Lunchtime Pics!

My children are all laughing at me these days as I keep snapping pics of my plate before I eat. :)  I'm feeling a little proud of the foods I've been trying and liking.  I should be sending these pics to my mother so she can see, "Yes! I'm FINALLY eating my vegies!!"

One thing I really love is seeing how much my children are learning to enjoy eating real, healthy foods.  We've been eating primarily whole foods for several years now, but increasing our vegetables so that they are the primary source of our meal has been a little challenging for some folks in the fam.  Slowly but surely, they are acclimating to the changes. 

One of their favorite meals that we've always enjoyed, even before moving toward a plant-based diet is brown rice with vegies.  This will win them over every time. (even if a few still slide those mushrooms off the fork.)

 

One thing I keep thinking about is how our babies all start with a plant based diet, along with breast milk.  It isn't until much later that we add animal protein. While I am still including dairy (yogurt) and a bit of animal protein (eggs and chicken) in her diet, it sure does make me smile to see her plate so colorful and full of nutrition on a regular basis. I mean, really, when my oldest was this age, I teased that the only vegetable she would eat was salsa.  I'm thrilled to see Baby Number Eight enjoying this on a daily basis!

 

 

And, last, but not least, my yummy lunch plate. 

 

 

A couple of changes for me from the old favorite:

1. I leave out the rice on my plate, add in some slivered almonds for extra fat and protein

2.  I am now serving my meals on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. I manage my portions much better with this little trick.

 

Another interesting thing to note:  I've learned that black beans are the best choice for fats and protein, nutritionally speaking, from all the legume choices.  The other day when I was serving up MustGoes for lunch, I realized that almost every child chose the leftover black beans over the sweet beans made with northerns, the lentils, or the chili made with kidney beans.  I was pretty happy to see them favor the top of the nutrition list. :)