Getting your kids to eat healthy

  So many parents struggle getting their kids to eat healthier foods. We are very blessed that we have a good little eater, but I (better than anyone else on this planet) know how difficult picky eaters can be. I was one. I was so malnourished as a kid for not eating and not eating the appropriate foods that I was always sick. My parents lived a nightmare trying to force feed me foods. I am forever sorry Mom and Dad for the torture I put us all through! I was such a weird kid. I still don't understand why I battled with food for so long, but I know better than anyone what goes through kids' minds when they refuse to eat certain things. Let me save you energy, if they're strong-willed, you're wasting your time.

 Thankfully when I met my husband, he encouraged me to try new things. It's funny what you'll do to impress someone you love ;) Until I graduated from Purdue, I had never tried steak, soup, tacos, (still haven't ever tried a good ol' Jimmy John's or Subway type sandwich), fish, zero condiments, cauliflower, mexican food, etc. The list goes on and on. It was sad. I thought a hamburger was made out of ham. My husband couldn't believe how I ate. I lived on pb&j, bread, more bread, cereal, more bread, and sugar. He would make me try new stuff, and (in hopes that he would continue taking me on dates), I would try whatever he told me to. So basically, I tried enough "normal" food that he finally decided I was pretty cool and married me ;)

  Now that I've proven my credibility in the picky-eater's world, let me share some personal (not-medically approved) tips! I am by no means an expert, but I feel for those of you who are in this boat & want to help.

1. Don't force foods on your kids. They certainly won't starve themselves. (Although I did as a child, but I was beyond stubborn) They will let you know when they're finally hungry. Kids don't live to eat, they eat to live! How often have your kids swam, played or ran around all day that you have to stop them from what they're doing to eat or make a bowel movement? Ha, they're really into having fun and living life! Kids develop unhealthy habits from watching us.

2. If you have an infant trying foods for the first time, try the foods with them! You can't expect kids to eat something that you won't eat either. I once made broccoli sound so tasty and delicious as I ate it, that I actually believed it was as good as chocolate cake or something. I am a pretty solid actress. You're at an advantage here because you're starting from a clean slate. They don't have any formed opinions on foods, yet.

3. Stop feeding them sugar (juices, cookies, candy, etc) and processed carbs (chips, crackers, fruit snacks, etc). Who would want to eat fruits and vegetables when you know how addicting junk food is? Use this junk very sparingly. After the holidays, it was very difficult to get my family back on track. And all of the sugar made us grumpy. My husband and I felt bloated and tired, and my daughter was hyper and acting-up more often. In my eyes, it wasn't worth eating 500+ cookies and buckeyes.

4. For parents with toddlers who already don't eat well, are picky, anti-vegetables, or sport the I'd-rather-die-than-eat-healthy-food attitude...don't give up. Keep offering healthy options everyday. Toss the junk. Out of sight, out of mind. Fill your tables, cabinets and fridge up with healthy choices. Eventually they'll get hungry and may try something they see you eating! Even if I'm not hungry, if I see someone eating, I instantly want to eat too. Please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem?!

5. Try making fruit and vegetable smoothies and let the kids help you. If they don't like vegetables, cover their eyes when you toss them in! ;) If they won't drink it, try freezing them into popsicles. Make it fun! Here is a great popsicle recipe book to try. If they are picky about specks, chunks, texture, the appearance, etc then try purchasing a high-quality blender that will puree the crap out of it as to eliminate these issues. As a kid, I wouldn't try anything that had spots or flecks of anything because I thought they were "bugs". Start out making these with more fruit vs. veggies as to make it sweet and more appetizing. Once they're used to eating these healthy treats, slowly incorporate more veggies!

6. When your child eats something healthy, make a GIGANTIC deal about it. Act like a total fool. I am so ridiculous, I actually make my daughter blush. Doing anything in life is a lot more enjoyable when you're being recognized and praised for doing so.

