Back to School ...

This week my son starts 1st grade. Next week my daughter and I start her 5th year homeschool lessons.
'Tis the season for Back to School.

Recently, mom and I have been discussion our philosophy of going "Back to Basics" and something came to both our minds ...

Why do we need to go back to basics? Because we stepped off the basics to begin with!
So often we get into the mindset of "oh, I can eat that" (I'm as guilty of that as anyone!) This especially happens with sleevers when we find out that we can eat things like sugar and carbs again.

Cooking for a family makes it even harder, especially for those of us smaller children. There's no secret that they NEED things, like (healthy) carbs that we don't.

There are those that will tell us to just not buy our trigger foods, but what if a trigger food is something your
child needs to carry in a lunch sack? Or if a trigger food for you is a healthy choice for an after school snack for your child?

This is something I, personally, have struggled with. Cookies, chips, crackers ... These are all trigger foods for me, but things that I keep on hand for my children for their lunches and after school snacks. Of course, I buy the "good stuff" - whole grains, no refined sugars, organic when possible, etc. BUT - a trigger food is a trigger food even without pesticides and GMO's.

In a perfect world, these things wouldn't matter. In a perfect world, I'd have self control and will-power. In a PERFECT world - I wouldn't have cravings. Sadly, this world is FAR from perfect. I do still have cravings. I do still WANT certain foods. And some days, I NEED certain foods (chocolate, anyone?).

Sometimes, WE have to "back to school" when our kids do. What that means is, we have to learn and re-learn how to feed our families so that our children can get the nutrients and macronutrients they need, while we are sticking with what we need.

For me, that means putting up reminders on sticky notes. Those reminders tell me how these foods make me feel when I eat them. Cookies, for example, make me have a HORRIBLE sugar crash. Some varieties actually give me dumping syndrome. A sticky note that simply says "SUGAR CRASH/DUMPING!!" makes me think twice about having it. Chips are another trigger food for me. I can sit down and eat half a bag of funyuns in one sitting (yep - TOTAL slider food!!)! Afterward, I feel sluggish, I have an uneasy tummy, and I get a headache from the MSG in some chip varieties. So my sticky note for that says, "TUMMY LUMPS AND MSG!" Hey. It makes sense to me!

Now I'm not saying that these foods are bad - there is really no "good" or "bad" food. Food can't control itself. I've said it before but it's worth repeating that it's not the cupcakes fault it's a cupcake. BUT these foods are not beneficial.

So, for me, back to school time means re-focusing and re-learning. Remembering that there are foods that are beneficial and foods that aren't. Focusing on protein and water, and remembering my vitamins (BIG one for me!).

How are you going "back-to-school"?
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