Food Challenge: A Better Snack Choice

Are you up for the food challenge?  Perhaps you're not ready to go all in, but maybe you'll start small and choose a few things to change.  Whatever route you take, whether big or small, will move you one step closer to teaching your children to make healthy food choices as well as improving the health of your entire family.  Once you get the ball rolling, it's easy to keep it going!

Today we are going to tackle the ever-important topic of snacks (at least to the kids!).  I'll list some of our favorite snacks and give you a few ideas how to spice up snack time around your house.  I would like to preface this post by saying I am not a die-hard real food follower.  Our entire diet is not organic or GMO free, but I would say close to 80 to 90% of it is.  This has been a slow transition over many years, but I am happy to say we have made it work!  I understand all organic is not made equal and there may be better sources out there, but finding food to work with our peanut and tree nut free requirements can limit our choices at times.  All of the suggestions I have for you fall into the nut-free category!

Alright, let's get to it.  Kids love snacks.  I'm pretty sure they love snacks more than meals!  I have some kiddos who eat like birds at mealtime, so I want to make sure their snacks have nutritious benefits and some substance.  Food manufacturers would like us to believe we should be feeding our kids Goldfish crackers by the handful and packets of sugary crap for lack of a better term.  I bought into this way of eating for awhile.  I used to stock up on all sorts of these foods, but no more!  It may be tough at first, but in time your kids will adapt.  It's junk....filled with dyes, artificial flavors, preservatives, and offers very little nutrition and a pile of empty calories.  It's time for some new options!  Next time it is your child's turn to bring snack to school, think about choosing a healthy option!  All of my suggestions are free of food dye and are GMO-free and/or organic.  I find all of these items at Target unless otherwise noted.

Pre-packaged Ideas:

• Cascadian Farm Chewy Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars
• KIND Dark Chocolate Chunk or oats and honey Granola Bars
• The Daily Crave Veggie Straws of Chips (Marshall's or TJ Maxx)
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Graham Crackers
• Annie's Homegrown Organic Cheddar or Graham Bunnies

Dairy Ideas:

• Horizon (Hy-Vee) or Stoneyfield Farm Squeeze Yogurt
• Horizon String Cheese
• Applegate Farms Cheese Slices (Hy-Vee)
• Stoneyfield Farm Greek or Regular Yogurt
• Organic Lifeway Kefir

Alternative Candy Options:  (Hy-vee, Marshall's, or TJ Maxx)

• Yum Earth Organics Lollipops
• Yum Earth Organics Sour Beans
• Yum Earth Organics Gummy Bears or Worms

Snack Ideas:

• Fresh fruit (organic if possible)
• Blend into a smoothie
• Kabobs
• Fruit Salsa and Chips
• Fruit leathers (I love apricot!  Try using local honey from a farmer's market!)
• Fruit and yogurt dip
• Make applesauce (Substitute honey for sugar if desired.  Bonus:  fun science activity!)
• Fresh veggies
• Ants on a log (celery, Sunbutter, and raisins)
• Veggies and Annie's Homegrown Organic Cowgirl Ranch Dressing
• Air popped organic popcorn (Hy-Vee) topped with organic unsalted butter paired with organic apples
• Yogurt parfaits (Stoneyfield Farm vanilla yogurt topped with Cascadian Farm Oats and Honey granola; you can also add fresh berries in layers, too!
• Muir Glen or Archer Farms organic salsa and organic blue corn or white corn chips (Simply Balanced found at Target)

A Challenge to Change

I'm going to go out on a limb here and write about a topic near and dear to me:  food.  Especially the food we are feeding our children.  It may ruffle a few feathers, but I'm okay with that.  I would like to encourage you to be open-minded and just consider entertaining implementing some of these ideas.  By no means am I a food savant, but I feel pretty strongly about what I'm about to share with you.

I think we can all agree, to some extent, there are environmental factors contributing to the rise in food allergies, serious illnesses, and the overall decline in the health of Americans.  In my opinion, the biggest culprit is our food.  The rise of childhood cancer, food allergies, and autism are frightening.  As a society, we are always questioning why this is.  I truly feel at least part of the equation is the food we consume. Over time, our sources of food have changed, genetically modified organisms have been introduced, and processed food has taken over the market.  As a mother of a child with a life-threatening peanut and tree nut allergy, I have found studies correlating the rise in food allergies with the introduction of GMO's to be very disturbing.

