I have two blogs that I haven't been good about updating in the past year. The Burns Family (which became the church hunt blog) and Midwest Veg (my vegetarian journey). I am happy to announce that The Burns Family and Midwest Veg are becoming one in the same. Why is that? Well, guess whose hamburger loving hubby is turning (mostly) veg! MINE!!!!
I am beyond ecstatic that Chris and I are on the same page with the food we consume and the food we give our kids. Will David and Lilly be considered strange by their peers for eating hummus and drinking soy milk? I guess that's possible, but I see that as better than the alternative!
Even though we live in the midwest, we are so blessed to be in Lakewood, where vegetarianism/veganism is widly accepted. We have stores and restaurants with lots of flesh-free options. I hope that this trend spreads quickly through the U.S.
What happened with Chris? Anyone who knows Chris knows that this is a huge change. When new friends would ask me if my husband was also a vegetarian, I would just laugh. Even though he fully supported me in my veggie pursuits, there was absolutely no way that I could change his eating habits. He had to come to that point on his own.
Chris has been trying to lose weight for years. He has had many successes, but the struggle has persisted. Recently, he was introduced to Advocare products. This was life-changing and we are very grateful to Kristin and Chris Iden for their friendship. Chris committed to the 24 day challenge which required a very strict diet. No salt, no sugar, no dairy, only small amounts of chicken and fish. Chris thrived on this diet. After some time, the chicken felt too heavy for him and he was down to just fish for meat.
Chris has completed the 24 day challenge and he lost a total of 29 pounds. He is now addicted to this new lifestyle of healthy eating and uphill walking.
You all know that the book Skinny Bitch is what kick started my veggie lifestyle. Well, Chris has discovered Skinny's spouse, Skinny Bastard. (So sorry for these awful titles, and this is not recommended reading for young people or those easily offended)
He is having all of the same revelations that I had a year and a half ago and that I thought he would never grasp. I am so grateful!
This is especially good timing because I had just recently seriously started contemplating adding meat back into my diet. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm so glad that God had another plan!
I would like to tell you what my 5 year old and 3 year old had for dinner last night (and enjoyed).
Small portion of salmon cooked in olive oil with walnuts on top
Sweet potato
Fresh cut pineapple
Whole wheat vegetable pasta with crushed tomato on top
Water, to drink
Keep in mind, what is written above is all that was in the food. No seasonings, butter, sugar...nothing. Kids do not need to be fed chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese just because they are kids. They do not need to drink massive amounts of milk and they do not need to watch you consume those things, either.
We have decided to include organic fish in our family diet (including me). I love that this is our "family diet."
I am so proud of my family and so thankful for what God is doing in our lives.
More to come.
"God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take Charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was.
God looked over everything he had made; it was good, so very good!"
Genesis 1:26-31a (The Message)
Great news. I'm excited to refocus on my organic/veganish diet this spring. Now that I'm back in Columbus, I am happy to have such simple access to healthy options all over this city. Good luck, Burns Family.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are very inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteVery exciting news. I'm so happy for all of you!
ReplyDeleteChris has helped inspire me to join the vegan train. Seeing his fire for God ignite during what I saw as a Daniel fast (because he only ate plant parts) I began my veg diet two weeks ago and am so inspired by the increased energy I feel. It's difficult to continue healthy habits in this world so I appreciate this blog and look forward to reading your adventures. God bless, Heather
ReplyDeleteEveryone, thank you so much for your support. I am thrilled that each of you is also choosing a healthy lifestyle. What an amazing blessing to share this journey with you!
ReplyDeleteeach of you *are* sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about kids and what they do/don't eat!
ReplyDeleteWhen Jillian was a baby is when I first started really paying attention to what I was eating. My choices aren't always the best, but she has no choice in the matter - She will eat what I put in front of her whether healthy or not.
I was the crazy mom who made all of her baby food. We used some pre-packaged snacks like the traditional puffs and some of the wheel thingies, but for fruits/veggies, I made it all and froze in ice cube trays. The daycare was amazing with it. I would write on the bag how many cubes she was to have per serving, and they would warm it up and serve it to her. The research I did on all the junk that goes into pre-packaged baby food completely grossed me out. Making my own wasn't time consuming, and was extremely cheap and much more nutritious in the long run. I'd make large batches at once and by freezing, there was always something on hand.
Now, I'm very proud to say she has a strong taste for whole foods (whether raw or cooked). In a pinch a few weeks ago I had to use potato flakes to make mashed potatoes, and she could tell. She took one bite, spit them out and gave me a look like "You really expect me to eat this...?" She also has no taste for any type of nugget. She wanted one of Brad's about a week ago and tried to take a bite. It was tough and hard to tear off and she handed it back and said "Don't want it," before she even got a bite. lol. How many kids do that?! She prefers cheese and grapes to crackers and popcorn.
She does enjoy a good cheeseburger and some fries from time to time, but often she eats what we do. If we got to a restaurant and I order salad, she eats at least half of it. Daycare notes which foods she does and doesn't eat, and it's mostly the veggies and fruits and not so much on the meats, breads, etc.
An interesting point (whether just dumb luck, or related I don't know) is that she is extremely healthy. Only twice have I ever had to pick her up from daycare for a low fever. No history of ear infections or any other problems. I attribute this to her healthy eating habits and possibly because she ended up in the NICU right after birth and was on steroids for 3 days. We have been very fortunate! Sure, we have the occasional bout of the sniffles but usually only at season changes.
We're trying to be healthier at home and eat more nutritiously. Since she eats two meals 5 days a week at daycare we had gotten a little lax about what to have for dinner and what to eat on the weekends. I'm hoping to change that and make us all healthier overall. Since my job allows me to work from home, I have no excuse to not eat as well as I can. I can throw a roast into the crock pot over my lunch break if I want to, make some soup, food prep and cut up veggies, in just a few minutes, etc. I'm completely utilizing this to my advantage. If I don't buy junk, I can't eat junk b/c I'm too lazy to leave the house on my lunch break to go buy junk. lol. If I have salad, veggies, and berries in the fridge, I'll eat those instead. Brad has asked me to send him with a baggie of veggies in the morning for his breakfast. He's not crazy about fruit, so that's fine with me. Saves us several dollars a week from him not getting fast food on the way to work.
We're getting there - Baby steps. :-)