Seven steps to being a healthier mom!

Being healthy is not a fad or a diet or trying the latest craze. Its a lifestyle with daily choices and effort to be the healthiest person that you can be.  As a mom this can be hard.  Its hard to find time to be active. Its hard to find time to sit and eat. Its hard to shop for and prepare healthy food for yourself and your family. However, the reality is that if you set a schedule for yourself to do all of these things, you will find that you have more energy and you wonder how you ever lived any other way.  Here are my top seven tips for moms trying to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

1. Every weekend make a meal plan for the week that will guide your grocery choices. Get all that you can at your weekend grocery shop then pop back t the store or market for anything that you need fresh mid-week.  You can also pick up more fruit at this time if needed. This is my supper meal plan for this week to give you an example.
   1. Sunday
      1. Halibut with roasted fingerling potatoes, and broccoli
      2. Mixed green salad with pear, pecans, and avocado
   2. Monday – out for supper with gramma
   3. Tuesday
      1. Salmon with rice noodles, snap peas, and corn on the cob.
      2. Baja chopped salad
   4. Wednesday
      1. Omega-3 pork loin cutlets with roasted beets, onion, mushroom, and cauliflower
      2. Spinach salad with tomato and avocado
   5. Thursday
      1. Homemade chicken burgers
      2. Kale salad topped with cucumber, strawberries, dried cranberries, and almond slices
   6. Friday
      1. Lemon pepper haddock with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans
      2. Mixed greens salad topped with dried chickpeas, apple slices, red onion, and yellow pepper.
   7. Saturday
      1. Chicken fajitas
      2. Mexican salad (Spinach, tomato, avocado, black beans, tortillas, and salsa/Ranch dressing)
2. Do meal prep when your children are sleeping.
   1. At night, take time to prepare fruit for breakfast for everyone. Perhaps it is washing and slicing strawberries or grapes or cutting up a watermelon. Then cut up and portion vegetables that you will need the next day. Portion our baby carrots, cucumber, and snap peas for lunches. Dice up peppers, onion, and sweet potatoes for supper etc.  Do whatever you can to make the next day easy.
   2. You may even want to cook things while your children are sleeping and reheat them depending on what the meal is. This works well for lasagna and casseroles, as well as chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beets.
   3. If you are a stay-at-home mom, then your children’s nap time is also a great time for food prep. This was supper prep that I did during nap time on Wednesday of this week.
   4. 
3. Start everyday with a sitting down to breakfast with your children.  This is important for many reasons.
   1. We need to model healthy behaviors to our children.  Eating breakfast (the most important meal of the day) is one of the best habits you can teach your children.
   2. You need to fuel up! You are a busy mom and your body has not had nutrition for anywhere from 8-12 hours at this point.  If you do not fuel up properly within one hour of waking, you are more likely to make poor food choices later in the day.
   3. Your children will have better behavior if they are well nourished.  They will treat their siblings and other children better, they will have longer attention spans, and they will have a better life experience when they are well nourished.
   4. It is about more than the food! This is your chance to connect with your children without distraction for 15-30 minutes. I use breakfast time to chat with my kids about what the day will hold. Without this connection, the day just doesn’t go as smoothly.
4. Make healthy lunches with supper leftovers. I made this lunch today with leftovers from Tuesday and Wednesday suppers. 
5. Choose healthy snacks between meals so that you do not overeat at meals. Here are a few ideas ranging from lighter snack to more complete snack…
   1. Cut up watermelon, strawberries, grapes, or any other fruit you enjoy with or without yogurt.
   2. Baby carrots, sliced cucumber, and peppers with hummus
   3. Low fat decaf latte  
   4. Greek yogurt
   5. Glass of chocolate milk
   6. Cottage cheese mixed with pineapple or strawberries
   7. Kashi quinoa granola bar
   8. Whole grain toast spread with mashed avocado
   9. Homemade muffin with coconut oil and/or peanut butter
   10. Slice of low fat cheese, a few whole grain crackers, and apple or pear slices
   11. Mix of dried chickpeas, dried almonds, Shreddies, and raisins
6. Find time to be active either with or without your kids.  If you are with small children full time, then pop them in a stroller or bike trailer and go for a walk, run, or bike.  I take books and snacks for my kids to keep them occupied and happy while I am getting activity in.  I also always end at a park or splash pad and they know that this is coming so they are tolerant to wait for that.  We chat about the different types of animals and trees etc. that we see along the way. If your children are in daycare or school and you work during this time and need to be with them the other parts of your day, then perhaps you can find a neighbor or friend that you can walk with in the evening a few times per week or find a yoga or spin class at your local gym that you can go to while your spouse/partner stays home with the sleeping children. Perhaps you could each take two nights per week to be active while the other stays home.  Or perhaps it is worth getting a babysitter twice per week so you can be active together.
7. Last but not least, try to live by guidelines not rules.  If you live by riles then you set yourself up for failure which usually results in more poor choices.  If you aim for guidelines then you can always aim for your best in that moment and as long as you are doing your best, then you can remain positive about the choices you make.

I hope that these are helpful tips for you to be the best YOU and YOU can be and teach your children to do the same.  Self care as a mom goes much further than ourselves.  It spills over into our children. It affects how we treat them and how they will treat themselves.

Until next time….stay healthy!