I am trying to feed my kids healthy foods. I really am. See, isn't this so much better than the cheese puffs she usually carries around? Sure, she spits most of it out - but I guarantee at least a few kernels get down her!
The week before everyone took off for camp I tried to implement a family-wide "no preservatives, no processed foods, nothing from a box or bag, no bread" diet. This was just a willy nilly plan I came up with myself. Oh my. You thought I would have sentenced my kids to a month long stay to the poorest parts of Etheopia. (Although that would not be a bad idea.) I've already posted about the crazy drug-like withdrawels of corndogs and frozen pizza and pop everyone had. 4 of us fell off the wagon and had a few little cheats - Chris stayed strong till the very end. We weighed on Monday, and then we weighed on Friday. Everyone lost weight!!! In just 4 days of no processed foods, Chris lost 3 pounds, and Jonathan, Jacob and I lost 2 pounds each. I was so excited! Jonathan was trying to burst my bubble of excitement lest I keep this way of eating going by saying "MOM!! - We only lost weight because we have been practically EATING AIR all week!!!" Not true. For their snacks they had their choice of fruit, veggies, pop corn cooked the old fashioned way and peanuts in shells. But they did not want that. So yes, I guess they did eat air for their midnight snack during their 5 hour session of video game bliss.
Real popcorn. People in their early 40's do not know how to make real popcorn. We practically had to look it up on the internet. How much oil? How much popcorn? Chris had the first attempt at it. Jacob came in the kitchen and said, "dad- why aren't you making REAL popcorn?" (as in, microwave popcorn) He said, "son, this is REAL popcorn!" Long story short - with melted real butter and white cheddar cheese - oh yummy - how we still lost weight I have no idea...
I attempted to make "real popcorn" for Jacob and his friend Clay. Jacob kept bragging how great "real popcorn was - if I melted a WHOLE stick of butter and he pretty much emptied 1/2 container of white cheddar cheese topping on it. I had to call Chris at camp to ask him how to make it. He told me not to burn the house down. They weren't to keen on getting their pic taken - they just wanted to eat!! (Clay told jacob "his mom liked to take pictures of her food all the time to!") Its what this facebook generation is just gonna have to deal with!
My mom comes over for dinner on Sunday and we sit at the table. My kids do not like to "sit at the table." They would prefer to eat their dinner lounging around on the couch in front of the T.V. Most days we do that. (My sweet grandpa Ray is seriously rolling over in his grave at this.) Once when I made everyone sit at the table-Sarah told me, "mom! why can't we eat in the living room like normal families do?!?!" (Grandpa just did a double roll)
This is a nice sit down dinner we had with my sweet grandpa Ray, complete with salad bowls and water glasses and 3 forks - he actually bought me salad bowls because he couldn't believe I just put salad on the dinner plate. Oh grandpa...if you only knew....
See - times have changed. Processed food, the family din din in the living room. During this last dinner with my mom, Jacob asks "Grammie, have you ever had real popcorn?" She replied, "Of course Jacob! I used to grow real popcorn in my back yard when I was a kid." The conversation then continued with Jonathan explaining about this awful diet I just put them on. I'm totally cringing because I can only imagine what my mom is thinking. When they are at her house she puts 2 weeks worth of vegetables on their plates to make up for the lack thereof when they are in my care. She sweetly explains to them "that is the only way of eating I knew when I was growing up." (Think of the voice of Raymond's mom on Everybody Loves Raymond - that's what I heard.) I'm trying to do better mom. I really am. My big kids only like to eat something out of a box. My littlest one likes to eat THE box. Saturday everyone comes home and a new grocery week begins. I am going to attempt a modified version of my willy nilly plan. And since there are no sports activities we are running off to we SHOULD be able to sit at the table. In theory, this shouldn't be that hard, but in reality - IT IS!!!
My prayer for this week - Psalm 103:5 - "SATISFY us oh Lord with good things, that our youth will be renewed like the eagles..."
Good for you...your children will survive and be ready for that trip to Ethiopia one day.
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law recently taught me that you can put popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag and microwave it like microwave popcorn. It works great! No preservatives!
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