We are on day 11 of our Real Food challenge. I know I said it was a 10 day challenge, but I also said I would blog about it daily. And well, you see how that went! Life intervened. But now that we're done with the first 10 days, I can give you a recap! Forgive my horrible memory, though. I'll do the best I can.

We started our 10 Days of Real Food challenge by nixing everything boxed, bagged or processed in any form. Well, I take that back. If it was processed, it was minimally, and all naturally. (See previous post for the Rules!) But most of our food came from the outskirts of our local Publix - fruits, veggies, grass-fed/free range meat with no hormones, antibiotics, etc. No food dyes, no preservatives, no extra nothin'! We had to make a few trips to Whole Foods, but by the end of the week I had found everything I needed at a DIFFERENT Publix. Turns out they carry items based on the demographics of the market. And Vestavia seems to enjoy more natural products than Pelham!

The first few days were difficult. O and I were NOT excited while all that sugar left our system. But we muscled through it. The girls didn't know the difference - except that their beloved "Go-Fish" were gone. Have you seen all the ingredients in those Goldfish? Yuck!

I found a lot of recipes on the 100daysofrealfood.com website, and on foodnetwork.com (from the 5 Ingredient Fix show). The best of the week was the Dad's Chicken Salad from 5 Ingredient Fix. We put it in whole wheat pitas, added a little spinach and honey, and had it for lunch.

Breakfast all week was typically whole wheat waffles, though I altered the recipe to make them more fluffy - a tad more baking powder, a tad more baking soda, a tad less oil and a tad less milk. Each time you make it you can change it up and figure out the best for your family.

Along with the waffles, O, AF and I had eggs (SG didn't care for them), and SG had plain whole milk yogurt with a little maple syrup to sweeten (AF didn't care for it!). And various fruit on the side.

At the beginning of the week, lunches consisted of chicken fingers, Dad's Chicken Salad or leftovers from the previous night's dinner. It got expensive. But then we discovered Whole Foods, and acceptable lunch meat (which I later found at Publix). They also have acceptable Big Sky Bread (also at some Publix'). Along with the sandwich is a cheese stick and some steamed veggies courtesy of the Beaba that I still use just for steaming veggies for the girls.

Mid afternoon snacks are usually some fruit, or a smoothie (which is difficult to get the girls to drink!).

For dinner we've tried various recipes - from Citrus Garlic Roasted Chicken (I loved, O not so much). We tried the tuna from this recipe with some rice and veggies. Ehh. It was alright. Basic steak/chicken on the grill too. Nothing too crazy for dinner. Oh, and there is acceptable pasta (you just have to search for it unless you're at Whole Foods), to which we added peppers, onions, sausage and acceptable sauce (from Whole Foods).

By the end of the week I had gotten smart and creative, and started making acceptable meals from non-acceptable recipes. You just have to think about it and substitute things. Like use Greek Yogurt when it calls for mayo. Regular yogurt when it calls for sour cream/ice cream. Honey instead of sugar. And stock up on your spices.

During my last shopping trip I found some crackers for the girls, and some chips and salsa for O and me. Which makes for happy snacking.

The lessons we learned were this: It's EXPENSIVE to eat healthy. But if you use coupons, and plan your meals a week at a time (plan everything - breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner), you can do it a little cheaper. The mistake I made in the beginning was not planning, and I ended up at the store every night and spent WAAAYY too much money. Plan for those "grazing" times when you're bored or just need to munch on something. Those cost me in the beginning because the food I had planned for something else usually got eaten during those grazing events!!

Also, plan to get to know your kitchen. The only gadgets I needed were my waffle iron and my smoothie blender. You could make pancakes though, and not need the waffle iron, and well, if you want a smoothie you'll need a blender.

But I'm now spending a ton of time cooking, planning and preparing (not in that order!). I do alot during nap times, after the girls go to bed and early in the morning before they get up. You can also make things ahead of time and freeze them for later. Keeping dinner simple - like chicken/steak and veggies makes for quick prep/quick cooking meals.

