So as I mentioned on my Facebook page this week, I have gotten into some bad habits over the past few months. It started around November when my morning sickness was just beginning. I started eating pre-made junk because the thought of cooking…. well….. you know…. Barf o rama! I had gone from a natural, healthy, no dairy, limited flour/sugar diet, to a very Processed/Fast/Americanized diet literally overnight.
After my morning sickness had ended, I carried some of my bad habits along with me and just never regained my energy. I have been calling my mom these past few months complaining to her how yukky I have felt. I have had no energy, I am gaining weight everywhere (not just my belly), and I have a huge case of the “blahhh’s”. I was still feeding my kids healthy, but it was me who was cheating. I would give them things like cut up veggies, broccoli and honey, and kale/berry smoothies, and then I would sneak my own food (cookies, pizza, grilled cheese, ice cream, etc). And yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but even McDonald’s in my worst moments of despair.
Anyway, about a week ago, I finally put my foot down. My highly food-allergic son had gotten something into his system and had broken out into a 4 day-allergic rash all over his body, not to mention an ear infection to go along with it. No more chips, cheese, milk, cookies, ice cream, crackers, etc in this house! I was determined to go back to the way we used to eat, before the dreaded morning sickness hit. Healthy, natural, homemade, dairy-free, and this time I wanted to go a step further to where we were 2 years ago…. Flour and refined sugar free! YES! The spark has been initiated!!
I spent the following night going through my favorite healthy websites (GAPS Diet, Paleo Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Weston Price) and of course all of my favorite blogs (Nourishing Gourmet, Whole New Mom, Nourished Kitchen, etc). And I Pinn’ed away on Pinterest to keep myself organized. I planned out our weekly menu, I refreshed my knowledge on dehydrating, soaking, and fermenting. And when payday came, I had so much fun buying things like fresh nuts, seeds, honey, lentils, veggies, coconut milk, etc. No more processed junk in my cart, and it felt good.
After my morning sickness had ended, I carried some of my bad habits along with me and just never regained my energy. I have been calling my mom these past few months complaining to her how yukky I have felt. I have had no energy, I am gaining weight everywhere (not just my belly), and I have a huge case of the “blahhh’s”. I was still feeding my kids healthy, but it was me who was cheating. I would give them things like cut up veggies, broccoli and honey, and kale/berry smoothies, and then I would sneak my own food (cookies, pizza, grilled cheese, ice cream, etc). And yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but even McDonald’s in my worst moments of despair.
Anyway, about a week ago, I finally put my foot down. My highly food-allergic son had gotten something into his system and had broken out into a 4 day-allergic rash all over his body, not to mention an ear infection to go along with it. No more chips, cheese, milk, cookies, ice cream, crackers, etc in this house! I was determined to go back to the way we used to eat, before the dreaded morning sickness hit. Healthy, natural, homemade, dairy-free, and this time I wanted to go a step further to where we were 2 years ago…. Flour and refined sugar free! YES! The spark has been initiated!!
I spent the following night going through my favorite healthy websites (GAPS Diet, Paleo Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Weston Price) and of course all of my favorite blogs (Nourishing Gourmet, Whole New Mom, Nourished Kitchen, etc). And I Pinn’ed away on Pinterest to keep myself organized. I planned out our weekly menu, I refreshed my knowledge on dehydrating, soaking, and fermenting. And when payday came, I had so much fun buying things like fresh nuts, seeds, honey, lentils, veggies, coconut milk, etc. No more processed junk in my cart, and it felt good.
This week I have had the biggest burst of energy. I have been eating well, feeding my family well, and feeling great. Even my husband said on Sunday afternoon “I like this new Meg”. Which is funny, because I am not “new“…. I am just finally myself again after 5ish months of going to the dark side
So anyway, I posted this week’s meal plan below and just to summarize… I listed a few of the most significant changes I have noticed over the past week:
1. If it is not in the house you can’t eat it!! My kids have stopped asking for “crackers” and “jellybeans”. I realized that even though I was still feeding them healthy, I was buying their snacks instead of making them, as I used to do. Yes, I would by the Earth Fare or Trader Joe’s crackers and buy the fruit juice sweetened snacks, but still, they are NOT nourishing, healthy foods. Just this week my son with no prompting asked me if he could snack on sardines, broccoli and honey, and mango!!!!! No mention of crackers, candy, or other bought snacks.
