When Mama Ain't Healthy, Aint Nobody Healthy

I have never been one of those moms who will make dinner for my husband and I to eat, and something different for the kids. Nope, sorry not gonna happen. You get to eat whatever I am making. You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit! For the longest time we never had any fits to worry about because we were eating all of the junk that kids love to eat too. Sure I would make a lot of chicken dinners with bread and a veggie, maybe even a salad. But there was no shortage of butter on the veggies and potatoes, always lots of cheese, ranch dressing, and don't forget Nana's bbq sauce. Not there is anything wrong with Nana's sauce, seriously that sauce may be the link to world peace. But I think that a few months ago Bethany could really relate to this commercial.... (minus the Eggos, she wasn't that lucky)

Okay so here's the deal. We have all heard the phrase when Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. That is true for so many aspects of our lives. Diet, exercise, and self image are no exception. As the mom in my household I have the responsibility to teach my girls habits that they will keep their entire lives. If I teach them to eat burgers and fries, drink only soda, and never exercise should I be shocked when they end up being overweight and leading a sedentary lifestyle? Should I also be shocked if they only hear me saying negative things about my body when they question their own self worth or the way they look in the mirror?

Having the realization that my girls are going to model my behaviors was hard enough, but then to take it a step further and think that they will also model the way I view my own body...whoa...talk about convicting.

Mom's it is up to us to set the standard in our homes. We are responsible for these precious little lives and spirits....don't let them think for one second that they are not beautiful. Teach them habits that will make it easy for them to be healthy, set the bar high for you and your husband AND your children.

I have had several people ask me what our kids are eating now that we are eating a plant based, pretty much the daniel fast diet all the time. Well Bethany is almost 7 and she has been a little bit of a tough convert. Although she LOVES salad and most veggies, it is hard to convince her to eat tofu (hard to convince me too actually). We still have our own form of spaghetti and she will eat that up with out any argument. The harder things are the meals when it's mostly beans and quinuoa with a steamed veggie. But I know that if I roast asparagus she will eat the entire pan of it.

In the mornings she has multigrain cheerios with skim milk or toast (no butter, only honey). Lunch she packs everyday (no way would I force her to eat the crap they serve in public schools...balanced meal my patooty). I usually make her a sandwich with natural pb and honey and sometimes its turkey and cheese always on whole wheat bread, carrot sticks or celery depending on what we have, pickle, apple or orange, and water. For dinner she eats whatever we make, yes even if it is something random like tofu with diced tomatoes and veggies over a baked potato.

It wasn't an immediate thing, the first month or so of us eating this way I would make her some shrimp or chicken and she would eat our meal as her sides, but now she is used to it. Yes she has gone to bed without finishing her dinner, and yes it has been trying at times, but she knows what nutrients are in which veggies and she is starting to get into it. She LOVES the hulk juice (green smoothies) and she loves the spaghetti that we make. She also loves her oranges!

Madison is almost 1, so she eats anything I put in front of her. Her favorites are broccoli, asparagus, peas, and potatoes! I do give her cheese about once a week for lunch because she looooves it!

I think that the most important thing we can teach our children when it comes to food is that it does not rule our lives. We do not live to eat, we eat to live. So much of our lives is totally based around food. Going out to dinners, cake at special occasions, etc. Using food as a reward has been a hard habit to break for us, not only for our children but for ourselves too. Finding new things to use as rewards has required more thought put into those rewards but wouldn't your children respond more to those rewards? Mine have! Bethany loves that she can get a video from redbox or go to funland or get her nails painted or pick out a new shirt or or or...

Have fun with it yall and it keeps you on track!! Having the whole family motivated to reach their own goals, weight loss or otherwise keeps all of us on track! Justin and I are working towards our health goals, Bethany is working on her goals of learning to play piano and finish first grade and remember her weekly bible verses for Good News Club, and Madison is learning to WALK!