Day 4, How Long Can We Make It?

OK, so to be honest, I'm the only one who hasn't cheated yet. Day 4. But, like I said, I'm not being super strict, and the goal is to cut WAY back on sugar and increase awareness of how much junk we eat! I made a meal plan, which is below, and which has also drastically changed since we started 3 days ago. Go figure. I know better, the cardinal rule when doing anything with kids, Keep It Simple, Stupid! So instead of trying multiple new recipes in a week, stick  to one, or maybe two, and just try to modify what you usually eat. I have been surprised what my kids will actually eat when they don't have other options. It also helps to bribe them with "approved" things they like...("If you eat all of the spinach in your eggs, you can have some apple juice when you're finished!" Or "If you eat everything on your plate we can have watermelon for dessert." Juice is always a treat in our house.) And they will almost always try one bite of anything. So here's the first 3 days, with the meal plan below. Also, keep reading to the bottom to see my 7yr old's take on all of this! (He wanted to contribute as a guest writer.) I'm not sure how long we'll last, but if we can get through 2 weeks I'll be happy!

Day 1 My kids ate salad. And S ate spinach in her eggs without complaining. Homemade mayo is way easy to make, and SOO yummy. I'll never go back. Notes from today: I wanted to give in to the constant requests for goldfish. You NEED to have TONS of snacks on hand. Literally. A truckload. The morning went OK, but by afternoon, everyone was STARVING and nothing I gave them seemed to fill them up. Also, be sure to pre-make some condiments and dressings, it saves a lot of time in the kitchen. We had scrambled eggs with spinach and kale, a giant salad with leftover roast beef and every veggie we had thrown in, and for dinner, asparagus, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, and rainbow trout the kids caught this morning. I wish I could give them cereal for breakfast...

Day 2: I got a lot of negativity today from the whole family. That makes it harder. But we NEED this, the sugar is everywhere! Everyone is starving in the afternoon. Again. I need to get more protein and fat into lunch so they're not asking for more food every 10 minutes. I'm going through eggs like crazy, I started the week with a dozen hardboiled eggs and I have one left. Seriously! And homemade potato chips are a huge hit, I need to make about 4 baking sheets at a time though. Looking forward to smoothies for breakfast, something different than eggs! We had homemade hash browns with fried eggs on top and sausage, lunch was BLT salad, and dinner was buffalo chicken and sweet potato casserole for Z and baked chicken and homemade potato chips with steamed broccoli for kids and I.

Day 3: Smoothies for breakfast! It's yummy. Hard to get up early enough to make 2 meals to pack and send to work for Z. S & G were whiny today, they miss the sugar. S had a meltdown because she wanted a granola bar, but eventually she bucked up and ate turkey wrapped veggies for lunch. On the other hand, J came home from school with a great attitude, said "I think I can actually live on this diet. For a couple of weeks, I mean." Everyone liked lunch(win!), sliced turkey spread with homemade mayo and wrapped around bell peppers, shredded carrots, and avocado slices. Dinner was also a hit with most of them, Rustic Beef and Cabbage stew. I wanted more, but it filled me up! It was awards night at Awana, and they served cake. So go figure, all 3 kids indulged. (Am I a horrible person for half hoping that they would have a tummy ache?) Z was strong for me though, and after I got the kids to bed I had an apple with almond butter to make up for it. I miss my extra buttery popcorn with butter on top! Z is still drinking energy drinks, and doing his workout protein shakes. But he's trying, and I appreciate it!

Day 4:(So far), Had scrambled eggs with kale and sausage this morning. Bribed the kids to eat it with promises of watermelon. Lunch was leftovers for Z, lettuce wrapped chicken and veggies for J, and I made chicken salad for me and for tomorrow. Couldn't get the younger two to eat that, so I chopped up chicken, cucumbers, and bell peppers. They complained until I gave them toothpicks to spear it all with and then they ate it all happily. Woohoo! Juice may have been a bribe factor. But they did ask for more cucumbers, and they said they were full, and there hasn't been a snack request. Baked some kale chips, interested to see how they taste and if the kids will eat them. Doing steak and kale salad for dinner tonight(that's the plan anyway).

Joey's version:
Day 0(The day before we started, all in his own words): I think I'm gonna throw up. Excuse me, where are my manners. My name is Joey. I will see you more this frightful journey. I am feeling nervous. As I was saying, I'll see you later in this journey. By: Guest Writer
Day 1: Not as bad as I thought. But I needed to go to the bathroom a lot. Sounds like some horrible meals. But still OK. See you later.
Day 2: I needed to go to the bathroom a lot. Bad tasting salad. See you later.
Day 3: I liked the food in my lunch! I'm don't think I'm going to die anymore.

Meal Plan:

April/May 2016

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
24 B: spinach, mushroom, & potato egg scramble w/ avacado L: salad & fruit D: grilled steak, squash, and asparagus P: grill chicken & steak for salads	25 B: fried eggs over potato & carrot pancakes L: BLT salad D:Baked salmon w/ roasted cabbage & almond sauce P:	26 B: smoothies L: salmon & lettuce wraps D: Crockpot rustic beef & cabbage stew P:	27 B: scrambled eggs & veggies w/ fruit L: deviled eggs w/ turkey wrapped veggies D: Buffalo chicken stuffed bell peppers P:	28 B:  hardboiled eggs, fruit salad L: leftover stew D: Baked chicken w/ roasted potatoes and broccoli P: soak nuts & coconut for breakfast	29 B: cinnamon apple “porridge” L: seafood salad D: leftovers/salad P:	30 B: banana “pancakes”, scrambled eggs L: turkey & veggie rolls, fruit salad D: Restaurant salad in Spokane P:
1 May B: gone/ larabars and fruit and hardboiled eggs L: burgers w/o buns? D: Homegroup P:	2 B: scrambled eggs w/ veggies L: chicken salad wraps D: spaghetti w/ zoodles  P:	3 B: chia banana pudding L: BLT salad D: skillet chicken thighs w/artichokes P:	4 B: fried eggs over zoodles w/ tomato & avacado L: turkey wraps, veggies, fruit salad D: baked fish w/ sweet potato fries and kale P:	5 B: sausage & egg “muffins” L: tuna patties, broccoli, apples D: grilled steak & kale salad P:	6 B: smoothies L: buffalo chk. salad D: crockpot kaluah pork w/ steamed cabbage, roasted broccoli P:	7 B: spinach & egg bake L: deviled eggs, turkey/veggie wraps, fruit salad D: hamburgers w/ sweet potato buns P:

 

8 B: breakfast “porridge” L: D: grilled salmon, potatoes & asparagus P: grill steak/chicken for salads	9 B: eggs, veggies, fruit L: chicken club salad D:  crockpot chili P:	10 B: smoothies L: salmon patties & broccoli D: sausage & potato bake P:	11 B: eggs, sausage & potato hash L: steak salad D: stir fried chicken & veggies P:	12 B:  banana “pancakes”, eggs L: leftover chili, veggies D:  baked chicken and roasted veggies P:	13 B: fruit salad, hardboiled eggs L: BLT salad D: crockpot roast w/ potatoes P:	14 B: baked eggs w/veggies L: chicken salad wraps, fruit salad D: lemon garlic shrimp skewers w/ potatoes and asparagus P: