I know the feeling all too well-
You get home from work around 4 or 5, maybe you have to stop and pick up the kids from daycare or school, make dinner, visit with them quickly before bath and bed, then chores and laundry and housework and then maybe some "me" time before bed. Maybe. Even being a SAHP you are busy with errands, housework, playdates and classes and trying to find your "me" time amidst it all. So when do you have time to plan and cook healthy food that isn't riddled with preservatives and added colors and flavors?
Since being a SAHM my life is still busy, but I am so thankful for the time to be home with my kiddos and enjoy them. It's just a different kind of busy. Being a parent whether working or not is hard enough without having the extra worry or feeding your family healthy food that is still delicious and will still be acceptable to a picky toddler. I have been there and am still there!
My goal once I was recovered from my c-section was to try and get my family back on track with a healthy lifestyle, but I didn't know where to begin! Raise your hand if this is a constant battle that you face too!
My whole adult life I was one of those people who could cook exactly three things:
- My Nana's sauce and meatballs
- Noodles to go with that sauce
- Chicken wing dip
Baking on the other hand is my forte-I make a mean pie. But that wasn't feeding me or my family. When I was single and lived alone I ate a lot of chicken nuggets, pasta, and PBJ sandwiches. And a heck of a lot of take out.
Thankfully, Hubs came into my life and on our very first "date" as an official couple he invited me over to his place for a homemade meal. I was sold. He was and is still a keeper.
We've been married for almost 4 years now, lived together for 3 before that and 5 days out of the week he was cooking for us. One of the days was my sad attempt at trying something-I usually made ravioli or something else I could heat up. I am not exaggerating here. Hubs wouldn't even trust me with a box of easy mac or chicken rice. I was a disgrace. The other day was usually Pizza Friday...a luxury we had when I was working which is on hiatus for now-but that's another post.
When the time was coming for him to head back to work after his paternity leave I started to get panicky. And not because I would be home alone all day with two kids under two. Oh no. I was worried because I knew I had to step it up and actually attempt to cook. I couldn't be a stay at home mom and not cook for my hardworking husband, right? Or could I....?
No-I was determined. But see, I have no timing at all in the kitchen. I try extravagant recipes when we only have an hour. The kitchen is a mess, pots and pans everywhere. The sides are done way too early. Just a HOT MESS. And on top of that I wanted to learn how to actually cook-not just open packages of things and heat them up. I wanted to learn how to do it the right way and the healthy way.
Then I found the fix.
*Don't stop reading: I am NOT a beachbody coach and will NOT try to sell you shakeology or anything like that. I love the 21 Day Fix but I don't have any plans to become a coach. I highly recommend this lifestyle and program for everyone-and if my post intrigues you and you want to know more I will send you in the direction of my coach Alayne-but don't think this is a sales pitch or anything (I get turned off by that stuff too!)*
So anyway, a whole bunch of girls I knew were doing the 21 Day Fix-you may or may not have heard about it and I won't bore you with all the details, but basically it's a workout regimen and a clean eating plan. It is NOT a diet. It's a whole new outlook and lifestyle. You learn portion control and how to fuel your body with the proper foods to keep you healthy and help you lose weight.
I really wanted to do the fix because:
A) I wanted to get back in my pre-baby bathing suits-no more maternity suits or tankinis for me! (Ultimate goal)
B) Since being SO sick while pregnant with Little Man I got lazy with my clean and healthy eating.
C) I generally wanted to improve my overall health so I could have the energy to enjoy my little ones.
And bonus I am on maternity leave for the next 18 or so months, so what better time to start than now?!
So I bought the fix, and talked my Hubs into trying it with me. He was reluctant at first but agreed out of support for me. Plus he was/is training for a 5K so he figured it would help him get back in fighting shape.
I realized that if I wanted to be successful on this program and lose the wieght and also help out my hardworking husband I would have to really sit down and figure out a meal plan for the week and THEN actually MAKE the meals. I couldn't very well ask him to do this with me and then make him plan and make all the meals. So it was up to me, the girl who could probably burn water.
The first night it took me three hours. I literally sat at the computer scouring through Pinterest for recipes trying to see if they would fit the fix and it was a daunting task. I HATE meal planning. It was awful.
But the next day I searched for "21 day fix dinner ideas" and voila! I had some stuff to choose from. I stuck with chicken the first week because I figured I could handle chicken. Once I had it narrowed down to 5 recipes I shopped for the ingredients and all of our other groceries too (side note: doing the fix helped me get right back on track with my clean non-processed eating. Pretty much everything we eat now has a shelf life of a week. All fresh foods and I love it because I am eating well AND clean!) My point here is these dinner ideas were simple enough for even ME to follow and make. So it made my life a lot easier!
Basically, I had to google how to bake chicken breast. No lie. I had no idea what to put on it or how to cook it or anything. But slowly I'm learning how to use seasonings and how to utilize one type of food in many different ways to add variety. When I tell people now that I can cook they say, "Really?" and are really surprised. Why do I tell you all this? Because my point is that if I can do it anyone can. Seriously. And you don't even have to do the 21 day fix to clean up your family's lifestyle. Just make small substitutions here and there and change things a little at a time and you can incorporate more and more clean eating into your family's lifestyle. Better for you, better for the earth, and better for your family! Remember I am not a health coach, but I do know the importance of avoiding GMOs, preservatives, added colors and flavors, sugars, unhealthy oils and syrups, chemicals, pesticides and more from my own research and experience.
It was tough at first to get into a routine, but now after several weeks I have found a few tips that work for me for not only cooking, but general sanity as well!
*I know there are those of you who are cooking/parenting pros (mom!) and are thinking "Girl please we got this"-but for all of you parents (like me!) in the "Learning to cook while parenting small children 101" (who are also dumb in the kitchen and with meal planning) course might find this helpful*
1. Work out in the morning before the kids get up. Yes I KNOW it sucks. But then you are DONE! My Hubs gets up at 6:30 and I get up with him. That way I can get my workout in before my babies get up and usually my shower too. If I don't do it in the morning I am not getting it done at all.
2. Fill your kitchen with spices and seasonings. The only spices and such that I ever used before were oregano, basil, and cinnamon. Seriously. If you have lots of seasonings on hand you can whip up a pretty easy dinner but make it have a nice zip to it.
3. Start dinner during nap time. I started trying to make dinner around 4:00-Little Miss had just awoken from her afternoon nap shortly beforehand and Little Man was up as well, and it was both of their cranky times. She's hanging off me crying for cheese or some other snack...but usually cheese. He's fussy and wants to be held-Hubs walks through the door and it's total chaos. I now start things during nap. I make them during the toddler's nap time because she generally sleeps longer. That way if he is fussy I can just wear him in my wrap while I cook. I do anything I can make ahead of time during this block of time-noodles, salad, etc. That way when Hubs gets home he can play with Little Miss while I situate everything for dinner. It runs much more smoothly that trying to do it all at once when everyone is underfoot. It's especially helpful if I can do more at once on say a Sunday or Monday and then be set for the whole week. So I might make a whole bunch of chicken breasts or noodles or rice at one time and they are ready for the whole week. You don't have to do it everyday, just once or twice and you can cut your future cooking time in half.
4. Shop around the perimeter or the grocery store. Stop going down the middle aisles for mostly everything. If it comes in a box it is probably not healthy or clean! Exceptions are things like pasta (get whole wheat!), natural peanut butter, nuts, oats, etc.
5. Stop using dressings! I know, who wants a salad without dressing? But dressings have a ton of preservatives and unhealthy and genetically modified ingredients in them. Try making your own vinaigrette instead. Or try putting olive oil and balsamic on your salad. Small changes that will really affect your health in a positive way!
6. And while you're at it skip the mayo. Use mustard instead-mustard is a yummy addition to a sandwich, tuna salad, even on pork! Try dijon, my favorite, or spicy brown. Mustard is my new favorite condiment! (Dare I say that? I DO miss blue cheese!)
7. Be prepared. Bring snacks with you. Pack a bag with fruits and veggies, hummus, nuts, or homemade crackers and cheese. Bring a huge bottle of water with lots of ice. That way you won't be tempted when you are out and about to eat processed and pre-packaged foods. Always bring your own!
8. Make healthy "treats." Because Hubs and I are doing the fix, so is Little Miss. We are eating healthily so she is too! I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies the other day and she loved them! And I felt so much better knowing she was eating cookies that weren't made with hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. If you give your kids healthy foods they WILL eat them. Just don't keep the other junk in the house!
9. Try new things! From recipes to new ways of cooking something, you might even create your own new favorite! For example, the other night I had some zucchini to cook up. I didn't want to just steam it so I threw some garlic and spices in a pan and sauteed it up. It was SO yummy! Today I invented my very own fix approved pancakes when I couldn't find a recipe. And they were pretty good! Maybe I will blog the recipe later :) My point is that you can step outside what you always do and try a new way of cooking something. You might find something you really love!
10. Utilize different sweeteners. I have a huge sweet tooth. It's pretty bad. I can't usually eat something unless it is sweetened. But I recently traded in my coffee creamer for stevia and cinnamon in my coffee. Instead of sugar I've been adding a little raw wildflower honey. I spent $7.99 (I know, really?!) on a bottle of pure and natural organic maple syrup. Just stepping outside the box and trying something new will greatly improve your health while avoiding the bad stuff. And you might even shed some inches too! Just use these things sparingly.
11. Ditch the cooking spray!!! Cooking spray is gross. I can't even begin to name the genetically modified ingredients and chemicals in it! Use olive oil instead-get a Misto, or my personal favorite, coconut oil spray. You'll get your daily healthy oils in, and you won't be ingesting chemicals.
12. Make your own milk. Try it. You will be pleasantly surprised!
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Like I said before I am no expert, but a lot of it is common sense. And of course it's ok to indulge once in awhile (I celebrated my birthday the first week I started-cake was necessary!) But I feel better about my small indulgences knowing that I make great decisions 95% of the time. It's so important to take charge of your family's health and well-being and there is no better time to start that the present.
Thank you for reading and if you like what you are seeing please let me know, and follow
The Good Life on facebook as well!
Love and Laughs,
Danielle
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