Back-To-School And Back To Healthy

Summer is synonymous with slacking. Vacations, stay-cations, back yards, where ever summer is spent, it’s supposed to be relaxing. The BBQ becomes the stove, the deck the kitchen, and often the pool/lake becomes the bath tub.

Unfortunately, sometimes the slacking slips to the meal plan too, and you know it’s bad when the kids tell you they want to start eating healthier.

That is exactly what happened this weekend.

So, we sat down at Sunday breakfast (pancakes with fruit) and we discussed making ourselves healthier. We talked about the move from the food pyramid to the new My Plate theory. The kids agreed that we would cut down on treats (dessert only twice a week) and we talked about eating less red meat. Believe it or not, that’s where we got the most resistance. Yes, we are raising carnivores.

Then, we discussed eating more fruits and vegetables, and trying new things. In order to make that seem like something a little more fun, we decided to take them to the grocery store and let them choose the things they would like to try.

So, of we went to Superstore. The girls wanted to try coconut... a good start. Ethan wanted to try... apples? He picked 3 types, pretty sure he’s tried them all before, but they are healthy, so we are “trying” apples. We are also “trying” plums.

We moved on to vegetables. Eleanor wanted to try yellow zucchini, impressive. Rebecca wanted to try broccoli and Ethan wanted to try cauliflower... okay, so not so much new, but they are healthy... we are on the right track.

Another thing that came up at the breakfast table was the idea of a family workout on evenings when the kids don’t have any sports.

So, after eating all our veggies, the kids and I (Tom is sick) headed to the basement for our workout. We kept it short for the first installment. We each chose 3 stretches to start, then we each chose 2 exercises, and we ended with 1 stretch each.

I did friggin burpees tonight... burpees! This could get serious people.

Summer is almost over, so it's back to school, back to routine, and back to healthy.