You know on my sidebar where I wrote, "By the way, don’t worry about that ruckus and catterwailing in the background. It’s just my family. They've noticed the new revamped pantry contents. Did I mention I am dragging the husband and teenagers along with me….?
It wasn't a joke. This is exactly what the last month has been like.
This past week it really got to me and I went and hid in my cave and let them eat what wanted...it was not good.
A week of reflection for me, however, was good.
Knowing something is healthy and beneficial to our bodies is one area that the family members DO agree on, but the application of that knowledge transferred to the food I feed them is quite another thing.
You see they agree in theory only...their tastebuds do not want to comply.
Do I have the right to insist that my 16yodd, 17yods, and 44yo husband eat what I believe to be best for them, even though they hate it?
No.
So where do I go from here? That was my week long dilemma. Finding a middle ground seems to be the only avenue open to us - there will still be foods that I will prepare and eat alone (my choice is important too), but there are other options I can prepare for the family as a whole which offer nutritional value albeit not as naturally as I'd prefer.
They are not excited about these options, but they ARE giving them a go.
To gain the most nourishment from some foods I bought a crock-pot last week...
Slow cooking is a wonderful way to serve stews and casseroles, soups and broths. Yesterday I put a whole lot of wonderful things in the crock-pot for tonight's dinner, using a recipe in this book...
Jamie Oliver has always promoted FRESH foods, and once he became a dad he wrote this book about really eating as natural and organic as possible - since then he has bought a farm, grows his own vegetables organically, and is a promoter of healthy eatng for all children in the schools of England.
My family love to watch Jamie cook (we have many of his DVDs), and they are ok about us trying out more of his recipes. This is a big plus for me to work with.
I also made some desserts to please them, but made sure I added fruit and vegetables for more nutrition.
Orange and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (I used less icing sugar than the recipe so it's not so sweet)...
...and Blackberry Swirls (I served these with freshly made custard from organic milk).
It's school holidays so I'm getting into the habit of making everyone thick salad sandwiches (they insist on white bread, though - I make mine with wholegrain sour dough) and fresh fruit each day...
While they enjoy white rice or pasta, I try to avoid too many grains on my own plate. I scatter stir fried meat over fresh salad and herbs, and scatter nuts and seeds across the top - they won't try this yet, but it's not difficult to prepare the same proteins and serve them differently. Maybe one day they'll think "Gee, that looks tasty..." and give it a go. Maybe not.
I'm also working my way through this book...
I am hoping to incorporate some of the ideas into meals for the family, but for now a lot of it is used by me alone.
Really, I need to remind myself "don't give up". I may buy this poster and hang it in the kitchen to help my resolve on the nights they complain about the meals...
It speaks to my British roots.
Yes, I think I shall indeed buy the poster.
How are you going with your own family and choosing healthy foods?
Healthy Hugs,
Jenny
xxx
6 comments:
Oh Jenny I can relate to the teenage/hubby thing for sure... I am with you, I prefer eating correctly... even though I do indulge some days in wrong foods but on the whole prefer healthy ones.... but my family prefer the wrong foods most of the time... I like you choose the healthy option and I hope they do one day gain some confidence to try it... I remember as a child my mum would eat healthy foods for breakfast and I wouldn't, no sugar for mum, but now I eat without the sugar alternative for breaky... she would have a salad and we would have pasta... now I eat spag bolognaise with cabbage instead of the spag...so one day our families will eat healthy too... there's always hope....thanks for all the encouragment in choosing the healthier option for our bodies...I'm with you.... nuts and salads anyday.....
Gosh, I could have written this blog entry myself. LOL! I even just got up from reading a bit more of Nourishing Traditions before coming over here to the computer.
I learned a long time ago that it was no use thinking my family would feel the same way I do. After all, they are all individuals with their very own thoughts and opinions and that's just how I like it. I have found that the more carefully I think about what I feed my family, the more it ever so subtly rubs off on them. We all know many families who's idea of an evening meal is 2-minutes noodles, takeaway chips or pizza. We are far removed from that picture thank goodness.
It's all about balance for me. I try lots of different recipes and sometimes they're willing to eat them and sometimes they're not but even when I make a chocolate cake with white flour, I know I am using the very best quality ingredients I can find and it's going to be far superior to any ready make cake we can buy.
My ultimate goal is to concentrate on God given food. If it's been interfered with between being created by our Maker and reaching my kitchen, I am trying to avoid it. I'm trying to source my meat with as little interference as possible from live animal to meat on my plate. Same thing with fresh fruit and vegies. I'm finding sourcing pure dairy by far the hardest. (sigh)
Oh..... and I'm a huge Jamie fan too. Love his work, love his style. I am also a big fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (River Cottage fame). Oh to have a small farmlet and raise all our own food. <3<3<3
It is hard when you have a family who doesn't see your point of view when it comes to eating right. One thing that really helps us is that I just don't buy the junk any more. If it isn't in the house they have to find something else to eat which is much healthier. I have had a crock pot and I use it a lot in the winter time.
My kids grew up on it so I didn't have that kind of problem but now that they are married and have their own families things have changed and when I have everyone over I accommadate that some what. I bake white bread and use white rice or white pasta but everything else stays pretty much the same. Living Florida makes it very easy to be fresh foods. I have a good source in Whole Foods Store for grass fed beef and organic chicken, eggs and such.
Jenny, your food looks great and they will get there!
Ah, Jenny.....I can feel your pain! I know how hard it is to strike that balance. Good luck to you. You know, I made my way through university making a sandwich called a 'salad kaiser'. It was basically an overabundance of lots of different kinds of sliced veggies in a large bun. I think I must have made thousands and thousands of them over the years. Mmmm...haven't made them at home for awhile....
Darc
xxoo
Jenny, I know how difficult it is to incorporate all of the families wants and needs and likes into a meal. I went through it and eventually I said well this is what I am cooking and we did exactly what you decided on, just changed the presentation to suits everyone. For example like you I would cook the chicken or meat and if the kids didn't like what I was going to do with it they took it and did their own thing with it. Thankfully now one is flatting and the other one works many nights they sort their own meals out. I think Bill maybe scared to complain now-lol.
hugs Deb
Post a Comment