2. YES, it does take more time and energy to eat healthy. I have been very busy this past week soaking beans, nuts, seeds, oats. Dehydrating fruits and veggies. Simmering overnight stock. And fermenting vegetables. And pretty much just a lot of cooking and dishes. BUT at the same time, I have more energy and I spend less time doing frivolous things like TV, laying down, internet, etc. My mom always said you have to put on your “running shoes” during the kids naptime. This is the time I go go go so I am able to spend more time interacting with them during our days. And honestly I am having fun doing these things!
3. I feel more organized. There is no way I could keep up eating this way if I did not plan ahead. I always make sure I know what we will be eating the night before. That way I can de-thaw, soak, or prepare the items I need to every night. One of the biggest reasons I let these not-so-good eating habits continue even past my morning sickness, was because I stopped planning. I got lazy. Lunches were way too often quick almond butter and crackers or almond butter and jelly sandwich (nothing wrong with this, just not exactly what we were used to). Also, by the time the boys would go down for their naps, I would be like “oh crap… what to make for dinner?” thus it would turn out to be something quick and cheesy. Also, I would often spend their nap time on the couch instead of doing anything productive, thus making me feel more lousy.
So anyway…… here it is…. Week one meal plan back on our healthy path.
So anyway, I posted this week’s meal plan below and just to summarize… I listed a few of the most significant changes I have noticed over the past week:
1. If it is not in the house you can’t eat it!! My kids have stopped asking for “crackers” and “jellybeans”. I realized that even though I was still feeding them healthy, I was buying their snacks instead of making them, as I used to do. Yes, I would by the Earth Fare or Trader Joe’s crackers and buy the fruit juice sweetened snacks, but still, they are NOT nourishing, healthy foods. Just this week my son with no prompting asked me if he could snack on sardines, broccoli and honey, and mango!!!!! No mention of crackers, candy, or other bought snacks.
2. YES, it does take more time and energy to eat healthy. I have been very busy this past week soaking beans, nuts, seeds, oats. Dehydrating fruits and veggies. Simmering overnight stock. And fermenting vegetables. And pretty much just a lot of cooking and dishes. BUT at the same time, I have more energy and I spend less time doing frivolous things like TV, laying down, internet, etc. My mom always said you have to put on your “running shoes” during the kids naptime. This is the time I go go go so I am able to spend more time interacting with them during our days. And honestly I am having fun doing these things!
3. I feel more organized. There is no way I could keep up eating this way if I did not plan ahead. I always make sure I know what we will be eating the night before. That way I can de-thaw, soak, or prepare the items I need to every night. One of the biggest reasons I let these not-so-good eating habits continue even past my morning sickness, was because I stopped planning. I got lazy. Lunches were way too often quick almond butter and crackers or almond butter and jelly sandwich (nothing wrong with this, just not exactly what we were used to). Also, by the time the boys would go down for their naps, I would be like “oh crap… what to make for dinner?” thus it would turn out to be something quick and cheesy. Also, I would often spend their nap time on the couch instead of doing anything productive, thus making me feel more lousy.
So anyway…… here it is…. Week one meal plan back on our healthy path.
Breakfast:
We usually always eat a bowl of steel cut oatmeal (soaked overnight… why soak?) topped with coconut oil, some sort of fruit, cinnamon, and almond milk. I have also started drinking a mug of fresh-grated ginger, lemon, honey tea in the mornings as well. The following two recipes are new things I have tried this week (all dairy, flour, and almost refined sugar free.)
1. Baked Oatmeal Cake (Huge thumbs up all around, our new favorite breakfast)
2. Protein Packed Pancakes (HUGE thumbs up, how can these taste so good!? The only difference I made was I added an extra 1TB of honey to the batter and I “fried” them in coconut oil for crispiness)
1. Baked Oatmeal Cake (Huge thumbs up all around, our new favorite breakfast)
2. Protein Packed Pancakes (HUGE thumbs up, how can these taste so good!? The only difference I made was I added an extra 1TB of honey to the batter and I “fried” them in coconut oil for crispiness)
Lunches:
I never plan out lunches. Many times we have left-overs and the times we don’t, we usually have things like sardine salad, garden omelets (for my non-egg allergic son), guacamole, or some sort of meat. These just happened to be some of the things we had this week.
