Tackling the yogurt cup

As long as I can remember, I've operated under the philosophy of breakfast being the most important meal of the day. We try desperately to have good, hearty, well-balanced breakfasts before we head off to preschool / work in the morning, and I'm always on the lookout for the next best breakfast option to offer the kiddos. I'm not going to lie - when we decided to tackle this "real food" challenge almost a month ago, I figured breakfast would be our easy meal...until I started reading labels.

My goal for breakfast is pretty simple: serve the girls a dairy/protein, grain and fruit serving every morning. This is based off the recommendation from my pediatrician and I like the basic principle behind it. It leaves us some leeway as to what each day looks like (because variety is the spice of life when you have two kids under the age of four), but the framework is there.

Our fruit most days ends up being a banana - E gets 1/3 and C gets 2/3, and they are both happy. Bananas are packed full of vitamins B6, C, potassium and fiber, so it's a good start to the day. For our dairy, we have historically split a cup of Greek yogurt between the girls. However, now that I'm on this whole label-reading kick, I realized the yogurt I've been feeding my girls is packed full of sugar (15g in one 5.3oz cup!). Naturally, yogurt does contain some sugars (called lactose), but this particular brand also listed additional sugars in the ingredients (evaporated cane juice is indeed sugar with a fancy name).

So once we finished up the yogurt cups we had, we decided to try our hand at making our own "fruit on the bottom" Greek yogurt. I used Costco's Kirkland Signature plain Greek yogurt (two 32oz. containers for just under $7) as the base, which contains all natural ingredients:

We have a lot of fresh fruit that we picked and froze last summer, so logically I thought that was the best place to start with fruit topping. C chose blackberry for our first flavor test, and I was really pleased with the results! I used about two cups of frozen blackberries and stuck them in the microwave to defrost for about four minutes (if I had planned ahead, I would have thawed them in the fridge overnight). Once they had softened some, I added a tiny bit of water to the bottom of the blender, threw in the blackberries, and pureed it on medium-low speed for about 30-45 seconds (just until all the chunks were broken up and the consistency was pretty smooth). I added some plain yogurt to the bowls, added a spoonful of the topping, mixed it up and voila...fruit on the bottom yogurt that only contained natural sugars from the blackberries and lactose!

The two cups of blackberries made more topping than I needed, so I took a cue from a friend of mine and froze the extra into ice cube trays for future breakfasts:

My plan is to go ahead and puree some peach, strawberry and blueberry topping as well, and pull a different one out each night to thaw in the fridge for breakfast the next day. Honestly, it isn't any more time-consuming than the store-bought yogurt cups, plus it ends up being cheaper. The two cartons of Greek yogurt make approximately 12 small cups of yogurt, and I was paying at least $5-6 more for that same amount packaged in smaller portions. And two cups of fruit made eight days worth of topping, so that ends up being pretty affordable as well.

Best part of the whole thing...my girls ate that yogurt faster than I have seen them eat yogurt in weeks. Turns out eating healthy isn't all that bad. :)

The underground breadmaking secret society

Once upon a time, there lived a girl who was married to a boy and they had a bread machine. Said machine lived on a shelf at the top of their guest room closet until one fateful day the girl said to the boy, "we should try and use this thing." So they hooked it up, made a loaf of bread, it tasted terrible and they gave it to Goodwill. The end.

Fast forward six or seven years: I just found myself hunting down a bread machine on our local buy/sell/trade site because I was silly, gave ours away after one failed attempt, and now have decided to start reading ingredient lists on packaged foods and sent myself into a tailspin over my latest loaf purchase.

Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on the back of your bread? I mean, really looked at it? Because I have to admit that I had not. I mean, I had glanced at the nutritional chart before but never really paid attention to that LONG list of additives, preservatives and other ingredients. My preferred loaf of bread (100% whole wheat, mind you) contained such delicacies as high fructose corn syrup, sugar, soybean oil, calcium propionate, citric acid and soy lecithin...what is all this stuff? And 4 grams of sugar in a single slice of bread? That means my kids are getting 4 grams of sugar before I even put peanut butter and jelly on the bread, and 8 grams if I give C a whole sandwich instead of a half sandwich.

