In my last post I shared with you about a special gift Santa brought for our oldest son...a MN Wild game along with tickets to a game. We attended the game a few nights ago and I'm happy to report that the Wild one in an exciting shootout! So, today I thought I'd share what Santa brought for our youngest little man...a DRUM SET! Oh, yes you read that right. A drum set! We went to visit Santa Clause a week before Christmas and there were several things on our youngest son's list but up until that point there was not one mention of a drum set. It wasn't until we were standing in line to see Santa that our youngest son said what he wanted more than anything was a drum set. I wish someone could have captured the look on our faces as my husband and I stood there staring at him in shock. When it was his turn to sit on Santa's lap he climbed up and as soon as Santa asked what he wanted this year he nervously replied with "a drum set". Santa looked over at us with a look that showed absolutely no sympathy:

Somehow Santa and his elves were able to scrounge up a drum set in that final week before Christmas and I must say that I'm mighty glad they did! Although it's been loud around here, our little man absolutely loves playing the drums and I think it's something he'll enjoy for many years to come.

Today's "drum set" lunch includes: ham/cheese drum sandwich, strawberries/blueberries, cucumbers, chocolate covered almonds & trail mix (Jay Robb protein bar, sugar free chocolate chips & cheerios) packed in the Planet Lunch Box

Just before Christmas our oldest son told us that he hoped to find a MN Wild jersey under the tree on Christmas morning, but not just any MN Wild jersey! He wanted his favorite player's jersey, #55 Nick Schultz. He explained that he planned to leave his Wild jersey at the front of his closet on Christmas Eve so the elves could find it and sew the name and number onto the back and on the sleeves. Then he said that maybe Santa could make him some tickets that would work to get into a Wild game. When I asked him which game he would like to see he didn't miss a beat, in fact he looked at me as if I were from Mars for even needing to ask! He emphatically replied "Wild vs. Sharks"!!! Of course! A game where his two favorite NHL players, Nick Schultz of the MN Wild and Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks (formerly played for the MN Wild), square off against each other.

Luckily, Santa and his elves were able to meet the request and if only you could have seen his face when he opened the gift! He wore his jersey all day and has been anxiously awaiting the big game day every since. Tonight is the night and my son couldn't be more excited. This is his chance to watch his two favorite players on the ice!

Today's "square off" lunch includes: two hockey player sandwiches made on flax seed flat bread, apple, almond flour chocolate chip cookie, celery/peanut butter

Happy new year to all of you! It's this time of year that I'm reminded of what prompted me to start this blog in the first place. As some of you may remember from previous posts, when I first transitioned to healthier eating it had very little to do with the kids and everything to do with me. I'd had enough of feeling tired, forgetful and I refused to go up yet another jean size. I slowly started making changes to the way I ate and noticed that over time I was feeling much more focused and had much more energy than ever before. This peaked my interest in the topic of how food effects not only our weight, but also our body's ability to function. The more I read about the topic, the more I knew I needed to make some changes not only for me but also for my family. As much as I wanted to learn about food and the role it plays in our bodies, I must admit I was little taken aback by some of the startling statistics I discovered as a result.

As you can see from the charts below the obesity rate in America has skyrocketed over the years.

In the past 20 years obesity rates in adults have doubled and for children they have tripled. One in three children in the U.S. are obese and 40% of America's children are overweight. Of those children 50% of them will remain overweight into adulthood. Not surprisingly, there has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with hypertension, asthma, type II diabetes, sleep apnea and gallstones. In all of my research the one statistic that really jumped out at me is that 1 in 3 children born in the United States after the year 2000 will be diagnosed with Type II diabetes.

So why is it that we find ourselves in such a predicament here in the United States? It seems to me there is a direct correlation between obesity rates and the way our food is being manufactured. As a nation we like food! We want it fast, we want it now, and we want it cheap. In order to meet the demand food manufacturers fill their food with sugar, oil, preservatives, saturated fat, and food dyes. Because these filler foods lack the nutrients and fiber of the original food source they are incapable of sustaining people. These foods wreak havoc on blood sugar levels and have very little, if any, ability to nourish the human body.

A few years ago as I was exploring healthier eating options for my family, I recorded our average daily consumption of sugar over the course of a week. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar intake to 4 tsp/day (20 grams) for children, 6.5 tsp/day (32 grams) for women, and 9 tsp/day (40 grams) for men. My kids were eating what I thought was relatively healthy, but when we got to the end of the week we discovered they were averaging close to 70 grams of sugar per day...nearly double the recommended daily intake. Common sense told me to limit the amount of sugary drinks, candy, and other "junk" food but I had no idea just how much sugar is packed into seemingly "healthy" food. If you look at the ingredients of most pre-packaged food you'll find sugar disguised as high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, maple syrup, honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrate...just to name a few. You'll find sugar in ketchup, canned fruit, canned vegetables, peanut butter, low-fat products, flavored yogurt, vitamin water, juice, and a host of other items! It's no wonder our sugar consumption in the United States today is 733% higher than it was in the 1800's (no, that is NOT a typo).

