Making a few changes

Breakfast has been kind of tough around here. I'm not one to get up and make a hot breakfast, unless it's Saturday and we don't have anywhere to be. Sometimes I can manage to make some scrambled eggs, but that's about the extent of my AM cooking. With that option gone, everyone seems to be just having cereal with almond milk, and the kids also like toast or English muffins. Hello, processed carb city! I've tried getting them to eat oatmeal, but that doesn't really fly. For some reason, they also think fruit is not a morning food. Whaaaa? So, over the last couple of weeks, I've been making eggs a few mornings a week. Those are really the only days that I feel like Isaac goes to school without being hungry, and full of a meal that will actually sustain him until lunch!

Another change is that Kyle has started a new workout routine that is pretty intense. The exercise combined with eating healthier and cutting out alcohol (!) has resulted in him losing 9 pounds in a little over 2 weeks! With all that exercise and muscle building, he feels like he needs more protein.

Now, we COULD add some protein by using meat substitutes (fake burgers, bacon, etc.) but those are all soy-based. Esther can't have soy, and it's really not good for anyone, so those are out for us. And a person can only eat so many beans and still have any friends. Haha. Kyle's been tracking his diet and exercise with an app and discovered that a very large percentage of his diet is from carbs. They aren't simple, processed carbs, which is good, but he'd still like more protein.

So, we're going to add a bit of lean meat to our diet. For example, if I'm making a stir fry, I'll use one chicken breast to feed the whole family. The vegetables will be the main dish, with a little meat as a side. Since we're using a small amount of meat, it seems reasonable to only buy organic, free range, blah blah blah. For eggs, if this is something people will eating on a daily basis, it has to be free from hormones and chemicals. I wish I could have a couple of chickens, but they'd never survive here! As far as dairy goes, we're still going to steer clear. The one exception is using real butter in moderation because the substitutes are just full of junk! I'm still going to shoot for having our main source of protein being plant-based.

Whew. I'm glad I didn't name this blog something to do with vegan. It's simply documenting our attempts at healthy eating. We'll see how we feel adding a little more protein, but still eating mostly whole foods!