It’s true that in the past my family hesitantly approached the table at dinner time. I was the only one who couldn’t see the beaming neon lights flashing overhead “APPROACH WITH CAUTION.” There was no cheering and nobody fought over chairs or dibs on the main course. Sometimes I would hear “awwww maaaan” or sigh…why can’t we have ---- but eventually the plate was cleared off and I’d hear something worth repeating. Making sure that you have a lean, healthy protein, a wholesome carbohydrate and good sources of fibre that everyone likes, every night of the week, requires some effort and lots of organization. I refuse to cook separate meals for each person in my home. No way, Jose.
A few months ago after preparing one of my wholesome dinners it was suggested that perhaps dinner be served by McDonalds the following evening (apparently that specific meal wasn’t well received by a family member.) At this time precisely is when my older child responded with:"EWWWWWWWW McDonalds is gross! Even their apples aren’t healthy! If you leave one of their apples on the counter for 2 weeks it would still be “fresh” because it’s injected with a bunch of stuff!" This apparently was discovered through an experiment I had nothing to do with.
One of my favourite docs (Dr. Oz) stated that it takes about 12 attempts to alter one’s taste buds to liking something. Eating well and meeting everyone’s likes can be challenging. But it can be done. I'm guilty of serving veggie dogs and chips for dinner - I admit it so whether you’re feeding a family or just yourself you need to plan to be organized. We all know this through work and school. Eating well is no different. Invest time in thought-out weekly meals because when you’re organized things happen. I have all my clients plan and track what they eat in order to understand food groups, calories, portions etc. and this carries through to meal planning. Take the time to make a shopping list, review healthy recipes, set out your meals for the week and eventually the process will become less time consuming because you will get better at it.
These days at the conclusion of most meals everyone is happy and resigned to the fact that the meal was good and tasty. I should also mention that recently there was some cheering...and it had to do with broccoli.
Enjoy yourself in good health and fitness/gena
