Of Making Healthy Choices

Our children are such fans of food they plan their meals ahead of time.  Okay, to be honest, Emmett probably wouldn't think of it if he had not heard his sister do so.  He's just generally happy to have food in front of him of any sort (such a boy).  His sister on the other hand?  She's planning tomorrow's breakfast while she's eating her eggs today.

"And after we eat our eggs and banana and milk, then we'll have lunch, and then dinner and then the next breakfast, after we wake up, can we have toast?"

or during lunch . . .

"After I finish these next five bites, I'm gonna have dessert and then after I wake up, I'm gonna have snack and then dinner and then can I have a cookie for that dessert?"

Yes, dessert might be her favorite food item to concentrate on, but, then, she's a girl - chocolate is her love language.

I've been so pleased, however, to notice the subtle changes in her suggestions after the Whole 30, where fruits and veggies were a mainstay at every meal.  Today, for example, she asked me (before breakfast), "Today, can I have a peach for snack*?"

"Well, maybe.  But how about I give you some for lunch, instead?" (I made this suggestion knowing snack isn't always a guarantee and we need to eat those peaches spilling over our dining room table.)

[Like she's just won the lottery] "Yeah!  And maybe we can have some for lunch and snack!"

Considering her previous snack requests have been focused on animal crackers and Goldfish, this Mommy is rather relieved to hear her excitement over picking what fruit she'll have in her recycled yogurt cup this afternoon, especially knowing what battles we've fought in the past over seeing some of these very same items on her lunch plate.  

They have both become much more receptive to a variety of produce and we are quietly happy about this (can't let them know we're surprised at their positive reception to our meal offerings).  Of course, we might not have needed the Whole 30 to accomplish this task, but it's what forced us to make more of a deliberate effort to turn away from filling our kids with rolls, mashed potatoes and pasta (their favorites) and toward fresh-from-the-earth good-for-you options.  

We in the parenting biz call this a win.

*Note, snack comes AFTER nap-time, which comes AFTER lunch-time.  She's a little ridiculous.

1,000 Gifts:

919. The internet connecting us all

920. Dust, all glitter in the sun

921. Bubble Gum jelly beans (I'm not a jelly bean fan, but these blew my socks off)

922. Packing other people's things

923. An impromptu gathering and the children scurrying about

924. Soft green grass

925. A cat nestled on the lawn, basking in the afternoon sun