Thatta Girl!

We decided we'd start teaching the importance of good health to the girls at a young age.  With childhood obesity being such an epidemic now, we think it's more important than ever to teach them about making smart choices and keeping them active.  The active part is pretty easy, but the eating healthy part is a little more difficult.  They constantly ask, "Is this healthy?  Is that healthy?", but while we're devouring a bowl of ice cream and we tell them it is unhealthy, do they stop?  No way.  Nor would we expect them to!  Brooklynn is a great eater - eating almost anything, Chandler a little pickier, but always up for a treat for eating her veggies, and then there's Adaley.  Uggghhh!  She's just too young to bribe with treats, so she eats only what she wants.

A couple weeks ago after a soccer game the girls got their usual soccer treats, and usually they get them for both teams.  Brooklynn actually declined her 2nd treat, saying she already had a treat and should save it for later.  We were shocked!  Proud though.

Although I don't expect them to turn down Cheetos or an ice cream treat, I want them to understand what is and is not healthy and how to make smart choices down the road.  Baby steps, but we'll get there.  Until then, we'll keep working on it!

Some ideas/goals I have for our family:
1.  Have a snack schedule in the afternoon, so we have something healthy planned and aren't just grabbing whatever we find!
2.  Give Adaley her fruits & veggies first, so if she's really hungry she'll have to eat them!
3.  Serve more raw veggies to the kids
4.  Keep them involved in the garden, so they'll be excited to eat what they harvest!
5.  Try one new recipe a week to expose them to different foods and flavors.
6.  Make some homemade cereal bars, yogurt popsicles, etc. to make "treats" healthier (Thanks to Pinterest)