"When you have a child, you have the unique opportunity to mold a developing person."

I'll admit I have a bad habit of reading health books and getting pulled into every word, at this point I should know better than to read them in the first place. When I was looking for healthy family recipes online I came across the Eat to Live website, so I clicked on it and started reading through everything. I went to the children's sections and saw this : "the modern diet that most children are eating today creates a fertile cellular environment for cancer to emerge at a later age. Trying to prevent breast, prostate and other cancers as an adult may not be possible because most risk factors cannot be changed at this late stage. The bottom line is that in order to have a major impact, we must intervene much earlier, even as early as the first seven years of life." As a parent, that information makes me feel sick to my stomach. It isn't something that I was unaware of, it's just hard to read, and makes me question my children's and my own health and our daily choices.

I realize that I've fallen victim to the "American way"; unbalanced meals, snack foods, fast food, and anything that can be made in a microwave. Now, for all of the non parents who want to throw the "well, that's just being lazy" card, which yes, I've heard. That is far from being the case. I, like most moms, am TIRED, sometimes we go weeks without actually being able to sit down at the table and eat a meal together because Guy is always working,  Kinzi has the attention span of about 3 seconds, and it seems like we always have an endless amount of errands to run. Our days usually involve me making Kinzi about 20 different options throughout the day, just trying to get her to eat anything (which usually results in easy mac and chicken nuggets) and me, MAYBE having time to eat a sandwich and a plate full of chips, along with about 2 pots of coffee. Then Guy gets home, sometimes 11pm, and I'm so famished that we run and get McD's. Definitely not a picture of good health.

I never thought this would be something I would be saying. I remember before we had Kinzi I used to say "my kids will never eat this, or never be allowed to drink soda, they'll only eat organic food, etc.." Now, looking back, I cannot believe how clueless I was! I'm not making excuses for myself or for our poor eating habits, I'm just putting it all out there.

The point of this blog is, I think my little family needs a change. None of us have weight or health problems by any means, and I can only speak for myself when I say : I just don't feel well and I'm tired of it!

I refuse to ever be the parent that diets or restricts everything my children put in their mouth, I've seen firsthand what that does to kids, ESPECIALLY girls. I don't want my girls to ever suffer with eating disorders or self esteem issues. It's taken me 23 years, 2 kids, and a great husband to learn to be completely happy with my body, even at 9 months pregnant I thought I looked pretty good, it's just a matter of being comfortable, confident, and completely secure with yourself.  I want to teach my kids, and even Guy and me, how to enjoy REAL food. Eating is supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to be a family event. I love to cook, it's just with McDonald's right around the corner, I sometimes feel unmotivated, going through a drive thru is much faster.

So, my personal challenge is to give up fast food. Forever? No way! It's something I like and think should be enjoyed in moderation, but no longer on a daily or even weekly basis. Just give up my addiction to the convenience of it is what I mean. I've looked up about 1000 recipes that I'm excited to try; vegetarian, vegan, whole grain, and whole food recipes. I own several "Eat Clean" recipe books, and they're full of yummy ideas!

This all may seem silly to some people, but to me, it's really important. I've worked with a lot of kids, and I feel like I've seen it all. Kids who are always sick, kids who in ELEMENTARY school are obese and are constantly the target of cruel jokes, and I actually had a little girl tell me once at Prime Time that she couldn't eat our snack (cookies) because her mommy told her "they'd make her fat." I don't want that for my kids, I want them to have a good relationship with food, and a good relationship with themselves. I want them to feel confident, and go out into the world and do whatever they want, and not be held back by health or self esteem issues.

So, as much as people constantly posting pictures of food drives me crazy, I have a feeling I'm going to turn into that person! I'm going to try to take my family's and my own favorite foods and find healthy alternatives!

For everyone who knows me pretty well, you probably know of my OBSESSION with Krispy Kreme donuts, when I was pregnant I'd go get a dozen and eat all of them in one setting, yeah....I know. So, Recipe #1 is baked banana doughnuts! The recipe is out of a whole grain recipe book, and the only "bad" thing in them is 1tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of oil (for the WHOLE recipe!) So, I'm impressed! If they turn out good, I'll post a picture and the recipe! Fingers crossed, because they almost sound to good to be true ;-)

 

Lunch: A HUGE chicken salad.