I recently went back and read some of my latest posts, or a sprinkling of those throughout the summer. I’m not sure if other bloggers ever do that, but I felt inclined to do so, so I did. I felt like a common statement or theme emerged in several pieces, that of “we are in a busy season in our lives”, “over commitment”, “chaos”, “hectic schedules” and the like. This recognition came at an interesting time because this week I’ve pushed the theoretical reset button. I’m trying to {re}focus on mindful living and whole body wellness, which in turn kind of makes my little family do the same. Indeed we have been living with a full plate, without quite enough genuine intention, over the course of the past few months. Sure we have eaten healthy, per say, fit our workouts in, spent time with family and friends and made many enjoyable family memories this summer, but I somehow feel like it all just whizzed by and I didn’t get to truly experience or savor it all.

I want to be able to vividly picture the beautiful orange glowing sunsets in our backyard from this first summer in our new home and feel that warmth of hot, bright sun passing below the tree line. I want to smell and taste the crunchy, buttery, salty, crispy texture of fresh corn on the cob we purchased from our local farmers market. And I want to have an intense memory of my girls giggling together while playing outside in our wild, weedy grass and untamable monster of a garden all summer long. I guess I just want to feel more present. In mind and body. In everything I do. I think it’s inevitable that as a mother of two children two and under, that I will lose grasp of that from time to time. And heck, I’m just a normal, average mother doing the best she can. I know that it’s completely reasonable to think some days I am on top of the laundry, cooking healthy meals and fitting a workout in and other days I just go through the motions, am in desperation of caffeine, a break, a nap and an extra dose of sanity. I get it. But, here I am, the person who is constantly striving to do more and do better. And that’s me and my {somewhat complicated} normal. As for one part of my theoretical reset this week, I’m focusing on my diet.

VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION & WHOLE FOODS

Our up north family vacation led us away from the healthiest of eating habits. I enjoyed so many camping menu goodies including but not limited to s’mores, campfire mac & cheese and walking tacos over a crunchy bag of cheese flavored Doritos and heaping scoops of guacamole. {Heaven in my mouth} Not to mention the greatest sparkling wine beverages in a can that my sister discovered. We most definitely consumed fruits and vegetables throughout this trip, but I feel that the culmination of the camping menu is yet another driver of this reset button. I want my body to feel healthy and lately I haven’t been feeling it so much. I am becoming increasingly aware that if I want to be my best, I have to feel my best – yet I’m tired, run down, have headaches, etc. So, my food consumption is just one piece of the mindful/wellness puzzle and what I’m choosing to share today. My agenda this week is to focus on unprocessed foods, lots of water and eating as many veggies as I can.

Generally, the idea of my focus is easy to picture for an adult diet: salads, raw veggies, soups, kabobs, bowls, etc. all focusing on piling on the vegetables. I should mention I’m not into any fad diets, am not really vegetarian though I don’t always like to eat meat, and surely wouldn’t call this the Whole 30. Just my way of getting back to mindfulness so I can enjoy what I eat and overall feel good and healthy. Seems simple. Or does it? I’ve always been passionate about food and nutrition, so some of this is just second nature to me. If you want to know more, just ask.

As for my children and feeding them, that’s a new realm to my mindful living and whole body wellness approach that I’ve been translating to raising a family. It’s been enjoyable to discover what that looks like for our family. As I mentioned, my focus generally drives our family focus, so as I’m concentrating on consuming more vegetables and whole foods this week, my children are, too, by proxy. What does it look like to increase your children’s vegetable consumption? Let me tell you what it looks like in our household.

STRATEGIES TO FEED MY CHILDREN VEGETABLES

Setting an example

We shopped for the goods and are stocked in the house. It’s visible. I’ve been showing my girls what I’ve been eating and selecting fruits and vegetables as snacks. If you want your child to eat healthfully, you have to show them how it’s done.

Offering as meals & snacks

It can take as many as 15-20 exposures {or more} for children to start eating a particular food item. I try to always have vegetables available and continue to offer them, even if they are not consumed. {Patience is a virtue, parents.}

Presentation & condiments

If I try to make it look fun there is a slightly increased chance they’ll try it. Or at the very least, if give them something to dip those veggies in, it all seems much easier. I am beginning to believe condiments were invented specifically to encourage children to eat more of anything. And I mean anything. My niece and nephew have an addiction to dipping their pizza in ranch. Maven loves ketchup, but thinks BBQ sauce is “spicy”. She also likes salsa and sometimes refers to it as applesalsa if she is confused as to what she’s asking me for. Anyway, I’ve designed pretty plates of vegetables and offered something to dip in – all for encouragement. Simple dip ideas we’ve used are yogurt based veggie dips, hummus, spreadable cheese and avocado or guacamole.

Including them in the experience

Getting Maven involved in our garden this year has been incredibly rewarding. Allowing her to be a part of where our food comes from, the selection process {whether from the store, farmers market or garden} and allowing her to cook with us has been invaluable to her learning experiences. She has tasted a lot more foods as a result, too. I can see that she views food in a fun, tasty, healthy way and that’s just about exact to what I have been striving for. I also let my children shop with me. I let them cook and bake with me. Let them experiment and taste test.

Trying new meal ideas

I like to try more vegetable-specific meals to see how my children respond, too. Soups are a great example that Maven has always enjoyed, and Sylvie does now too. I even sometimes choose to just cook vegetables in a soup base as flavoring to serve softer, cooked vegetables to my little ones.

Being sneaky

I shred, chop, puree, stir and mix vegetables into a variety of “regular” meals as I see fit. For example: shredded carrots to a shredded chicken mix, chopped veggies or chopped spinach to sauces and bakes (spaghetti, pizza sauce, etc.), quesadillas or other basic meals. Also, it’s entirely feasible that I sneak those veggies in even when least expected: a jar of baby food or homemade vegetable puree added to pancake or waffle mix, muffins or other baked items. And, when I’m feeling not so sneaky, I opt for the “squeezers” that retail at about every grocer or store around. Something about the design of that product tricks my girls into thinking anything in it is fun and delightful. It’s a sure way I can get some vegetable in their diet, especially if we are out picnicking, at the zoo, or on the go.

While these strategies have been relatively successful in our household, I don’t want to paint the picture of a perfect diet for all four of us. So, let’s not be fooled here. I AM NOT THE AVOCADO MOM. You know, the one who brings fresh and ripe avocado to the mall to slice and feed to her child instead of celebrating the food court for everything it has to offer. Sometimes getting out of the house means we get to live a little, eat a meal that was cooked by someone other than me and means I don’t have to clean up the dishes or the mess. Hallelujah for restaurants and food courts! Okay, so I may bring a squeezer with if we go to the food court to have some vegetable on hand, but I do believe in moderation and treating yourself every now and then. I also believe in a wholesome diet and try to strike that sense of balance so that everyone in the family is fed well and feels well.

I’ve just wrapped up day three of my reset and I’m feeling good. How are you feeling? Do you need to make any changes to improve your health and wellness?

XO

PS – The avocado mom reference comes from a hilarious, down-to-earth, genuine book on motherhood that I read called Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life by Glennon Melton Doyle. If you’re a mom and have not read this book, add it to your list immediately. She is so real and raw that I literally laughed out loud while I was reading it. And, in the end, I felt inspired that my messy, beautiful motherhood journey is exactly how it was meant to be. Thanks to my sweet friend, Nicole, for inviting me to Glennon’s local event last year where I was gifted this book.  ❤️