Snacks:
This is the fun part! But also the most time consuming. I love planning out healthy, homemade snacks for my kids. For this week we did the following: (all dairy, flour, and refined sugar free). It seems like I make lots of snacks, but we only eat small amounts at a time and we often have left-over’s for the next week.
1. Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream (huge thumbs up)
2. Strawberries and Cream Popsicle’s (strawberries, coconut milk, water) (huge thumbs up)
3. Nut Butter Popcorn (thumbs up from my 18 month old, thumbs down from my 3 year old)
4. Honey Nut Granola Bars (huge thumbs up)
5. Homemade Fruit Roll Ups and Dehydrated veggie and fruit “chips” (huge thumbs up for fruit roll-ups and medium thumbs up for the chips… they got soggy after 1 day)
6. Our daily Kale/Berry Smoothie (thumbs up)
7. Mango Orange Smoothie (thumbs up)
8. Lacto-Fermented Dilly Carrots (thumbs up)
9. Fresh Mango, Strawberries, Pears, Bell Peppers, and Broccoli (dipped in raw honey or mayo) for snacking
1. Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream (huge thumbs up)
2. Strawberries and Cream Popsicle’s (strawberries, coconut milk, water) (huge thumbs up)
3. Nut Butter Popcorn (thumbs up from my 18 month old, thumbs down from my 3 year old)
4. Honey Nut Granola Bars (huge thumbs up)
5. Homemade Fruit Roll Ups and Dehydrated veggie and fruit “chips” (huge thumbs up for fruit roll-ups and medium thumbs up for the chips… they got soggy after 1 day)
6. Our daily Kale/Berry Smoothie (thumbs up)
7. Mango Orange Smoothie (thumbs up)
8. Lacto-Fermented Dilly Carrots (thumbs up)
9. Fresh Mango, Strawberries, Pears, Bell Peppers, and Broccoli (dipped in raw honey or mayo) for snacking
Dinner:
1. Honey, Orange, and Cumin Roasted Chicken. (LOVED this, we made sure to sop up all the chicken in the wonderful flavorful juices at the bottom of the pan after baking. My boys ate the chicken plain, my husband ate his over rice, and I just filled up a couple corn tortillas with the chicken and added onions and guacamole. (Trader Joes has very cheap organic 3 ingredient corn tortillas.)
2. Rustic Lentil Soup (Liked this one. I made overnight simmered chicken stock with the chicken carcass from the night before. This recipe took a bit of time, because you had to soak the lentils overnight, simmer them all day and then of course all the vegetable peeling and chopping, but I made a HUGE batch and will probably freeze some for another day)
3. Basil Potato Salad and bun-less burgers with caramelized onions, mayo, and catchup (very simple, yet tasty)
4. Sweet and Sour Ribs and Asian Salad (Thumbs up… no words… they were amazing!)
5. Broiled Black Cod Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette (neutral thumbs… I did not follow the recipe exactly (no seive and pea sprouts instead of radish). I was not a fan, but my husband said he liked it ok. My kids loved the fish part, not so much the salad part.)
6. Yellow Split Pea, Kale, and Italian Sausage Soup (Thumbs up)
7. “Catch” Day. I always set aside 1 night for leftovers or something quick.
2. Rustic Lentil Soup (Liked this one. I made overnight simmered chicken stock with the chicken carcass from the night before. This recipe took a bit of time, because you had to soak the lentils overnight, simmer them all day and then of course all the vegetable peeling and chopping, but I made a HUGE batch and will probably freeze some for another day)
3. Basil Potato Salad and bun-less burgers with caramelized onions, mayo, and catchup (very simple, yet tasty)
4. Sweet and Sour Ribs and Asian Salad (Thumbs up… no words… they were amazing!)
5. Broiled Black Cod Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette (neutral thumbs… I did not follow the recipe exactly (no seive and pea sprouts instead of radish). I was not a fan, but my husband said he liked it ok. My kids loved the fish part, not so much the salad part.)
6. Yellow Split Pea, Kale, and Italian Sausage Soup (Thumbs up)
7. “Catch” Day. I always set aside 1 night for leftovers or something quick.
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