Well, my sisters may laugh out loud to that statement (!!!), but really and truly, I'm not a know-it-all.
I believe that the moment you think you know everything (be it about a topic, a person, a circumstance, etc.) it closes you down for growing and learning further.
And I'm not going to judge people for making decisions that are different than I do.
I am constantly trying to grow and learn new things. I'm constantly trying to widen my horizons. And in my quest to simplify and stream-line my life and make it healthier, I've discovered some tricks and tips that work well for myself and my family. And I want to share them, in the hopes that maybe one of them could help you too!
Healthy Eating and Organizing
I am not an expert. I read a lot about this topic and talk with others who are knowledgeable. There are many, MANY people out there who are much more qualified than I to talk to about this. But I have figured out ways to continue to ingrain healthy eating into our life in ways that work for us. My philosophy is this: We try to eat whole foods. And I try my best. That's it.
I try to get organic food when I can (when availability and the budget allow), and purchase local items when I am able. I try to be smart about how I use the food that we buy. I meal-plan. I try to make as much as I can myself instead of buying processed items. I try to keep our meals and snacks at home as "clean" as possible, so that I don't have to worry when we're away from home. But we're real about it. My 7-year-old son still eats most school lunches. We still eat the occasional fast food item as a treat when we're traveling (gasp!) and we still let the kids eat treats at school and on special occasions (like visiting grandparents.) I minimize the sugar (we try to use mostly honey and maple syrup as sweeteners) and salt. And as much as we were healthy eaters before, we've tightened it up even more. And we like it! Some things were a gradual process (like switching from flavored yogurts to plain and from "syrup" to actual maple syrup) but we did it with baby steps...and it worked! You have to find what works for you. I do a lot of online research, combined with a few favorite websites (for example, 100 Days of Real Food, Brittany's Pantry, Back To Her Roots, etc.) and I encourage variety, to keep my kids trying new things.
It all sounds pretty perfect, huh? It's not. My kids still turn up their noses at new recipes, they still beg for fruit snacks and marshmallows and chips. About 1/4 of the food items I purchase from the store are still processed...but I'm constantly working on it.
If you're looking for ways to start a healthier eating lifestyle, I suggest starting small. Here are some suggestions that have worked for us:
-Shred whole cheese yourself instead of buying pre-shredded (which has additives). Shred some for the week and put it in a covered bowl in the fridge, or shred it as you need it, or even shred it and freeze it for future use.
-Buy fruit when it's in season and on sale, but buy larger quantities and wash and freeze it for use in smoothies, for yogurt or oatmeal toppings, or for use for homemade jam, etc.
Above are strawberries that will be processed by me and frozen.
Mango that has been cut up, frozen on a cookie tray, and put into freezer bags for easy use.
-The same goes for veggies. You can make pickles (customizing the flavor to your family's preferences), make tomato or spaghetti sauce, blanch and freeze green beans, and shred zucchini for adding to soups, stews, and hotdishes.
Veggies from our garden, ready to process.
-Make meals at home that you like to get while eating out. At least once a month I make something we're craving, like buffalo chicken burgers, a pasta dish, or Chinese food. There are tons of websites and cookbooks that break down fast-food and restaurant meals into recipes for home cooks. Just give them a healthy twist and play around with them a little bit.
Instead of dumping out a can of chow mein or ordering from your local restaurant, try making it from scratch. It's really easy, contains no preservatives and much less salt, and is very adaptable to the taste preferences of your family. I still do buy the processed chow mein noodles (they're nostalgic for my husband), but paired with brown rice, a veggie, a fruit (Mango is Megan's favorite), and a small glass of milk, it's a very filling, nutritious meal.
Meal planning has greatly helped me streamline grocery shopping, eliminate those "quick-meals" of frozen pizza or hot dogs, and helps me keep an eye on how nutritionally balanced our menu is. I don't make separate meals for our kids 99% of the time, so I make sure to include a meal that I know they love (ex: turkey and spinach pasta roll-ups) behind a meal they aren't fond of (ex: eggplant panini's). I also try to keep the kids involved in the selection of meals, which improves the chances of them liking new recipes. Having the meal plan written out (we use a small magnetized white board) also helps the rest of the family know what we're having that day, to reduce the amount of "Mom, what's for supper?"'s that I hear in a day.