Over the past two years we have taken baby steps to eliminate processed foods and sugar from our household. For those of you who have made "healthy eating" a resolution for 2012, I'm here to tell you that it's worth all the effort and then some! Thanks to all of you who continue to read this blog. I love sharing my passion for healthy eating and I'm thrilled to know that parents are finding way to introduce wholesome foods to their picky eaters. Here's to a wonderful 2012 and I wish all of you the very best!

Today's lunch includes: nitrite free ham/cheese sandwich, celery with natural peanut butter, strawberries/blueberries, string cheese, peanut butter and chocolate chunk muffinpacked in a Go Green Lunch Box

Here we are just a few days away from Christmas and the boys couldn't be more excited. Today is their last day of school before break which means they are one day closer to spending a fun filled week with their cousins. I'm just as excited to spend some quality time with my boys over the next few days before the Christmas festivities begin. Usually I spend the few days leading up to Christmas running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to wrap up all the loose ends. After reading Shauna Niequist's post yesterday I'm inspired to abandon my "to-do" list after today. "Family time" officially begins tonight and I plan to enjoy every minute of it as we watch movies, play games, read, go look at Christmas lights or whatever else we might decide to do as a family. As part of our family time we'll finish out the last few remaining tasks of our Giving Jar Project which has easily become our favorite family tradition. The boys have loved participating in this project and they've gained more from completing the tasks than we ever imagined. I've said it before, but I'll say it again...there truly is no greater gift than watching your child bring joy to others through giving. This has been an incredible experience for all of us and we hope to continue this tradition for many years to come.

Below is a little video of some of the tasks we completed this holiday season.

Today's "gift of giving lunch" includes: triple decker nitrite free pepperoni and cheese sandwich (I used white American cheese for the "ribbon"), broccoli and cauliflower, strawberries, peanut butter/chocolate chip mini muffinspacked in the Planet Lunch Box

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

After completing our Giving Jar task yesterday I'm more convinced than ever that there is no greater gift than watching your child bring joy to others. Sunday's task was to deliver Christmas cookies to the local nursing home. In the past, the staff asked us to simply drop off the cookies, but this year they made arrangements for a staff member to accompany the boys as they made their way around the nursing home passing out cookies. I was little nervous about how the boys might respond as they haven't spent a lot of time in nursing homes. My fears quickly vanished as I watched both of my boys approach the front desk without any hesitation at all. I was fully prepared to carry the plates of cookies from room to room with the boys at my side but the boys wanted to do it all on their own. So, my husband and I trailed behind and watched with delight as our two little boys walked the floor of the nursing home bringing smiles to the faces of the residents with their plates full of cookies. When we were walking out of the nursing home I was thrilled when one of the boys asked if we could come back and do it again. I think this might go down as one of my favorite tasks we've ever done as part of the Giving Jar project!

Here are the beautiful cookies my dear friend, Rebecca Oberle, made for us to use on this task!

Today's lunch is in honor of the "joy" my kids brought to the residents of the nursing home yesterday. This lunch is packed in the Planet Lunch Box.

I've received several e-mails over the past few months from readers who are wondering what I serve my family for dinner. I've been trying to think of a way to address the issue in one long blog post, but decided maybe I just need to photograph our dinner every once in a while and share them here on the blog along with some of our favorite tried and true recipes. Because of my work schedule and the boy's activities the key for dinner around here is quick-and-easy!! Before we transitioned to a healthier lifestyle "quick-and-easy" meant food out of a box or can...or came direct from a nearby fast food chain. One of my biggest fears when we first started this process was how I would handle dinner. It's taken a lot of trial and error to find foods that my kids enjoy, but now that we have been at it for over a year we have some staples that my family loves and I find it so much easier to cook now than I ever did before. The best part is that my kids are filling up with wholesome, healthy foods which means they aren't grazing around the kitchen looking for snacks after meals.

One of the keys for me was finding healthier alternatives to my kids' favorite meals. Take for example, chicken nuggets...my youngest son absolutely LOVED chicken nuggets and chicken strips from fast food chains that were filled with who knows what. After seeing THIS VIDEOand reading about the effects the added products have on our bodiesI knew I needed to find a healthier option for my kids. Maria posted this chicken "breading" recipe so I gave it a shot and my boys loved it. The only adjustment I made was to add a little more salt. This recipe has become a staple recipe at our house. I typically double the recipe so we have leftovers as these are very easy to re-heat on the nights we have activities. You can also use the leftovers to make a chicken strip roll up by placing the chicken, some shredded cheese, lettuce and any other toppings you want on a piece of flax flat bread. The recipe on Maria's site will bread appx. 2 large organic chicken breasts which will make appx. 8-10 chicken strips. On a side note...if you're not familiar with Whey Crisps just know that you might get sticker shock when you look at the price. I held off ordering these for a very long time because they are expensive. However, one tub lasts my family 2-3 months and we get a lot of use out of them. I add whey crisps to protein drinks, deserts, snacks, etc....

