Eat your veggies!!

    I am a busy mama, there is no doubt about that. I have always made it a priority, however, to make sure my family has a wholesome and nutritional meal for dinner that is enjoyed altogether at the dining table. Even when the Hubs works until 8pm I make the kids sit and eat at the table with zero television.
   I will admit I am guilty of some non-nutritional, yet savory meals for the kids like corndogs, buttered up grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken nuggets. Oh! And let's not forget the rare infamous run to "Old McDonalds" for a hamburger kids meal. Liv eats all but the fries and some of Trey's apple slices and Trey eats just the burger with a "forced to eat apple slice".  I have been doing really well at making Bear fresh food now that she's eating. She is very fond of avocado and banana. She will eat it all and then lick the spoon clean!
    So why am I babbling about cooking for my family? Well right now I am watching a documentary called Forks Over Knives. Some of the description on Amazon.com is as follows : FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called "diseases of affluence" that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. 

    It is really amazing what they are presenting in their medical findings and the links between animal foods with cancers. I believe that everything that is good is good only if done in moderation. I have become privy to this while I am cooking and focus more on fruits and veggies. More than half the time there is seconds available of those than of anything else, whether it be fish, meat or poultry.
    I know that foods are made differently than they were years ago. Mac and Cheese is not the same that I had when I was a kid. We are very fortunate as a family that we are all healthy, trim and fit. We normally do not eat a lot of sweets or chips. I wish we lived in a climate where we could grow veggies year round. I wish that we lived in a climate that allowed us to visit a farmers market weekly. I wish the veggies and fruits at the supermarkets weren't so homely looking on certain days that make me leave the store without any fresh produce.
    I hardly doubt that we will become a meatless, dairyless family. We like the occasional hamburger, sushi and salmon fillet. Oh and let's not forget our precious Buffalo Wings here! But I am now MORE aware of what I was aware of before, fruits and veggies are more of the staple for your health than meats and dairy.
    That is why I plan to follow through with my desire to cook with something new every now and then like the artichoke from last week, or plantains last month. I want to try to make a broccoli pesto like dressing for noodles and some lentil hummus and a cauliflower pizza crust I saw somewhere once!! And by the way - I can make a mean lentil chili!! It is pretty tasty and ya wouldn't tell the difference.
    Have you made any changes to the way you cook for your family?  What have you done? Removed meats? Dairy? What is one thing you cannot live without? (Currently my guilty pleasure is this Auntie Anne's hot pretzel the boys brought home to me - yum)

A yummy haul from the Farmers Market over the Summer