Food Article and my thoughts.

I had a friend forward me this article this morning and I LOVE IT!!

http://www.omaha.com/momaha/pay-attention-to-what-you-re-putting-in-your-mouth/article_8693aea2-5d1a-11e4-a380-001a4bcf6878.html

It sums up about exactly what I am trying to do with my children and food. I am teaching them ABOUT food so in the future, they can make decisions for themselves on what to eat and what they should avoid in regards to their health.

Yes, my children CAN eat about anything they want. Yes, they have all been food tested and at this moment, there are no restrictions, except for Courtney and peanuts.  BUT does this mean they should eat whatever they want, whenever they want?? Absolutely not!

I want to teach them about food and what it does for or against our bodies. I want them to be able to go to a party where there are sweets galore and limit themselves. I don't want to always be over their shoulder telling them what is good and what is not good, and I certainly want them to have the respect that they won't be sneaking things behind my back. I also want them to be able to stand up for themselves if others are encouraging them to eat something that they think is not good for them.

I want them to know what food is good for our bodies and what is not.  Last week, we had a lesson in science on "junk food."  The very first thing I had the girls do was to pull all the junk food out of our cupboards, fridge, and freezer and put it on the stove.  They thought it was great! Honestly, I wanted to see what they would pulled out! Have they been listening to me for the last couple of years?? After they had everything on the stove, we talked about it all.  They had everything that had any sugar (mostly processed), anything with wheat, anything with salt, and artificial food coloring. I was impressed! We then talked about everything and why it is bad and what would be a good alternative.

As the article says, I also do not feed my children according to the USDA's food pyramid. I kind of flip the pyramid upside down and we eat a lot of fat (good fat), fruits, and vegetables.  We limit our sugar and grains during the day. Are we perfect in what we eat? Absolutely not, but we are certainly try to eat healthy.

Last of all, I love this statement right out of the article:
"I’m not a doctor, nutritionist, chemist or biologist; so don’t look to me for a micronutrient breakdown. I’m also not telling you how to eat, how to feed your family, or what to believe- so hold off the negative comments and mean-girl attacks."

I know some people do not agree with me on how I feed my children, and they do not like it that I limit sweets, grains, rotate food, etc.. I have heard you loud and clear, but please, these are my children and I am their mother. :) I gave birth to them and I will decide what they will and will not eat. I am not the bad person here. I am doing the best I can, just as we all our. I may just take it more seriously than others because we have had a lot of food issues in our family and I don't want everybody sick again.  I can also see side effects of everybody eating junk, like my children behaving very badly after they eat artificial food coloring. Just please believe me and stop encouraging them to eat junk and going against my wishes! It doesn't make this mama very happy! (There, I am done venting now!) 

Anyway, food is amazing! It has been a huge challenge to get our health back and we have used food as medicine. I plan on continuing what I am doing and I look forward to our future as we continue to strive to eat healthier than we did a few years ago!!!