All Aboard the Juicing Bandwagon...

A few months ago I had my quarterly "Girl's Night Out", which by the way is a girl's night out for my girlfriends but my kids are always home with me, so technically it is a "Girlfriend's Night Out" for me. Good times nonetheless. I had some snacks, things that I was devoted to at the time - donuts, chocolate fondue, and marshmellows, and things I thought they would enjoy - strawberries, graham crackers and pretzels. Looking back retrospectively I now understand my dear friend Tatiana's comment to me, which will forever resonate in my brain. She observed me multi-tasking, as most moms do, devouring a donut with one hand and fixing my kids' lunches for the next day with the other, pasta salad and fresh fruit. Tatiana leaned over at me perplexed and said,

"You treat them better than you treat yourself."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I wiped the last bit of chocolate frosting from my lip. But I knew exactly what Tatiana meant. I always knew enough that I didn't constantly offer my children the same foods that I consumed regularly, sugar, sugar and more sugar. No. I knew enough to offer them fruit, even if I never ate it, and whole grains, even if I never ate them.

At my Girlfriend's Night Out, we wrapped up the evening and I began putting away the leftovers. I remember yelling out as though I was in a Jersey auction "Anybody want these strawberries? Strawberries! Anybody want these strawberries?" My friend Monica looked at me, perplexed (I got a lot of perplexed looks that night). "Why don't you freeze them? You can make smoothies out of them." I thought two things to myself at that moment. One, you can freeze fruit? And two, people actually make smoothies at home? "No, you can have them," I said relieved to get rid of that fruit I knew would just rot in my fridge.

Fast forward to now. I've learned that "juicing" as I'm told it's called, is very healthy. In fact, I took the plunge and invested in my first juicer, the Breville, which I thought was a safe bet. It's compact and inexpensive in the juicing world. I took the kids to the produce market and racked up on lots of fresh organic fruits and veggies. We came home and I began my hunt for juice and smoothie recipes that I thought we would enjoy. Quite the task when you have a picky eater, AKA my son Daniel and a non-believer, AKA my husband David.

Although we have only made two juices so far to date, the kids are loving this! In fact, Daniel helps me by shoving the produce down the chute in our new Breville. And they both love watching the juice start pouring out. But, we still have work to do getting daddy onboard the Juicing bandwagon. I don't think the grimaced look he made when he swallowed our first concoction of oranges, carrots and strawberries counts as an official drink. I'm thinking he didn't fully swallow. The good news is that my children and I have started drinking fresh juices in the morning regularly and the best part is that they are getting a serving of veggies! All Aboard...

Mr. Incredible...

Mr. Incredible makes me think of an amazing superhero with awesome superpowers. The type of superpowers that can move a building, fly through the air, and rescue the most distressed damsel. Kind of reminds me of my husband David. We've been together for 15 years, married 12 of those. Amazing, and to think we're only 35 and 36 respectively.

You see, David is a "I've come to save the day" kind of guy. He's a provider by blood. He is not living unless he is solving, fixing, making better, thinking, planning...you get the idea. For instance, last November, right before I had baby Mia (who is now 1), we had a dilemma in our hands. We lived in a small, two bedroom condo and we were outgrowing our home quick. What do we do? Do we move? Do we rent? After thinking and praying, and thinking and praying some more, my parents convinced us to move into their home and take over the mortgage so that they can, one, leave the home in the family. And two, retire comfortably in their second home in Florida. Here is where the dilemma kicks in. The house needed work. Lots of work in David's eyes. Carpeting was old. Paint was chipped. Landscaping outdated. David had that "Here I come to save the day" look in his eyes. Faster than a speeding bullet, he whipped up a plan and in two weeks had the house full of contracters, ripping up old carpet, installing a new one, repainting, fixing, repairing and redoing the house.

Now fast forward to March. Now. The superhero powers don't work in reverse. You see, I can't save David from his habits. Lots of coffee, minimal vegetables, a love affair with steak. I'm learning this holistic journey is a process. A long process. And I am certainly no superwoman. I can't waive my magic wand and have David want to eat the new vegetable purees. I can't put a spell on him and have him want to drink the new fruit smoothies and juices that the kids and I have come to enjoy and dare I say, like. No. In fact, I'm learning that through this transition, this life learning, the children are the easiest to influence. I can't serve David his vegetables in the shape of a smiling face and have him react excited to devour the eyes, then the nose, and the mouth.

I planned for this journey to be a challenge with the children. A challenge I would need to embrace. An opportunity to be creative. What I didn't anticipate was this to also be a challenge with my husband, my superhero. So off I go to expand another part of my creativity. How can I help David learn to embrace these healthy changes? How can I help this be more natural to him too? "Off I go..." I think to myself as I grab my invisible red cape and magic wand, and begin sifting through the internet for new creative ideas for Mr. Incredible. Up, Up, and Away...