Food for thought

Which is both the title of this blog post & a forgotten UB40 gem...

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm feeding my family and I'm slowly making changes. I know what I need to eat to keep healthy plus I know what I need to eat to be my best, and how much I need to move.

For a long time I really didn't practice what I preached.

Over the course of my adult life, I've slowly morphed into living the yoga lifestyle, sometimes to the Big Man's chagrin.

I've been eliminating chemical products from our home. It actually started by me being a responsible pet owner, and its transitions to eliminating stuff that is potentially harmful to us and more importantly, our son.

I've said it before, I've known how to eat healthy for years. It was the matter of putting it into practice. There are so many other reasons for that-just like there are so many reasons why I had issues with cleaning and exercising and other things that I've been working through.

I want my son to be healthy. I think for most parents, we all share that goal. We may go about it differently, and healthy may mean different things to different people. Little Man has limited his food choices, and his preferred foods are not exactly the healt hiest. I'm trying to get him to go back to eating more fruits & vegetables, but its a struggle there too. So I can give him the best choices in terms of foods. I found a brand of juice packs that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. That is almost impossible! It has no nutritional value, other than empty calories. Research has shown that it actually makes us crave bad stuff.

So, instead of turning my 8 year old into a food addict, I'm being responsible mommy. He loves sugary cereals, as do most kids, but I'm buying the healthier versions. I can make little changes, that aren't going to either break the bank or send him into meltdown mode. Plus I think he's more focused when he's eating better.

I know Im more focused when I'm eating better. I just feel infinitely better when its not garbage in, garbage out.

What's really important for my son is when we sit down & eat dinner as a family. I can see when we don't his behaviors change.

I use the excuse that because my husband doesn't like certain foods, that I can't do x,y or z. Yesterday was a watershed moment for me.

I need to make the decision to take control over my kitchen. I need to plan my menus and feed my family healthy, nourishing meals. This really is a make or break decision for me, because I almost feel like we are in crisis mode.

I don't want to be behind the 8 ball all the time, which is how I feel.

I take pride in being a good cook, and a great wife & mother. This morning I'm not exactly feeling it at all on any of those roles, and I've got to get back to basics.

Good, simple, healthy food.

Tonight are steak sandwiches, with roasted potatoes.

Its a start.