What is a "Healthy Life"

I am the youngest of four kids. The baby of the family. Living healthy was a priority for  my family growing up. Our family pantry was devoid of what many would consider quintessential snack foods. There were no twinkies, cookies, cheezits, or sugary cereals. My parents stayed away from most processed foods and when we did indulge in a rare treat they were few and far between.

We ate home cooked dinners most of the time and packed our own lunches for school. My parents did their best to teach us to eat healthy. This essentially backfired on them when the time of birthday parties and spending time at friends houses began to take an active role in our lives. I have vivid memories of hanging out at a neighbor's house while eating an entire can of Pringles all by myself. Everytime I went to my best friend Kelly's house I would make myself a large glass of chocolate milk and gorge on their leftover pizza. It even got to a point where I began sneaking to McDonalds on the way home from school to grab a delicious McChicken sandwich. I even went to the length of stealing from my father's change drawer to buy tator tots and curly fries from the school cafeteria.

My parents were good parents who cared about our health. My dad is a Chiropractor so natural health was of number one importance in our family. I am so thankful for the way my parents raised me, but why did I binge whenever I got the chance? Why did I take full advantage of friends to get that delicious taste of the "forbidden?"

As I look back on it all now, with my adult brain I realize that my parents were doing what they thought was best. But at the same time the fact that we never got to treat or indulge made me be a sneaky, lying, thief.

So fast forward to the present. I have three amazing children of my own now. I also desire to raise them with healthy eating habits and a whole food diet. I don't want my cabinet riddled with processed junk food and convenience foods. When I first ventured into the journey of parenting, I realized how much like my parents I am. But I have definitely learned to relax a bit and seen the importance of letting them treat themselves to some "junk" every now and then.

There are so many trends out there about the latest and greatest and healthiest way to live. It can be so intimidating and overwhelming that I often want to throw in the towel and say forget it! But then I remember that we are living a healthy life. My kids eat a home cooked meal every night. We eat together as a family around the dinner table and talk about our day. Do I sometimes order a pizza or take out? Absolutely!! I even let my kids get hot lunch once a week at school. I think it is so important that we don't become overly obsessive in our lives and learn to let go every once in awhile.

I don't want to hear my kids confessing to me when they are adults about ways that they snuck around or lied to get special treats. Instead I want to be the one who gives them those special treats. I want to watch their faces light up as they take a bite of ice cream from the ice cream truck or enjoy that rare oreo cookie. They are healthy kids who are living a "healthy life." But there is so much importance in allowing them to have these treats. I don't want to teach my kids to be obsessive about their health because that can be just as unhealthy as indulging every day. Instead I want them to know what is good for their bodies, but also know its ok to relax and enjoy some "junk" food every now and then.