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Thoughts on Indulgences

September 30th 2008 13:35

Do you feel like you’re indulging too much in “bad” food?

There are days when my children fight me tooth and nail about snacking of fruits, rather than cookies or other types of junk food. This has been confusing me because, typically, all of my kids love choosing healthy food over “junk” food.

This really brought questions to my mind last night when they didn’t want watermelon (yes, they did eat it) and would have rather had something sweet.


Am I giving them too much junk food, or am I not treating them enough? I baked for all of them last Thursday and I have no idea what they eat for treats when they’re gone with their other parents from Friday to Sunday. So, I have no idea if they’re being deprived or if they’re over-indulging.

This is a tough thing to balance when so many households are involved because, the bottom line is, we want our children to be healthy and make good choices.

I’ve talked in the past in this blog about baking once per week and reserving the rest of the week for healthy snacks. Maybe a good balance would be to bake in the middle of the week. That way, if they’re “over indulging” with their other parents or during visits with their grandparents, it won’t have too much of a negative impact on the healthy eating habits we’re trying to instill.

It always amazes me how parents and grandparents aren’t all on the same page when it comes to bring up children to eat right, make good choices, and not stuff themselves until they feel sick. Why do some parents allow this and think it’s okay? Why do some grandparents ignore parents who want them to “behave” when it comes to feeding the kids? I’ll never understand this.


Have you struck a good balance in your home when it comes to treats?
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Simple Act of Self-Care

September 18th 2008 14:33

I know that it’s pretty simple to know you must take care of yourself in order to be the best you can be from day to day. How many moms really do that, though? Think about this seriously before answering.

1. Do you take vitamins daily?
2. How often do you skip breakfast?
3. Do you drink the recommended amount of water daily?
4. How healthy is your diet?
5. Do you get enough sleep at night?
6. Are you properly medicating yourself when you’re ill?
7. How well do you manage your stress?
8. Do you go to all of your physicals and well-woman visits?

This week, I tweaked my self-care routine a bit and I can’t believe the difference in how I feel. I started doing the “Airborne two week routine” so I can stay healthy throughout the cold season, I started taking a daily supplement, I stopped skipping breakfast, I started drinking more water, and I started going to bed earlier.

I’m more alert, I don’t feel exhausted throughout the day, I can think more clearly, and I have more patience with things that used to aggravate me. I feel like I’m a lot more “go with the flow” and things don’t stress me out as quickly as they once had.

I know my changes are just the beginning, and my routine is still far from being perfect. I’m happy that it’s improved, though. The simple act of self-care really does have a positive impact on the entire day. This positive change is then further reflected into the entire family. That’s nothing but good news as far as I’m concerned.
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Meal Planning Help

September 14th 2008 16:05

I need some serious help with meal planning. I know I’ve discussed this before, but I didn’t really dig down deep into the heart of the matter. We’re a big family and, on some days, there are six of us to feed (these days come along more often than not). So, I have to be prepared.

I decided to share the links I’m looking at for help in this blog post. That way, if you need help, you can look to them for information as well. I hope these are as useful to you as they are to me. (Actually, I hope they’re useful to me too!!)

My meal planning research:
· Menu Planning: Save Time in the Kitchen
· Meals.com
· Menu and Meal Planning For Two Weeks Really Long Link
· Everyday Meal Planning
· Creating a Weekly Meal Plan

It might sound odd, but my goal is to create a menu similar to what the kids bring home from school for their daily breakfast and lunch menu for the month. It’s such an organized method, and it will help me make grocery lists better (and avoid making too much or too little food). So, I feel like I’m on the right track.

Do you have a large family and feel the need to plan out your meals for a week, two week, or a month? Do you feel like you’d be more organized if you did this? Do you believe you would save money on your grocery bill? Do you believe there would be a greater opportunity for healthy eating habits to be instilled?
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Tasting Tastes

August 29th 2008 11:11

When was the last time you really tasted something? I mean, taste it and enjoy its flavor to the fullest.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Setting Up Manageable Menus

August 23rd 2008 20:41

Meal planning has become a reality in this reality mom’s household. I used to incorporate this practice in my week-to-week schedule when my youngest child was first born (in 2002), but I quickly slipped out of the habit in 2004. I haven’t managed to make my way back into the habit, which will soon change.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Snacktime Woes

July 14th 2008 12:33
Fruits and Veggies
Assorted Produce

Snacktime in my household used to be a real struggle. We're a blended family and the children visit other relatives, as well. So, there's three or four different households influencing the tastes. This, of course, meant a lot of junk food.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Fun Turkey Day Facts

November 14th 2006 16:27
Here are some fun facts I obtained from factmonster.com, enjoy!

At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward


[ Click here to read more ]
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Dieting Tips?

November 9th 2006 03:41
In the past 5 months I have lost 50lbs. I have a long way to go, but I thought I'd share some tips that have helped me along the way. If anyone else has any tips or success stories, I would love to hear them!

* Google a calorie calculator, this will tell you how many calories you can have and steadily lose weight


[ Click here to read more ]
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Bennigan's Shennanigans

November 2nd 2006 13:09

Bennigan's is a restaurant chain here in America. They are an "Irish" grill and tavern. What I would like to know is, why isn't there any Irish food on the menu? And what's with all the crap all over the walls? Bennigan's has dumb pictures, and random items all over the walls and ceiling. You can find things like a baseball bat to a kid's tricycle. Their menu is rather hilarious, seeing as they claim to be Irish.

[ Click here to read more ]
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