Expanding Horizons and Beating the Winter Blues

Awhile ago I came across an article regarding whole foods as opposed to processed foods and just how much better it is to cook a turkey and cut it up for sandwich meat instead of buying pre-packaged sandwich meat. I read the article, which is a rarity in itself, and dismissed it since "I just don't have time to prepare an entire meal every single day." The article, however, has been haunting me! As I sat at the dining room table with Ty eating my ever-so-tasty meal of mac n cheese from a box and corn dogs from the freezer, supplemented with kettle chips and a coke, the article returned to haunt me once again!

On a different food-related note, Ty is getting finicky about what he'll eat. He has his favorites, like all kids, but some of his old favorites (strawberries) are now to be looked at and carried around but not eaten. Even his previous excitement for chicken has been replaced...with pizza...*sigh!* Why it is that kids always gravitate toward the "bad" (pizza, mac n cheese, french fries) and shun the "good" (squash, strawberries, lettuce) is beyond me, but it is reality and my child is no different! For awhile I believe I have aided the problem...if he doesn't eat his dinner I don't make him something different, but when bedtime snack rolls around and he asks for an oatmeal cream pie, I grab it out of the box and hand it over.

A few days ago, with my miserably sick little boy asking for food, I opened the cupboards...fridge...freezer...*gulp!* My house had been taken over by processed, frozen, "quick and easy" JUNK!!!!! The resulting meal was the previously mentioned mac n cheese/corndog feast.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping. If it wasn't fresh produce or meat, I didn't buy it...with the exception of a few dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese), some no-preservatives-added juices, and a box of Ty's oatmeal cream pies...I can't deprive the child completely!

Ty and I are expanding our horizons. We are going to try new foods and meals and they are going to be made from as many whole food products as possible. I'm not going entirely crazy, I have a plethora of processed foods and junk food that will get eaten (just not replenished for the most part). I don't plan on cranking out my own pasta or banning mac n cheese from my house and I certainly am not going to tell Ty he can't eat that chip because it's "bad!" Above all, I will not be quitting Coke...it's like love in a can, how can I give that up?! If we want to eat something, we will make it...cookies, homemade and not store-bought...chicken and dumplings, homemade and not from the frozen foods aisle!

I tried convincing myself, again, that I just don't have time to cook meals every night and accomplish everything else that I want to, but I've come up with some ideas that will help me make the adjusting process less painful:

1. Weekly Menu: I am going to plan our meals ahead of time, keeping in mind that almost meal will result in leftovers so we don't end up wasting food as a result of it going bad. I will also split large meals and freeze part of them so I can use them later. I will shop for only what we need and buy only what's on my shopping list.

2. Pre-preparation: I am going to spend one night a week pre-preparing meats that require thawing. This may mean that I freeze cooked chicken or spend the whole week only making chicken recipes, but that's okay with me! Overall it will save on time, and that's the whole point!

I've been hugely slacking in the exercise department lately as well, and since I'm taking the food-route to a healthier lifestyle, I might as well jump back into the exercising as well! Last winter I had good success with Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and I recently bought Zumba's at-home program...but haven't been committed to a schedule and am still watching the "learn the steps" video which, while gives you a slight workout, is nothing like the real workout! So...back into the exercise routine! I will be alternating Zumba, Jillian Michaels, and running (after its nice out) but I haven't quite decided how I will do that. I'm leaning towards doing whichever sounds the most fun when its time to actually do it! (With that said, I will probably be doing a whole lot of Zumba!)

It's high time I dismiss the plaguing "winter blues" that I fall into every year and make myself accomplish what I want to...I'm always glad when I accomplish my goals but when they are "accomplished," that's that. I think putting forth goals that are on-going will be good for me instead of telling myself things like, "I'm going to stop eating junk food and I'm going to exercise until I lose 20lbs." That was last year's goal, I accomplished it, then I stopped exercising and started eating junk food again! Thankfully, I only put 4 of those lbs back on...but that isn't the point!

With my on-going goals set, I still have my short-term goals...which include things like getting my house ready to sell in the next two weeks, organizing a silent auction fundraiser for a cause I believe in, and putting together the best 3rd birthday party Ty will ever have :) Did I mention that my scrapbooking goal for 2011 was to finish Ty's ABC Album, start/finish his 2nd Birthday Party Mini Album, and start/finish his One-Year-Old album? I am happy to report that the ABC and 2nd Birthday Albums are FINISHED and his One-Year-Old album is started!

Bye bye winter blues...you aren't welcome anymore! Hello expanding horizons...I'm happy to meet you!