[pasta shells, organic marinara sauce with ground turkey, steamed broccoli, parmesan cheese--a typical meal for my kids (all photos are mine)]
Everyone knows there's an obesity epidemic in our country. I think "epidemic" is a fitting description since being chronically overweight directly affects our health. All this to say, I need to lose 15 lbs. It's kinda ridiculous that I'm still calling it "babyweight." The reality is, it's lazy-weight. I need to quit making excuses.
[marinated, baked chicken breast with brown rice, homemade pinto beans, avocado]
And I need to learn from my kids. None of them are overweight. That's because even if I've been gaining and losing weight with 4 pregnancies, I've made sure my children maintain a healthy, trim waistline.
I guess I thought it was obvious that parents need to monitor their children when it comes to food. That is, until someone asked me recently: "What? Your kids ask before they get a snack?"
I was like: "Doesn't everybody do that?"
I guess not. I feel so sorry for overweight children. Life is hard enough without having the disadvantage of being a fat kid.
So, here are a few family habits we practice to insure that our children learn to make healthy food/lifestyle choices:
1. Structured, family meal times: Our family eats breakfast and dinner together every day. We eat at the same time each day. 7:15am Breakfast, 5:30pm Dinner. My kids do not eat cafeteria food at school (except for the occasional Pizza Day!). We pack lunches every day.
[a simple at-home hot lunch: organic mac n' cheese w/ pineapple chunks]
2. No grazing! My children are allowed 2 snacks per day. A morning snack and an afternoon snack. That's it. I've seen kids who are allowed to raid the fridge or pantry anytime they are "hungry." Not only is this a bad habit but kids can easily start eating for emotional reasons (bored, tired, anxious) instead of for actual physical reasons (ie. real hunger). When my kids complain that they are "hungry" and they've already eaten their snack quota, I tell them they have to wait until dinner. Yeah, I'm a mean mom. 
3. No soda. I've seen toddlers the same age as my own chugging Coke from their bottles! My kids are allowed to share one can of soda (non-caffeinated) per week. We never serve soft drinks at meals. My kids drink milk or water. For breakfast they are allowed one cup of orange juice or apple juice.
4. Easy access to fruits & veggies. I used to be better
about doing this (before the twins), but it's really helpful to
pre-chop fruits and veggies that the kids can grab at any time. On the
days when they've already eaten their snack quota, I let them snack on
fruit or veggies. Here's one way to make it fun:
[sliced fruits n' veggies in a muffin tin--super easy for kids to grab n' go]
5. Keep it simple! I am no gourmet cook. In fact, I don't even really enjoy cooking. But that's what's great about eating healthy–you don't have use 26 ingredients with a 5 hour prep time. The fewer the ingredients, the healthier it is!
6. Maintain a daily schedule. I know this may sound funny, but I think bored kids tend to overeat (and also get into mischief!). Even during the summer I keep my kids on a fairly structured routine. Here's what our current summer schedule looks like:
7. Make sure kids get plenty of sleep. Research studies have shown that people who get at least 8 hours of sleep each night tend to have a healthier body weight. Another study showed that a large percentage of people who were diagnosed with depression were also sleep deprived. Sleep is important! I like to start good sleeping habits at a young age. All my children are in bed by 8:30pm each night–except on weekends when they can stay up until 9pm. I know, I know. I'm a mean mom. Mwah-ha-ha.
8. Get outdoors. My kids spend time outdoors each day: swimming, biking, playing tag, hide-n-go-seek, riding scooters. All good exercise.
Speaking of outdoors, I need to go get some exercise myself!
DO YOU HAVE HEALTHY FAMILY HABITS? PLEASE SHARE!
