Veggies and Fruits

One of my biggest "goals" as a mom is to serve healthy meals. I've always tried to keep the junk food to a minimum, and veggies and fruits on hand. I cringe at the thought of eating pizza without a side dish of raw veggies and ranch dip. Actually, if I don't serve it, my kids wonder where it is.....like it's "supposed" to go with that delivery pizza! I guess you could say I'm a little obsessive when it comes to eating fruits and veggies. If my kids eat sandwiches for lunch, you either gotta have lots of lettuce, or eat a piece of fruit. If we're eating dinner....no dessert or second rolls until you eat your veggies. My oldest follows these rules, my middle is much better than ever but sometimes goes without the roll and dessert, and I'm lucky if my youngest eats half of what's on her plate. I guess you can say these aren't hard and fast rules, but definitely something I encourage all the time.
Something has been happening lately, though.........these kids are eating healthy on their own! My kids are starting to grab an apple, cucumbers, or carrots for a snack instead of junkfood!!! Huge accomplishment for this Mommy! Part of this, of course, is not to BUY the junk food. Two nights ago Princess was hungry before bed and asked for a pear. She ate the whole thing. The other day at Scout's Cub Scout meeting, he ate three cupcakes (a mortal sin in our house). I saw him eating them, but wasn't going to embarrass him in front of his buddies, so I just let it go. On the way home, I still didn't mention it, but he did. "Mom...I really made a bad choice tonight...I ate 3 cupcakes, but I was so hungry and it was all they had". He decided it didn't make him feel so great to eat all that junk, and he'd rather not do it again. Hmmm....maybe next time he'll eat more of veggies and chicken at dinner. I told him how proud I was that he recognized what he was eating wasn't the best choice. I've recently joined a gym so I can get back into shape (and back into my shorts!), and it's not easy eliminating the junk totally. But I'm taking steps towards making even more changes in the months to come. Some of these changes include a garden. Princess and I started the seeds for several veggies. We'll see whether the seeds grow into healthy little plants. Hopefully they will, so we can all enjoy veggies fresh from our garden!