Over the course of the past five years, we have significantly changed our diet.  We primarily buy organic and non-GMO food and avoid food dye, MSG, high fructose corn syrup, among many other additives.  You may feel like it's a little over the top, but I've seen with my own eyes the effect food dye has on two of my children.  One is at home with me all day and one goes to preschool.  Since we keep it out of their diets at home, my son rarely consumes food dye anymore, while my daughter does if she has a snack that contains dye at preschool.  It takes me all of about ten minutes after pick up to know if she's had it or not.  She is hyper, out of control, and very hard to calm down.  My son used to be the same way, but has greatly improved since we have eliminated food dye from his diet.

You may be wondering where I'm going with this.  Well, let's cut to the chase.  I would like to encourage you to open up your pantries and read what is in your food.  Is it full of words you can't pronounce?  Does it contain food dye (there are so many foods, like Kraft marshmallows, that do)?  How much of it is healthy versus a filler, an unhealthy choice?  You may feel like it's not a big deal, but you are your child's first teacher and their role model.  What message are you conveying to them about food?

WHAT YOU FEED YOUR CHILD IS IMPORTANT!  Ultimately, we control what food is brought into our homes and what our children eat.  Say goodbye to the junk.  The food that provides very little nutrition, but plenty of empty calories.  At first it may be a challenge, but eventually it becomes second nature.  My kids still request Fruit Loops and Goldfish crackers, but I gently tell them no and tell them why we don't eat those foods.  It's okay to say no.

Think it costs too much to eat organic?  While it can be more expensive, your budget won't change much if you cut out the sugary snacks, frozen meals, and processed foods.  Think you don't have the time to cook?  Meal planning, prepping ahead, and/or making crockpot meals can greatly reduce your time in the kitchen in the evening.  Afraid your family will revolt?  They might at first, but over time they'll adapt.

My kids have grown to love fruit smoothies, fresh fruit, or air popped popcorn for a snack.  We enjoy trying new recipes for dinner and special treats.  It may not always be fast or convenient, but at the end of the day, it feels good to know you are putting the health of your family at the top of the priority list.

Stay tuned for some fun, easy ideas for snacks that don't come out of a box or a plastic bag!

  
  

Toss Away Those Mother's Day Expectations

I must admit, for some of my mothering years I had great expectations for Mother's Day and often times felt let down once the day came to an end.  I would vow to not clean a thing, cook, or engage in any other activity requiring effort to keep up the house.  I envisioned my children behaving like angels and an opportunity to relax and have some time to myself.  It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but it's true. This year I have mentally taken a different approach to this day and I must say, it has been a refreshing change.  I set no expectations in my mind and have been so surprised by and appreciative of the sweet gestures of love from my not-so-little family. I've even done a load of laundry...gasp!

Today we are honored because we are mothers.  We spend each day doing our best to ensure our family is well taken care of on all fronts.  Each day we wake and serve our families and we do this for two reasons:  out of love for our family and because God has called us to do so.  Our purpose is to teach, guide, and nurture the children we have been blessed with.  It requires a lifetime commitment, an abundance of patience, and the ability to keep moving forward even when we want to curl up and sleep for days due to the pure exhaustion of raising our family.

Let us never forget how lucky we are.  It could be very different.  So many women long to be mothers, but don't get the opportunity.  Some women must leave their families long before they are ready.  Some women mourn the child they have lost.  Some women wonder about the child they gave up for a chance at a better life.

On this Mother's Day, let us take the opportunity to be grateful for our blessings, embrace this club we are so privileged to be a part of, and appreciate the gestures of love our families have graced us with today.  I hope you all have had a wonderful day!

Enjoying the Game

My oldest is 7.  He's always been very creative, detailed, and into sports.  Nearly every day for 4 years he's played some sort of a sports game:  baseball outside, basketball inside, or with one of his several sets of "guys" (hockey, baseball, football, and basketball to be exact!) he loves to play with.  While he loves his friends, he loves to play alone and get lost in his games.  He is an introvert at heart.