7. Eat as a family for as many meals as possible throughout the week! Because my husband works nights, we don't always get to have dinner together. We will turn our breakfast into family time instead! Eating together is healthy for everyone and encourages good eating habits, too.

8. Try a sticker-reward board. Create a board that is fun for your child. For every time they try a new healthy food, they get to put a sticker on the board and brag all about it! It would help if you could find food-related stickers, like these. For example: Eat a cucumber, pick out the cucumber sticker & stick it on the board; show mom & dad & grandma, grandpa, friends, dogs...whoever they want to brag to, and be sure to go crazy happy for them! ;) (we do this for potty-training and good behavior, too).

9. Don't give up trying. You'll likely waste food attempting this, which is frustrating, but eventually you'll figure out what they like. It'll be so worth all of the work!

10. Have them help you cook. There's been so many times that I've worked hard in the kitchen and made (more often than not) really disgusting meals...but I'll be damned if I am not going to eat it and make it sound like it was the best thing ever.

11. Educate them. Kids are so smart. They want to learn. Teach them what certain foods are, and learn what kinds of vitamins and minerals are in each food and how those things make us healthy & strong. If you don't know for yourself, then google it with them.

12. Pray for them. I pray daily for Hayden! I thank God for her health and pray for continued blessings.

I really hope this helps ya'll! I wish it were easier, but kids are tough. They're our greatest challenge and joys!

And remember...ya still gotta live the good life! To those who think all we eat are organic twigs and berries...

Dinners!

   Many have been asking recipes for the dinners we've been eating lately so I'll just share the latest we've tried with some other combo ideas for y'all! First off, I'm always asked where we grocery shop. Thanks to Fresh Thyme's grand opening, that is primarily where I shop now. However there are some things that we just consume so much of that I'll still occasionally go to Sams Club/Costco or Payless depending on what it is. Lately, we've been getting our grass fed beef from Fresh Thyme. But if you can't stand the crowds, you can get it from Payless or buy local from places like Sheepdog Farms in West Lafayette.

   We typically will have grass-fed beef or poultry throughout the week, occasionally adding in fish for variety. Funny story: last week we had salmon with cauliflower rice. I told my daughter to try the fish because it was really yummy. She was brave and tried it, but wasn't a fan. Calling it "fish", really threw her off. After all, I don't tell her to eat "cow", yet she loves beef. Now all she wants to do is try and swallow her toy "Flounder & Ariel." Kid's are so concrete and sensitive to what we tell them. I've been finding that it is all about presentation and careful wording when introducing toddlers to new healthy stuff!

  As most of you know, my husband does 99% of the cooking (when he's not working 7 days a week). Based off of his delicious meals, I would have to say that beef is the most versatile! There's so many different meals you can make with this one and have a totally different flavor every time. My daughter and I looove beef!

We love, love mexican food and miss the awesome fajitas he used to make. So he did this dinner for me a couple weeks ago.

It was one of those meals that was so good, I wished the plate would magically keep refilling itself. He just used some chia seed salsa he found at the grocery, grass fed beef and seasonings to create the meat portion. As for the veggies and sweet potatoes, we keep it plain and simple. 

Meat:

-1 lb grass-fed ground beef

-spicy salsa 

-seasonings (we use these, they make every dish perfect)

   Put beef on a skillet on medium heat, sprinkle in the seasonings of your choice. Once the meat begins to brown, add in about 1/2 cup of the salsa and continue to cook (at low to med heat, as a higher heat may burn the salsa) until all the meat is browned evenly. 

Sweet Potatoes:

-4-5 sweet potatoes diced

-coconut oil

-sea salt

   Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel (optional-I'll usually peel the skin off for my daughter) and dice sweet potatoes into small cubes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle sea salt onto the paper. Toss potatoes onto cookie sheet. Put into oven and set timer for 15 min. After 15 min, take a spatula or spoon with a chunk (1 tbsp or 2) of coconut oil on it, and stir up the potatoes until the coconut oil melts off of the spoon. Put back into oven and let it cook for another 15-20 min, stirring in 15 min intervals until all of the potatoes look golden and crispy. (Sometimes we will take them out early because our daughter prefers them soft vs. crispy. Easier for her to chew up!) 

