simple steps

One of the reasons I started this blog is because I want other people to learn that living a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be difficult and you also never have to be perfect.

We went to some friends for dinner the other night and I made it very clear that we eat whatever anyone else will cook for us. We are not picky or food snobs. For example, take my Grandma. Love her! Love her gravy and mashed potatoes. Love her cube of butter on each saltine cracker. Love her homemade tapioca pudding... do you get the picture? I love my grandma and I love her cooking. When she has us in for lunch/dinner we jump at the occasion. It's a treat and treats are o.k. In moderation.

That being said I have to tell you something because it's pretty awesome. My kids have not asked (or eaten) for one piece of Halloween candy. Are you serious? Yes! I am totally telling the honest truth. Not once have any of them even asked for one. That's amazingly awesome. They just don't care about it. Do you know why?? Not because my kids are perfect. Not because I'm perfect. Not even because I deprive them ( I will argue this forever, my children are not one bit deprived!) Simply because it's not a normal thing for us to have candy. My aunt Angela, on the other hand, always has chocolate. My kids know this. When we go to her house, they ask for chocolate. Every time. Never fails. Do you get my point??? You set yourself up. So just think about that and make small steps toward changing some of your habits.

Here is a nice healthy lunch. If it sounds good to you try implementing it into your routine. It's a typical lunch for us around here and we all enjoyed it, Emmett 21 months, Adelle 3 (going on 13) and I.

2 cans tuna fish (one albacore, one regular) drained well
a squirt or two of mayonaise
Lundberg Sea Salt Rice chips (google these! my blogger isn't functioning well enough for me to add the link!)
snap peas
cucumber slices

The secret simple step is when you tell your kids lunch is ready, or even for yourself, put the veggies on the table first. Always have veggies washed and cut up in your fridge so that they can be easily grabbed. I get my kids all seated at the table, give them the veggies to munch on, while I make the tuna. If you put it all in front of them at once they are going to go for the chips, they just are. So have the veggies out first. They will eat them while they wait. They don't like waiting when they are hungry so it's a win, win, win!

Next let them grab some chips from the bag for their own plates. Scoop them some tuna on their plate as well. They like being independent and helping themselves to the rice chips. This is fun and makes them feel empowered. If they chose to dip their chips in the tuna, great. If they chose to eat their chips plain then get them a fork to eat their tuna. They don't have to eat it all. They do have to eat the tuna before they get more chips. Put them in charge. If they want more chips, they will eat more tuna. My kids love this lunch but they do favor the chips so I have to set boundaries. In the end it all gets eaten.

Healthy parts of this lunch include:
Rice chips have no added sugar. They are made from brown rice. They are gluten free and wheat free.
snap peas are a good vegetable that kids love. They are high in fiber too.
cucumbers are an alkaline vegetable. Double bonus. Most of our bodies are acidic and we want to be neutral so adding alkaline foods is always recommended.
Tuna is a good, lean, protein.