Mom, can I make an omelet when we get home?
The time is just around 3 O’clock Sunday afternoon. This kid loves eggs. Oh my goodness! To further persuade me, he goes on to say,
There’s protein in the egg. I need my protein after my workout…
LMAO!! How on earth can I say no to that? Hahaha!
Here’s what’s left of his 3-egg omelet. That red stuff is Tabasco Sauce, which he’s been eating since he was around 6!
On the weekend, B’Dazzle participates in a rigorous football conditioning camp. I like the program because the coaches push him beyond his limits. Like me, he doesn’t always realize his full athletic potential.
The camp is an intense hour of various drills sprinting, running ladders, crawling, pushing sleds, wrapping, and more. I like it because there is no slacking, horse-play, or performing half-ass. Before the boys walk in the door, the bar is raised and they know exactly what type of performance is expected of them. Makes for a great work ethic.
In an hour’s time, the boys burn an enormous amount of calories! It is important to their growth and development that after practice, they fuel up and replace the calories burned. While my son is young with an active metabolism, I still stress, to him and to hubby, that he eats “good” food instead of filling up on empty, high fat, and sugared calories. Even though I cringe, an occasional slurpee isn’t going to kill him. I hope not! Lol! Okay so you know, I had to sneak a peek!!
Slurpee Nutritional Value – 8 ounces – When was the last time you saw someone walk out of Wawa or 7-eleven with an 8 oz.? On a hot summer day, everyone goes BIG on the frozen drinks. I’m just sayin! Lol!
- 66-80 Calories,depending on the flavor *For a 16 ounce, multiply X 2!
- 18 Grams of carbs coming from 18 grams of sugar
- 0 Sodium
Considering my son’s lean physique, he is ridiculously strong. Tho genetics may play a role in his strength, I’d still like to think that 10+ years of feeding him tons of fruits, veggies, good meat, and less processed garbage has given him a solid and healthy jump-start on life.
On the way home, we stopped at Wawa (if you don’t have a Wawa in your state, sorry, you’re missing out). He ordered a small veggie sandwich. When we got home, I thought he’d skip the omelet. Umm… I was WRONG!
Mr. Independent likes to cook his own omelet. Lucky me! I taught him well. 🙂
Yes, for those who say that I’m compulsive (maybe I am), he eats candy, drinks soda (in moderation, but no Coke or Pepsi), eats cakes, donuts, and pies; however, on his own accordance, sometimes he’ll order a salad for lunch at school over pizza. Don’t get me wrong– his latest fetish is hot wings. He could eat them for lunch and dinner; maybe breakfast too. Lol!
Anyways, my point here is that, kids are not dummies, they are so smart. They imitate just about everything they see us do. What we eat, the words that roll off our tongue, how we interact with our significant others and more… Like the little sponges that they are, they soak up our action like sponges. The good, bad, and ugly–all of it!
If you have young children, including the ones still on breast milk or the bottle, start them out right. If your Pediatrician is okay with it, start them out with veggies instead of fruit. Cook up (steam) a batch of fresh organic green beans or your favorite veggie. Then toss them in the food processor/blender and bam! Like magic, you have fresh, nutritious, healthy, and unprocessed baby food.
Sugar is an acquired taste, the more it’s eaten, the more it’s craved. Why do this to your kids?
If your kids are older, try making subtle changes. An older child/teen who has not been introduced to veggies, may be resistant to the change, but don’t give up.
Sneak finely chopped spinach, red, yellow, or orange peppers into your meatloaf, chicken parm, spaghetti sauce, soups, chili, or anything else you can think of. Whatever you do, get creative and infuse your food with healthier ingredients.
So I didn’t plan to go on this tangent, but while I am here, I have to say this.
Start planning your meals and save money by cutting back on take outs. That’s stuff is no good for you anyway. 🙂
The weather is finally breaking, and it’s grilling season. Marinate your meat a day in advance. When you get home, toss it on the grill with some fresh broccoli or carrots in a tin pan or zucchini wrapped in foil. Trust me, you cannot go wrong (other than burning it).
Get your kids involved. Pinterest– I keep saying this– has endless recipe boards. As a family pick out some new recipes. If you find a recipe that you like and it’s a little fattening, modify the recipe and substitute with better ingredients. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Unhealthy and obese kids grow up to be unhappy, unhealthy, more obese adults. They spend a good deal of their life on yo-yo diets. Sadly more teens are diagnosed with eating disorders such bulimia and anorexia. They see unrealistic photo-shopped images of their favorite celebrity and nearly kill themselves trying to look like them. Sad but true.
We should help our children to develop healthy attitudes and healthy relationships with food. I work with teens and see it first hand. Deny it if you wish, but it’s real and there are kids who suffer every day.
No matter what bad habits they’ve learned, kids and adults are adaptable and, if willing, can learn new habits.
What are your thoughts and what’s on the menu for dinner this week?
Additional Info (I don’t agree with every substitute on each list, but there’s some good ones listed. Hopefully you can get some ideas from the links).
The Eat-Clean Diet Commandments
Health & Wellness by Lexa's Journal 