Skip to main content

Change is never easy

A Rainbow of Food
For months now my family have been focusing on eating healthy.  We had improved what foods we were eating, but the serving size pretty much stayed the same.  It was mostly evident after a visit with the pediatric dietitian last month.  She seemed impressed with the changes we had made up to that point, but there was still progress to be made.  She had little plastic toy food that she used as serving size demos.  She'd show us how much of each food Christian should be eating and question us on his intake. We were going way over the serving sizes by double and sometimes triple. Oh my!  And after reviewing Christian's typical daily meals she pointed out that Christian was eating too many grains.  By lunch time he had already consumed more than his recommended daily grain allowance!  Canada's Food Guide recommend that a child between the age of 4 & 8 have a total of 4 grains per day.  I knew this already, but wasn't following through.       

It is nearly a month since our dietitian visit and I am finally following the rules.  I am taking full advantage of my measuring cups and instead of pouring a full big bowl of cereal I am now measuring 3/4 cups into a small kid-sized bowl.  I am serving a 1/2 bagel instead of a full bagel and I am providing more fruit mid-morning snacks as opposed to a grain product.  Change is never easy though, especially for a child.  Christian is not impressed with the smaller portion sizes and especially does not like the smaller portion of cereal.  I am sure that it will all get easier as it becomes our routine.

Along with eating right we are also trying to be more active.  Christian plays soccer twice a week and we now try to also make the optional 2 hour 'skills & drills' practice on Friday's.  We are attempting to fit in more family walks and yard work/gardening.  Christian has been splashing around in our little pool and we have plans for him to get in swimming lessons in the fall of the year.  This is a whole lifestyle change for us and I am proud of our success so far.
First soccer game in June
Walking at the Park

Comments

  1. Melissa CarrJuly 22, 2010 at 6:14 PM

    Congrats! Tell Christian to hang in there! I gradually overhauled our diets too. Things we once loved, we find we don't really care for anymore...like soda! It gets easier and the results you start seeing will be well worth it! I want to thank you for sharing this expierience and you should should take pride in what you are doing because it's not an easy task.
    On another note, Dan reported the other day that the last post season trip left...so that means no more trips until February. We're pretty bumbed, but now we have time to save and plan for next season.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken w/ Salad

I am always looking for new recipes and last month my cousin emailed me the link to Grilled Buttermilk Chicken. I've had fried chicken soaked in buttermilk before, but this was a leaner idea. It was very easy. Saturday morning I arranged the chicken in a shallow baking dish and marinaded them in the buttermilk mixture. I turned them occasionally until dinner time. Then Millard took care of the grilling. They turned out nice. I didn`t use as much garlic as was called for, but perhaps I could`ve. Grilled Buttermilk Chicken Serves 8 Hands-On Time: 10m Total Time: 1hr 50m Ingredients 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 8 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon paprika kosher salt and black pepper 6 pounds bone-in chicken pieces Directions In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, garlic, paprika, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Divide the buttermilk mixture and chicken between 2 large resealable plastic bags. Let marinate in the refrigerator, turning the bags o
2 comments
Read more

What is a healthy breakfast?

Ok so I have to admit that breakfast at our household during school days had been very rushed and not so healthy. I would always let Christian pick out the oh so common cereal box that we all see advertised on TV. I'd pour a heap of sugary cereal with 2% milk into a bowl and set it on the table. I've obviously been slacking and taking the easy, unhealthy way out. Breakfast is referred to as the most important meal of the day, but somehow I don't think that a bowl full of sugar is what they are talking about. Breakfast is supposed to refuel my child and help boost his brain power for a busy day at school. Recently I've been making a better attempt to start Christian's day out with a healthier meal. I am keeping on my track of incorporating more fruits and because we have a super-sized box of cornflakes in the pantry I figured we'd have to use them up first. At a closer look at the labeling though I realized that the cornflakes aren't so bad compared to
Post a Comment
Read more

Chocolate Pudding with Strawberries

Today was grocery day.  I shopped the sales fliers and came home with some lovely looking strawberries.  I knew they would go great with the Fat Free Jello Pudding that we already had in the pantry.  I prepared the pudding with 1% milk and spooned 1/2 cup into each dessert dish.  I washed and sliced the strawberries and layered them on top and lastly added a heaping tablespoon of cool whip on top.  A very simple and low fat, low cal dessert and oh boy was it ever delicious!  For dinner we had Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw.  We tried Renee's Salad Dressing for the first time tonight and it was very good.  Overall our meal was about 4 carbs which was perfect!  
Post a Comment
Read more