Last Meal

President Obama's birthday is tomorrow. On the news, they showed that the last meal on his birthday eve was a burger, fries, and a milkshake. The First Lady has a healthy eating campaign. I wonder if she has the same problem thatI have. You know, he's eating that kind of thing and she's pushing health eating program. I think that must happen in a lot of families.

Several people in my family have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes. I think people get these types of conditions as they age. I'm determined not to get these types of conditions as a result of lack of exercise or poor diet.

How we should eat

When I spoke with the nutritionist, it was funny just how focused she was on feeding your body. She didn't seem to get the fact that I just like to eat. Of course, if I actually ate the way people are supposed to eat, I wouldn't always have to count calories. I eat cottage cheese and greek yogurt for snacks. Who would want an extra helping of that? No, the things I overeat are fattening or sweet. If I thought about what my body actually NEEDED, I wouldn't have the challenges that I have.

Zucchini

I've been very stressed for the last couple of weeks. I've had so much going on personally and professionally. When I'm stressed, I don't eat the way that I should. I was kind of annoyed yesterday because David made white rice. Also, he bought this huge pack of Mac and Cheese from BJ's.

Margaret had some extra zucchini from her garden. I got one huge one and sauteed it with tomatoes and onions. I added some parmesean cheese on top. I only made half of it because when Raymond saw the zucchini, he frowned at it and said he wasn't going to eat any of it.

I don't think he was expecting it to have a spaghetti like flavor because he actually did taste it. He liked it and wanted more.

Vacation

We just returned from our eight day trip to the beach. We rented a place with a kitchen so we only ate out three times. David went shopping one morning and came back with toaster streudels and hot pockets. Kind of annoying. We don't have a crazy schedule, so it would have been easy to plan for healthier meals. Sophia, Lucas, and I went for long walks in the mornings. Layla and I rode bikes. Raymond practiced throwing the football with David. Raymond, Lucas, and I played frisbee.

They all enjoyed jumping waves and boogie boarding. The days were filled with lots of activity.

Conclusion

New recipes include strawberry and spinach salad, rhubarb with raisins on , quinoa, cashew asparagus, strawberry fruit smoothies, and mango chicken.

The kids have adjusted to healthier breakfasts. There's no whining about wanting pop tarts or Cap'n Crunch. They really think about portion sizes and frequently ask whether or not a particular food is healthy.

David's made huge strides. I can't believe he's actually shopping at the Farmer's Market. He's stopped asking the kids if they want seconds. Also, he hasn't brought home a huge box of cookies or anything since we started this. This is good for me. I'm always watching what I eat and I just don't have that much self control. Today when I wanted something sweet, I got raisins because it's the only sweet thing that was in the house.

Raymond is the only person who didn't read Food Rules.
Lucas has taken it upon himself to alert Sophia and Layla when they are attempting to get another portion.

David hasn't mentioned stopping the project and I think we'll continue to progress. My next mission is to focus on exercise.

Fruit Smoothies

David has been doing well with making breakfasts. Sophia and Layla both love toast with peanutbutter on it. They also like scrambled eggs.

The other day, he called to see if it would be okay to grape soda. That's a huge step for him. It was on sale and he thought it would be a nice treat. At least he was asking about it. I asked him to get ingredients for fruit smoothies, instead. The kids had fun making them, and they were delicious. A few strawberries, yogurt, ice, yum!

Vegetables

The kids aren't crazy about vegetables, so I've been serving lots of fruit as side dishes instead. That's the great thing about summer. It's also quick and easy.It's funny, because it really doens't feel like I have prepared a meal when I just serve fruit. I made a fruit salad and they simply loved it.