I am very lucky to have such a wide range of friends. Through them, I can gather information and make more informed decisions on lifestyle choices. For example, thanks to a friends extensive research, we have cut Red 40 from our diets. In fact, we're trying to cut all artificial colors out of our diets, but we're starting with Red 40. Does this mean I'm super crazy if my kids eat something with food coloring? No, it just means I don't buy it. Every Saturday is Sucker Saturday from our mail lady. I let the kids have the suckers. I'm not as uptight as a lot of people seem to think. The other day, we were at the grocery store, and Sunshine got a sucker from the cashier. She asked me if it was OK for her to eat the Red 40. I try to teach my kids it's all about good choices and moderation. Some people see this as over the top. I see it as teaching my kids the difference between processed and non processed foods. Sunshine is definitely my kid with the sweet tooth, but even she knows what good choices are. She will tell people that Mommy does not let her drink chocolate milk or eat candy if they offer it to her. And then she'll add, "But I do like it, so if you want to give it to me, that OK." Monster is my healthy eater. Even at school, Monster eats he lunch in "proper" order, meaning the granola bar that is in there for "dessert", last. I know this because he doesn't throw anything away and he will sometimes bring home "dessert" and let me know he didn't have time to eat it. I used to be a lot more uptight about what my kids ate. Though I'm a lot more laid back about it now, people are still nervous about feeding my kids. I'm not sure exactly what people think we eat here, but we do have pretty normal meals. I mean, I have frozen chicken nuggets and fish sticks in my freezer, too. Those are my fall backs, but I feed those things to my kids. My kids also eat WAY too much salami. It's the only lunch meat Sunshine will eat. Talk about processed! But, like I said before, it's all about moderation.
Another reason a lot of people think I'm a health nut is because I believe in Essential Oils. I swear by Thieves. I have been using it on the kids for three years now, and, knock on wood, no real illnesses. Last year, all our friends got the stomach flu. All of them. Kids were throwing up in my house, yet all of us stayed well. I diffuse Thieves as well as put it on my children and myself every day. Husband doesn't believe in it, yet he reaps the benefits with the diffuser and no sick kids. I'm getting into essential oils more lately. Figuring out all the different uses. I have cleaned with oils for a couple of years now, but now I'm doing more research on allergies and oils. Allergies are really the only "sicknesses" we have gone to the doctors for in the past year. Monster's allergies are so severe that I'm not completely sold, but, even he is asking me to try so that he doesn't have to keep taking allergy medicine every day. My kids know about oils and treat them like medicine. They don't touch the oils and know that each oil has a special job.
People also think I'm over the top health conscience because I believe in physical activity, at least for my kids. This is where I'm really bad for myself, but great for the kids. My kids don't sit around. On average, I'd say they may watch 2 hours of television a week. Yes, week. Our family time is mostly spent outdoors. We go hiking a lot in the fall. We swim in the summer. We play in the snow in the winter. We do anything we can in the spring. We're not a family who sits around. Unlike a lot of families, we don't consider being "on the go" just running from place to place. We consider it actually moving our bodies, be that bike rides, hikes or whatever else gets us up and moving.
I choose a healthier lifestyle for my family. So, am I a health nut? I don't believe so. But if being healthy makes me a health nut, then I'll happily accept the title.