Keeping the Healthy Food Conversation Going

Ever since I was a kid I was a finicky eater. This couldn't touch that. Spaghetti noodles here & the sauce on a separate plate. Hamburgers dipped in ketchup rather than on the bun. You get it.

People think I am kidding when I say we ate out every night when I was a kid but there is a reason the people at Lung Wah considered us family. Once the family business closed at 6pm we went straight out to dinner. Most days we got a Dairy Queen too.

So you can imagine how I grew up. Picture a grown woman feeling the pangs of hunger and asking herself "What in the world would I like right now?" with no thought to what is in the fridge or even in geographic proximity.

When I was single my friends would joke about the lack of cutlery in my kitchen or the one measuring cup I used for my glass of water at night. Not that I ate a lot back then but when I did it was at or from a restaurant and usually a good one. Most days my fridge boasted a bottle of champagne and a decayed orange and my go-to dinner was a bar of chocolate. I ate exactly what I wanted- always.

This indulgent past of mine wreaks havoc with my ever-so-slowing metabolism and begs the question if this type of behavior works for a family? Not a chance.

I've struggled with the food dilemma since having children. They eat so often! By this time I was already sold on organic food and mindful that my children were not going to be receivers of fast food meal deals and sugary wolves in chemical's clothing. This made things even worse.

I had to, for the first time, figure out what a balanced diet really meant and translate that into a food philosophy that worked for the long term. Admittedly we have not been perfect. There are those weeks where I buy the most amazing food with the best intentions and then our worms get more meals out of it then we do.

Restaurants are so alluring! I tell myself that if I patronize restaurants that use locally produced organic food that eating out is positively acceptable. Then deep down the remorse sets in. I know that eating at home makes the most sense so I keep attempting to make it work. I plan meals. I write them for the family to see. I lament when it comes time to make them. This is the challenge.

But like all balance in life there is also a success. My kids enjoy shopping at the Green City Market and have many fast favorites. Both kids are even Sprouts graduates having tried exotic organic foods each week. They understand that sugary foods usually make you feel yucky so it's best to only eat them sometimes. You'd never catch them eating a french fry before they've finished their burger and had their veggie. Unlike me as a child they understand the hierarchy of what their body needs and (at least until now) they've been cool with that.

Now enter the new school year where both kids will be eating lunch with their friends. Will the same healthy perspective continue or will they succumb to the typical Americans diet of fat with a side serving of fat?

In hopes of continuing our daily food discussions, we created little color wheels (like the one shown above). At dinner we'll talk about what we ate and what color they were. Did we have something from each color? Why should we eat like this? What is in the different colors of food? It doesn't have to be perfect, but it can be more mindful. At best it keeps the conversation going.