Clean Eating

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to write out a daily and weekly schedule for myself. I thought that SEEING what I had to do would help me accomplish more throughout the week. It did. I was waking up around 5:30 and going to the gym. Other mornings, I woke up early and did schoolwork. Then, it snowed and I didn’t make it to the gym. Then, I had an ”off day”, where my eating habits just sucked. And then I had another one. Then, Livia ran a fever for a couple of days, so we mostly stayed in.

I’m not happy with how mealtimes have been going. I usually just ‘grab something’ for myself that I can pop into a microwave. Livia still picks at a lot of her food, but I know I could be better about offering her better meals. She needs to be eating more veggies.

I opened the freezer and it is FULL of frozen vegetables, Tysons grilled chicken, bagel bites, meatballs, and chicken nuggets for ”quick meals”. Sometimes, it works. But it isn’t healthy.

So I thought about clean eating. It’s very intimidating, and I honestly have no idea where to start. I am NOT great at meal-planning, either.  Honestly, whenever I think of ‘clean eating’, I think of those Instagram accounts with pictures of cute little meals that are arranged all perfectly on a plate. (lol).

I know that if we’re going to do it right, the WHOLE family needs to be on board. I texted Lamar, who is a personal trainer (so I knew he’d appreciate it), and I suggested that we do a ‘purge’ of all of the unhealthy/processed stuff in the freezer/pantry. I figured we can keep SOME of the frozen veggies for “emergencies” or to incorporate into things like veggie muffins. He’s cool with it.

I feel like I’ll be spending a lot more time in the kitchen, prepping meals and cooking, but I know that the extra effort is worth it. I’ve been reading a lot of articles on  “clean-eating with toddlers”, and one of the many positives listed was that you can get your little one more involved in the kitchen.  One of those articles linked a higher sense of self-confidence to kids who are allowed to help cook in the kitchen.

Livia helps me with the majority of meals, whether it’s throwing orange peels in the trash, putting sauce on her ‘mini-pizzas’ or sprinkling cheese on a quesadilla.  I think that this will be a fun experience for her!

Today, I am focusing on reading as much as I can on ‘clean eating’. Recipes, food prepping, stuff like that. Today/tomorrow will also be dedicated to riding the house of unhealthy stuff. Monday will be grocery shopping day.