Day Three

Breakfast:
*Oatmeal and Peaches

VERDICT:
All were satisfied...breakfast is an easy meal for my family.

Lunch:

*Turkey Loaf
-1 Lb ground turkey
-1 egg
-1/4 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 onion, ground in food processor
-1/2 cup oatmeal
-1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients together. Place in loaf pan that is coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for one hour
*Cheesy potatoes
-4 red potatoes
-1 T butter
-2 T milk
-1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
Boil potatoes with skin on. Mash and add butter, milk and cheese when mashing.
*1/2 banana

VERDICT:
The kids LOVED the meatloaf. Lily had three helpings and both boys had two. These are two boys who refuse to eat veggies and one boy won't touch cheese! This was definitely a successful meal! The potatoes were a hit, surprisingly, too. I tried to grind up the skin as much as possible because usually Lily refuses to eat the skin. Today she gobbled it up like a champ...could it be the cheese I added to them tricked her!

Snack:
*Hummus
*Pita Chips

VERDICT:
Lily gobbled the hummus up...she was sticking her finger in it and eating it as if it were peanut butter! She ate a few pita chips, but preferred the hummus alone. The boys, however, refused to taste either item and had pretzels for their snack. One victory a day, I suppose.

Dinner:

*Burgers (grain-fed, lean meat)
-Deli thins
-Cheese
*Romaine Lettuce salad with ranch
*Green grapes

VERDICT:
These burgers are the greatest thing we have ever eaten! No need to put any type of condiments on them, they are wonderful just by themselves. We get them from a man that came to our door one day selling meat. The company is Prime Meat and is out of Houston. If you're interested their website is primemeatcompany.com and the seller is David. Ask me, and I'll pass on his phone number to you. You've got to try this stuff! Anyway, the meal was a total success...there's a red meat for awhile.

OVERALL:
Today was a successful day, other than the chocolate cake I ate. Yes, I said chocolate cake. Josh insisted I bake for the new neighbors that moved in. Turns out, they haven't moved in yet and were just stopping by the house. What could I do but try a little. I am blaming Josh for this slip up for sure!!

Day Two

Breakfast:
*Oatmeal waffles
-3 cups oatmeal, ground in food processor
-5 eggs, beaten
-1/4 cup milk
-1 t. baking powder
Mix ingredients together and spread on a waffle maker. This is a great way for kids to eat their oatmeal, while adding protein to the mix. I then drizzle agave nectar on top. We never use syrup anymore and I actually prefer agave nectar over syrup anyday. You can find it in any grocery store near the honey, I think.
(The amounts are approximate. I grind the oatmeal first and add liquids until I reach the desired consistency.)
*Juice and coffee

VERDICT:
We all love these waffles. They are kinda heavy, so one waffle is plenty to eat. It makes me feel as if I'm sort of eating unhealthy, although there's nothing about it that's bad for me. It's a great way to change up the usual oatmeal for breakfast thing. Last, they are so fast and easy to prepare and I always make extras to toast later on in the week.

Lunch:
*Tuna and Rice bake
(I simply searched through my pantry and found things to throw together.)
-1 package of tuna in water
-brown rice (about 2 cups)
-1/2 can cream of chicken soup
-1/4 cup milk
-leftover peas from yesterday
I mixed all ingredients together and put in the oven until it looked like they were done.
*Oranges


I knew this was a hit when Lily started licking the spatula before I even put the stuff in the oven. She kept saying "yum".

VERDICT:
I had mixed reviews on this recipe. Lily thought it was amazing! She ate 2 helpings,asked for a third but was unable to finish it. Parker said it was yummy, and ate his entire helping, minus the peas. However, Brady refused to taste it at all. He ate his oranges and just whined. He's quite picky, so my feelings weren't hurt at all. I thought it was superb...and had two helpings myself. 75% isn't bad, I guess. I will definitely try this recipe again since it's healthy...and affordable!



Snack:
*Cinnamon tortillas
-whole wheat tortillas
-cinnamon
-spray butter
-agave nectar
I heated both sides of the tortillas in a skillet. I then sprayed each tortilla with butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon. I drizzled agave nectar on top and cut into 8 equal pieces. Each child received 3 slices.

VERDICT:
They loved them...I did, too! I think eventually I will eliminate the agave nectar, but for now it adds a certain sweetness that makes them think it's candy or something. All three kiddos were begging for more!!

***I also snuck in 3 cake balls that our neighbor brought by. How could I resist red velvet cake balls dipped in chocolate and topped with some pink prettiness? Give me a break, it was for Carly and the family will never find out!

Dinner:
*Denyse's chili from My Fit Foods
(Josh brought this home from Houston. It's a healthy form of "take out".)

VERDICT:
It's excellent chili, but a little spicy for Lily. She resorted back to leftover spaghetti from yesterday when I saw her wiping her tongue after eating it! She didn't complain, but I felt it was best to have an alternative meal to save her belly. I'm truly hoping Carly doesn't complain tonight of the spice...we'll have to see! My Fit Foods is a great place to buy ready made meals that are completely healthy. It saved me some time for sure!


