4 to 1 by these little people. We are in the war of life and I am supposed to be their brave captain leading my troops into battle.

But you want to know the truth? I'm scared! I have my orders. I know what I should do. I pass the orders on to my platoon and they just look at me (and then light matches when I'm not in there). These are what I call "bad mommy days."  I'm not a bad mommy (at least I hope not). They're not bad kids, but I FEEL bad. My feelings and emotions bubble up over reason and I let fear and doubt take over. It's like a soldier sitting in the trenches with bombs bursting over head. If fear takes over, training takes second fiddle and that's a dangerous place to be. I know that I can't let emotions lead, but let's be honest. I'm a woman and emotions are a big part of who I am. But just like anything in my life I need to take control and not let the emotions control me. But, man, that's hard.

The battle against right and wrong is fought every day in this house and a lot of days I feel like I'm losing. I really try to teach respect and love and the Golden Rule. But the hitting and screaming and the pouring Nesquik on each other takes a toll on a mom. So what's a good soldier (mommy) to do? I guess all I CAN do is cherish the beauty of the peacetimes. Relish the laughter when they're being silly with each other. Take in the angelic faces as they lay sleeping. The quiet times are the times I remember why I joined this fight in the first place. I want to make an impact on this dark world by sending out four shining lights to make impacts of their own.

Wars are not won in a day and good productive kids take a lifetime to cultivate. There will be more stressful days (hopefully no more matches will be lit). There will be a ton of good days ahead. Life in the trenches is not easy and it's not pretty, but it's the life I've chosen. And it's a good one.