The Gastronomic Miscalculation
In my previous blog Home Sweet Home, I shared my secret sauce of fusing fun and other warm fuzzies with faith to create a powerful bond that will keep our kids on track with in their Catholic faith their entire lives. I alluded to a serious miscalculation in my strategy: I underestimated the consequences of not reaching my kids through their stomachs.
My love for eating great and healthy food fuels my motivation to cook. But honestly, my preference would be to have a fancy microwave like the one on Star Trek where I could program the meal I want and have it magically appear in 15 seconds.
Desiring to pass on good healthy eating habits to my family but not having full confidence I was eating like I should, several years ago I enlisted the help of local dietician Dianne Greenleaf. In a couple of short sessions her instructions propelled me to a low-stress healthy eating.
But Dianne’s assistance didn’t translate in my passing on my healthy food habits to my kids in the way I hoped. Not being a domestic diva amplified the problem. Fumbling with my poor homemaking skills with my busy schedule I would put together meals, but they were often bland and unappealing.
The worst was when I tried the Jillian Michaels recipes. I liked them, but they were very adult. The dread on my kids’ faces when I would serve one of those meals resulted in a low calorie intake and in some cases, a complete fast.
Discouraged spending time cooking meals often with no takers, I once again admitted defeat. My attempts to create a loving home with warmth and all the good things in life was backfiring. The kids were sneaking snacks in anticipation of cruddy meals and our family health quotient was going down, not up.
An inspiration prompted me to call Dianne again to get help with meal planning for a busy mom with food traumatized children. For you non-domestic divas, tune into the practical tips Dianne gave me to help turn things around.
The Catholic Women’s Guide to Healthy Relationships Tip: Create strong bonds with the people in your life by understanding and meeting their wants and needs.
