Food?

My husband and I had an interesting conversation yesterday, one of which, he does not exactly enjoy.  The topic was food, but not just basic food you find in every grocery store isle, the food you find in the produce section.  My question to him was "Do we ourselves eat enough fruits and vegetables, and do we feed our growing children enough too?"  His sarcastic response was "Sure we do!"  I had to give him "the look" for a minute or two before he said, "We eat just fine, please don't do this."

He knows that I am in a changing mode, and I think on the outside he is scared but I believe our bodies are yearning for this change.  I want my children to choose fresh fruits and vegetables instead of gummy snacks and granola bars that give the parents the idea that they are getting a good source of fiber or fruit, when it could not be further from the truth.  I want my children to understand that our bodies need and thrive off nutrients, actual nutrients from what we can grow rather than artificially make in a factory. 

My two-year-old, Ashton is similar to his dad.  Each day I would present freshly cut veggies and immediately he would throw them to the floor, exactly where they belong.  I decided to see his reaction if I gave him his veggies first. His hungry tummy couldn't resist eating whatever was on his plate. A few months later, I now can combine the two and he will eat them both.  I often find bite marks in cucumbers, apples, peaches, and his mitten size hands grabbing as many grapes that will fit in them before running away from the refrigerator.  This makes me happy; the mother in me is smiling from ear to ear.

I love unhealthy food, and the temptation is everywhere but I do not love what it does to our bodies, our health, and our mental health.  I do not love that these companies are money hungry and are willing to put in any chemical or artificially made "whatever" in the food to make it taste better, have a fruitier flavor, or for it to have a longer shelf life.  I do not love seeing small children that are obese and struggling with weight when they should be running and playing.  Sugar is an addiction, they did a study, and it informed them that the same part of the brain lights up when we consume sugar and cocaine.  Another study was done in the United States on 43 rats that were given cocaine for a period of time.  Then they were given the option to have either sugar water or cocaine, 40 out of the 43 rats chose sugar water.  

I am excited for this change, for my children, my husband, and myself.  A friend of mine, who is awesomely, awesome, said we can use the word of wisdom as a guide, and I am forever grateful that I can have some insight to know how I should feed my family.  I am grateful that Heavenly Father has given us this information when we are living in a world pulling us in so many directions.  I am also grateful to have this beautiful body, and to be able to bear beautiful children. We should love our bodies--

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The exterior of the temple is beautiful; the same for the inside.  We should not only respect the exterior of our bodies but also the inside, making sure that what we put into our mouths is far more beneficial most of the time than not.  

Alycia.