Let my just be transparent for a minute: doing Whole30 with the kids is HARD.
In some ways it is harder than I thought it was going to be, and in other ways it hasn't been so bad. I think it might have even been harder to not include them. I can't imagine this much prep work and cooking plus having to feed them something different. Plus, who needs the temptation? Do I even like the organic kid cereal that tastes like cardboard? No. Would I have been tempted to take a bite if it had been in front of me? Maybe.
Speaking of the food choices of my children and the amount of prep work I thought I would just go down the list and talk about how this process has effected each member of the family.
We'll start with the baby.
The jury is still out on him. I said at the beginning of this that he was going to either starve, or eventually get hungry enough to eat. He has a had a few good days, a few really bad days, and a lot of days where he was probably hungrier than he would have preferred. Interesting enough, this is my small kid. He probably shouldn't lose any weight. But I am refusing to feed him junk. There are some things he eats pretty well, most meats, eggs, fruit, olives, and nuts. If it falls into that category, he will usually eat it. Notice what is missing there: vegetables. I have tried everything I can think of to get him excited about vegetables. We haven't reached that point yet. I am going to keep trying though.
(Side note: This is also my sneaky kid, and being the devious little guy that he is, he has managed to find and eat chips TWICE. Once at a birthday party and once at the swimming pool out of his friend's lunch.)
Now on to my older son. Oh boy. He is my good eater. He usually eats anything I tell him too. And he has continued to do so. Most new stuff we have tried, he has like. He has enjoyed the food (with the exception of the eggplant) and hasn't complained at meals times much. Now, full disclosure: I knew the kid like junk food as much as he liked everything I served him. But I did not realize how much of a sugar addict he was. Good gracious. I don't buy junk food for the house, we don't have it here. But I have never really forbidden it when we are out. Snow cones and Dippin Dots at the zoo and the occasional root beer float or shake from Sonic have been permanent fixtures in his life for as long as he can remember. And, during one week we were invited to three birthday parties. The first one was the night before we started so I let the boys each have cupcake. The second we were able to make it to, unfortunately. But the third... oh man. The Whole30 was in full swing, so we took our own treats (apples, larabars, and olives) and I told them that they could have any of the fruit and veggies that were being served. This kid whined the entire time about not getting a cupcake. So much so that we had to have a serious talk about it in the car. As far as kids with food issues he doesn't have it nearly as bad as some children. And I reminded him of that. His complaining turned into a fruitful conversation about being grateful regardless of our circumstances, about seeing the positive instead of the negative, and the simple fact that sometimes we have to deny ourselves pleasure for a time or for a reason.
As for my handsome hubby.... this guy has knocked my socks off! He wasn't feed a very nutritious diet growing up, and he certainly was never made to eat a vegetable. He has always identified himself as a kind of meat and potatoes (and junk food) type of guy. He has tried so many new things and actually like a good chunk of them. He is still lamenting and a little bitter that he can't have beans for the Whole30 but he is actually doing great. I am so proud of him. In all honestly, I kind of thought he would get halfway through day one and go "screw it, I am going to go buy a hot dog." He is missing grains, dairy, but mostly legumes. But I have made sure to include lots of things I know he likes and he's taking it like a champ. And I have noticed that he has much more energy in the morning. Usually it is a process to wake him up but it has been an easier, more pleasurable, experience getting him out of bed in the morning. I'm stoked about that!
We have one other person in our household that I don't write about much, but my grandmother lives with us. She isn't doing Whole30 (though I think she should) but she is enjoying that I am cooking every meal for her, that we are including lots of new veggies. But then she is going to back to her room after dinner and eats her vanilla wafers. Bur you can't win them all. I have thanked her though that she has saved the satisfying of her Blue Bell habit until after we (or at least the kids) go to bed, and PRAISE JESUS that we have two freezers and the children don't venture into the second one.
And me. I have really enjoyed learning about my body. I have enjoyed trying new foods, and I have LOVED knowing that I am feeding my body and my family things that are great for us. What I have not loved is all the prep work. There is only so much you can do ahead of time, and I feel like I have been cooking for the past week straight. I will admit that I didn't do nearly enough prep work before we started and I probably did too much this past week. There were several things that I prepped and froze for this week and next week. I cut my thumb pretty bad. (Those sweet potatoes are beasts.) I burned my finger rushing to get something out of the oven. I have overcooked both weekly batches of frittata. I got the tiniest most painfully annoying little cute on one of my fingers from my food processor blade. I have yelled at my children about dishes. I had to ask for a redo. But for the most part I have enjoyed the journey. I don't miss dairy (I didn't eat a lot of it to begin with) and I didn't eat a lot of grains. My favorite food ever is roasted corn, so I will be avoiding street fairs like the plague. The only thing I am really still struggling with is diet soda. When I say am WAS an addict I am not kidding. If I had to chose between food and soda, and I knew that I get my nutritional needs from drinking the fizzy goodness, it wouldn't be a tough decision. I am hoping that by the end of the Whole30 I can remain diet coke free for good. Umm, I mean that I WILL remain diet coke free. I was actually in a terrible mood the other day. I was grumping at everyone. I cried because I got stuck by the train (not that I had anywhere I needed to be a certain time.) I even sat down and decided that since I was in a bad mood I was going to shop online. I know, stupid. But when I sat down and thought about why I was upset it was because I could only drink water. Then I promptly felt like a hag, because how many people would die that day because they lacked cleaned water. Like I said: addiction. But when I think about it, it isn't the caffeine that I am addicted too. Caffeine free hits the spot just as well. I don't even think it is the flavor. It's the burn. I love the bubbles. And that brings us to today... Today, when I was looking up teas for my husband on the Whole30 website I saw something about sparkling water. My first thought was, that can't be good. Isn't the carbonation bad for you? So I go to the source of all knowledge, Google, and start searching. Turns out it isn't bad for you! Want to know more? Read this. As for the feeling: AMAZING. All the burn, all the bubbles, no bad stuff. I may just make it through the rest of my life. Okay, yes, I am being a little dramatic but I am excited.
So, there you go, how I feel, how the kids feel, what has been good and what has been not so good.
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