Eat Healthy America: Part 1

I decided to divide this entry into Parts. I have a feeling I will be commenting on this randomly throughout the year since one of my resolutions this year was to make more exciting recipes while encouraging my kids to eat healthier foods. Eating healthy has kind of become one of my passions. I'm not necessarily into simply low-fat foods; I'm more obsessed with our country"s dependence on processed foods...and I'm a little more than convinced this has led to the unbelievable rise in cancer, etc. in this country (many of you may disagree...just my opinion!)

My sister recently posted an article on Facebook that I loved -- and stole for my own profile page! If you didn't get a chance to read it, do so now: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/family-dinner-how_b_806114.html Basically, it reiterates everything I have come to believe! I often wonder if my friends view me as a mean mommy: my kids have never had tea, Porter has had Sprite twice (both times commenting that "IT BURNS!"), dessert is NOT a nightly ritual, we eat out rarely, milk and water are often the only beverages offered -- when juice is offered, I still cut it with water, fast food restaurants are few and far between, and they have been known to go to bed hungry -- I am not a short-order cook...what you see is what you get! Of course, I am not a saint either...sometimes I want to make chocolate cake OR eat a fried Chic-Fil-A sandwich, but I also limit myself...I am also a huge advocate for family dinners. Growing up, no matter what we had for dinner OR who was home, we always ate around the dinner table. As teens, my sister and I both found this very annoying, but my parents stayed strong...to them, it was an opportunity to talk to us without distractions....no TV, phones, music, etc. Just the 4 of us, around the table...Craig and I continue this tradition. Again, I am no saint...there are times when the TV has been left on or we let the kids eat their snack on the couch, but for dinner, there are no exceptions!!! To me, that is family time, a time for conversation, a time for chatting with my kids and husband, a chance to be together. Of course, our meals are by no means QUIET, but hearing my kids talk non-stop is a glorious thing. Better that then hearing a few grunts from behind their Leapsters...just sayin'. I figure there will be enough years in my future when my boys don't have a thing to say to either of us. But, I will still demand that they eat dinner at the table with us...even if the only sound I hear is the chewing of food!