The Beginning...

Okay, so a few things to start out with. There have been many people who have given us the opportunity to learn from them, and I have to give a shout out to some of them. I admit, my memory stinks right now...blame it on pregnancy hormones....well, I guess post pregnancy hormones, but anyway I know there are others, but these are the ones who come to mind: my bestest friend Jessica Powers, Bethany Peacock-my amazing sister in law, Meghan Meredith Spann, Rochele Bertasso, Tiffany Maxey, Tamra Kriser-all amazing & healthy friends, Green Smoothie Girl, and both of our mothers who love veggies and fruits...the first of many changes to our family's diets.
We have known for a long time that something just hasn't felt right in our family. We've been taught from the time we were small that the body is a temple. Yet, how can that be when we feel sluggish and yucky all the time? A huge wake up call was when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in my last pregnancy! Gah! I was pretty darn unhappy with the fact that I was working full time, trying to take care of 4 other children, had low platelets and now I had to watch what I ate? :) So, I vowed that after the baby was born and life returned somewhat to normal that I was going to make some changes in my life and in the lifestyle of my family. I'm the one who does the grocery shopping, so I'm the one who brings either fuel or crap into our home.
Okay, another wake up call? The realization of how much sugar/sugar substitutes/high fructose corn syrup and how few fruits and veggies kids eat these days!!  Read the labels, folks! (Myself included!!!)
And friends and family, you know I love ya, but our kids do not NEED junk food! They don't! My husband said to me today that it's interesting that people think they are "spoiling" kids by giving them crap....when in essence, isn't spoiling giving too much of a GOOD thing? Sugar used to be a rarity...a treat! Now, it is a daily occurrence. My kids are so excited to come home and tell me they were good in school, and so their teacher gave them candy. What? Really?
So, after much pondering and consideration, our family has decided to try an experiment: no sugar for 6 weeks. And interestingly enough, all of our kids are on board with it. We have been gradually decreasing what we take in, and last week was my birthday. My husband decided to buy a cake from Kroger, and the interesting thing was that ALL of us reported feeling very sluggish and exhausted the following day, even the kids. Tonight, we gave the kids their Easter candy, since the 6 weeks will be during Easter....our 8 year old son said, "Mom, is it okay if I don't eat all of this? Can I throw it away? I feel really sick." Spoiling, indeed, right?
We have also chosen to follow Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods. We introduced Green Smoothies into our daily regimen last month. This month we are working on salads! The kids know why we are drinking green smoothies, and can tell you details. Having this knowledge makes them more open to trying new things, especially with the experiment approach we are doing. They can tell me what the like and don't like about new foods, new meals, so that we can work to improve them.  We love our green smoothies, especially when the kids help make them. We are going to have the salad at dinner be the main course, followed by a smaller portion of what used to be the main course. By the way, we LOVE our BlendTec. I use it at least twice daily. It is an amazing tool to get more raw whole foods into your daily regimen.
Alright, stay tuned for our sugar withdrawl symptoms! It should only take 2-3 days, but blah. Not looking forward to the headaches!