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Good Morning Everyone,

I get e-mails all the time about how Mike and I eat and how we feed our kids? Do our kids eat the same way we do or do we make separate meals for them? Well the answer is simple, our kids are eating the same way Mike and I eat.

I don't have time nor what to make separate meals for our kids and why would anyone. Why would we eat healthy and not provide that same nutrition to our kids? It was about two years after Mike and I started our fitness journey that I woke up to the fact that we were giving ourselves the gift of good nutrition but was still giving our kids poor food choices! That was an eye opener for Mike and I and it was the day we "cleaned" house so to speak. I stopped buying the crap snacks and chips for the kids and gave them healthier options for them to choose from. No more fried chips but now it's baked sunchips. No more Little Debbie snacks, it's now granola bars(no chocolate chips in them), fruit bars, reduced fat crackers, cheese sticks, yogurt and fruit. The white bread went out the door and nothing but whole wheat or grain bread came in!

When it came to cooking dinner I simply made the foods we always enjoy as a family but made it bigger and with better ingredients! Lean meats, whole grains and no processed poo. If our kids want meatloaf then I make meatloaf I just replace some of the not so good ingredients with better alternatives. For instance bread crumbs I now use oatmeal. Most of the time I mix the lean ground beef with half ground turkey. It's simple you just have to think for a moment and then look for ways to create the meals you love better and then work on your portion control to keep you in line with your nutritional program!

This has worked well for Mike and I plus our kids are now aware of good carbs and bad carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats. The biggest thing is making sure that they are not over eating in the good carbs because as we all know even good for your foods can be bad if you over eat them!

Do we still allow our kids to have "junk" food, absolutely! They are kids but again it has it's time and place. It's not an everyday thing in our house for us to allow our kids to have treats. No pop tarts for breakfast every morning, usually only when grammy comes to visit! ;) Soda has no place in our kids diet...ever! I do not and will not allow our kids to drink soda, it's a very bad habit to even get them started on so it don't even enter this house! Holidays, special occasions and once and a while we have treats for them after dinner but not every night. Holiday candy stays in the house for a bout a week or two and then I throw it in the trash. The funny thing is they don't miss it when it's gone either because I think they get tired of eating it after the first week too!

It's all about choices and making the best choice for you and your family. Then taking the steps to provide healthy food for everyone in your household. Your kids will thank you for it later in life when they are not struggling with bad eating habits and weight issues like some of their friends may be. Start today, clean out your food closet and fill it with better alternatives for you and your kids! We are the parents and it's time that we set the example for our children to follow. Nothing better then to hear our kids talking about something they are eating and it's all about the healthy protein and good carbs that it has in it! Or ask you a questions about the food that they are eating on whether it's a good source of protein or not! It shows Mike and I that they are learning!

Stay strong and never give up!

Tami :)