JourneyLeaf: Life a Page at a Time

I had one of those "Well, duh!" moments over Christmas.

During the craziness of school holidays, it dawned on me how I try to keep things balanced for my son. There are necessities that I make sure are regular in his life -- outdoor exercise, being read to, down time with buddies, quality parent time, and solo play, to name a few. I realized that I keep a loose tally in my head. Most mornings I mentally run through how the last few days have unfolded so I can fit in whatever he's lacking. Food-wise, I do the same. He needs lots of water, vegetables and fruits, quality protein, and whole grains. I also try to pace his treats/splurges, allowing them often enough that they aren't overly exciting but ensuring they don't stack up enough to hurt his body or feel like "the norm" -- eating out, sugary foods, over-processed foods, too much screen time, staying up late, etc. (I also try to never present food treats as a reward or a solace.)

My Christmastime realization was that we'd been sliding a bit on some of the crucial things -- not just over the holidays but since the busy crush of moving last summer and subsequently settling in. We'd been eating out too much, but other details were slack too.

The second part of my big Christmastime realization was that while I strive for balance for my child, I don't give my own needs the same respect. Instead of balance, I kept trying to gather my resolve to "be good," which would unravel as the day wore on until I slid into whatever felt nice at the moment -- opening a chocolate bar, skipping a daily walk, or reading past my bedtime. For myself, I didn't think in terms of balance at all, but rather, "I'll get back on track tomorrow." Only tomorrow never seems to come, does it? And that dual thinking -- "on" or "off" track -- isn't nearly as useful as seeking balance. Dual thinking focuses on perfection and being "off" makes me shrug my shoulders and give up completely until I can find the right moment to get back "on." (Ever noticed how very few "right moments" there are in life?)

In January, I decided 2014 would be the Year of Restoring Balance.

I knew I need to lose weight and be more active, yet I kept over-thinking strategies to the point that it all seemed overwhelming. So I took a deep breath and joined Weight Watchers. It is expensive and plodding, yet I feel their strategies are sound. Their point system nudges me towards quality foods rather than just weight loss, no foods are forbidden, I can attend meetings for support, and their online/app system makes it easy to follow. I'm not crazy about how many products they hawk full of fake sweeteners and additives, but even they recognize those foods shouldn't be the basis of one's diet and I'm free to avoid them. I've lost weight, but I'm also already thinking about food and exercise in a more balanced way. I don't care how long this weight loss journey takes because the longer I actively work towards my goals, the more that balance will become second-nature.

See the photo below? Look at him. How can I not make sure that little body has what it needs for a long and healthy life full of adventure and self-confidence?! How can I risk my health and not be here on this earth with him as long as possible?! And how can I ignore bad choices that erode my own adventures and self-confidence?!

Weight Watchers is great and their website has a lot of tools from inspirational stories to trackers to recipes. But I knew I needed some additional tools to help get our whole family in the swing. The first one was a product I discovered a few years ago through a magazine article, but it hung out on my Amazon wish list as I tried to figure out whether to buy it or or build my own version. At age five, Eli loves games and I realized a homemade version might have less credibility, so I dug into the money Eli got for his birthday and bought the "Today I Ate a Rainbow" game.

It is a very simple concept. Everybody needs to eat lots of veggies and fruit to maximize fiber, but that produce should also come from a variety of sources to also give a range of vitamins, minerals, and healthy phytochemicals. (I realized we slid into some big produce-eating ruts in the last few months!) There is a magnetized panel that sticks to the fridge but could also be hung on a wall or bulletin board. There are four different-shaped magnet marker sets with the game, so each person in our family has their own set. When Eli eats a green fruit or veggie, he moves his green star onto the panel's green field. If he eats all five colors, he moves his "Today I Ate a Rainbow" magnet onto the rainbow. That's it. Easy peasy. Yet he loves it. The morning after we put it up, my child opened the fridge at breakfast time and literally said, "What veggies or fruits can I have?" Two weeks later it admittedly isn't quite as exciting as it was, yet he is still eager to play. He's never missed getting his rainbow. I've missed only once.

I know that the game may not be fun forever, so I am determined for our family to get as much mileage out of it as possible. As long as its charm lasts and as long as Eli will keep playing, I want it to help us normalize eating lots of produce, make us ever-conscious of eating for variety, and instill that internal balance system that makes us all think back over our recent habits and readjust for better health. The crucial part is making sure rainbow foods are available to us quickly enough and easily enough that we'll stick with it...

We added produce to the game. Each color has a list of suggested foods, but we added mushrooms and black olives to the blue/purple panel. Our pumpkin waffle recipe has so much puree in it that we decided a half of a waffle gives an orange serving. Etc. Etc.
"Adventure bites" are what we call giving foods a decent try. Eli never has to clean his plate, but he has to have an adventure bite of everything on it even if it is something he's already tried and thinks he doesn't like. (Research says that people sometimes need to try foods nine to eighteen times before their brain decides they like it!) We've stepped up adventure bites for new fruits and veggies lately. Now Eli is already automatically eating lots of things he balked at just a few weeks ago.
We decided which foods wouldn't count. Fruit-flavored yogurt, jam/jelly, and ketchup, for instance, don't move us towards our produce goals.
I shop more thoughtfully! My grocery-shopping habits now include making sure we have a rainbow. We focus on fresh, yet we have some other options available so that we can be successful on the go -- natural applesauce cups, berry applesauce (since blue/purple can be a challenge), veggie/fruit combination "squeezie" puree packets for kids (which help a lot with green...find them in the baby/toddler food aisle), freeze-dried veggies, dried seaweed snacks, no-sugar-added mandarin oranges and other fruit cups, frozen cubes of canned pumpkin to thaw and spoon into morning oatmeal, and dried fruits (raisins, prunes, figs, cranberries, etc.). I checked the "dirty dozen" pesticide list and try to buy organic as much as I can. (Click HERE for one of many articles about the "Dirty Dozen.") But since we're eating out less, increased produce costs still fit in our budget.

I love, love, love the "Today I Ate a Rainbow" game! They say it takes three weeks to solidify a good habit and we're already two-thirds of the way there. And attitudes have really changed around here. Last night Eli had his first soccer practice of the season and we ran late enough that we stopped at a build-your-own pizza place for supper. Normally he begrudgingly accepts thin whole wheat crust but campaigns hard for cheese-only. Last night he ordered three veggies on his pizza without my prompting. And he's largely stopped picking at or picking out bits of veggies during home suppers.

I know at this early point our healthier habits are fragile, but I'm working hard to protect them and feel very hopeful. Hooray! I also found a great cookbook and the perfect veggie-encouraging lunchbox, so please check back for the next blog entry.

The "Today I Ate a Rainbow" Website: http://www.todayiatearainbow.com/