Skeptic... not Critic

What a week. After surviving the stomach bug over the holiday, I felt my house needed a cleansing as well as our diets. Lambert has had several health issues lately and my kids are just crazy all of the time so I thought maybe it might be time to re-evaluate our diet. It's taken me a long time to even think there might be something to a nutritious diet, a real nutritious diet, and my family's health. I am that mom... McDonalds is a staple at our house... or it used to be until about a year and a half or so ago. We stopped it cold... This was very difficult for Hoot, but he's embraced it now and curses it any time we drive by. We eat out a lot and we just don't eat healthy. I'm the girl that was raised on Mountain Dew, and loved a can of SPAM fried up with okra. (I still like it but Lambert won't allow it in the house). I scoffed at "The go green Vegans, carbless freakazoids, and juice junkie health whackadoos my whole adult life. I like beef, fried up best, smothered in gravy of any kind, but white is the best! and bread and dessert and anything that tastes good. The gals at Chick Fil A know me by name and one asked me on one particular morning drive thru visit if I thought my (7) Equals for my large coffee might be excessive. I told the 16 year old skinny little order taker to mind her own business and that I was an adult and she responded, "My pleasure". This truly happened. I love to eat good food. I love to prepare it and serve it and I love to enjoy the dining experience of eating out. I love it all. It's become our entertainment. On Saturday nights and most every other nights we decide where we will go eat. I've been reading a lot about kids and diet and I think that's whats made me really take a look at how I'm serving my family. It's not good. And change is hard. Especially when your married to Lambert who is a bigger junk food junkie than myself. After looking at nutrition and the chemicals in the food I serve every day, I did it. I cleaned out the pantry and the refrigerator and made myself a list of staples and headed into Houston. I've been reading a lot about the Feingold Diet. Please don't judge. I'm not a nut! Neither of my littles have ADHD, but this diet makes so much sense to me. Everything I serve is processed and full of chemicals that we don't need in our bodies. I threw it all out, except for a small stash of my Equal... I know I know (Kim) it's bad for me. I bought the Agave Nector and I will get used to it. I just love SWEET coffee and tea and I can't stand the thought of using up that many calories on tea and coffee sweetened by real sugar, so I use 7 Equals and sometimes mix it up with a Sweeten Low. I drove myself to Whole Foods, bracing for the Birkenstock harry armpit nuts I was sure to encounter... I walked in, not carrying my recyclable grocery bags like everyone else walking in with me. I could not believe my eyes and what I had been missing out on all these years. The colors and the smells, it was like a rainbow of fresh local fruits and veggies and seafood and cheeses and prepared foods and beef!! I got lost in the hours I spent wandering up and down the isles and isles of glorious beautiful healthy foods. So lost that when I found myself at the cash register I hadn't quite come to from the psychedelic food daze I had been under until the clerk repeated the total of my shopping bill. Could eating healthy really cost this much? I may have to reconsider everything. I could buy a new bag at Louie's, for this ticket. I'm one of those that never looks at prices when I shop girls. Not because were tycoons rolling in hundred dollar bills at night, but because I ALWAYS buy the same products and have never ever been shocked by the grocery bill. Probably because we eat out all of the time and Lambert pays those bills. I'm sure if we compared it apples to apples it would even out. But still this hurt!! Somehow when the clerk asked me if I wanted ice for my bags of organic Almond Milk and my Range free all natural chicken (Not sure I said that right,or what it means, I'm a rookie) the sting of the bill was eased a bit. Who ices down their grocery bags? Come on, and I did like that they offered paper double bags instead of the flimsy plastic bags to loser customers that didn't bring their own from home and they even helped me carry out my two carts worth of organic goodness. Will my family eat it? Not sure yet. But if I keep serving it and not permitting snacks later, they will have to. Who is the parent anyway? I don't want to feel like a loser parent any more and that's what I feel like when we're never home and always eating on the go. We do great in so many other areas but we stink it up when it comes to nutrition. I know it won't all happen overnight and it will take some time to get used to, but we have to make a change. I'm hoping to have the kinks worked out by the time school starts so my kids will be geniuses. Not to say we won't ever eat out again or we won't have treats, but I'm committed to being a better food provider to my family! PRAY FOR ME!!!

Before I made my way to Whole Foods I stopped off for a few pantry necessities to help make our new healthy food look and seemingly taste better. My pantry feels fresh and beautiful and I think that will help trick the littles when they select their all natural, artificial flavor free snacks in the afternoons! I'm so not an IKEA fan, after unsuccessfully trying to assemble a desk that took me over an hour to find all the boxes in their warehouse, and then opening it up to find 7,000 pieces that one needed and engineering degree to put together and metric tools not to mention, several years ago. I'm still bitter, but they do have the very best storage options for the very best prices. I got really cute baskets, a new fruit stand, and new glassware and bowls for a song. They were practically giving it away. AND because I was going to Houston, I checked out Craigslist, (I know I know) and found Hoot a red Pottery Barn Desk, Hutch and Chair for $150.00. Picked it up and grabbed an all natural Crave Cupcake and cute $5.00 milk (you can do that when you save big on Craigslist) and called it a day! A good day indeed.
 
I love food too!!! Were more alike than different!
 


Libbie can actually hold these glass tumblers all by herself without spilling!!
 
They are the perfet juice size. I bought organic Santa Cruiz Lemonade. YUMMY


$2.00 IKEA!!! Linen flour sack cloths. I thought I was in France for a bit...

 
just in case my napkins try to blow away :)

 


Back in France... these are my favorites with coffee in the morning. I never buy them, because my little grocer doesn't sell regional yummy food like Whole Foods (Palmiers) Soooo delish and all natural so I feel better ;) And they have the VERY best ever premade Pimento Cheese spread.

 
Agvae, it's good for me:)

 
Even my pick Hoot liked Bell and Evans Chicken Tenders. He ate everything on his plate which included the nuggets, garlic sauteed spinach (who knew) strawberries and organic yogurt...


and my other picky eater (Lambert) enjoyed home made chicken salad on GLUTEN FREE toasted bread. IT was really really good.


Local eggs boiled for me tomorrow.




It was almost free. I could not resist and Hoot will do so much better in school this year because he will have a serene place of his own to study from and he can tack my picture to his cork board :) He made the A/B honor roll with only one B (89) last year and came in second in the spelling bee... not bragging, just clarifying.


For dessert we shared (ONE) Crave vanilla and chocolate icing Cupcake, which was too die for!! I'm a sucker for packaging. I will buy poop if it's wrapped up beautifully and has a pretty label. Seriously.