In 10 days I lost 5 pounds AND I'm wearing a belt for the first time since middle school. I lost the first 3 without even lifting a finger. I think I kept it all off this week by working out a few times a week though. O lost weight too, just not sure how much. But the girls - are gaining. They have more energy, they are happier - FAR less tantrums - and get full faster and stay full longer (we all do).

The entire process has really made me think about what my family puts into their bodies. I feel like a better wife and mother for providing healthy meals that will keep everyone satisfied.

Many have expressed an interest in this challenge, and I would encourage you to give it a try! If you're up for it (and your family is up for it!), start with the 10 Day Challenge. Get to know that website and read over the rules! I made a binder to keep acceptable recipes and lists of "ok" food.

Make sure you share with your entire family that you are doing this. We eat out or over at the parent's house alot, and they have had to alter their meal plans to accommodate us! So make sure anyone you eat with regularly is supportive of your efforts, or even that they are ok with you cooking or bringing your own meals, or else you're sure to slip! Hey, you could even try to encourage them to do the challenge along with you!

But if you're not up for the entire challenge just yet, but are still interested in making healthier choices, there are small steps you can make on a daily basis to ease into things. Click here and scroll down to the links to each week. Week 1 - add 2 fruits/vegetables to each meal. Do this for a week. Then move on to week 2 - the more difficult - "Real" beverages. And so on. By the end of it, you'll be on your way to only eating real food!

And as the title of this post says, we are on Day 11. We have decided to make this a life change (for now at least), though I'm sure we'll have a few times here and there where we slip! But just to let you know how serious we are...I have had a 5 pound bag of m&ms and cake pops (frozen from the girls' birthday party) in my house for the past 11 days, and we haven't touched them. Nor have we wanted them.

I think our tastebuds have changed. For the better.

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Sunday marked our first day of "Real Food" - nothing processed, and if it must come from a package it can only have 5 ingredients or less with 100% WHOLE grains (and preferably no sugar). The thought being that the more ingredients a product has, the more processed it has been, thus containing too many preservatives. Here's a review of the "Rules" in case you're late to the party.

So Day 1 wasn't so bad. As O said, "I'm not excited about doing that tomorrow, but it wasn't that bad." We started the day with homemade whole-wheat waffles (could have been pancakes if you don't have a waffle iron. (Tip of the day - Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray between EVERY waffle. You won't be happy with yourself if you forget.)

They were surprisingly good! A little flat (need more baking powder I think).

But the girls loved them and asked for seconds!

I messed us up for lunch. Lunch was Almond Butter and Jelly on "real food" bread (Big Sky Bakery found at Whole Foods). But when buying the jelly, I just bought "organic" and forgot to look at the ingredients, which equals massive amounts of sugar. I was supposed to by "All Fruit Spread" which contains NO added sugar, and is simply mashed up fruit. But with that we had unsweetened applesauce and veggie chips (sweet potato, squash, etc). All in all, lunch FAIL.

Dinner was simple grilled chicken (with a little salt and pepper) and grilled veggies. No marinade. It was fabulous. Note to self - our family requires more protein than this plan provides.

I also made some homemade granola bars for snacking. I should've made it in two batches because mine was too thick and is very crumbly. This batch is better for cereal. And I couldn't find sesame seeds, so I subbed flax seeds.

I'm cheating and allowing my coffee with a touch of real cream, flavored creamer. I just can't give that up. And we're having water and unsweet tea to drink.

All in all, Day 1 was doable. According to our scale I lost a pound! But that could have been my mean scale playing a nasty trick on me and trying to find a new job!

I've got some adjustments to make to make it work for our family, but so far, we're still going at it!

