TLC in the Kitchen

I have never big on making a New Year’s resolutions, but this year I am. Not just for me, but for my family, too. My resolution is to improve our overall health. I am going to plan and prepare healthy meals that we will all enjoy so we don’t feel like we are on a “diet.”

The word diet has become one of those dirty, four letter words in our society. The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language defines the word as: The usual food and drink of a person or animal. Not the definition of the average person today, which is more like the second definition: A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss. I like the first definition better and I am going to improve my family’s diet.

I am also going to try to get more exercise into our lives. When my children were smaller, we walked all the time. Need postage stamps? Go for a walk. Time to pick up the kids from school? Go for a walk. Grumpy baby? Go for a walk. What happened? When did I stop going for a walk? Even though it is really cold here in the winter, I am planning on bundling up (me and the kids) and going for a walk. Often!

We had a great walk at the zoo yesterday and today’s plan is to walk around our neighborhood and see how everyone’s animals are doing. We live a rural area and there are goats, horses, geese and other animals everywhere. In the spring and summer when the weather was nice, we were walking to see the baby goats all the time. I haven’t seen them in a couple of months. They are probably not looking like babies anymore, but we are going to go and see them anyway.

So, this is the basic idea behind my resolution. I want to be healthier. I want my family to be healthier. I want to set a better example for my children and I want to teach them that being healthy and eating well can and should be a part of their lives. Their whole life. Now, I am off to gather my children, bundle up and go for a walk!