jennyjennygenesis
homemaking, homeschooling, and striving for holiness
The Thrill is Gone
http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/279734?playlist_id=1387&asset_scope=movies
After trying to feed my family as healthily as possible for years upon years. I have hit a wall. The thrill is gone, friends, we’re moving on. We gave up wheat, dairy, and are pushing a more plant based diet for the lot of us. It’s not easy, we have complaints, we have hungry children, we have bitter mad faces at meals. And you know something? I’m okay with that. I’m ready to feel good, and lose a little bit of weight, and grow old with my husband, without disease! I have had enough of the chronic ear infections and headaches, and enough of the eczema, too. It’s one thing to have a little sensitivity here or there, but to essentially ignore the problems that are plaguing us, and toss it up to being too busy, well. I told you, I’m over it. So, even though the troops are downright disgruntled at the moment, I’m sure they’ll get over it! And hopefully, we will all start to feel better. The one thing I noticed right away was how all the little noses dried up! It was a box of kleenex a day for us until we started our Elimination diet! I got this plan from a book called ‘100 Natural Remedies for Your Child,’ by Dr. Jared M. Skowron. The thought that really awakened me, was: ” My rule for children is simple: feed them a whole food diet. If it grows from the earth, swims in the ocean, or grazes in a pasture, they can have it. There are no cookie bushes, bagel trees, or potato chip canyons anywhere that I know of.” Darn. That kinda hit me hard, because bagels and potato chips are two of our families most favorite foods. It’s not that it’s all we eat, not at all. We often eat sliced tomatoes and spinach on top of our bagels, and chips are just a little snack. You know. As a parent you would be fooling yourself if you thought you were in charge. I thought I was in charge once, but now I know better. I am only as in charge as I let myself be on any given day, and there are many contributing factors that can take away from my ability to TELL IT LIKE IT IS! One time when I become weak is during food times. I don’t like to force things down the childrens throats, and I like for meal times to be plesant and enjoyable for everyone. Easier said than done, eh?!
This whole new diet of more fresh foods and less processed and unhealthy options is really causing me to question my sanity. Especially when the time and effort is made to prepare such healthy choices and the children turn up their noses and little words sneak out of their little ever-adored mouths like “discusting!” And the hand starts to tingle because it wants to swing out to the very individuals mouth who dared utter such nonsense! I am slowly but surely developing a thicker skin, and I have my own little batallion of remarks ready now, too. The first weapon I have is “do-overs” so, you come to the table and sit down and have something negative to say about the food before you. Fine. Go out and come back in and try again, next time, it will be sentences. Secondly, if you are a little slow and don’t understand the program you can learn by repitition. My darling daughter (age 10) had forty sentences last evening, that went like this,”If I don’t have anything respectful to say at the dinner table, I will continue to eat without speaking.”
After that I don’t know what to do. Maybe no food? I don’t know, I have never been able to stick to that I always cave and give them an apple. Hopefully, none of them will get that far. I’m perfectly okay with them trying something, and not loving it enough to eat it all. That’s cool with me, but I already made dinner, and I’m not making anything else, so you are out of luck.
So, we removed all the wheat and dairy, and are slowly limiting the sugar intake. Next we will be cutting back significantly on meat. Why, you ask? Because the Honey and I watched this excellent film on HULU- Fork Over Knife, a documentary about how diet affects the human body. The two scientists and doctors who are shown trying to solve our problems with cancer and heart disese, both grew up on farms, in a world where milk was very good for you, and meat wasn’t even a question- it’s protien, right? Watch this film, and you might change your mind. I am encouraged by watching my friend Mary Jo do the Elimination diet with her family. If she can do it, so can I! Thanks Mary Jo for inspiring me! If God gave us our bodies as a gift, what legnths are we willing to go to- to care for this precious gift? Check out my recipies for new wheat and dairy free stuff! xoxo And please, if you have any glory stories about how diet has affected your family, for goodness sake, comment!
jennyjennygenesis 
You inspire me and I am sure many others…you go girl!
Thanks, Jeanine- it’s always good to hear from you! How’s all those beautiful grandkids? xo
Diet is a big deal around my house. We’ve got 5 kids and 5 adults all working towards a more natural and sustainable diet. Ours is low grain (and we opt for sprouted/fermented/soaked grain when we do), lots of veggies, pastured meats, and we do include raw/fermented dairy. We avoid as much processed food as we can, and steer clear of sugar and processed oils. We also do cod liver oil and probiotics to supplement. I find that we are all very healthy and happy, but tend to be a little more sensitive to junk as a result (lower tolerance, is my theory!).
I guess I thought to comment because it is a struggle with whining kids and all the work involved in the choice to eat with intention. I don’t have any solid advice, but a couple of things that have really helped us is 1)not keeping any stuff in the house that tempts the kids. What we have is what we have. I limit snacks, too. We try to make sure that they are hungry at meal times and can snack if they’ve eaten most of the previous meal. 2)I talk to them honestly about WHY we eat how we do. I may be a bit controversial here, but I tell them about what bad food does to the earth and their bodies. I tell them about suffering animals versus healthy animals. I talk to them about starving children and corporate greed. I tell them the story of the food from seed to plate and how joyful the whole process can and should be. All of that has made a difference for me, and they do better knowing the reasons why.
Anyway, this is good work you’re doing! Thanks for sharing. I hope you’ll update on how it’s all going.
Thanks for your thoughts, Grace! Do you sell raw milk? I am looking for a good source- I have one friend Sarah who runs Six Kids Farm, I just haven’t figured out how to get it consistantly because we live far away… also, watch Over Knife and Fork and tell me your interpretation of the whole animal products bit! 🙂
I don’t sell raw milk, but I get it easily! I can message you on FB about my source. 🙂