I've been doing a lot of reading online lately about food, our ability to get food, and the kind of foods we eat. I have high cholesterol. At 28. Had I not had Little One I probably wouldn't have learned this little tidbit and it might not have mattered as much to me. Honestly, my whole worldview has changed now that I'm a mom. This little life depends on me to be healthy... to set a good, healthy lifestyle example in food and exercise. Now, I don't love eating healthy all the time (cheese is my weakness!!) and working out on a regular basis (ugh. it feels soooooooo repetitive. I just don't enjoy "the hurt" from working out. But. My mind has got to change. I'm really trying to become better at these - for myself and for Little One.
Now back from that tangent - I am trying to reduce the amount of processed (pre-made) food that we consume and to increase our amount of daily vegetable and fruit intake. DH and I decided yesterday that we will cut out most fast food, especially if we're eating it because we're being lazy. I read something a while back that has really stuck with me as it pertains to children and what they eat. It was something along these lines... children aren't born with the taste and cravings for salty, processed, empty food. They learn to like these foods because we feed it to them. I fail daily at this, but it serves as a reminder to me to stop and think about what I'm feeding Little One.
So you're a busy mom? Hectic schedule? Too many things to do in one day? How can I possibly cook for my family to cut out some of the processed foods? Check out this site and this site. Tried and true places to start.
1) Start with freezer friendly meals.
2) Set apart an hour a week to meal plan (look up some recipes you want to try!).
3) Prepare your grocery list based on sections of the store. I'm kinda crazy, but every time I go I always follow the same path. This allows me to set up my grocery list the same way every time. This little time I take to categorize my list based on section of the grocery store or aisle saves me A TON of time in the store and I don't have to backtrack.
4) One weekend day (or week day - it doesn't matter... just sometime when you have childcare or you know your child can be easily entertained while you cook for about 30 - 45 minutes...) prepare your meals.
5) Start with 2 or 3. That's 2 or 3 more than you had before you started! I try to pick meals or foods that have similar ingredients to save time on prep work. Start small and slowly work it in. If you don't like something you've made, mark that off the "to-try" list for next time. If you like it add it to your "regulars" list. You can do it!!
I've found this site - 100 Days of Real Food - she has A TON of good ideas and recipes. These muffins are from her site. Little One LOVED them. They aren't sweet like regular muffins - and it's super fun to be able to add your own different "sweet" fruit mix-ins. Banana was our favorite (but we're a banana muffin kind of family!) Let me know what you decide to mix in - the options are endless!
