How Rigorous should we go?

This past week has been met with a lot of questions about our diet...oh, and must I not forget...success, too.  That's right.  I am now down 9 pounds, to date without really working hard on the exercise front, and frankly, just staying away from animal products.  I must admit, I've had more than my share of sugar and crap, thanks to parties and stress.

Each time we've gone to a get-together, I've been asked about what we're eating these days.  People have been more than willing to try to accommodate our family's new plant-strong lifestyle.  Its much appreciated.  I must say though, I've been really lax about it when we are outside of the home.   Too funny, but L's teacher thinks this makes me the coolest mom.  Not really.  Its part laziness, part not wanting to be confrontational, part not wanting to be a hassle to our family and friends and lastly, not wanting to burden my children with always having to think about food.

What's that mean?  Let's see if I can make that a little more simple.  When we are out, I want my kids to be able to choose whatever they want to eat.  If L and J are at school, I don't want them to feel as if they can't have the same foods that the rest of their classmates are having.  I don't want them to have to explain to other kids that they don't eat meat or drink milk.  This is a decision they can make themselves as they grow.  I don't want my kids to feel uncomfortable, or my friends and family, when it comes time to eat.  Food is already such a stressor for people; why should we make it even more so?!

I've read tons of literature on healthy eating and seen tons of documentaries.  All you can really be certain of is that nothing is the definite right way to go.  Many people say veganism is unhealthy.  Many people say that consuming meat is unhealthy.  Dairy is unhealthy. Others say consuming grains and legumes is unhealthy.  Wow!  That sounds to me as if there really is nothing that is healthy to eat.  Right?  Confused yet?  I know I am.

Here's how our family has decided to proceed and tackle the each food groups.

Dairy: P and the kids still consume milk in tea.  I use almond milk which has more calcium and equal vitamin D as cow's milk.  We sometimes consume cheese, like when we are out (read: pizza) or when a dish that I've cooked really needs it.  I still have some butter, and yes, we've buttered our bread for toast twice since our new way of eating.  Oh, let's not forget the occasional ice cream. hee hee

Legumes and Grains: We are sprouting our grains and legumes in our to increase their nutritional value and their digestibility.  This requires a lot of planning, which I'm not great with, so when I don't plan properly, we eat unsprouted beans and grains.  Oops.  I've got to get better with that.

Nuts:  (Before you read this part, get all your giggles out.  Okay.  Done?  Continue)  We've started soaking our nuts over night, and then drying them in the oven to more easily digest them.  The kids and I love our nuts.  They are great as snacks, on salads, or ground up with dates and some coconut as a treat.

Animal Flesh:  We have not purchased nor consumed meat in our home since we have started our plant-strong approach to eating.  Now, that being said, P has been on business trips and ordered steak.  L has ordered hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken at school.  Every Sunday, the kids consume meat and eggs at my grandparents' house for brunch.  Tonight, they had pepperoni pizza, chicken wings and dairy based dips at my brother's Superbowl party.  Last night, pizza and hoagies at a birthday party.

Processed foods:  We stay away from processed foods as much as possible.  What's that mean?  We don't really buy anything that's already made in a box.  That being said, I will buy a couple boxes of organic cereal this week, just in case I don't have oatmeal made for breakfast or stuff for a green smoothie.  With this class of foods, I will add tofu and all non-animal animal products (vegan cheese, tofu, vegan meat).  I'm pretty certain that God didn't create those things, so why should we eat them?!

Soy:  This goes for soy milk, tofu, edamame and any other soy products.  If its not organic, I'm not purchasing it.  That's it.  Non-organic soy is not healthy, especially for developing reproductive systems.  Hmmm...Monsanto, maybe you should stop poisoning your consumers!  You can read about the dangers of soy here or here or just do your own Google search for dangers of soy.  Organic soy, especially when fermented, and served in small condiment sizes are safe.  So, occasionally, I will offer soy to my family, in organic form only.