In his room you will find jerseys from all of his favorite teams in home and away colors.  Each day he comes home from school with his schedule showing the game for the afternoon.  Some days he even brings home tickets he's made for the stuffed animals that will make up his crowd. If he's going to play a game, he'll change into his uniform, set up a stadium, bring the fans to the game, and get the music prepared.  If he's going to play with his guys, he'll complete all of these steps except for changing!  For as long as I can remember, he has just loved sports...period.

At times, I admit, I find this frustrating.  He enjoys this part of his life so much and gets so into it, we run into disappointment, and often some tantrums, if we can't fit a game in on any given day. These games can take hours.  He loves to report to us who has scored, how the game is going, and any other little details he finds important.  There are days when I get annoyed with the reports every few minutes.  I struggle with feelings of guilt because I don't sit and watch them like I used to.  It's such a big part of his life and I know that someday it will abruptly stop and I will think to myself, "I wish I would have taken the time to watch him."

When it comes down to it, I think it's just his way of dreaming of things yet to come.  It's his creative outlet and a way for him to put all of the sports knowledge swimming around in his brain to good use.  Today I caught a glimpse of how much he wants someone to pay attention to his game.  How important it is to him to be noticed.  It was the seventh inning of his baseball game and I realized soon it would be time to sing the 7th Inning Stretch:  "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."  His voice got louder as he approached the third out in the top half of the inning and he looked around to see if anyone would watch what was to come.  I've seen this hundreds of times over, but it still brings a smile to my face.  I can still see this sweet little boy playing his games in the backyard when he was just a preschooler.  The little boy who sang the "National Anthem" to start his games, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the middle, and if we were lucky, "Go Cubs Go" on a winning game day.

These will be the memories that will be engrained in my mind when I think of my oldest son growing up.  I often wonder what he'll be when he grows up:  a baseball player, a sports announcer, a sports writer.  If his profession has nothing to do with sports I will be shocked!

I love my little boy and his imagination.  I just need to remind myself to stop and soak in some of the games while they last.  All too soon the sounds from the stands will be gone...

2014-7 years old!

2012-5 years old!

2010-3 years old!

Nostalgia: Birthdays Are Hard...

Birthdays are always hard for me.  Some days seem to last forever, but in the blink of an eye another year has rolled around.  This year I am struggling even more than normal.  You see, my girls' birthdays are just a day apart.  Last year I was impatiently awaiting the arrival of our little surprise bundle of joy and now I am preparing to celebrate a fifth and first birthday.

Five seems so old, after all she will head to kindergarten in the fall.  No more carefree days at home relatively shielded from the reality of the real world and the not-so-pleasant experiences she will more than likely encounter.  Oh, I know it's not all bad, there are plenty of wonderful experiences and opportunities that go along with heading off to school, but there are also tough, sad moments along the way, too.  My daughter is a sweet, sensitive, imaginative little beauty.  She is so excited to grow up and her mommy would just love for her to stay innocent forever.  It's so hard to watch them grow and leave the nest, if only for awhile.  Sigh...

My sweet little baby is turning one.  That first year is one I'd love to be able to freeze forever.  I've struggled with all of my baby's first birthdays, but this one is even more difficult.  There is a good possibility this is the last first birthday celebration we will have.  The last baby of my own that I will hold so close.  The last firsts we will experience.  The last sweet snuggles.  I love, love, love babies.  I may be hours and hours behind on sleep and yearning for a bit of me time, but I wouldn't trade these years for anything.  For as long as I can remember I dreamt of having a lot of kids.  I was never certain how many, but I knew I would love a big family.  We are fortunate this has been our reality.  I'm just not so sure how I could already be at this juncture in my life.  I had dinner with some ladies this past weekend and one of them put it so simply, "I think we always thought about having children, we just never thought about being done having children.  It's so final."  

It is so final.  I'm just not ready to close the door just yet.  Ah, it is just so hard.  

This weekend I will do my best to hide the tears I know will come.  I've felt so emotional and anxious since the calendar switched to April.  I will celebrate all we have been blessed with and count my lucky stars that I get to be "Mom" to these four sweet little kiddos.  I'll also do my best to imprint these memories in my mind and remind myself on the days when I feel like I'm going to go crazy that I wouldn't want my life to be any different.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little daughters.  Your mommy loves you so!

