We are so blessed to be spending our 3rd summer
as part of the Governor’s Scholars Program.
There are so many benefits to being involved in this community, not the
least of which is not having to cook for weeks!!
At lunch and supper
every day, we choose between two fast food chains, an asian station, a pizza
station, a grill (hamburger/hotdog), a hot line with rotating entrees, a
sandwich station, and a salad station.
While Steve and I are attempting to eat as healthy as our will power
allows, we’ve had a little more trouble convincing Katie to eat a variety of
foods. Bless her heart, she is drawn to
the apple & orange case every time we go to the cafeteria. So at least
there’s that and a few random fruits and vegetables she’ll eat from the salad
bar.
In college, one of my professors shared the economic idea
that there is “no such thing as a free lunch.” At the risk of sounding
completely ungrateful, I’d have to say the same applies for our family this
summer. No I don’t have to cook, or
clean up the dishes, or plan the menu, or even pay for the food! BUT, I miss cooking, and planning the menu,
and purchasing the types of foods I want to eat. (notice that I still don’t
miss washing dishes. J
). So the “cost” of our luxury is not measured
in dollars and cents per se. It’s the compromising
of many of our views on food.
I definitely do NOT want to come across as a food snob
whatsoever. However, Steve and I have
been making changes through the years, and even moreso in the past few months,
to eat what some online foodies classify as “real food.” The definition of “real food” can mean
different things to different people.
For us, it means eating foods with the least amount of ingredients
(especially those we can’t pronounce), and as close to how God intended. We often buy certified organic products
because we feel that the price difference is justified by reduced health bills
now and in the future. And frankly, most
organic foods taste better!
It saddens me how much American society has normalized
unhealthy food choices. Yesterday I
overheard some women at a museum talking about how you shouldn’t eat bananas if
you want to lose weight because bananas do not contain as much water as other
fruits. To be fair, I didn’t eaves drop
on the rest of the conversation, but I couldn’t help but wonder, what do they
feel is an acceptable substitute? We are
bombarded with images of low calorie, low fat, low whatever else products that
contain ingredient lists longer than the Los Angeles phone book! And we’re exposed to these ideas at such a
young age, that it’s definitely an uphill battle to unlearn these habits. From experience I can say that your body
craves whatever you eat. When I ate
overprocessed foods, I craved and overindulged in overprocessed foods. When I ate “diet” foods, I craved and
overindulged in diet foods. Now that I’m
attempting to eat more whole foods, I truly do crave fresh foods. In my opinion you cannot overindulge in
fruits and vegetables when they are prepared in a healthy way.
I’m also saddened by how hard it can be at times to raise a
family on real food. At least twice in
the past few weeks, complete strangers have offered Katie ice cream and cookies
when she was upset about something.
Thankfully the offers have been made directly to Steve and I, and by
some miracle of God, Katie either didn’t hear or decided not to protest our
gracious decline. We want our girls to
have a healthy view of all food. Ice cream,
cookies, fast food, etc. can be tasty and perfectly fine to partake in on
occasion (ideally less than once a week in my book). We don’t want them to have any sort of eating
disorders because we were so strict on food that they either feel ashamed to
join in celebrations or go off the deep end when they are old enough to buy
their own foods. We want them to have
control over their own bodies and decide which foods make their bodies feel the
best. But I am so done with the belief
that we should let “kids be kids” and let them eat all kinds of junk.
This is by no means a knock on the amazing service we are
receiving in the cafeteria. I feel that
many of my complaints are merely a small example of the huge problem we have in
this country with nutrition. I could
probably ramble on about this subject for days.
In fact, many people do as there are entire blogs dedicated to this
topic. And I don’t really have the
energy to turn this into an activism post.
I just hope we can stay focused on our family’s goals while at home or
away.
One of my favorite blogs on real food that includes an
extensive recipe index. I also follow
her on Pinterest and Facebook: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/
~Carla
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