Back on the Real Food Bandwagon

I gave up junk food for Lent this year. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. In less than a week I had stopped craving soda and other junk. After a couple weeks I started making some other food changes, mostly to be more deliberate in my choices of real foods, whole foods, and super foods. I read Mark Bittman's Food Matters on the recommendation of my friend, Natalie, who has made some very serious adjustments to her family's eating habits (and herself lost over 100lbs!)  From Bittman's book I tried to adopt (loosely, very loosely) his mantra of eating vegan/vegetarian until dinner.

In the course of the 40 days of Lent (because I did start to loosen up on Sundays after a few weeks) I lost 10lbs!  (Before you get any ideas that I was using Lent to diet, I also gave up the scale so that wouldn't have any influence.)  Once we got to Easter I was sure I would keep up my new eating habits.  And thus starts the slippery slope. 

Unlike some real food "foodies" I do not have a problem with sugar.  I like sugar and believe that in moderation it's not a bad thing.  Apparently I do, however, have a problem with moderation.  Once I have one soda it's like the Pringles commercial - once I pop I can't stop.  So back to a junk food ban it seems I must go. 

The first part of my old new eating to come back is my breakfast green smoothie.  Here is the makings of this morning's - kale, baby spinach, forzen berries, and a frozen banana. 

 Add some water and whip it up - yum!  The boys even clamor for it: "mommymommmymommymommy... me me me me!"  And I feel so good after starting my day with so much super food.  Maybe it's all in my head but it can't just have been the "God factor" of giving up junk for Lent that made it so easy.  I really did feel better :)  And when your pants start falling off that always helps too :) 

So after sharing our smoothie we wrestled everyone into clothes and headed out to enjoy the beautiful warm, sunny weather.  Finally!

I am so glad I decided to push it a little farther to a park overlooking the lake.  As soon as we got there we saw a family of geese - Mama, Papa, and four goslings!  While we were there another family came to play and the boys all played in the sand together.  There were some boats out on the lake and lots of birds.  And before we left we had the good luck to see a water-landing airplane!  That made the morning for the boys, it just doesn't get much cooler than a plane that's a boat that's a plane again. 

So is it just a beautiful day?  Is it the Holy Spirit nudging me along the way I should go?  Is it my attitude making it all good by looking for it?  I think it's at least a little of all three. And it's a moment of peace and joy.  And I'm good with that :)