Once upon a Monday, there was a mom of two boys. This mom has been striving to achieve a healthier way of living for her family through fresh foods and daily exercise/activity. But on this particularly snowy Monday, this mom found herself smiling as she reflected back on the week. Wednesday she made it to the gym to get in a run. It was so busy that she gave up her treadmill at mile 2.25 to a woman who was waiting and finished her 3.1 mile run on the track. Thursday, she was back at the gym for her Body Flow class only to find out that they cancelled it due to a schedule conflict with a TRX class. She was furious since her class has been in that room for almost a year and the TRX took “priority” since members “pay extra” even though the room is empty immediately following our class and available for several consecutive hours. So, like any level headed mother, she headed up to the treadmill to take out some frustrations with a steady climb at 15% incline for 15minutes. When she had enough burn in her butt she headed to the mats for a 15 minute Ab Burner Routine from her Nike Training App on her iPhone. With abs and butt burning she left feeling happier. Being that this was a 4 day work weekend for her, this is as far as she got with exercise. Oh well.
Her happiest moment for the weekend came when talking with her husband. While planning out meals for the week they brainstormed on healthier lunch options for the kids. They decided to take a proactive approach and get the boys involved with making of the meals. So with the help of Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious Cookbook. The boys helped their dad make homemade chicken nuggets and ate willingly. R ate all his nuggets and was willing to eat a few carrots dad had steamed. B ate a few nuggets and told dad he was “afraid” to try the carrots. with some debate, he tried it.
So, patting herself on the back, she congratulates herself for starting this journey. Her patience is paying off and more conversations are being made as a family about what is healthy compared to what is unhealthy. Her family is starting to move forward and heading in a direction she only dreamed of. She sees them living happily ever after.
**Update** I was a bit sleep deprived writing this, so pardon the narrative voice. At lunch today I decided to give raw baby carrots a try once again with the boys. R Willing ate several while B and I talked about his fear of new foods. When the boys were younger, they ate everything. Problem was they tried to eat too fast and B was notorious for shoveling more in his mouth than he could handle, leading him to choking and throwing up his food. This happened almost on a daily basis. He eventually learned, but now when he doesn’t like something he gags and throws up, like when I made him try mashed potatoes. He hates the feeling, and I don’t blame him, but I really don’t want him scared to try new foods. My husband told him to have water or milk handy and if he B didn’t like to food to take a drink right away. It helps, a little. So while R was finishing his baby carrots, I managed to get B to try one. We tried dipping in ranch dressing (made with greek yogurt and ranch seasoning, thanks Lori @gutimom for the idea, I LOVE it). That lead to gagging but he was able to keep it down with water. I then gave him another and he ate it plain, no problem. I plan on doing this with every meal as well as for snack time. I am concerned about the fall when they will be taking their lunches to school. They cannot live off PB and J alone. Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas?
Mom's Healthy Lifestyle 