The challenge: to eat more veggies and fruits

Most of us as Americans do not eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables.  Our diets consist of fast food and convenience meals and comfort snacks.  Besides, who wants to munch on a dry piece of celery? Or grab an apple instead of that ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie sitting on the counter?   Or better yet  sit down to a leafy lifeless salad while everyone else is eating cheesy layered lasagna?  Doesn’t sound very appealing does it?

Why make the change:

Why do we need to make this change?  Because we NEED to make this change.  Our minds have been programmed to believe that we DON”T need these healthy foods anymore.  I grew up with the typical diet of EVERY American child.  It consisted of:

• breakfast– a Poptart, a Toaster Strudel, or even better Fruity Pebbles cereal
• lunch– a bologna sandwich on white bread with mayo, and a Capri Sun juice box
• after school snack– a Little Debbie snack cake
• dinner– tv dinners

There was no “push” to eat fresh fruit and vegetables.  That was something you ate when you were on a diet.  It was a “chore” to eat carrot sticks and celery.  Our mentality was brainwashed into thinking that this food was actually good for us.

Thank God for the internet and people’s interest into “whole foods.”  It is amazing to know that foods that are as natural as the day they were picked are better for us than the ones that are marketed to us through the television and prepared in a factory to help make our lives easier.

We need to know that ANY food prepared in a facility loses its nutritional value and that we need to pick foods closest to their natural state.  One of the easiest things is fruits and vegetables.  They take little preparing and are chocked full of nutrients.

How to make the change:

Now remember if you were a typical “junk food” person and you have no real connections with eating fruits and vegetables know that they are not going to be very appealing at first.  Your taste buds are programmed to be stimulated by salty, fried, sugar laden-ed foods.  Fruits with basic sugars are not going to be as tasty as those brownie bites sitting in your cupboard.  You need to reprogram your taste buds and brain into eating this “basic” tasting food.  It will take some time, but I know that I really enjoy the taste of fruits and look forward to my daily salad with all its different vegetable toppings. At first it was just lettuce topped with dressing to smother it, but now it is just a minimal amount of dressing and different fruits and vegetables to flavor the lettuce.

I would suggest that you make sure that you always have a bowl of fruit in your refrigerator.  If it is something that needs preparation like grapes or watermelon, make sure it is prepared.  We keep a bowl of apples and oranges filled in the refrigerator at all times.  In the summer months, we always have a big fruit bowl cut up in the refrigerator.

I keep chopped up vegetables in the refrigerator for a quick snack throughout the day.  If I am feeling the need to grab snacks, I place out my bowl of carrots and celery and eat that.  Chewing something that has a satisfying crunch will help the munchies go away.

Whenever I purchase vegetables I try and prepare them immediately.  That way it will be easier to just grab whenever I need them instead of the excuse that I don’t want to have to take the time to get them out.

I usually shop once per week to ensure fresh vegetables.  I prepare the ones that are going to go bad first so that we can eat those in 1-3 days and then I make the next vegetable or fruit to be prepared for the second half of the week.  For example I might get cucumbers and carrots, I know that the cucumbers will go bad first so I chop those up to munch on during the first part of the week and save the carrots, which will last longer for the second half of the week.  That way I will always have fresh veggies/fruit on hand.

If you are still drawn in to eating your processed snacks, make it a goal to eat 10 carrot sticks before you eat those snacks.  I know when I was going through my weight loss, I would gorge on large amounts of vegetables cut up.  But now I can just eat a few every day.  I don’t feel the need to fill my face anymore.  I reprogrammed my brain into not eating so much..  You can too.  Help your body feel better by giving it the nutrients it deserves.

The challenge: Preparing for your day

Today as I was feeding my children breakfast, I was rushed and harried.  Quickly getting a bowl of oatmeal for this child, getting a sippy cup for that child, wiping up a mess here, telling the dog to stop barking and trying to make myself a cup of coffee.  Stress levels were high, I was wearing my angry eyebrows, and my mind was in a million different places, and here my youngest were sitting quietly looking at me.

Then I realized when my mind is elsewhere I am surely missing great moments with my children today.

So I changed my moment, and I changed my day.  I stopped took a breath, got my cup of coffee, bowl of oatmeal and sat down with my children.  I started asking them about how they slept, what we were going to do for the day, and in an instant my craziness ended.

Instead of thinking about all the things I had to do today I started thinking what was happening right now.  And right now my children and I were enjoying a moment of sharing and talking.  It was truly  nice.

An incident like this not only brought joy into my heart, it brought a realization into my mind.  A realization that I can either have a stressed, difficult day, or I can have an amazing wonderful day.  The choice was mine.

And this day I chose to have an amazing, wonderful day.

 

Why make the change:

We all know, or should know that by preparing for our mornings will help our day be more productive, keep us in a happier mood, and in generally will ensure us of a “good day.”  I know for myself, how I begin my  mornings often sets the tone and  attitude for my day. It can also derail or direct my focus. If I remain committed to preparing for my days, then I am less likely to fall prey to feeling unproductive and distracted by the end of my day.

How to make the change:

1. It helps to prepare for your morning the night before.  Run through your house after the children are in bed.  Do a quick pick up of the floors, wash the dishes in the sink, get your coffee pot loaded for the morning, set out breakfast bowls.  Do anything that will help your mornings glide smoothly.
2. Set an alarm clock and wake up the first time it goes off. Avoid the snooze button. The moment you choose to snooze, more than likely you will end up sleeping too late. Just get directly out of bed. Don’t lay and turn and stretch, just get up!
3. Start your day with a large glass of water. Coffee is great for mornings. But after sleeping and not drinking anything through the night, your body is dehydrated. Squeeze a little lemon in it for some great detoxification and hydration properties.
4. Shower and get dressed for the day. Sounds fairly simple. But most moms that stay at home rarely have time to shower and will stay in their pjs all day long. Getting a refreshing shower and putting on some clothes besides sweats is a great way to say “Hey, I am ready for my day.” Even if you can’t shower in the mornings, splash some cold water on your face to help waken it up.
5. Have some quiet time with the Lord before everyone wakes up. Give yourself at least a half hour of time. But some time is better than no time, so if you can’t start at 30 minutes, begin with 10.
6. Eat a healthy breakfast.  For most Moms this is overlooked, but I know first hand how important it is to have some type of fuel in your body after a long night without any.  Kickstart your body by having a healthy breakfast.  No time?? Grab an apple or banana, something is better than nothing.
7. You have the power to decide what kind of day you will have. If your first thoughts are negative, instantly change your thought pattern. Say 5 things you are thankful for and think on those things. They may be as simple as, “I’m thankful for hot water to shower with, ” or “food to feed my family.”