I have a confession to make…even though I advocate clean healthy eating, I don’t do a very good job feeding my family nutritious meals. This is something that I have struggled with for a long time. Even before I started cleaning up my diet I was never good at consistently feeding my family enjoyable meals. I really don’t like this about myself and I like even less admitting it to you, but we often end up just snacking at night.
I want to be perceived as someone who has it all together, who has all the answers and who does such great job taking care of her family. The truth is though that I continue to fall short and have become defensive in the process even allowing this to become a sore spot between my sweet husband and me. I have decided to share with you my journey to learning to prepare enjoyable meals on a consistent basis.
I found myself hungry and needing to feel satisfied.
This past fall I determined that I needed to change. But it’s one thing to want to change and another thing to actually do it. I knew what I had tried in the past didn’t work. It seems so simple, just make meals that everyone likes, problem solved! But there was more to it than that holding me back! I would have to change my attitude, my habits and my priorities.
My attitude:
I feel responsible for the health of my family. I have spent a year studying health, wellness and nutrition, I should help my own family before I try to help the rest of the world, right? My education has opened up a whole new world of foods and flavors that are new and exciting to me: fresh spices, grains like quinoa and buckwheat, kale, and I even know how to peel a butternut squash and get juice from a pomegranate! My husband has been so patient and supportive of me on my journey until it came time to experiment on him. I found myself drawing a line in the sand in regards to dinner and refusing to cross it without having a bad attitude! Now there’s a winning strategy for getting healthy meals on the table!
My habits:
To do anything successfully you have to have plan. I know this. I’ve successfully accomplished a lot of things in my life. Why is it so hard for me to plan ahead when it comes to dinner? Sure I can use the excuse that no one ever showed me how, but what about all the other people who have the same excuse yet have managed to figure it out? It’s no different that committing to run a marathon or any race, once you make that commitment you plan your training each week so that you will be prepared and ready for the race. You even plan and practice your fueling strategy as well as what clothing to wear. Why should I expect for all the ingredients to be in my fridge and my pantry when it’s time to cook dinner if I haven’t planned ahead?
My priorities:
Even though I wanted to change my ways, I had not made it a priority to find a solution to my challenges. I kept doing the same things and getting the same results. I believe that is the definition of insanity or maybe stupidity. Serving my family enjoyable dinners was going to have to become more than a good idea. I have to find a way to feed them foods that they will enjoy and are healthy as well as satisfy my desire to experiment with new recipes. I also have to make planning and prepping a priority.
How do you want to feel? Soul searching for change.
The realization that I needed to change my attitude, habits and priorities came about after some intense soul searching over a two month period. My husband spends a lot of time away at deer camp during the fall. I use this time to experiment and try new recipes, but I really miss sharing meals with him. I started with a question: How do you want to feel? The answer to the question hit me hard. I was hungry for the feeling you get when you eat comfort foods with the ones you love. Not only is your appetite satiated, but so is the need for quality time you derive from sharing a meal with loved ones. Its just not a feeling that can be replicated when you are both snacking in front of the TV at night even if they are healthy snacks.
I used the desire to “create that feeling of satisfying family time and appetite” to drive me to find a solution. Probably from the outside looking in, the changes I am implementing may seem simple and even silly, but change is never easy for the one making it. For me I will lovingly have to work at keeping my attitude in check and realize the feelings and satisfaction of those I love are more important than presenting a beautiful heart healthy kale and quinoa salad on the dinner table.
My solution:
- Find a time during the week to plan meals for the next week. It has always seems natural for me to plan on Sunday, but that leaves me no time to grocery shop or do prep work. I have to identify a better time and then honor that time by making it a priority and not let anything take its place. Its. for. my. family. PERIOD.
- Communicate with my husband about what I am planning for dinner and get his input. Ok, I know this seems like a no-brainer, but I have never done this successfully in the past. Pretty sure that has EVERYTHING to do with my defensive attitude. Not exactly the place to start off a conversation and expect to get positive results. No more trying to sneak one of my creations in without telling him! Our dinners together will be filled with foods we both enjoy.
- Experiment and try new recipes for meals that we will NOT be having together. We certainly don’t eat every meal together so there is ample opportunity for me to fulfill my need to try new foods and flavors without making my husband feel like a lab rat! Plus there is an added benefit to this strategy: it insures that I am eating clean and healthy meals more often.
- Prep ingredients in advance of meal time. Probably my biggest downfall to cooking dinner is the amount of time it requires for me to spend in the kitchen at the end of a long day. This can be avoided by having one day spent cutting up ingredients and having them ready to go when its time to cook. I can also use this time to cook my experimental meals for myself so that they can either be frozen or stored in the fridge in individual servings, thus saving even more time and hassle later on.
Bottom line:
Anything worth doing takes time, planning and practice. It take a willingness to listen to others and to regroup and try something different when you are not getting the desired result. And the desired result has to be great enough that you are willing to make the changes! I am sharing this journey with you because I know that I am not the only one who needs to learn this lesson. I will be letting you know throughout the next few months what is working and what is not. I will have more recipes to share with you. Finally, I know that by sharing my intentions with you increases my likelihood of success and I am grateful for our community where we can support each others endeavors!
What about you? Have you struggled with planning and preparing healthy meals for your family? Share your biggest obstacles and if and how you have overcome them by leaving a comment below!
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