On the side I served another one of Maria's recipes...Cinnamon Streusel Muffins. I love these muffins because they contain a lot of flax seeds (you can read about the benefits of flax seeds HERE) and they are very filling. The boys eat these muffins for breakfast, snack, dinner...you name it!

My husband and my oldest son are off to Lambeau Field this weekend to watch the Green Bay Packer game and all I can say is..."better them than me"!!! It is downright COLD up in my neck of the woods and I cannot imagine sitting in the stands for an entire game in the elements. I much prefer going to the pre-season games when just a sweatshirt is enough to keep you warm. This time of year requires snow gear, hats, gloves, glove and boot warmers...you name it! All I know is that my son absolutely LOVES going to Packer games and I'm not sure he even notices how cold it is when he's out there. I have no doubt he'll come home and be able to recall the game in great detail down to who ran what play when...without mention of the weather. Last night he was trying to count down the hours until he would be sitting in Lambeau Field so I thought it would be fun to make him a "Packer" lunch today.

Today's lunch includes: turkey football sandwich, celery and peanut butter (you could use sunbutter if peanut allergies are a concern), kiwi, bag of roasted almonds, turkey and cheese curds on the Packer pick. You can find the Green Bay Packer lunch bagHERE

The other night we took the boys to see the Wizard of Oz at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre. We've always enjoyed the productions at the MCT, but this one really took the cake. The stage, the costumes, the casting...it was all perfect! My boys particularly loved the lion and the scarecrow. At one point during the show my youngest son leaned over to me and said that the scarecrow should just go to school if he wanted a brain. Ha! Out of the mouths of babes!! If you happen to be in the Minneapolis area I would highly recommend this play...it's great for all ages!

Today's lunch was inspired by the play and includes: scarecrow turkey/cheese sandwich (I had to toothpick this one together and folded a napkin over the top of it with the hopes of keeping it together until lunch), strawberries, carrots, no bake chocolate protein bite with pretzel sticks as the witches legs and raisins for shoes, colby cheese yellow brick road packed in a Planet Lunch Box

As we head into the holiday season I wanted to take a moment to share with you a project were doing with our kids again this year. My husband and I want very much for our children to value the gift of giving. In todays society it seems so easy to want for more. It also feels that people are willing to take far more than they are willing to give. We desire more than that for our kids, so last year we decided to replace our traditional advent calendar with a Giving Jar to help countdown the days until Christmas. The idea came to me as my oldest son and I were talking about ways in which we can help others. He mentioned a few tasks that I knew we could accomplish, so I rounded out the list to make 24 giving tasks. The tasks included things like holding the door open for someone, writing a thank you letter to a soldier, and delivering food to the local food shelf. I typed the tasks on white paper and tied them with a ribbon and placed them in our jar. Each morning the kids selected one scroll and they had until the end of the day to complete the task. At the end of the day we all shared our stories and reflected on tasks we completed as a family.

This was something the kids have talked about all year long and as soon as we started putting up our Christmas tree they started asking about the "Giving Jar". I was delighted that the kids not only remembered the jar, but both wanted to add a few new tasks to this year's jar. The jar has been sitting here for a few days and every morning the kids ask if today is the day we get to start the giving jar project. I'm very much looking forward to diving in with our first task tomorrow.

I did learn a few things last year that I thought I'd share for any of you that might be interested in doing something similar. First, to ensure we could complete each task I did some homework ahead of time. I started by calling local organizations that I thought could use donations to get specific requests. We also wanted to make sure the kids could be directly involved in most of the tasks rather than just dropping off or sending donations so I created a calendar of tasks that worked well with our schedules. Any tasks that required family participation were scheduled on the weekends or on days when we don't have after school activities. (Each task scroll is marked with a number so the kids are selecting tasks specifically planned for that day. I have a master calendar of tasks on my computer for planning sake.) We'll make one big shopping trip as a family to buy all the toys and supplies we'll need to complete our tasks at the beginning of the month so we have everything we need to complete the tasks throughout the month.

This month is going to be filled with some amazing opportunities for my family. Our hope is that our children learn that giving back is a bigger gift than anything that would ever fit under a tree.

Below is a list of the tasks we'll be doing this year with our boys ages 8 and 6. I've also made a FREE PRINTABLE with all 24 tasks sized to print (4 tasks per 8.5 x 11 sheet) that just need to be cut, rolled up, tied with ribbon and placed in a jar for anyone who wants to do something similar. I did include a blank template as well if you'd like to come up with your own tasks. Click HERE to download the giving task printable.

Here is a sample page from the free printable. Simply quarter the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper using a paper cutter, roll each task and tie them with ribbon or string, number the tasks and place the tasks in a jar and you're all set.

Today's lunch includes a peanut butter roll-up on Lavash bread, plums, salad with ranch dressing, lefse (a traditional Norwegian food) packed in a Planet Lunch Box