To really understand why I'm shocked by this, I'll break down the math for you - according to the American Heart Association (AHA), children ages 4-8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than about 3 teaspoons of added sugar a day. One teaspoon of sugar equals about 4 grams of sugar, so C should be consuming no more than 12 grams of added sugar A DAY. And if she's hungry and I give her a whole sandwich, I'm giving her 2/3 of that intake before I even put anything on the bread! Add in the peanut butter (look for an upcoming blog about this favorite spread in our house) and jelly (even a low-sugar option), and her sandwich itself has used up her entire sugar allowance for the day.

Enter our new favorite kitchen appliance - the bread machine. I was totally intimidated by this thing when I brought it home a week ago, but after playing around for a few days I've mastered such yummy creations as 100% whole wheat bread, whole wheat pizza dough, whole wheat crescent rolls, whole wheat bagels and most recently, whole wheat flaxseed bread. It's easy, cost-effective and quick, and the results are AMAZING. 

The newest member of our family

So here's the best part - I'm now part of this underground club of bread machine owners that I didn't even know existed. I got this thing, told one or two people, and suddenly homemade bread recipe swapping has become a daily occurrence in my world. Apparently everyone has a bread machine but no one talks about it (at least that's my latest theory), but I'm refusing to not share the knowledge with everyone - IF I CAN BAKE A LOAF OF BREAD, ANYONE CAN DO IT! For real, it's SO easy to do and the results are delicious. Plus, I know exactly what I'm feeding my family now, and that's worth every minute and dollar spent.

Today's lunch delicacy - whole wheat flaxseed bread

Do you have a bread machine? If so, what are your favorite recipes? I'll be posting a few of our new favorites in some upcoming blogs when I start to delve into what in the world I'm feeding my family that doesn't include sugar. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you if you're already a member of "the club." And if you aren't, head over to your local thrift shop, Goodwill or buy/sell/trade site - membership is only about $15 and well worth the initial investment.

P.S. In case you are curious about recommended added sugar intake for adults, the average woman should consume no more than 6 teaspoons (24 grams) a day and the average man should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams) a day. So next time you bite into that turkey sandwich, you may be using up 1/3 of that intake in bread alone. Food for thought!

Our chicken addiction

I have a confession to make: we love Chick-Fil-A. A lot. So much so that in the first 17 days of our little real food experiment, we've gone three times. Yes, three times in 17 days. I would love to use the playground as a reason but C has actually only been with us one of those times. Quite frankly, I think it comes down to three things: the employees are beyond helpful, the restaurant not only tolerates kids but embraces them with open arms, and my children will eat their food without grumbling. Three pretty good reasons if I say so myself. 

So what's a mom to do? Realistically, not going to Chick-Fil-A is just not going to happen. I'm a stay-at-home mom, it's cold outside, and we need kid-friendly outings. But it doesn't exactly fall within our 2014 goals of "eating real." I decided in cases like these, we moms just need to do a little homework and make smart decisions with what we have rather than boycotting altogether.

First, I downloaded the Chick-Fil-A app this morning (which is great if you don't have it). I spent a few extra minutes actually researching our typical orders and their ingredients, sugar and sodium content. And I did the best I could. 

So what did we end up with today? I had a medium bowl of chicken noodle soup (plenty filling, I might add) with a mere 3 grams of sugar, E had grilled nuggets (no sugars although more sodium than I prefer), and C opted for the regular nuggets (1 gram of sugar and definitely a lot more filler ingredients than I prefer, but we choose our battles and this wasn't one). Fruit cups and milks were the sides of choice for both girls, and I brought along some Annie's organic cheddar bunnies to round out the lunch.

The aftermath of a successful CFA outing

Was it the most "real" lunch I could possibly serve my kids? No. Could I have taken the time to pack healthy lunches and bring them with us today? Absolutely. But is that realistic? Not at all. And that brings me to my next point: just because it's real, doesn't mean it is always going to be "real." We are moms and a lot of times we are in survival mode. And you know what? If a breaded nugget keeps C from refusing to eat her lunch today, I'm always going to choose the breaded nugget. Because sometimes my sanity is worth that extra gram of sugar.

We did keep our books today though instead of trading for ice cream. So there, sugar. Take that.

Heather

The sneaky snackers

In order to full appreciate the journey we are taking, I think it's important for you to know where we started. I have an amazing husband (Trey) and two precious girls, C (almost 4 years old) and E (16 months old). I spent 12 years working in public relations, during which time I helped launch a childhood obesity awareness program in our state. Because of this background, healthy eating with my kids has been important since day one. We made all our baby food, don't really offer desserts to the girls, and shy away from beverages other than milk or water. Seems like we have it all figured out, right? Ha.

