Start Your Own Food Revolution

I have been anxiously awaiting the start of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. I think it’s about time someone tackled the subject of school lunches and how the way our kids eat at school creates habits and attitudes around food. Seeing how most kids are starting school at 3 ~ (our preschool even has an “at risk 4 year olds program”. When I asked what they were at risk of I was told of not going going to preschool by age 4. WHAT?? Well… that’s another post all together.)

Anyway… now my little monkey is eating 2 meals a day at school. When I ask her what she has, or look at the menu I’m not exactly thrilled at what I find. But what’s one parent in a rural community to do? Hell if I know… but with Jamie’s help maybe I can figure out something.

What I do know is to start in a place I have a little more control ~ and that’s my own house.

We’ve always been pretty health conscious in our family, making sure we’re serving our bodies well with good, healthy, as whole as we can get it food. We aren’t perfect, and I’m not trying to be … at this point we’re trying to do the best we can every day. Here’s a few things we do or have  done to create an atmosphere of healthy eating and love of healthy whole food in our family.

1. Get rid of sugar cereal.

We never had sugar cereal in our house, but this is one of the easiest things you can do to help your kiddos start the day off right.  The most sugary cereal we keep in the house is honey nut cheerios. (on a side note I think it is a TRAGEDY that there are now chocolate cheerios. I’m just sayin…)

We do fresh fruit with peanut butter, eggs ~ hard boiled or cooked that morning, oatmeal, Hanna even had leftover Black Bean soup from Panera this morning.  All of these things take just as little time as pouring a bowl of red/blue/green cereal, and give your little one much more to go on through the day.

2. Quit Eating Fast Food.

We have pretty much cut out fast food. We never eat at McDs but sometimes Sonic does slip in. That usually happens when I have failed to plan very well and we get stuck out and about starving. A better option would be Subway ~ and we do eat there sometimes.  The simple act of not putting fast food in your kids will make a huge difference in their health.

Food is supposed to be alive ~ it should decompose, go bad, mold as time goes on. McD food does not. Take a look at this and see if you can tell which meal is fresh and which is a year old!

3. Start Planning More

Planning is the key ingredient to healthier eating and lifestyle. If you don’t plan you’re going to get stuck out in the world saying, oh man… what are we going to eat. The healthy options out in the world are minimal ~ so make sure you plan.

Create a weekly meal plan. Take into consideration what your family activities are going to be that week and plan around it. If you’ve got ball games and lessons all day Saturday ~ plan a picnic lunch and take it with you!

If you know your kids are hungry after school but you’re always running around ~ pack snacks! A piece of fruit is a  great snack and is very portable.

4. Keep It Simple.

While creating your meal plan you may see tons of things that sound delicious and you’d love to cook. Some of these may be more complex, may take a while to prepare and cook. I suggest you skip those or maybe put them on the weekend when you may have more time to spend on creating a meal. During the week keep your meal plan simple and easy. You’ll be more likely to stick with your meal plan if it doesn’t overwhelm the hell out of you to try to cook it when you get home tired in the evening.

5. Get a crockpot and use it.

Getting a crock pot is the smartest thing any busy mom can do. It is the easiest way to create a fantastic meal, and you don’t have to do anything in the evening when you’re exhausted, but put the plates on and dish out the food.  There are tons and tons of crock pot recipes online and a ton of crock pot cookbooks at the bookstore or Amazon. My favorite, and the one I use just about every week is 300 Slow Cooker Favorites. I love crockpot cooking because you can throw everything in the pot (frozen), put the lid on and turn it on. BAM. Homemade food when you get back. You can cook just about anything in the crockpot so if you’ve got preconceived notions of crockpot food I suggest you take another look. It’s been my saving grace many a day.

6. Grow Your Own Food.

The best way to get healthy food is to grow your own. Not only do you know exactly what went into it, but your kids will have great pride in helping to grow their own food. They will also know where food comes from, and what and how different foods grow.

If you’re short on space don’t let that stop you. There are tons of ways to grow food in small spaces. You can even grow some foods on a windowsill in the house. If you’ve got some sun and enough room for a pot you can grow some of your own food. Here’s one of my favorite books on growing food in small spaces.

7. Start talking and teaching your kids about food.

There’s way more to food than just stuffing it in your face. Each food item does something either for or against your body. Start teaching your kids just what foods do for them. Carrots are good for your eyes and help you see better. Chicken has lots of protein and helps your muscles grow.  Etc… if you don’t know this stuff not a biggie ~ the internet has just about everything you ever wanted to know! Here’s a great page that goes over the basics of food in a very easy to understand kid friendly way.  Start this conversation. It’s through understanding and recognizing the benefits of food our kids can make healthier decisions on what to put in their bodies. They won’t be with us forever… we’ve got to start helping them make these decisions for themselves.

8. Stop Drinking Pop.

This is still an area where I fall down. I’m still in love with my Diet Dr. Pepper… but I’m working on it. Hanna never gets pop and has never had pop. It’s the one thing I feel most strongly about. I can get over a happy meal here and there, but I just can’t understand why any parent would set their kid up with an addiction to pop. You know it’s an addiction right?! Have you ever stopped drinking pop? It ain’t easy. Why would you want your kiddo drinking the most unhealthy of substances there is? Read this article and see exactly what happens to your body when you drink pop.

Water is your best option instead of pop. You can add a slice of lemon or lime, or orange to it to give it a little more flavor and zing.

9. Eat more whole foods.

Look at what you’re eating. Does it have a package? Look at the ingredients list. Does it have more than 5 things listed? Are there ingredients there you can’t pronounce? Could a third grader pronounce them? If you see any of these things this really isn’t food. It’s processed food like substance. I’d avoid it.

There are tons of ways you can create easy, quick meals with a few simple whole food ingredients. If you plan your meals it will be quite easy to plan this ahead of time. Even if you get off plan once you’ve been eating more whole foods for a while you’ll be able to find a dinner plan made of whole foods even when you think you’ve got “nothing in the house” to eat. Here’s what I can usually find in the kitchen, even when it feels like we’ve got no food.

10. Drink more water.

Water is the best thing you can do for your body. Many times people think they are hungry and go grab something to munch when in reality they are actually thirsty. Water has even been shown to cure some diseases. It’s pretty amazing. I know when I drink plenty of water I always feel better. Here’s a very interesting article on the power of water. Even if water only did HALF of what this doctor thinks it does can you even imagine??

There you have 10 ways to start a food revolution in your house. If you haven’t watched Jamie Oliver’s show Food Revolution on ABC you really should!! It’s on Friday nights at 8E 7C. You can catch up with full episodes here. If you don’t know anything about Jamie Oliver he recently won a TED award. Here’s his acceptance speech. It will give you a pretty good idea of who Jamie is and what he’s all about.

Are you creating a food revolution in your life and the lives of your children? I’d love to hear what you’re doing!