Tag Archive for Choices

Camp Time!

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Last Sunday I sent my two oldest children off to camp in another state.  They were super excited about their time at camp except for one thing…the food!

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It is kind of funny that this was somewhat upsetting to them considering other children look forward to the pancakes at breakfast, chicken fried steak, and the candy store.  Other children that go to this camp rave about the food, but mine, of course, were anxious.  I have to admit, it makes me a little anxious too, but so proud of them at the same time for knowing that they understand the foods that fuel their bodies best.  If you read my post recently about my children refusing the almond flour muffins it makes sense.

My oldest is definitely Keto-adapted.  The other two have a way to go, but my middle child would be closer if not given outside choices.  As parents, it is virtually impossible to keep our children healthy at all times.  Erin and I have a 90/10 rule.  If you are sugar-free and Keto-adapted 90% of the time, forgive yourself for the other 10%.  Many times it can’t be helped if you are away from home also.  If my children are 75%/25%, I am happy.  I can’t control everything that happens at birthday parties, grandparent’s homes, and eating out with friends, nor do I try.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a bit of a control freak, but I know a bad ending when I see it coming!  The last thing we want to create is the forbidden fruit syndrome.  They need to experience the difference in how food makes them feel to make them WANT to eat healthy.  This takes time, just as it does for us. My goodness, it took me over 35 years to figure it out!  Hopefully with our guidance it won’t take our children as long.

Once they figure out that carbs and sugar make them feel badly, it becomes much easier.    That is, until camp time; or really anytime they are away from home for a prolonged period of time!  I tried to counsel them about food choices before they left.  I thought about requesting no sugar from the camp, but my husband talked me out of it saying this is their time to be kids.  Again, the 75/25 for them, and he was right.  My prayer is that they always make good choices, and just like most other bad choices, they will feel the consequences of them quickly if they decide to buy three candy bars and a gatorade at the camp store for snack.  I have to admit, I am really curious to see how it goes.  This is a lot of freedom for them.

The best advice I could give them was to remember the foods we eat at home and try to mimic them.  If everything is fried or brown, go for the salad bar option and pile on the proteins and full-fat salad dressings to make sure you are energized.  Instead of the cinnamon rolls and waffles at breakfast, remember how much better and energized you feel when you choose eggs and bacon for breakfast.  They can skip the extra bread, have two patties instead of a bun, and go for extra veggies instead of the mashed potatoes.  Pick the bag of nuts or sunflower seeds in the camp store instead of a candy bar or crackers.  They know how food makes them feel now, so now is the time to put that into play.  I think we all realize there will be days when there may not be a better choice, but that is okay too.

As many of us send our kids off for a few weeks, we pray for their safety, lasting friendships, spiritual growth, and growth as individuals.  Encourage them to make good choices in all aspects of life including nutrition.  Know, however, that if they can’t always make good healthy eating decisions, it is okay.  The most important thing that you can do as a parent in teaching them, as in so many other aspects of life, is modeling.  If you are making good eating choices in front of them, and cooking good healthy, low-sugar meals for them when they are sitting at YOUR table, you are making a world of difference in their futures.  They will have those memories of dinnertime rituals at your table forever and carry those on to future generations.  So set those examples at home, and with a little hope and a lot of prayer, let’s look forward to a future generation of very healthy eaters that can make great decisions on their own.

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Happy summer!

No More Buns!

So today I served up some leftover hamburger patties for my kiddos.  As I was fixing my lunch and carrying on with my day, I suddenly realized that not one of my three children even asked for a bun!  I had one ask for blueberries, one ask for milk, and the other ask for cheese, but not one asked for bread! What a glorious day!

This is what our hamburger used to look like:

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Hopefully this image doesn’t send you to the nearest burger joint!  Honestly, this image does nothing for me anymore.  As a self-proclaimed carb-aholic, I am amazed that I no longer have cravings for the bun!  The meat – yes!  I could care less about the bun though. I never thought I would say this, so I post in order to bring you hope for a happy bunless forever.

I am so grateful too.  A typical 100% whole wheat hamburger bun has 25-35 grams of carbs, and generally is about 75% carbs or more when calculating macros (Fat, Carbs, Protein).  I’m not even going to talk about the dreaded refined white flour buns!  And…30 grams of carbs is about my max intake of carbs on a typical day so that bun would be it.

I knew I had made it past the carb craving stage, but I also knew it would be a more difficult task for my children. After all, they usually eat what they are served and find themselves in places with many offerings.  In the beginning of this new “Way of Eating” (WOE), I heard a lot of comments like, “How long are you going to do this diet?”, or “Why can’t we have buns?”

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It is hard to explain to children how wheat, something that is grown from the earth, is harmful to them.  I used to mill my own wheat and bake my own bread for goodness sakes. I get the questions!  I used to think I was doing all the right things by giving my children fresh milled whole grains.  Then I read Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD and Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD.  Wow!  What eye opening reads!  Being a faithful person, I always believed that anything provided on earth and grown from the ground had to be good for us.  I had no idea how much the wheat we were provided has been changed over the years by human scientists.  It is actually very sad!  I prefer my family eat things from nature, not the product of a scientist.  So, that is why I removed wheat not only from my diet, but that of the rest of my family as well.

I was shocked today when I realized that there was not a comment, not a mention, not a whine for bread!  Even the kids get over it!

At breakfast today, I served grain-free lemon blueberry muffins, and my oldest told me that he just doesn’t really care for the muffins anymore.  When I asked him why he didn’t like the muffins, he told me that it wasn’t these muffins in particular, it was just muffins in general.  He asked for a poached egg instead.

Wow!  Breakfast breads used to be a staple, and now they are turning them away!  What a corner we have turned.

So, I hope that this gives you a glimmer of hope that the whole family can live this Keto lifestyle. I emphasize lifestyle.  This is not a diet for us anymore – it is a lifestyle.  It is the way we shop, eat, cook, and live.  We love it!  It gives us more energy to get through the day and through these years of parenting.  The kids notice the difference too.  Everyone just feels better, which gives us the willpower to get through the choices that used to challenge us.  Now it is not a obstacle for us, and surprisingly our children either.  I do want to say, that I don’t offer the options at home, but if we are out, I don’t tell the kids it is off limits.  I let them make the choice for themselves.  I never want them to feel like the things we choose to eat are “forbidden fruit”.  I try to educate them to make healthy choices so that they have a lifetime of healthy eating, not just the forbidden foods we tell them they cannot eat.  Example teaches what 10,000 words cannot!  Be a great example for the kids, and they will follow suit!

Here’s to healthy eating and healthy teaching!  It is possible!

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