Healthy choices...

You can ask a million different people exactly what does this mean - and probably get about a million different answers! For our family, we have made a conscious effort to eat greener AND leaner! It's even started a biggest loser competition between Josh and I, which is funny!! I guess I should have eaten my words right when I said after having Jily that I'd never weigh more than him again because guys seem to have no issues with getting trim fast.. Hey at least I still have breastfeeding to blame.. I need the extra fluff for our baby girl right?!
I love my children more than words can express, but I wonder how those moms with 2 or more kids get through the trip smoothly... A few weeks ago, after my Pearl Harbor Hickman MOPS meeting, I made the assumption I could just pop in and grab the few things on my list in 30 minutes or less.. HA! Joke was on me!! Jily's Britax carseat doesn't fit on buggies like the American ones do over the top and since she was asleep I figured by just bringing in the stroller that attaches to her carrier, then Jaks could help me by pushing one of the little carts, which he loves to do!! Let's just say about 15 minutes in, my daughter was screaming because she woke up "starving" and the cart my son was pushing had now blocked his sight since the baskets are 2 high, around 4 foot or so tall and with baskets only about as big as the carrying ones, only on wheels. Picture me now holding Jily, trying to keep a pacifier in her mouth and bounce her walking until we get to the checkout, steering the stroller and also guiding Jakson and his cart to not make other shoppers innocent injury victims of either or both objects... Yeah, not really the vision I had going in! Usually Josh and I tag team and shop together, so I realized that day this was my last attempt to shop alone with children for a while unless I absolutely HAD to! Kudos to all of you moms that do for not losing your sanity on Aisle 3!!!
So back to the topic.. shopping for MSG free and organic is getting much easier as more product selections are offered! The part that is requiring so much practice is reading labels, hence why the above was so hard and I was way too distracted and overwhelmed on my "quick trip" to do so... I didn't even finish my list that day because I am not yet good at knowing what has bad additives and such in it just by sight. One of our biggest practices is staying away from packaged food with a bunch of ingredients. Dyes are a big no-no as well as high fructose corn syrup. You may ask why does it matter... I'm convinced the foods without this stuff and a bunch of "crap" in it, to include a bunch of preservatives, just taste better. If any of that research is true too about children's behaviors and such being linked to not having a healthy diet, then why even test that theory? I wish my mom would have cared more about our nutrition starting when I was a child, and then instilled that mind frame of snacking wisely into me early on. Instead we ate out a lot and I loved junk food. Thankfully, she taught me great care for my teeth and body, but diet and exercise just weren't part of our daily routine. I think I left for college knowing how to make homemade spaghetti, Italian chicken and scrambled eggs. That changed when I was on my own in college and bought my first grill since eating out wasn't an option, nor was roman noodles and cereal very tasty everyday!
I don't know that I could ever be as dedicated as some of our friends though that are on a full out Paleo diet! Mainly because I hang on to that excuse that Jily still needs the dairy, carbs and sugar, but it's me that really likes them.. plus I always said I'd never prepare different kid and adult meals and Jakson loves his cheese and noodles! Maybe in 3 months I'll get stronger (or desperate to lose the baby weight)! If you haven't watched Food Inc and Forks Over Knives, please do! That really inspired us to get serious about these healthy living changes! We don't buy processed meats at all anymore, so we are eating lots of fish (wild caught NOT farm raised), and then grain fed aka organic meats. It is both sad and scary how commercialized the beef and chicken industry has become!! I don't want to be fighting heart disease and/or diabetes and/or obesity in 10 years when I could have made some pretty simple changes earlier in life. I want Jakson and Jilyann to develop good eating habits now too. I am so proud of Jak because he's always been a great eater. When his friends offer him candy, he asks first and often will say on his own I have to wait until I eat first. There are also many times for lunch and/or dinner he will ask for more. He loves broccoli, beans and all meats! That's why I wouldn't consider our changes extreme since we never have been a family that liked bad foods. We love fruits and veggies and no one is a picky eater! I hear a lot how big of a blessing that is that he's always eaten for us what we make, and he only doesn't like pickles, mushrooms and brussel sprouts. Infact, I made his baby food from 6 months on and then when he got to the meats, just blended up what I was eating, that usually consists of a full balanced meal. Josh bought a Baby Bullet to the same for Jily in quantities, that way we can store it too.
The misconception is it's so much more expensive to eat well... Here's how I look at: you get what you pay for! Just like everything else, when it's quality you spend a bit more. I think there are many ways to be wise about spending on groceries. Coupon clip, compare ounces and labels on other similar brands and meal plan -- these are all strategic ways to shop! Today, I had a few hours of mommy time thanks to my husband. That means I got to spend 2 hours doing the 3 things above instead of doubling that with a family trip or one with the kids. Take a guess how much a buggy full at the commissary was that filled up both freezers, our fridge and fruit basket on the counter?? Just 300$ and except for fresh needs, this will last us most of the month! It was nice shopping alone because I don't use my phone in the store and focus on just what we need, not the oreos calling my name outload, "Oh Jessica, you know how good I would taste dipped in your milk.." Somehow I even resisted Hershey's and bought some Ovaltine to combat the sweet urges and midnight cravings instead! Hopefully rice crackers will be just as good for dipping ;P Josh is down 15 and I'm only minus 6... I've got to get moving and fight off all the unhealthy urges to catch up, whatever it takes (praying he tapers off soon ;))!!!