Being a busy mom of three, I am at the mercy of just how little time I have each day to get everything that needs to be accomplished done within the daylight hours. Add that to the fact that all three of my kids are very picky eaters equals = frozen meals and eating out. Eating out, they can all order what they want. Frozen meals means they can pick what they want as well. Cooking a meal does not really work for me because someone (or two or three, etc) is not going to like it. So, I gave up on that a long time ago. The closest I get to a healthy home-cooked meal for them is breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and biscuits). I sometimes struggle with the guilt factor of not being able to produce extremely healthy home cooked meals, but I would have to cook two or three separate meals a night to please everyone if I tried that route. My philosophy regarding health is to try and eat whole grain products whether I am eating at a restaurant, take out, fast-food or at home. It doesn’t always happen, but if the *option* is there to chose between wheat and white bread, I pick wheat. My children are a different story. I’ve mentioned that they have a very limited variety of items they will eat (basically hamburgers, French fries, chicken nuggets and pizza). However, at least they will eat wheat bread and a few other healthy options.
my freezer is filled with frozen meals instead of meat or items to cook homecooked meals
I make sure that I have apples in my fridge at all times. To make it easier, I also have an apple slicer (it encourages my son to eat the entire apple instead of just taking a bite or two out of a whole apple).
apples in my fridge with the apple slicer we use
I have recently given up coffee because the caffeine affects my anxiety like a freight train. It took me years before I realized just how much caffeine affected my body because I love coffee so much. I love the taste and the smell and the overall warm beverage of it. I still do have a coffee every once in awhile, but I brace myself because I know the rest of my day will be full of anxiety and headaches. My favorite is McDonald’s coffee. But, it probably does me more good that I am not consuming 2 sugars and 4 creams added to a drink everyday ;)
a daily habit that I have had to give up because of health reasons
I got tired of having gym memberships and never using them. It was a total waste of money, so I bought a treadmill and a bigger T.V. for my bedroom. I multi-task while on the treadmill. I will walk, text, talk or get on the Internet on my cell phone and/or watch T.V. I do all of those things at the same time or any variety of them at the same time. It is also great that I can get on at any hour I wish without getting in my car and driving somewhere else and then driving home.
There are a few things that over the years (and recently) that I have changed in order to eat a little healthier without putting a lot of extra effort into it. I buy sea salt instead of regular salt, extra virgin olive oil, agave nectar, and whole wheat bread. Although, I will admit that I have never really liked white bread because it sticks to the roof of your mouth, so wheat bread has always been a staple. But, more recently I have been buying 100% whole wheat for quick sandwiches (PJ&J).
Overall, in the last several years I have chosen convenience over the time it takes to cook healthier meals. I also take the lead on what my children want to eat because I refuse to force them into eating things they tell me that they do not like. I will ask them to try things more than once just to make sure they don't like it. But, after a time or two of telling me "no, I do not like this", I move onto the next choice. In a perfect world, healthy food would be an option and more accessible at all food places. I will continue to try and make little changes here and there to provide myself and my family with healthier options, but convenience outweighs the struggle of getting picky eaters to eat food that is wasted when they refuse to eat whatever they do not like. As far as other health matters --- I'm not big on taking vitamins or supplements. The best thing I do as far as health is that I drink a lot of water. That is the one thing I do that is guilt-free and makes me feel like I am doing something healthy each day.
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