This past holiday season, my neighbor and I were chatting about cooking, nutrition and the types of food we feed our families. She was excited about her new blender and about giving her twin boys smoothies for breakfast. What a great idea!
She also mentioned that she would love my guidance on her family’s nutrition and some help on improving things – via recipes, menus or other resources.
I was flattered! Nutrition and the idea of teaching others about making better choices is very inspiring - like a giant puzzle! I'm looking forward to helping her - and I bet she'll find she knows more than she thinks.
In the meantime, I must say that I am no nutrition professional. I am not a registered dietitian. And, as I often say, I’m not a purist! But, I am a mother of two growing, hungry little ones - and I usually cook three meals a day. And good nutrition + a good grocery bill are two key priorities in our family.
There are tons of amazing individuals like the Meal Makeover Moms, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking and Tsh at Simple Mom/Simple Bites who inspire me each day – and for whom I am so grateful. Many days, I crave inspiration - and these ladies always provide it. They are just a few individuals in the giant online world of those who celebrate food and nutrition.
Last New Year’s Eve, when having dinner with some friends, I had a chat with a friend about his nutrition. He shared that he eats terribly – and eats out a lot. My reply was simple: if you want your car to run at peak performance, what would you put into it? I tried reminding him that we are in charge of what we put into our bodies – no one else is.
I shared with him my personal feeling that eating well means putting good things in – not just removing the bad. Regarding diets – and this is my own personal opinion – they don’t work! I also shared with him my passion of thinking of eating as a proactive means of nurturing our bodies – and not punishing ourselves by doing without certain foods. You can enjoy many different foods every day by eating in moderation with a diverse menu. Let us celebrate good food!
One of the main reasons I enjoy cooking at home so much is that it gives me much peace to know that my family is consuming good food, and I am intentional with our nutrition. When we go out to dinner, or when my daughter sometimes buys her lunch at school, I have no idea what we’re eating. As a control freak in the kitchen, I find this completely unsettling.
For our family, for both financial and nutritional reasons, we’ve chosen to eat out only on the weekends, which usually consists of Saturday evening and possibly Sunday lunch.
I love this routine because I try to roughly plan our meals for the week. And I know almost exactly what we’re consuming because I cooked the meals. This process works best for us.
Let's cut to the chase. Here are five random questions to spark some intention:
- Do you read the ingredients of any packaged foods you purchased this week?
- Do you have a menu plan for this week?
- Did you buy your lunch today, or did you make it yourself?
- How many fruits and veggies have you eaten today?
- How many healthy beverages have you consumed today?
What is one step you could take next week to be more intentional with your nutrition?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Have a lovely weekend!
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