Princess #1

Princess #2

The Quest for a Simpler Life: Being Okay with Swimming Upstream

Intentional living.  Recently a friend sent me a blog post about a newly released book called Notes From a Blue Bike:  Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider.  I knew I wanted to read it and am so happy I did.  For me and for my family, it is time to quiet the noise.  To sift through all of life's distractions and decide what is truly beneficial and what needs to go.  To live simply in a way which reflects our values, priorities, and purpose.  To be okay with swimming upstream.

Our society encourages us to fill our days to the brim.  The busier the better.  Young, old, or in between; no one is immune.  We are encouraged to buy, buy, buy.  To fill our homes with so much "stuff" we find it difficult to appreciate what we have.  Work follows us home and we are accessible all.of.the.time.  In our culture, less is definitely not more.  Family time is spent on the go and so often our children are robbed of the opportunity to simply be kids.  We're all chasing this idea that our worth is defined by our achievements and to achieve great things we must go, go, go.  Work more, sleep less, enroll in an abundance of extracurricular activities, always say yes.  How far from the truth is this way of thinking?  Far, very far.

By nature, I am an organizer and a busy body.  I enjoy being involved in my community, working on projects at home, and keeping up with my kids.  I have a hard time sitting down and just relaxing.  I feel like I am doing my best to balance my role as a mom with the need to be an individual too.  I spend the majority of my time at home with my family, but need to do a better job of quieting some of the noise that distracts me from my purpose for this season:  being a mom to four impressionable young children.  Saying no to the opportunities outside of the home that aren't a priority, limiting social media, and ignoring the pressure to keep up with the Jones'.

In our home, family will always be number one.  It is time to focus on our priorities in many different areas of our life (examples taken from the book:  food, education, travel, entertainment, and work).  The decisions we make each day should coincide with these priorities.  Our children may not be pleased when we tell them no, but there are times when it needs to happen.  For our family, time for free play, eating dinner together, and early bedtimes mean we limit our extracurricular activities and schedule them to work with these priorities.  Limited screen time may mean saying no to the technology that may interfere with reading, cultivating creativity, and outdoor play.  Taking a family vacation may mean saying no to costly local entertainment in order to save up for a bigger adventure.  

Slowing down may seem like such a challenge.  Ridding our homes of excess "stuff" may seem impossible.  Living simply takes work.  Our decisions may be different than our neighbors, friends, or extended family and that's okay.  The key point to remember: to be confident in our decisions and keep our priorities at the center of our decision making process.  Slow down.  Quiet the noise.  Remember our priorities.  While we may be swimming upstream, we are putting our family first and holding true to our beliefs.  You just have to own it and carry on.  As the old saying goes, "To each his own."      

  

    

       

Marinated Pork Tenderloin and Sauteed Asparagus

What we eat is so important to us.  We do our best to cook using organic, dye-free, and Non-GMO products, so we've been trying new recipes to replace the pre-made marinades and sauces you can purchase at the store.  Thus far we have had great success and I am looking forward to grilling season to try even more!  I wanted to share a few great recipes we made for dinner a few weeks ago:  marinated pork tenderloin and garlic asparagus.  Making your own marinades is so quick and easy, not to mention more cost effective.  I encourage you to try some out!  I know I feel much better about what I'm serving my family when I know precisely what ingredients are used and avoiding all of the artificial dyes and fillers that go into these products.  Enjoy!

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1/4 c. olive oil*
1/4 c. soy sauce*
1 clove, garlic minced
3 T. dijon honey mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 (2 lb.) boneless pork tenderloin

*We used organic products that can be found at Target or in the health aisle at your local grocery store.

Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients.  Place the tenderloin in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade into bag.  Seal it up and give it a shake.  Marinade at least one hour (longer if possible).

Place tenderloin in baking dish and pour marinade over it.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, until center is no longer pink.

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus

3 T. organic butter
1 bunch asparagus
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and asparagus.  Cover and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally until asparagus is tender.  If you like it more well done, continue to cook until desired tenderness.

*We also used this recipe to saute the mushrooms and zucchini shown in the picture.  Yum!