Resolution Number Two

So, I resolve to be healthier.  I am no longer going to go on any diets.  I am going to provide nutritious delicious food to my family and to myself, and not eat fast food garbage that makes us all feel icky.  I am cooking with almost exclusively whole grains.  We are focusing on a diet of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and good for us proteins.  Does this mean we will never have rib eye again, of course not.  Am I still eating cheese, absolutely.  We are just making smarter choices.

We are having one dinner a week of beans or legumes instead of meat.  We will have seafood once a week for dinner.  We are not having real desserts but once a week or so.  The remainder of the week will be fruit for dessert, or some other healthy option as a treat.  I want to be a healthy role model for the kids. 

This week I am focusing on making changes to how we eat.  This is also part of the organization resolution.  I am planning all meals ahead and making it easy to make healthful choices in the kitchen.  Yesterday we made a large batch of homemade pumpkin oatmeal, with dried fruit and no sugar.  The kids and I loved it.  Rich didn't like the extra creamy texture, go figure.  Now we have a healthy delicious breakfast we can just warm up in the microwave.  Whole grain, no sugar, high protein from the milk, and full of actual fruit and veggies.  And I get to sprinkle it with roasted pumpkin seeds! 

Once a week we are having barley, once a week quinoa, once a week brown rice.  If anyone has any other suggestions as to other whole grains we can try I would love to hear it!  We are having some type of leafy green every day.  I am drinking only two cups of caffeinated coffee a day, and adding green tea daily, which I have always loved, but seem to always reach for the java.  We are trying to remove as many preservatives and fake ingredients from our everyday meals as we can.  We are paying closer attention to ingredient labels, and we are finding that we are also saving money on our grocery bills by doing this. 

Because I am making a life choice, rather than focusing on losing weight or dieting, I find that it is much easier to do.  I am not "cheating" if I have something sweet or high fat, I am simply making a poor food choice which will be counterbalanced by the healthy choices I will make the rest of the day.  It is a shift of mind, that really is setting us all up for success.  Our goal is to be a healthy and happy family, and this means focusing on nutrition, not on calorie counting or dieting. 

Next week we will add in a focus on activity and movement.  Rich and I are making sure that we are more active with them.  We played indoor soccer last night, and we all danced together the evening before.  We will just keep making little changes to our lives to keep us healthy, and to prevent our children from ever developing the weight issues we have.  I am so totally ready for these changes, and I am prepared to make it a lasting change. 

This is an important part of our homeschooling adventure, because of course children learn more by example than by words.  They are learning early how to love different foods, on trying new cuisines, and they are learning where all their food comes from.  They understand that farm animals can become food on the plate, and of course they are familiar with fresh produce growing on plants and trees.  They now have their own cabinet of cooking items, that they can reach and use whenever we are in the kitchen.  They are learning numbers and recipes, and how food is created and preserved.  Their interest and enthusiasm in cooking and food makes me very happy.  We borrowed a book from the library once called Foodie Babies, and it reminds me of the kids so much.  I have foodie babies.  They get really excited to go to farmers' markets, and we were lucky enough to find out that there are several winter farmer's markets in our area.  Having fresh local food available makes following our health resolutions easier. 

As a family we are working together to be happy and healthy.  This is such an integral part of how we live, and we are already feeling much better because of the changes we are making.  I am excited to continue trying new foods, and to teach my kiddos by example how to enjoy nutritious food.  Now if Rich and I could get more sleep, we would be, as Benjamin Franklin said, more "healthy, wealthy and wise."