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As the girls and I were enjoying our lunch this afternoon, I was browsing the internet on my phone and came across this article about eating healthy. I looked down at our lunch. Chick-fil-A is healthy, right? I mean, I’m munching on a grilled chicken wrap, and I got the girls fruit instead of fries. That’s healthy. Right? (We just won’t talk about the fries that I ate, or the high sugar lemonade we were ALL drinking. Or the dressing with count them, TWENTY FIVE ingredients!)

According to the article I was reading, that was about the most unhealthy lunch I could’ve chosen. I mean, I still have about 15 pounds of post baby weight to lose, diabetes runs in our family, and my blood pressure (while controlled without medicine now), is still on the brink of needing meds to control.

We’ve started eating out more than I would like, and the girl’s snacks always consist of something from a box or a bag. And dinner, IF I make it, isn’t much better. I typically drown the chicken or steak we eat in some sort of high sodium marinade, and our veggies are always frozen – not fresh.

If I ever plan to lose this weight, our family needs an overhaul. I need to take more time to prepare healthy food for my family, and teach my children the right and wrong ways to eat.

So we’re going to start with the “10 Day Challenge” (as described here). And we’ll see where it goes from there. Hopefully I can help us keep up with it, and make it a lifestyle change. I’m going to try to keep track of our adventure on the blog, but no promises (seeing as how it’s been almost a year since my last post!). And I have a grand plan to keep a binder of all the recipes and ideas I gather and I’ll share those too. I figure if I put it all out there for people to read, I’ll have to keep up with it!

We’ll begin right after I finish these fries…and maybe a handful of M&Ms. Cause we all need just one more treat, right?!

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You think you’re having a case of the Monday’s?  I bet I got you beat!  Picture this…

4am:  Avery wakes for her standard 4am bottle.  She calmly takes 5ozs, eyes closed the whole time, and goes peacefully back to bed.  As does Mommy.

5am:  Avery SCREAMS.  (The girls share a room, mind you).  I figure it’s just gas, and that she’ll go back to sleep.  She SCREAMS again!  Ok, not gas.  Mommy’s up.

5:02am:  I go into their room, and find Sayla Grace sitting up in her crib playing with her blankie.  Avery is still screaming.  I tend to her first, and determine it is just gas, but that she also needs her paci.  Gas passed, paci found.  Happy baby.

5:05am:  I get Sayla Grace up, who is now whining, change her diaper and try to cuddle her back to sleep.  No such luck.  Off we go to make a bottle.

5:05am & 20 seconds:  With SG and I out of the room, Avery screams.  We make the bottle, and head down to the laundry to fetch Avery’s swaddle blanket (the only one that fits her). 

5:10am:  I sit Sayla Grace down in the rocker that is between the cribs.  I tell her to stay put, and play with the teddy bear that is sitting with her.  She happily obliges.  I lean over Avery’s crib and swaddle her.  On the last wrap, I feel something grabbing at my legs, and hear a “THUD.”  Followed by a SCREAM!!!  Sayla Grace has fallen out of the rocker. 

5:11am:  Daddy comes running in, we get both girls settled.  I park it in the chair with SG and she takes her bottle and goes back to sleep.

…fast forward…

9:05a:  The dog is barking in his sleep.  Crap.  We overslept.  Everyone jumps out of bed, diapers changed, teeth brushed, jammies off, matching outfits on, bags packed, bottles and banana in hand.  Out the door to the doctor (for checkups on both girls) by 9:30a.

10:05a:  Arrive at the doctor’s office for our 10a appointment.

11:50a:  9 shots later.  The medicinal kind.  1 ear infection.  2 screaming children.  We head home in lunchtime traffic.  Narrowly miss hitting 2 cars.

12:30p:  Arrive home to find two strangers backing into our driveway.  Owen goes into police mode.

12:31p:  Situation handled.  They were just delivering the phonebook we won’t use.

fast forward through some naps

2:15p:  A bird kamikaze's into our picture window.  Suicide I presume.  Dead bird on the porch.