FINAL CONSENSUS:
It was a healthy, happy day for everyone! The cake balls threw a curve ball, but it's ok to cheat once in a while, right? Two days down, a lifetime to go.

Physical health note:
For those of you that know me, I love to run. With my first pregnancy, I ran close to 3 miles daily until my 3rd trimester. However, with my second, I was unable to run past my 10th week. I've missed running like crazy, but since I had a c-section, it's been out of the question until I'm healed.
Last night I attempted my first run...and I felt so free!! Running is my escape from everything! I crank up my ipod and listen to praise music and let myself go. It's my stress reliever, my worship, and my "me time." For my first run out, I did a little over a mile nonstop. I felt great, other than a little soreness in my bellyish region. As much as it hurts to say, I'm going to wait a few days for my second attempt. In January, I plan to run my first marathon, so I'm hoping to get back to training asap. Maybe this weekend I'll try again!

Day one

Breakfast:
*Oatmeal with peaches for Mom and Lily
*Perfect Patties from Fit Foods (oatmeal, eggwhites, chocolate, almonds)for Daddy
Verdict:
We eat this most mornings, so Lily knew no different. Josh is obsessed with his patties, so he's happy.

Lunch:
*Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
*homemade spaghetti sauce (tomatoes, basil, oregano)
*frozen peas
*boiled egg
*cinnamon & applesauce
*milk (for the kids)
Verdict:
Lily preferred the noodles without sauce, but ate up everything else on her plate.

Snack:
*Wheat thins
*All Natural Peanut Butter
*Raisins
Verdict:
This is a typical snack we have almost daily. Lily is obsessed with wheat thins and my daycare kiddos seem to like them, too. However, Lily is the only one who will eat the peanut butter. (That's the beginning of the legacy.)

Dinner:

*Egg Salad Sandwiches
5 egg whites, boiled and chopped
1/4 cup mayo
2T dijon mustard
2T chopped pickles
3T chopped cucumber, peeled
1/4 cup turkey bacon, cooked and cut in small pieces
-Mix together and place on Deli slims. These are round pieces of whole wheat bread that is 100 calories and not overly filling. I also topped them with a slice of tomato.

*Carrot chips (You can get these in the healthfood section at the grocery store. It's carrots, water, and sea salt dehydrated to make chips.)

*Cinnamon Applesauce (There was leftovers and Lily didn't know the difference.)
Verdict:
Lily loved the egg salad, but wouldn't touch it in the deli slims. I tried to roll it up like a taco, and still no luck. I decided to give her the leftover brown rice from last night, but she then decided to play with it as she was eating. Josh loved it all and thanked me for cooking healthy. (yay me!) I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the egg salad and actually felt full when I finished.


At the end of the day...
Overall I would say today was successful. No major complaints and my belly feels great! No bloating, no feeling stuffed, just satisfaction. However, I think my vacuum is sick of eating rice!! Tune in tomorrow to see what healthy recipes I force on my family.

The beginning

Today is the beginning of a leaving a healthy eating legacy for my family. I've been hooked on the series "Food Revolution" with Jamie Oliver and realized I need to do something about it. I always wanted to be those weird families that eat things most people never heard of. I wanted my kids to be exposed to so much more than chicken nuggets and pizza. I was a vegetarian for 3 years and a vegan for a year of that. I've fallen prey to the food in America, but I'm vowing to change that now!
This blog is a way for me to stay accountable for healthy eating, to track recipes and ideas, and to share with others, changing one family at a time.

My family consists of a 21 month old little girl named Lily and a one month old named Carly. My husband, Josh, is in medical sales and has put on some baby weight since we got married. I've just had my second child, and I need to get back in "wedding shape" before this summer. I don't strive to be a hot mom, but a healthy one. Lily is on the right track so far. She loves cooked and raw spinach, brussel sprouts, egg whites, quinoa, lettuce, green beans, and more. It's amazing what this girl won't eat...she prefers not a lot of sugar, although she's not afraid to try it. Her shut off point is pretty quick when it comes to sugary substances, which is more than I can say. My husband and I have been known to polish off an entire batch of cookies in less than 24 hours. Not good!

So, to wrap up, I will be posting daily (fingers crossed) what my family is eating. I may or may not have pictures, but I'll include some sort of recipe. I'm not promising 100% healthiness in my meals, but I'm going to try my best to stay on track. Please feel free to send me any recipes you may want to include, too. (I'm just starting this whole blog thing, so bear with me.)

I'm ready to make a legacy for my children in their eating habits...wanna join me? Happy Healthy Eating!!

**Just for me to remember...
Me: Size 6, ~130 lbs., gross loose belly, no muscle tone
Josh: Size unknown, ~220 lbs. (he'll kill me for posting this)