The Secret, All Consuming Job No One Warned Me About: Feeding My Family

Literally no one told me that I would spend the majority of my adult life planning, buying, preparing, and cleaning up meals. It’s like some deep, dark adult secret. Honestly, I’d take a personal chef over a house cleaner any day. But alas, I don’t have that kind of cash.

This invisible, never-ending job is a huge deal. It’s not just about filling bellies—it’s about influencing your family’s health now and for years to come. Food is the fix for hungry, cranky kids, but it’s also the fuel for sports, the weapon against illness, and the guardrail protecting us from long-term disease. And, mealtime is a cultural and connecting experience for your family.  Like it or not, as parents, we are the gatekeepers of food, health and family bonding.

From Noob to Nutrition Nerd

I wasn’t always confident in this area. I went from a total noob in nutrition to someone who’s now fairly educated—thanks to my Neuroscience degree, which ended up being surprisingly practical. I took classes in biology, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, and of course, nutrition. I loved them. Why? Because I grew up in a family that struggled with obesity and chronic health conditions. This information wasn’t abstract—it was personal.

Five out of six of people in the family I grew up in have all had weight loss surgery and struggled with weight and the negative health affects of a poor diet.  From cirrhosis of the liver to high blood pressure and pre-diabetes.  Half of us also deal with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.  Not that those are linked to a poor diet specifically, but no one really knows and I wager they have a connection somehow.  My mom drank diet coke like it was water, no really, she didn't drink water, she only drank diet coke.  We went out to eat all of the time when I was in high school and many of the places were delicious Mexican food restaurants with lot of cheese, fat and salt, never with salads or fresh fruits and veggies. Turns out my parents stress and overwhelm, combined with a poor knowledge of nutrition equal poor body composition and health.  Their stomach surgeries saved them.  My moms high blood pressure  and dads prediabetes went away.  But more importantly, my mom could walk around the grocery store again and had more energy when she wasn't packing around all of the extra weight.  Exercise is so much easier when you are at or close to your healthy weight. 

I have always been an active and health conscious person.  I was a cheerleader and preferred to be move rather than sit.  I didn't like to watch TV, I liked to dance, jump on the trampoline, ride my bike, and do gymnastics.  These things saved me from obesity.  In college, I learned about nutrition and how food contained the vitamins and nutrients our body needs to function.  I went from eating carbs and soda to adding fruits and veggies to my diet.  But, not before getting mono and having to get my gallbladder removed.  Yes, both of those happened to me in college.  I personally think these things were brought on by a poor diet and poor sleep.

Food is a lot like gasoline.  If you put bad gas into your engine, it's not going to run very well.  I am so grateful for the knowledge I gained in college about nutrition so I could use to help my family have the best start possible and hopefully save them from the pitfalls of poor health and obesity later in life. 

After years of being a stay at home mom and being the food provider for my family, I have learned a few tips and tricks to save time and improve the health of your family. 

Here are a few things that I do that makes this food buying a processing job easier:  

1.  Don't bring bad food into your home.  If it's not there you won't eat it.  This includes chips, crackers, cookies, ice cream, candy etc....  Have I always followed this rule, no.  Have I thrown out leftover junk food after a party, yes.  It's a balance.  But keeping fruits, veggies and whole foods on hand will guarantee that when you get hungry, you'll choose options that provide fuel and not just fluff.  If you want junk food, go out to eat it and go out sparingly.  

2.  Grocery delivery.  Hear me out, I know it costs an extra $10 to get your groceries delivered to your house, but you will save atleast that much by not walking through the door and grabbing the Oreos and extra chips that are on sale.  Plus, you save on gas and time.  Ordering online also gives you the opportunity to plan meals before you buy, and time to see the final bill before you purchase.  No more surprise at the register.  If it's over your budget, you can put it back.  If it's not healthy, you have one more opportunity to get it out of your cart before check out.  Plus, a lot of places save your previous purchases, streamlining your choices. I do prefer to pick my own produce, but grocery delivery is great way to stay on budget, stay within your pre-thought out meal plans and save you time. 

