Lately I’ve been dealing with motivation or a lack thereof. I’ve been reading all kinds of healthy living/eating blogs and I wonder what is it that clicked to make them completely overhaul their eating habits in order to make healthier choices for living? I read these blogs and find inspiration. However I also find a large sense of overwhelm and unrealistic expectations. One reoccurring theme I found is that none of the women I read have kids. And I would hazard a guess that they are probably in their 20s as well. Oh and have jobs to buy things like coconut water and $400 blenders. Now I’m not writing this to be hatin’. I thoroughly enjoy these blogs but I haven’t found a “healthy-living” blog that is of equal comparison to what my family looks like. I know that I’m the chef of this household and I decide what to feed my family and myself but I’m really struggling with finding healthy alternatives to some of the convenient packaged foods my kids eat. I’ve been trying some new recipes from the book Healthy Foods by Leanne Ely, C.N.C. I enjoyed the Crunchy Honey Mustard Chicken Fingers. My family? Not so much. The issue was with the cornflake coating. And I think the honey mustard was too tangy for Kate. I also tried the Mama’s PMS Cake (aka chocolate cake). This was a winner and Colin even liked it. I know I’ve got to keep on keepin’ on with this food.
I would love to hear what works for you and your family. I have a lot of picky eaters in my house so I’m willing to try anything once. And maybe twice or three times! I’m in search of affordable, nutritious eats that don’t take the entire day to prepare and an entire sink of dirty dishes to clean. I think that’s the hard part…is that the more you cook healthy meals the more dishes there are to be done. I think that’s why a box of Kraft mac n cheese is so tempting. Quick cook time and easy clean-up.
So please…for the love of almond butter and carrot sticks, share what works for you and your family.
Have you seen http://weelicious.com? I bet a lot of her recipes would work for your family. Some of my other daily reads:
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com
http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com
http://www.5dollardinners.com
I totally hear you when it comes to the no kids/disposable income set.
so this summer we have done lots of salads. spinach leaves, pecans, strawberries and organic chicken. or taco salad. or any kind of salad really. we tried lots. but really, i am in the very early stages of this with you. i did buy a cook book by that Reno lady we talked about. haven’t had the time to really delve into it and pull out some good recipes to try. but i surely will share with you once i get around to it. i know it’s overwhelming and time consuming. there’s gotta be a way to make it simpler. let’s figure it out!
I can totally see your frustration with feeling like your life is not really the same as many healthy living bloggers. I am hoping and praying to be a SAHM in the future, and I’ve thought many times how different that will be and how much more challenging as far as making myself a priority, eating for just me, and of course – money. I’m sure there is a plethora of other challenges that I won’t even think of until I’m there. Since I quit my job, I’ve already experienced a major decrease in the funds..and it definitely makes things more difficult.
You’ll probably think I’m crazy, but I sometimes feel the same way about the healthy living blogs I read. Many times it seems their lives are perfect and that they never struggle with overeating, eating ice cream and pizza, or feeling unmotivated. It can be quite discouraging sometimes, feeling like the only one who does struggle with these things. I’m still working on not comparing myself. I think that’s the nature of the blog world sometimes – you only see the good most of the time.
Anyway, this is becoming a novel now. Unfortunately I don’t have any good advice on easy, kid friendly meals, but I do want to say that you are obviously a great mom to even be attempting to feed your kids healthy food and any progress you make is obviously doing them a world of good – teaching them good habits and whatnot. So, keep it up and give yourself credit for every little good thing you do for them:)
Last thing – do you read the blog Peas and Thank You? While their family life does appear to be quite perfect sometimes, she has two small children and you might be able to get some ideas from her. If not, you’ll at least get a good laugh:)