Just because it's organic...

Several times this week I saw references to an interesting story. Evidently, people (in this small study) think that organic also means low-calorie. Given the choice between organic and non-organic cookies with calories clearly labeled (and the same)and people chose the organic ones. They even said they'd eat more of them.

On first read, I thought this sounded totally ridiculous. It's like that old what weighs more: a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? I mean, really, who doesn't know that just because something is grown naturally that it doesn't have a different calorie count?

Upon thinking about it, though, I can see how people do that. I certainly have been lulled a bit by knowing that I'm eating better. It's easy to get caught up in the whole pull of organic food and healthier eating. It's easy to feel like just changing to organic food is doing enough, but it really isn't. I need to be mindful not only about what is organic and what isn't, but what I'm making with those ingredients. Sticking with whole foods goes a long way, but it takes more thought as well. There's the big component, the change I've already undergone: buying different foods, shopping different places, using new recipes, and cutting back on several things. I feel like I've done that well. Then there's the small component, the part that I wrestle with: making those small day to day decisions, meal to meal decisions.

Take today for example: I have a whole fridge full of organic, healthy, delicious food and I even have a couple large sets of leftovers. What do I have for lunch with Lauren? A hamburger and fries at a restaurant. Ugh. I wanted to try this new place and it seemed like something fun to do with my kiddo and I ended up not making very good decisions. I need to find a way to wrestle down that food=fun, food=relaxing bent that I seem to have and make better small decisions. I have a couple of challenges ahead with a group trip to the beach coming up and then a week away for work in which I won't be fixing anything I'll be eating, so we'll see how I do. It's all about doing a little better a little bit at a time. That, and being a good role model for Lauren. That's key.

In fact, I seem to be making some headway on that. Tonight, all she wanted for dinner was applesauce and peas with milk. She ate every bite of a decent portion of each and then declared, "Mommy! I'm a good eater!" I still can't get her to try new things, but at least there are many healthy things that she's already eating. I'm proud of my girl.

Maybe I should be dressed as Ronald McDonald...

When I began this project, I had two major goals: 1) to change the way I purchased and cooked our food, both for our health and our environment, and 2) to expand Lauren's diet and move her away from the so-called "toddler foods." On count one, I'm having some pretty good success. On the second? Not so much.

I knew I had to start slowly, as forcing her off the chicken nuggets suddenly might be an incredible shock to her system. I figured that I would try small changes, like making some of her favorites with better ingredients. She would never know, right?

Wrong. Totally wrong. I started making the little pizzas that she loves with whole wheat English muffins, healthy tomato sauce, and organic mozzarella cheese. I thought they tasted really well, but Lauren disagreed. She won't even touch them, after the first bite helped her determine their impostor status.

So, I tried another tactic. I tried hiding some healthier things in the dishes she does like. I put flaxseeds in the peanut butter when she eats peanut butter and apples. Nope. She will eat them in peanut butter on waffles if I really try to hide them, but sniffs them out easily if they're not perfectly stealth.

Finally, I've taken the 1/3 approach. I've left her meals 2/3 of her old foods (which included a good dose of fruits and veggies in the first place) and tried to add something new. The other night, she has her regular chicken nuggets (and dip!) with mixed veggies and then I gave her mango with that. She tried a couple of bites and then mixed them in with the dip and put them in her milk, but it was a start, right? She hasn't been so kind to the other things I've put in front of her (quinoa, beets, kiwi, etc.), but she's being exposed to them.

I'm just trying for her to be willing to try new things at this point. Really getting her to move to a whole new diet, to be eating the things that we're eating is my goal, but this is a start.

Holding On

Today was day 2 of eliminating refined sugar and it went pretty well. I had the same breakfast as yesterday, which was nice and filling. For lunch I had leftover halibut and pasta with veggie. For snacks, I had a cheese stick and an apple. For dinner, I had a little tomato soup and some grilled cheese. I know there was some sugar in the soup, but not too much. I avoided the chocolate bunny and the jelly beans in the staff room, so I feel like I'm doing okay. It hasn't been too hard yet, but I have two showers to attend this weekend and that may be a test!

Can't say that I'm not feeling too different yet, though I have notived that I'm not as tired in the afternoon as I have been in the past. This may be because I just came off Spring Break, but maybe not. I'll keep you posted.

A small victory was had with Lauren today. She had a healthy tomato soup with grilled cheese and strawberries for dinner and practically licked the bowl clean. While I'm proud of that, it's not the best part: she hasn't asked for nuggets in several days! Perhaps the addiction is lessening? Now if I could just get her to eat that veggie loaf!

The other small victory? I can't remember the last time we ate red meat as a family. I know we had burgers Monday of last week, so it must be since then that we've either had chicken or just veggies. Not bad for this meat-eating family! I'm trying to get us down to having red meat no more that twice a week and lessening our reliance on chicken.

