“You wake up in the morning then what do you do? Do you do anything for yourself?”
I was asked this question last week and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then. Most of the time I’m reacting or playing catch up. I have a 3 and a 1 year old that I stay home with, that mean’s I’m on crisis management duty all day. I’m very blessed to stay home with them but I’m not always intentional about how I spend my time.
My kids want to eat all the time, especially when they first see me. Basically they equate me with food. Sometimes if I’m out my husband will feed them. They will eat for a nice long time then go play. When I walk in the door they come running, “Mommy Mommy Mommy” followed by “Eat Eat Eat”! Does that happen to you?
On weekdays when my husband is working he usually leaves before the rest of us wake up (it is summer after all). My boys want to eat immediately. If it’s super early I make them wait as long as possible. That is usually about 30 minutes but sometimes an hour. I’ll give them a handful of cereal while I cook oatmeal or they will have something quick like toast or fruit. If I’m on top of things I’ll eat with them but sometimes I’m just not quick enough. I’ll use the time they are busy eating to do something important like go to the restroom (BY MY SELF) or start laundry, talk to my husband on the phone, or empty the dish washer. Then they get busy playing (so I think) and I make breakfast for myself. Whatever I make gets shared with them. It is almost impossible for me to eat anything by my self.
Since my breakfast gets stolen shared with my kiddos I don’t always get enough, but I also get busy. I’ll go a long time without eating again some days. Other days I eat again an hour or two later. Lunch time turns into a similar ordeal. Some afternoons I find my self really hungry and realized I’ve only eaten a tiny bit of food all day as I’ve run around. Dinner time is better because we all eat together as a family.
This week I want to eat on purpose. That will require a little more planning than I’ve been doing lately. When we first began eating plant-based I put a lot of effort into having plenty of prepared foods in my fridge ready to go. These days I haven’t been doing a very good job of it, I’ve gotten complacent. I want the food I eat to fuel my body, not merely “fill me up” for a while. I want what I eat to have a purpose and truly benefit my body. Eating foods that might taste good but doesn’t really benefit me needs to be a thing of the past.
I do better when I have beans and grains on hand. Throughout this week I want to cook some beans, grains, and baked potatoes for quick meals. It is also important to have a good supply of fruit and veggies. Our supply is very low. I would have to be very creative to make anything interesting with what I have available. I haven’t done my normal grocery shopping for the week but I hope too soon.
Meal Plan
Breakfast will be toast with nut butter and fruit, bagels, oatmeal, or breakfast quinoa.
Lunch will be leftovers, baked potatoes, sandwich wraps, noodles with homemade sauce, bean and grain bowl, etc.
Snack will be fruit, fruit and spinach smoothies, hummus and raw veggies, muffins, etc.
Dinner is more of a challenge right now. For the other meals I make food for the little boys and my teenagers eat from whatever is available. At dinner time I make one meal, there is sometimes different options like we all eat baked potatoes but you can top it with chili or with steamed veggies. I really appreciated all of the advice and encouragement last week on Meal Plan Monday. I still haven’t had a chance to respond to everyone but I hope to do so soon.
This week I would I hope to have Southwest Chopped Salad featuring BBQ Chickpeas, Stir Fry (My 13 year olds LEAST favorite food), Three Bean Chili, Rice and Veggie Casserole (this has gone over very well the last few weeks) and Breakfast for Dinner with whole wheat pancakes and gluten-free pancakes.
All of these dishes are tasty and require very little hands on time, the pancakes will take the most but they are quick and easy snacks for little hands. These meals also do take a lot of special ingredients, most of them I normally have on hand.
What are you eating this week? Do you eat on purpose or just reactively eat?
nuttyalternatives says
Great post! Yes on eating with purpose! This week I plan on juicing some and preparing some dried beans for the freezer so I can use them in quick dinners. Also today I am making homemade granola for my family’s breakfasts. eating with a purpose!!
kelly@ http://nuttyalternatives.com
An Unrefined Vegan says
Sounds as if you need to set a timer to remind yourself to stop and eat ;-).
Cara says
What a great way to think of it! I do what I can on a budget. I am out of Chia seeds but I loved Chia porridge in the morning with blueberries, bananas, Goji berries our whatever fruits you have on hand. vanilla powder (make sure it doesn’t have alcohol if you use the regular stuff) and milk of course are in there although I can’t remember the measurements off hand, but you could let it sit over night and mix in the fruit in the morning. My kids loved it and a small amount really fills you up!
I also have some version of cowboy caviar in the fridge at all times. I use black beans our pinto or a mix of them, fresh corn, fresh green chile, garlic, jalapeno, lime and cilantro. Throw in some quinoa and avocado for added protein and I can eat this as a meal. Instead of a vinaigrette I throw some seasoned tomato sauce in the mix. Let’s call it southwest bean salad or something.
I too have fresh fruits and veggies cut and ready for little hands and even freeze some if I get a great deal and throw them in smoothies or eat them frozen like grapes and blueberries and bananas and strawberries.
Your posts have been such an inspiration can’t wait to look up the recipes! Thnx 🙂
veggiegrettie says
I know what you mean…I am ALWAYS the last one to eat. By the time I sit down to eat the kids are already telling me they are hungry again. As they have gotten older (11 and 7), I have gotten better about saying, “I would be happy to get you some more food as soon as I have had a chance to eat.”
I also always have prepped fruit in the fridge, so when the kids are hungry they are now old enough to go get some for themselves.