Eggs: I'd say that we consume eggs once or twice a week, typically on Sundays and in baked goods.  Eggs are hidden quite well, and frankly, I don't have the time, energy or inclination to search for them.  Who does? Sheesh.  We've got lives to live.

Fruits and Veggies: These are always available to my kids, and they typically choose to snack on fruit.  We try to eat as many as possible, though some of us are more successful than others.

Healthy Fats: There is a big debate about healthy fats.  Some say that no fats are healthy, some say you need healthy fats to live and lose weight.  One argument made is that there was a big fat free push several years back, and as a result, our culture got fatter.  To the arguer, this means that fat free is bad.  Let's look at this a different way.  During the fat free fad, the items that went fat free were mostly processed foods to which extra sugar was added to make up for the lack of taste. We know that processed foods and excess sugar contribute to weight gain, so we can not be certain that the fat free diet caused the weight gain.  The Engine 2 Diet pushes no fats, or very little.  For my family, especially with an infant, toddler, preschooler and kindergartner that don't have weight problems, we feel that healthy fat is fine and don't shy away from it.  We offer avocado, nuts (preferably pre-soaked), coconut milk and unsweetened coconut.

In a nutshell, at home, we are striving to stay away from meat, increase our veggies and fruits, sprout our legumes and grains, soak our nuts, reduce our dairy and in general, stay away from as much sugar as possible.  Outside of our home, we have decided to just allow our kids to make their own decisions. As far as the adults?  P chooses meat occasionally.  I have only eaten meat once, out of desperation and sheer starvation.  We have just resolved to try to make healthy decisions, but indulge when it is appropriate and in the appropriate manner.  

Let me be honest here.  If you invite me over and have baked goods, I'm going to try some.  Okay, I've said it!  The sweet tooth reigns supreme.  But, if you come to my house, you shouldn't be surprised not to find those same items here.  Instead, we will be more than happy to offer you our fruit, veggies, legumes, nuts and grains.

As I prepare to hit the hay this evening, it makes me think about my son, L, who will embark on a brand new adventure tomorrow...kindergarten.  I got to thinking about how I'd sometimes love to escape back to a world that was so much easier.  Nothing really difficult to worry about, just go to school, play, and go home.  But then, it dawned on me as I thought back to L's bedtime kisses tonight.  He was so ultra excited to start school tomorrow, and if I know my boy, and I do, he is also really scared about starting a new school.  Then, it dawns on me...we are able to deal with all we do on a daily basis because we have been dealing with stuff like that our whole lives.  Sure, to me in my 30's, childhood looks so easy, but I bet to a child, these small things are huge monumental stressors too.  And here, I am thinking its so easy to be a kid.  Maybe its not.  Just some food for thought.

And on that note, I'd like to add that I have packed my very first lunch for my big boy: an all natural (just peanuts and salt) peanut butter and low sugar strawberry jelly sandwich on 100% whole grain bread, an apple, an organic carrot sliced into spears, and some crackers with laughing cow cheese (L's favorite) to spread on there, all along with an aluminum bottle of water.  Wow!  Right now, I'm feeling pretty darn impressed with my healthy lunch.  I wonder how long that will last.  I mean, will he get bored of healthy food?  Will it just be so much easier to buy junk and send it with him?  Will he be teased because he doesn't have any fruit snacks, chips or cookies like he was in preschool?  I don't know.  I sure hope not.  I hope that I can provide healthy options for him so that he'll grow up loving healthy food and not have to deal with the struggles I have everyday; namely, wanting to eat crap all day long and getting fat as a result.  Yes, my friends, I love JUNK FOOD!  Especially the sweet stuff.  Nom nom nom.

