a peek inside the fishbowl

Last Thursday I realized that we didn’t draw an activity from the KMDM tip jar. So I drew one (late!):

Put meat, veggies and cheese on a kabob for school lunches. The best choices are foods from the four food groups.

That was easy enough. But I didn’t have a kebob (isn’t it spelled kebab?) so I just artfully arranged everything in a reusable food container: turkey kielbasa, red pepper slices, mozzarella cheese, and some cut up pita. One kid looked at it and exclaimed: YOU MADE HOMEMADE LUNCHABLES!

I guess I did.

I have an issue with proteins at lunch. I want the girls to have protein, but nuts and nut butters are not allowed. One kid eats eggs and the other does not. I can’t even mention leftovers without someone making a face.

SO. The girls get ham or salami three or four times a week – mostly because That Is What They Will Eat. Also? We eat a lot of bacon at home. Processed meats are awful for us. Processed meats are associated with a higher risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They are probably the worst thing we eat around here. Gah. [For more information about this, check out this press release from the Harvard School of Public Health. It’s interesting stuff: “…results showed that, on average, each 50 gram (1.8 oz) daily serving of processed meat (about 1-2 slices of deli meats or 1 hot dog) was associated with a 42% higher risk of developing heart disease and a 19% higher risk of developing diabetes.”]

I also had to disagree with the latter half of this tip… “the best choices are foods from the four food groups.” Well, yeeees. And no. We should all be aware by now that some foods from the four food groups are better than others. I could – technically – pack each kid an iceberg lettuce and mayo sandwich on white bread with a side of juice, tortilla chips and chocolate pudding and it would be a lunch built with foods from the four food groups. But it wouldn’t be healthy. (See what I mean?)

Let’s just say that I am mighty glad the school year is coming to an end, and that I can take a much-needed break from packing lunches.

Anyway, I thought we could be doing something else for KMDM this week. This weekend, Father’s Day, was a perfect opportunity to get out and do something active to celebrate dad. And we did.

• The four of us went strawberry picking
• We played in the pool (ok, it was mostly dad).
• We had dinner together. Full disclosure! Father’s Day dinner featured slabs of red meat, potatoes (I have a great recipe!) and a little bit of salad and roasted carrots. :)
• Piper and I went on an enjoyable stroll in the park after dinner

It was a lovely day!

So here’s our KMDM activity for the coming week:

Make a list of physical activities you like. Pick one to do this week. 1/3 of youth indicate doing no physical activity as part of their free time. 

Eek. Can that be true? 1/3 of youth surveyed don’t do anything physical? Wow. That’s kind of sad, don’t you think?

–

… to the guy we love so so so much:

 
xoxox

Or more precisely:

Summer = two slices of seedy walnut bread delicately smeared with soft butter and decorated with two thinly sliced fresh radishes and a healthy sprinkle of sea salt.

Heaven.