Veggies:

-bag of vegetable medley

-seasonings

   In a large stove pot with fitted lid, fill the pot with water until the bottom is covered in a puddle of water. Add vegetables and seasonings, or just chop some fresh garlic into the pot. Cover with lid and cook on low heat until the vegetables turn bright and vibrant. 

The vegetables are a staple to almost every dinner of ours, we just change the meat up as variety! This also makes food prepping for the week easier. 

Hope you enjoy this post! This is a pretty generalized idea of what we eat on a day-to-day basis. It's a lot of cleanup cooking for every meal, but once you get into the habit of doing so...it's worth it! Eat good, feel good!

Happy 2015!

Happy 2015 everyone! I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season. We have had a wonderful time spending it together as a family. The last week has felt like a dream! Hopefully this new year may hold a day-shift position for my hubby! We spent our NYE out at a Japanese Steakhouse where they cook at your table. It was a lot of fun with great family and friends!

Girls' outfits from Naartjie

This morning I made my annual batch of laundry detergent and thought it would be a great recipe to share with you! I found a recipe online years ago and have been making it on my own ever since. It's seriously so easy and cheap. You have to try it!

Here's all that you'll need:
-1 box of Super Washing Soda (3 lb box)
-1 box of Borax (4 lb box)
-1 box of Baking Soda (4 lb box)
-1 box of Oxy Clean (or 3 lbs, & save the scoop & coupon that comes inside the container)
-2 bars of soap of your choice (I used this)

-a heavy duty spoon and large bucket for mixing ingredients
-glass canister for storage

Grate the bars of soap (I used a cheese grater or you could use a food processor) into small slivers. Dump all of the ingredients into a bucket (I like to add a little of each at a time-layering it-as to make the mixing easier). Mix it all together and scoop it into your glass canister. Use 1-2 tbsp per laundry load. That's it! You can of course add scented crystals to the laundry if you want an extra fresh scent! However, the bars of soap add a decent amount of fragrance. If you have particularly sensitive skin, then I'd recommend using a milder soap. We have really sensitive skin so I've used anything from Dove, Olay to this.

Because this detergent is low-suds, it is safe to use in high-efficiency washers and top loaders! It really is pretty much perfect. I love this stuff! It's saved us so much money. Here's to cleaner clothes and heavier wallets for 2015 ;)

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Weekend

   I want to start by apologizing for my lack of posts lately! Dustin has been working 10 hour days, 7 days a week and to top it off with holidays and my grandpa being sick. Yesterday was his 87th birthday, and he celebrated it in the hospital with the stomach flu, severe dehydration, and irregularly low heartbeat. So our Sunday will consist of enjoying this beautiful spring-like day as a family and visiting our grandpa at the hospital again.

   For his birthday, he said he wanted a banana cake. I love hearing his stories of his past birthdays. He told me that a few decades back, he made his own banana cake and all of the ladies would always ask him when he was going to bake another one for them ;)

   I wanted to make a nostalgic cake for him, so I did some Pinteresting and came upon this recipe which turned out beautifully! It certainly isn't paleo, but it's definitely delicious! Baking this cake made me really miss my old days of baking all the time. Unfortunately, my grandpa couldn't enjoy a slice of the cake (he's on a strict liquid diet), but I may or may not have slipped him just one "small" bite. Shhh!!

   Our thanksgiving was spent with family where I celebrated being done with our 28-day fall Nutrition Challenge at Crossfit Uncommon. I didn't cheat for one second of those 28 days, but I definitely dreamt of all of the things I'd be gettin' down on come Thanksgiving time! It was all I expected and so much more. I ate more than any man at the dinner table and didn't regret it for a second. 