2:30p:  Whining Sayla Grace, in my lap pointing to my nose.  She hooks my nostril with her sharp fingernail.

2:31p:  Me.  Bloody Nose.  SG screaming for her lunch.

2:35p:  SG in her highchair.  Avery screaming on the couch for someone to rock her to sleep (Daddy at the store getting more antibiotics).  I bend down to get a pan out of the bottom cabinet. 

SPLAT!!!

2:36p:  Egg.  On my head*. 

3:00p:  I’m clean, the babies and fed and napped and Daddy is home from the store. 

3:27p:  I’m on the couch finishing my morning coffee.

Enjoy your Monday folks! 

 

*The egg didn’t crack fully on my head, but it did hit me on the way down.  But didn’t it make your Monday just a bit better to think it hit me full on?!  You’re welcome.

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...it's ok though. I laughed too. She thought it was funny that one of my coping mechanisms is to randomly break out into song when things get hairy. I imagine I'm quite a sight when those times happen. Fortunately it hasn't happened while we've been out in public, but I fear that day is coming soon.

Really I'm doing much better. Down to every other week therapy sessions, as I have found many other coping mechanisms to help me deal with those times when I want to scream, cry or throw myself to the floor in a tantrum (which I have done!). There's the "My Life is a Musical" coping strategy; the "Let me tell you why this bothers me" strategy that I'm sure my family just LOVES!; and the "Careful, you'll end up in my novel" strategy.

Here's a brief rundown of what's been going on lately:

Avery Faith is getting much better, though I fear Similac changed the ingredients in her formula, because her latest trick is projectile vomiting after she eats (and I mean projectile)!! It's fun. Our couch loves it! She was having trouble with really bad reflux (like it was coming out of her nose!) but we got her on some baby Zantac and she's getting much better. Minus the vomiting part!

She sleeps through the night from about 9p to 4 or 5a and then goes back to sleep for 4 hours. She's awake a good bit during the day, but loves to sleep. It's her favorite pastime.

She eats every 4 hours during the day - like clockwork. If you don't have the bottle ready when the clock ticks past the 4th hour, you'd better have some earplugs and A LOT of patience. Because she can hit def con 6 in about a minute and a half.

Avery is in 3 month clothes (and thanks to her stylish big sis has more clothes than she'll EVER wear), but I don't know how much she weighs. Over 10 pounds I'm sure. We go back to the doc November 1st for 2 month check up and shots.

Sayla Grace LOVES mother's day out!! When I mention her classmate's names or her teacher's name, she just grins from ear to ear. I can talk about the bible verse, colors, or number of the month and she gets so excited. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in her class.

She isn't walking yet, but is close. She's down to every other month physical therapy visits! She knows exactly what the word "no" means, and promptly begins to crawl faster to her forbidden destination (usually the dog bowls) when she hears the word.

She can say "daddy" "momma" and "Tas" and knows exactly what each means. She can "moo" like a cow, "baa" like a sheep and "woof woof" like a dog. And says her little version of "me" when she wants something. It comes out "eeeeee" but we know what she's saying!

Tas (the dog) is super in love with "his babies" and is quite the mother hen dog. He can be found wherever they are, and if they are in separate rooms, you'll usually find him with Sayla Grace. They are best buds. When Sayla Grace stands up, he parks himself behind her. I'm assuming to break her fall when she tumbles. I think if I could put a saddle on him they would be inseparable.

Sayla Grace LOVES her baby sister. When Avery cries, she will find a paci and crawl over to her and try to put it in her mouth while shaking her head "no." It's adorable! She loves to find Avery's eyes, nose and mouth and 'pat' her on the head. Though most times she ends up pretending she's playing 'whack a mole' and bops her on the head quite hard! Those are fun times!

I'm working at the office 3 days a week (most weeks) and bringing Avery with me while Sayla Grace stays with Ms. Margaret. Owen is in school 4 nights a week, and working during the day. We are counting down the days to his law school graduation (still at least a year away!).

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