3.  Replace your cravings with suitable healthy options that you like.  I find that ignoring cravings makes them worse and can lead to binging.  But, when you have a healthy option to eat when you're craving something, it gives you a better chance at avoiding unhealthy food.  Candy and sweets can be replaced by fruits, yogurt parfaits with a little whip cream, protein shakes, apples and peanut butter or heck, even cereal and milk have way more vitamins and minerals than candy.  Depending on what level of healthy you'd like to go, atleast make sure that everything you put into your mouth has vitamins and minerals in it.  Want salty food, try fried broccoli, veggies and hummus, even corn chips with pico de gallo is better than potato chips. 

4.  Give in to cravings but with limits.  If you want some candy, buy a small bag.  I get individual bags of chips or crackers for my kids to bring to school.  It's not cost effective, but eating 10 little bags of chips is way harder than eating one large bag of chips.  It gives your brain a stopping point when you finish the bag.  Sometimes it takes your stomach time to realize that it's satisfied.  Buy a pint of ice cream vs a gallon.  You get the point.  

6.  Enjoy your food.  Eat slowly and savor your food.  Chew it up thoroughly before swallowing it.  Not only does this help your body digest the vitamins out of the food by breaking it down, but it gives your stomach time to register that it's full.  It also gives your tongue time to taste and enjoy the flavors.  Mindless eating leads to obesity and overeating.  You don't even realize how much food you've eating and you certainly don't enjoyed it when you swallow it as it enters your mouth.  Most of the time mindless eating leads to painful stomach aches and feelings of sickness or a regret over eating too much. Savor your meal.  

5.  Choose quality over quantity.  I love saving money, but you can get poor saving money and you can gain weight saving money.  Don't supersize, don't get a larger portion to save money (unless you split it with someone).  Don't go out to eat at the cheapest place with awful food and processed toxins.  Eat out less so you can have a higher quality meal when you go out.  Your health is worth it.

6.  Keep a list of your favorite healthy meals. I made an Google Sheets of our families favorite healthy meals.  Before I buy groceries, I plan some family meals for the week and make sure I have those ingredients on hand.  There are apps like Paprika that are also helpful.  Pinterest is a great place to find healthy food ideas.  I have a board full of healthy meals to try. 

7.  Make protein or meals in bulk and freeze for later to save time.  When I make salmon, we first have it with pasta or greens, then, we use the leftovers the next day to make fish tacos.  Two completely different meals using the same protein.  This helps save time, but also allows you to keep healthy protein in the fridge to make quick meals.  Costco Rotisserie chicken can be used for salads, wraps, soups or in a rice bowl.  It's fast, cheap, easy and healthy.  Chicken is one of the lowest fat and highest protein foods. 

8.  Teach your kids about nutrition and cooking.  My sister-in-law didn't realize salad dressing was full of fat and tried to lose weight by eating salads laden in fatty dressing.  Learn about nutrition and share it with your kids.  The basic lesson is if you can grow it on a farm (including animals), pick it off a tree or dig it from the ground, it's not going to be that good for you.  Cans of food, chips, donuts, and cookies, aren't found on a farm and they're not good for you.  That's a good basic start to nutrition.  Our bodies are not use to this amount of junk.  It wasn't even 200 years ago when we were living off of our own farms with 0 convenience stores in site.  And before that, we were hunting for animals and eating nuts and berries.  Our bodies see a Big Mac and go what the heck is this?!  Our pancreas sees a Super Gulp of soda coming and doesn't even begin to know how to process that much sugar at once and goes into over drive and eventually gives up resulting in diabetes.  Our liver is handling so many toxins and waste and fat that it starts to scar and stop working.  I'm being dramatic.  Our bodies can handle a lot, but we dish out a lot.  Give it a break by eating healthy food. 

9.  Don't overwhelm yourself- Feeding your family can look different for everyone.  Do what you can.  Make healthy choices when you can and give yourself grace.  

10.  Have fun with it- Do themed nights like Luau or Disney.  Use a tablecloth and candles sometimes.  Meals can be fun and connecting.  Put your phones down and talk.  Play games afterwards and enjoy your family. 

Simple changes can lower your fat, calorie and junk content and increase the nutritional value of your food so your body can function better.  Who doesn't want to feel more alert, strong and able to face whatever comes your way? Be kind to your body, you only have 1 for your whole life.  It's worth the extra time to prepare healthy food.  It's worth the extra time to slowly eat your food.  You're worth it, your family is worth it!  They want healthy bodies and they want a parent who can run and jump and play with them.  

What do you do to make meals and shopping easier?