When the new year is not (only) about you!
My friend overheard her (awesome!) kids telling my daughter how everything I make at my house is healthy (and fun!), so they always know they can have it. Unfortunately, I don’t know if that’s exactly true…I feel like when they say everything at Subway and Whole Foods has a “health halo” around it – even if it is
full of sugar, white flour, red meat and fat. Not that I sit around cooking those things, but still…I’m not perfect. I do give in and give my kids mac and cheese sometimes, although I make it from scratch, not from a box with food coloring.
I was so happy to hear that they felt positive about my healthy food. Maybe it’s because they know I’m always trying and developing new recipes and that I genuinely value their opinions. I don’t offer new foods to guests and ask for a compliment. I really ask for feedback, nothing personal involved, especially with kids. I’m also always very positive about it myself.
I can’t wait to share the POSITIVE strategies from the Healthy Family, Healthy You book with my dear readers. It’s been a long, but rewarding journey. I now have only one and a half chapters left to edit. Of course, one of those is the recipe chapter (my book will include approximately 75 recipes), which is the most difficult to edit. (It’s because I’ve been hard at work on the book that you haven’t heard from me in a few weeks…).
If you would like to participate in the recipe testing process, please do let me know at natasha@healthyfamilyhealthyyou.com or on my Facebook page!
You must read today’s Washington Post (Food Section) article by Tamar Haspel, “Why home cooks don’t cook: Everyone’s a critic.” She makes a number of fantastic points that will leave you feeling so validated and supported as a hard-working parent, it is worth reading, just for that! Bottom line: Everyone tells busy working parents that the key to a happy and healthy family is to cook at home. However…the reward for that is often your children throwing a tantrum and demanding “kid food,” such as chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and pizza. Multiple industries are devoted to convincing your children that this is their food and they’d better make their parents buy it. Couple the marketing with the science of targeting your taste buds with just the right combination of salt, sugar and fat, (Haspel cites Michael Moss’s game-changing book, “Salt, Sugar, Fat“) and no wonder busy parents feel defeated before they start.
She also mentions the “health halo” around home-cooked food, although it is usually true that home cooked food is lower in calories, salt, sugar and fat, than processed and restaurant meals. However, with so many convenience products on the market, it’s hard to even know what “home-cooked” means any more.
This article points out many of the challenges today’s parents face when trying to feed their family in a healthful way. Some of her suggestions, such as involving your children more in meal planning and prep, are part of the Healthy Family, Healthy You system. However, the system I provide is different than what you’ve heard before and can produce greater family transformation.
My son enjoying his sister’s recipe creation!
I can’t wait to share it with you and I thank you, now and for the future, for your patience, ideas and support.
At the beginning of 2014, I declared that I wanted to focus on SERVICE to others. I thought that would start with publishing the book. Instead, I spent the year continuing to write the book, counsel individuals, and develop my strategic system for helping others.
Many of you know how hard of a time I’ve given myself for not having finished the book as quickly as I wanted to. I am now declaring 2015 the year of HARMONY! After all, harmony is what I’m attempting to give my readers, right? Using food to bring harmony to your body, mind and your family. So I am going to declare a harmony between my work as a writer and health coach and my chosen role as a mom and wife. They all complement one another, especially because of the topic I’m writing about. I’m going to focus on that more than the competition between the two. It’s that “competition” that has “slowed” my writing process and why I had no idea how long it would take me to finish. I’m also changing slow to harmony. It’s taken me longer as my home life has positively influenced the book and my suggestions for other families.
So, as you (and I!) eagerly await the Healthy Family, Healthy You book, I wish you a harmonious year! Dream of it now, as you read the working title for the book.
Healthy Family, Healthy You: The Healthy Mama’s recipe for peace, love and health… in the kitchen…and beyond!