Trey and I are a different story. Don't get me wrong, we take care of ourselves and eat healthy, well-balanced meals. Trey is a runner (when he's not injured), but historically he also enjoys a good piece of fried chicken, bag of potato chips or Reese's peanut butter cup. I can actually turn down any of those things, but put a large bowl of Blue Bell ice cream in front of me and it's over. I'm not a big exercise person - I love to walk with the double stroller (but it's cold out now), I just find it hard to give up my hour or so of "me time" every day to change clothes, work out and shower. And I use that "me time" term loosely - that's really my quiet time/dinner prep/house cleaning/laundry doing time. So really, fitting it in has been hard. Not impossible, just challenging.

Trey and I realized we were guilty of the sneaky snack. We'd finally get the girls down around 7:45 or 8, and by 8:30 we were both in the kitchen looking for something to eat. And while there are healthy options all around us, we were constantly going for the ice cream (me), chocolate chip cookies (me), chips (Trey) or candy (Trey). We weren't overdoing it - a little here and a little there - but suddenly we started to realize we were addicted to sweets. Oh bother.

So what's our goal with this whole thing? Really, it's just to change our daily habits. We aren't being crazy legalistic about any of this. We went to a birthday party last weekend and we all had a cupcake. But that was it - one cupcake, along with some fresh strawberries. More than anything else, I think it is important that Trey and I model what healthy sugar intake looks like for our girls - and it isn't realistic to say we aren't ever going to indulge ever again. But is it a daily ritual? Absolutely not.

Oh, and other things you should know: We are painfully frugal. We live on a strict budget (hello, accountant husband). I love a good deal, and I coupon like a crazy person. I love to bake (with sugar). There's a lot working against us here. But on the flip side, our kids love to eat healthy foods. We all love produce and nuts. And somehow my kids are completely on board for this.

So here we go!
Heather

The evolution of our (food) revolution

I blame 7 for this. Well, 7 combined with Sugar, Salt, Fat combined with No Other Gods.

I was doing fine in my sugar-induced, organic-free oblivion. I have two amazingly healthy kids (praise God!) and my husband and I seemed to be doing fine, too. Other than the lack of energy that naturally comes from having two kids. I don’t exercise regularly – I chase kids around all day, so I am far from lethargic – and I actually eat pretty healthy. I always choose the low-fat, low-sodium snacks at the store, whole wheat bread when possible, and I eat produce. So I’m fine…I thought.

Then God started to plant the seed. My community group (CG) girls studied No Other Gods over the summer, and the idea of false idols started brewing in my head. I never thought of food as an idol, but I came up with plenty of others with which I struggled. I had never done a fast of any sort, so the idea of identifying idols and removing them for a season appealed to me. So I started to pray on it. On Oct. 31, I randomly decided to participate in No Makeup November and ended up fasting from makeup for 30 days. Seems silly, but it was hugely impactful. For the first time in my life, I stopped focusing on what other people thought about me and starting appreciating how beautiful God made me inside and out.

Somewhere around the middle of November, I decided to read Jen Hatmaker’s 7. This book had been recommended to me several times, although I was unsure why. The premise of the book is that Jen takes seven consecutive months, chooses seven areas of excess in her life, and fasts from each in a unique way. During the first month she tackled food and ate the same seven foods for 30 straight days. She did similar things with clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste and stress. And to say it rocked my world is a massive understatement. Along with hauling boxes of clothes and toys to donation sites and becoming crazy about materialism, I suddenly had an epiphany – we needed to make some changes in how we eat.

My husband loves sugar. My nearly 4-year-old daughter LOVES sugar. And you know…I love it, too. I didn’t realize it, but we all suffer from a sugar addiction. It is in EVERYTHING. Why does my bread have sugar in it? And my milk? Is nothing pure anymore? Surprisingly, I am starting to learn that it can be…but I just have to give up some modern conveniences, shop around a tad more, and be willing to roll up my sleeves and get my clothes (and kitchen) a little dirty.

I am no expert. In fact, I will be the first to admit I have no clue what I’m doing. But I’m learning as I go, and considering I have had no less than 12 conversations with people in the last week about how they are wanting to do the same thing this year, I decided I’d share what knowledge I pick up along the way. 

So join me in my quest to keep it a tad more real in 2014.

Heather