I'm trying to buy more organic foods, where it makes sense, is readily available, and (and here is the key) where it doesn't cost us an arm and a leg.  Today, I was able to find organic milk at WalMart for a reasonable price, bought some organic carrots, yogurt, and eggs.  This week, I hope to make it to my local farmer's market to purchase some organic locally grown veggies that I can freeze for the upcoming months.  We'll see how this goes, but I'm hoping it will be successful.  Just a little nervous about taking the 3 girls out without my big helper, though this may give J the opportunity to step up and act like a more mature 4 year old.  Or, should I just say, less lazy since she always relies on L to do everything for her.

I think this school year is going to be an interesting one in the W household, but I'm ready to take on the challenges...or at least I am going to give it my best try, barring any mental breakdowns.  Back to school means taking on new challenges, making new friends, getting back into the swing of things, losing this baby weight, eating healthier, and changing our mind sets.  There is nothing we can't do, as long as we have a positive outlook and we give it our all!  Now, to remember that tomorrow morning when I've got to get 4 kids out of the door, all before 8:30. HA!

The Dinner Battle

Do you "enjoy" a nightly battle over dinner?  Well, I do, and its becoming more and more frequent.  The result...mommy and daddy are going bonkers.  I used to brag and be the envy (okay...an exaggeration, but I'm running with it) of all my friends because my kids "eat everything".  Yep, that's right: blue hake, salmon, sushi, avocado, chicken, broccoli, peas, carrots, ANYTHING!  But now, we sit down at the table and the kids just stare at the plate/bowl of food.  Its always my oldest, L, that starts first, the lip pouts out, arms cross, and the eyes start to water.  The girls, whether or not they have already begun to eat, pick up on the discourse and immediately start the whining.  Then, its just the looks of disgust as they sit at the table, refusing to eat.

Grrr!  We do NOT offer the kids anything else to eat.  Oh, you don't want this delicious food, why not have cereal or a PB&J?!  Oh no!  I hold my ground; you eat what is in front of you or you don't eat.  Then, of course, more tears, even though they already know the deal.  We tell the kids that they can't get down from the table until they have at least one bite.  No big deal.  We don't begin to pester, typically we just ignore them.  Well, until the "baby" decided that she's not going to eat because her big brother and sister aren't.  Now, we strongly encourage that first bite.  60% of the time, at least, they like the food and decide on their own to continue to eat.  Sometimes, we are forced to call out the big guns: "badEssert" as J calls it.  It doesn't matter what it is (ice cream, yogurt, fruit, cake, pudding), but the promise of something more to come just thrills them.

But, what's really getting to me is that the kids, especially the girls are getting to the point where they insist on being fed.  Yep, my 3 1/2 year old wants me to feed her since I'm feeding the 22 month old.  So, here I sit, in between my girls, bite to C, turn, bite to J, repeat.  Oh, but wait, I don't get to eat.  Not to worry, I have realized that I must now scarf my food down in the beginning of the meal to compensate for this.  Pretty soon, I'll have a newborn, on the boob, and be between 2 whiny girls that want fed, at the dinner table.  This does not look too promising.  So, this month, I have determined that I, we, will find a solution to this problem/drama.

So, where to begin?  Do I start to make meals that I know they will LOVE (macaroni and cheese, hotdogs, chicken, chinese, pizza, white rice, spaghetti, etc) or do I continue to offer a variety of healthy options (veggie pasta bake, salmon, lentil and veggie soup, cabbage and bean soup, veggie patties, etc)?  If I offer the "crap", will that encourage them to hold out for junk or will they be encouraged to eat whatever is put in front of them?  Gosh, being a mom is difficult.  Not only do you have to worry about their safety, education, and whether or not they are honest/good people, but you also have to be concerned about making sure they do not become obese.  I really don't want to fail at ANY of these.

Not to mention, when I moved to BFE from San Francisco, the thing I missed the most was the cuisine.  I could/can not stand that 90% of my options for restaurants are either Italian or chain restaurants.  Why should I lose the remainder of my culinary pleasures because I became a parent?!  That just doesn't make sense. So, in addition to ending the dinner battle, my goal is to ensure that my kids are adventurous eaters.   I surely hope that this is an attainable goal.  I guess this is to be continued....