Pre-turkey

Post-turkey

         I hope that ya'll have a beautiful Sunday! 

Gingerbread Protein Pancakes (Paleo)

   So as of lately, anytime that I have eggs for breakfast my stomach will be turning into knots for hours after. I have eaten eggs for just about every breakfast for over two years now! I figured maybe it's my way of my body telling me it's all egg-ed out. So I listened. I miss the days of eating pancakes, but don't want to put grains back into my diet so I came up with this recipe. It took me multiple tries to get them to look and taste just right and they get better every time I make them! Keep in mind when you're preparing them: that it's a small serving for one...I don't measure my spices or much of anything for that matter so if you like exact measurements, don't do this recipe. I'll be describing them with the annoying terms such as "dash", "scant", "pinch", etc.


Gingerbread Protein Paleo Pancakes

   A look at some of the ingredients:

Ingredients:

-about 1/2 cup almond meal
-1 egg
-1 scoop of protein powder of choice (I used chocolate, it's all I had. If you have gingerbread...that's even cooler)
-about 1/2 tbsp organic chia seeds (optional, adds texture and Omega 3's)
-handful-ish of organic unsweetened shredded coconut (optional, again-adds texture, flavor)
-pinch of coconut crystals (low glycemic alternative to sweeteners, nothing artificial about this one though :)
-dash of ginger, nutmeg, & clove
-super dash of cinnamon (optional on the "super" part...I just think you can never have too much cinnamon)
-almond milk (no set amount, just have it ready. Coconut milk is fine, too. Cow's milk is also fine, whatever you're into!)
-coconut oil


Get out a small bowl, add all of the dry ingredients (including the egg-not shown in this pic) into the bowl. Stir them together.

Now it's time for the milk. I literally just splash a very small amount into the bowl and mix.

If it is still dry & crumbly, then I will add another small splash. Keep adding the almond milk until it is thick and creamy.

Spoon batter onto medium-heated skillet (oiled with coconut oil) and let it cook until it bubbles and then flip it!

Top it off with nut butter, fruit, nuts, syrup. Whatever you would like!

Hope everyone enjoys this one! Happy Thanksgiving!

Mini Gingerbread "Snow" Covered Donuts

Today was the first day of snow around here and I was just too excited and in the Christmas spirit to not celebrate! I want my daughter to have the sweetest holiday memories. So I ran into her bedroom this morning to get her out of bed to show her the snow outside her window...only to find...a "reindeer"! We have 2 acres of unkept land where the deer love to nest this time of year. So seeing them in our yard is very entertaining. It was too perfect and cute to watch her reaction. Needless to say, it's been a magical day!  

Anyways, I'll cut to the chase. Here's the recipe to the donuts we made today...hope you enjoy as much as she did! Disclaimer: not everything I make is "clean eating" or paleo. Gotta let the kid taste the dirty stuff, too ;) 

Mini Gingerbread Snow Covered Donuts

Dry Ingredients:

-1 cup flour

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 cinnamon 

-1/2 tsp ginger

-1/8 tsp cloves

-1/8 tsp nutmeg

-1/4 tsp salt 

-1/4 cup brown sugar

Wet Ingredients: 

-1 egg

-3 tbsp maple syrup

-1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla

-3 tbsp melted butter (I used ghee, aka clarified butter) 

Frosting:

-1 cup powdered sugar

- 1tbsp hot water

-1/2 heaping tbsp almond milk (any milk is fine)

-splash of vanilla

-shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease donut pan with coconut oil (or whatever it is that you use). Combine dry ingredients and stir. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until moistened. Pipe the batter into the pan, careful to not overload them. Bake for 8 min. As they're cooling, mix frosting ingredients in a small bowl. Pour shredded coconut into a separate small dish and set aside. Once the donuts are cooled, dip in the frosting and let excess drip off (or let your toddler spastically shake it, so frosting goes flying) and then gently dunk into bowl of shredded coconut. Lay on a pretty plate and enjoy! 

