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
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