The Trouble with Schedules

As I mentioned in my first post, one thing I'm worried about is fitting all this in our schedule as a family. Both Jeremy and I work 40 hours a week and we both run in the evenings. I do already cook at home most nights of the week, but I'm worried about the added time of cooking even more fresh foods and the added time for shopping. I'll definitely be trying to find ways to make this easier.

It hit home tonight one consequence of all of this juggling: Lauren is a huge fan of the convenience foods. She needs to eat around 6, which is right around when Jeremy gets home. Usually, one of us is going running in the evening and doesn't eat right away. So, what's happened is that I often feed Lauren before us, and she eats something different than we. I hate to even type this, but her range of foods is really small: pizza, fish sticks, nuggets, eggs, peanut butter and jelly. At first, she'd eat whatever we put in front of her, but now she requests these things. Not only requests, but refuses others. (In my defense, she always has a fruit and vegetable as well, and she always eats those.) Tonight, I made a gorgeous stir-fry and she refused to eat, calling it "yucky." I instantly had flashbacks of the kids on Jamie Oliver's show, the ones that eat pizza for breakfast. I've got to change things now for her before it's too late. Now, toddlers are notoriously picky and I don't expect that she's going to adore tofu and sprouts, but I can improve the range of things she eats and hopefully get her into trying new things.

I get Runner's World daily news in my email and they just sent me a link to the best foods for runners. I had no idea that green garlic existed!

Jamie Oliver's second Food Revolution show is available here. The part with the chicken nuggets was... just... blech.

He also posted a link to a list of the 10 sugariest 'health' foods. What's interesting was that I was going through the cupboards today, trying to prioritize what things I need to replace most. High on my list? Granola bars and cereal, just like on this list. I'm mostly concerned about the use of HFCS, but sugar content will be something I'm paying attention to.

Looking forward to heading to the store and doing some comparison shopping this week!

I've Gotten a Wild Hair...

On Facebook tonight, I saw a link to Jamie Oliver's TED talk about childhood obesity and starting a revolution in America for healthier eating, both in schools and at home. I then followed a link to Jamie's "Food Revolution" page based around this premise, which includes a TV show about this topic. His goal is to revolutionize how we eat in America, but his premise is simple: using whole, natural ingredients in our cooking. I was immediately inspired. I have a new goal: to do some learning about nutrition and tweak our family's diet to be healthier.

Now here's my asterisk, my caveat:
I think that, on the scale of things, we actually eat rather healthfully. I cook at home probably 6 out of the 7 nights a week and we pack our leftovers as lunches. I use actual fruits and vegetables in my cooking and I'm trying to teach Lauren to do the same. I plan our meals about a week and a half, two weeks in advance, and do all the shopping at once, so we don't eat on the run much. So, the good news is that we already have a lot of structures in place.

Now the obstacles:
-While I'm the one who does all of this (pretty) healthy shopping and cooking, I'm also kind of a bad influence. I love treats, especially chocolate, and I'm usually the one that decides to go out to eat for dinner. Not that these are bad things, necessarily, but I think I can do better and be more intentional with my decision-making.

-I've let Lauren's (my daughter's) toddler-ness pigeonhole her into some bad eating habits. She was a pretty adventurous baby as far as food was concerned, but she got a little pickier and I got a little busier and she eats chicken nuggets more than I'd like to admit. Again, not a bad thing necessarily, but when it's the one thing she requests while shunning fresher foods, I wonder about the path she's on.

-I work 40 hours a week and have a toddler. Add to that that I'm trying to run about 4 times a week and sleep 8 hours a night, and there's just not enough time. Like I said, I have many structures already in place, but doing more than I'm already doing is going to be a struggle. I'm going to have to get the most bang for my buck.

I'm a goal-oriented person, so here are my goals:
1. Learn more about nutrition and the business of food in the United States so that I can make better decisions for my family.
2. Change the way I purchase and prepare food to implement what I have learned.
3. Work to expand Lauren's diet to include fewer processed foods.
4. Find ways of fueling my body for running and life in general while still enjoying food.

Next steps:
1. Learn more about nutrition - I've placed several books on hold at the library. In the meantime, I'm going to finish Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
2. Brainstorm sources for healthier foods - I have some ideas, but I know there's more out there that I don't know about.
3. Invite other people on this journey. I need some accountability, and I want others to learn with me.

Well, that's it. I'm jumping off the diving board and into the deepend, and I really hope this makes some change for my family!


Here's the link for Jamie's TED talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jamie_oliver.html

Here's the link to the first episode of Jamie's show:
http://abc.go.com/watch/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/250784/254757/episode-101