Our loss, Heaven's great gain

As most of you probably already know most of this story, I wanted to share again. This is obviously from my perspective, but I also realize it was as much Dustin's loss as it was mine. I cannot speak for him. He's been so strong through this process, but I am certain he feels the same.

I have received so many messages from moms and dads of their stories of miscarriage and so many sweet prayers...I am so thankful for everyone sharing their personal stories of their sweet babies. I was also extremely saddened that so many people haven't shared their stories with others. Although it is NOT fun to talk about, I can't imagine how hard it would be to heal if I closed up and didn't talk and pray about it. I am a very open and honest person, so I don't mind telling my story. I don't care that some people disagree with what I've done or how I feel about this. I don't care if people judge me for what's happened. I don't regret telling people that we were expecting before we made it to the second trimester. I hope that some mothers and fathers that have suffered loss find encouragement through our suffering.

I found out that we were expecting on Labor Day. Dustin and I were elated and didn't wait a second to share the news with our family. The family was of course very excited. Only a couple of weeks after finding out that we were pregnant, we had an ultrasound to discover that we were expecting twins!! We couldn't believe it. Literally, shocked. The ultrasound tech waited about fifteen minutes into the appointment to tell us...which made it even harder to believe! She wanted to be sure that there were really two sacs before telling us.

She, and the midwife, were very very clear from the beginning that they don't see twins this early in an ultrasound all that often and to be very cautious to share the news with anyone, even close family, until we were in the "clear" of the glorious second trimester.

We left the appointment, unphased by their warnings and couldn't wait to tell family and friends. So we didn't. I felt so sure inside my heart that I was meant to carry those twins full term and that they would be perfectly safe inside me. I was healthy. I am strong mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. I never for a moment considered that a miscarriage could be a part of our history.

That was, until our next appointment. The babies hadn't changed too much in the ultrasound and I just sensed that things weren't right. I knew that I should have measured further along. I stayed strong and didn't cry when the tech told us that things weren't looking too good. I didn't want to believe her words. After all, I had already gotten everyone's hopes up. I didn't want to face all of the upset questions from family and friends.

I quickly fell apart after leaving the appointment and realized that my confidence in the blessings was my own selfishness. Total selfishness. I had two weeks to grieve the possibility of a miscarriage before I actually miscarried both babies. So when it actually happened, I was somewhat prepared and at peace. I knew in my heart that it was coming.

It was a lonely night when it happened, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I grieved for them. I had all night alone to cry, pray and be in my own thoughts. I selfishly wanted them still growing inside me, but knew that this wasn't a mistake. This was God's plan from the beginning. I was just along for the bumpy ride. I waited until the sun came up and my daughter woke up to bury the babies. I showed Hayden and Dustin the babies, prayed for them, we kissed the burial box and we buried them in a special place in our yard. It was a very hard thing to do, but wouldn't have it any other way.

So many people have apologized to me. Told me that they're sorry for my loss. I am not sorry. I'm not sorry that it happened. Of course I am extremely saddened and aching inside, but I am peaceful knowing that the babies weren't mine to begin with. God chose me to carry them. Even if it were for just a couple months...he chose me for this great joy and this great suffering. I am beyond honored and thankful for it all. Words can't express my thankfulness for God's constant grace. He knew that I could handle this. Through this all, it's brought me so much closer to Him. All I can seem to do is praise Jesus. And for that, I am also thankful. Without God, I wouldn't have known His promise to find the positivity and strength to make it through.

Again, Dustin and I are so thankful for the love and personal stories that people have so kindly shared with us. Knowing how painful it is to talk about, we thank you and are praying for you all! We love all of you so much.


Psalm 71: 20-21

     Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up.