Week 3 - Day 5

(Apr. 28, 2011)

We had HUGE rains today.  Our community was completely flooded.  I know this doesn't have anything to do with my daughters diet, but water in my community is a really big issue.

This morning, she had brown rice cereal; plain.  For lunch I packed her brown rice and chocolate coconut milk.  It's a pathetic lunch, but that's all I got.  For her snack she had a rice cake and those dehydrated apples.  I feel so bad for her.  I know in m mind that this is the best thing for her, but it's so hard.  The thing is, is it really that bad?  No, because her lunches before would consist of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white bread, pretzels or chips and jell-o or pudding and some cookies.  It's the typical 'brown bag' lunch in American schools these days.

Speaking of brown bag lunches, I was listening to this blog the other day, the manic mommies (which I LOVE. If you're a mom, you must start listening).  They got onto the topic of school lunches and what the typical lunch consists of.  The Chicago Little Village Academy banned lunches brought from home.  I guess they were noticing that the foods that were actually being sent from home were worse than those that the schools actually served.  It has caused quite a controversy.

Anyway, now Jeannette's eating brown rice and rice cakes with soy nut butter (Non GMO).  When we grow up on the American diet for so long, it becomes the norm.  It's hard to change the mindset of healthy eating and knowing what truly is good for us.  Humans are creatures of habit, and it takes awhile to change those habits and in this case, for the better.

Today, one of my neighbors and I got to talking.  She is also making some serious changes to her families eating habits.  We both agree that these changes that we're making are going to be for the better in the long term.  We could potentially be extending the lives of our families just a little longer.  We have really learned a lot and have educated ourselves and have made a lifestyle difference for ourselves and our families for healthy and better living.