A big time-saver for me is pre-measuring the dry ingredients for many of the foods I'm going to make during the month. I'm weaning myself off of store-bought bread and buns, and having these ready to go makes the difference in my mind between pulling out my breadmaker or mixer versus just buying at the store. I pre-measure different breads, hamburger buns, pancake mix, waffle mix, muffins, etc. It's a great way to stick to your meal plan (having it ready to go) and also a good way to help transition from white flour to white whole-wheat flour to whole-wheat flour.
We always have a container of cut-up veggies in the fridge, which I set out at snack time and before lunch or supper. Having them pre-cut and ready to go makes it an automatic grab when we get the munchies. Hummus is our dip of choice (although the kids would probably say ranch...but we're weaning ourselves off that altogether, and more often than not they just want their veggies plain anyway.) I have to admit that before I had kids, I watched my sister-in-law give her kids things like this and I couldn't understand it, because I didn't think they'd eat their actual meal after filling up on veggies first. Now, I see things differently. She's brilliant! If I can encourage my children to eat fresh veggies, it doesn't matter if they're during a snack or eaten before a meal. I discovered that if I made them wait to eat the veggies during the meal, most of the time it was those veggies we were trying to get them to eat as the last thing on their plate. So, go ahead and munch on those veggies, kids!
One of the things that I like to do lately is use romaine lettuce leaves instead of bread for sandwiches.
When making meals that contain a lot of veggies, I keep a side bowl to fill with the parts of the vegetables that didn't get used. I add to it for a day or two (never more than that, due to spoiling) and then use the veggie pieces to make homemade vegetable stock for use in boiling grains, for soup, or for any other dish that could use vegetable broth.
I used to buy chicken and vegetable broth, but now make it myself. My meal planning comes in handy for this...I just plan a meal of some kind of meat (above, chicken), we eat the meat at one meal, then I boil the bones, juices, seasonings, and whatever veggie leftovers I have accumulated in my veggie bowl to make homemade stock. It also freezes wonderfully, if you don't need to use it within a day or two. We eat soup once a week, so I just add the veggies I want in the soup, add the chopped remainders of the meat, and voila...homemade soup that you can adapt to the tastes of your family.
I also used to use canned creamed soups in many of my meals (ham & scalloped potatoes, tater tot hotdish, chicken & rice, etc.) but since paying more attention to what's IN those little cans, I have now switched to making my own. Above, I made a big crock pot of cream of potato soup, took some out for a meal for us (sprinkled with bacon pieces and green onion...yum!), and froze the rest in individual containers on a cookie tray. After they were frozen, I removed the frozen soup (ran the bottoms under hot water for about ten seconds, until they popped out), and put them all in a freezer baggie so I can take out "one-can" amounts as I need them. You can also do this with mushroom soup and chicken soup, but potato soup works particularly well because it is a natural thickener.
One of the kids' favorite snacks (or breakfast) is a fruit and yogurt parfait. Yes, it's much easier to just whip open a container of pre-sweetened yogurt (and I've been known to do that time-to-time) but the kids really like being able to add their own flavors and mix it themselves. Just use whole-fat plain yogurt, fruit(s) of choice, honey, and sprinkle with homemade granola or nuts.
I LOVE using canning jars as storage containers. Above, I have everything from homemade pickled banana peppers and cucumber pickles, to unsweetened coconut flakes, to items I use frequently (such as chai seeds and various beans) to homemade taco seasoning (so easy to make!)
We don't have smartphones...so scheduling can be a little confusing...and I only saw it getting worse as the kids got older. So I started using monthly whiteboards to track appointments, holidays, birthdays, after-school activities, etc. This has really worked well for our family.
I've started training myself to do small tasks that may take more time upfront, but which save me time (and money!) in the long run. One of those tasks is writing the date I open products on them, to assist me in making sure we eat our food before it expires, eliminating waste as much as possible. I keep a magnetic pen and paper holder on my fridge and write the date on items as I open them.
As the kids are getting older they are accumulating more gear. Extra pairs of mittens and hats. Small pieces of sports equipment. Stuff that just seems to multiply. I was tired of pushing it around constantly, so I purchased three bin organizers from Walmart, and now each child has their own bin that they're responsible for.
These are just a handful of the things I've been learning to do to stay healthy (and sane!) Please feel free to share techniques you use too!
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