Welcome to Clean Eating with Kids
Hi there! I’m Carey. Mom, Recipe Creator, Writer and ‘everything elser’ here at Clean Eating with Kids!
This is us. Me and my Gorgeous, funny, Clean Eating, wannabe Farming Family of 6.
Quick Catch Up on our Story so Far…
My hubby and I met at school. Fast forward a few years and babies 1, 2, 3 and 4 joined us. Those years are a blur of wet toast (don’t even ask), sleepless nights, giggles, tears, nappies and general chaos.
We worked hard. Did our best every day and yet a few years ago we found ourselves in a bad place. As Jim Rohn would put it…
It all looked good on the outside. We had a lovely home, our plumbing business was super busy.
But behind the scenes, we were a mess.
Financially we were stuck on a hamster wheel of earn-spend-earn-spend-spend-spend. The debt was mounting and the pressure was effecting our family.
Both my daughter and husband had extreme anxiety.
Everything felt overwhelming. We had no routine, no passion and no direction. I was feeding my family frozen dinners more nights of the week than not. I was struggling with my weight. Even simple household tasks seemed hard.
We were living day to day and it always felt as if we were borrowing from tomorrow.
Looking back now, I can see that I was depressed. I should have asked for help, but I was ashamed and kept it to myself. So I kept hiding behind the smiles and hid away inside my home.
I wanted to make changes but didn’t know how.
GROWING UP
Adulting can be hard. For some of us it doesn’t come naturally. We don’t wake up one day thinking “OK, now I’m an adult and I have this life thing sorted”.
No. It’s only when we find ourselves in debt, overweight, depressed and overwhelmed. That’s when life takes us by the shoulders, gives us a good shake and Shouts “it’s time to get your act together!”.
STOP DIGGING
“When you’re in a hole, stop digging”
I don’t know where I heard this, but it’s a phrase that helped me more times than I can count.
When you’re heading along a path that isn’t working for you – then stop doing what you’re doing – AND DO IT DIFFERENTLY. Whether it’s eating unhealthy food, spending too much or earning too little. For me it was all of these things.
PICK ONE THING
Sometimes when you feel as if everything is falling apart, you just have to pick one thing.
Just one thing to improve on to help you gain momentum and build your confidence.
I began with myself. The one thing I had control over was my actions. I decided to live my days more intentionally.
I began implementing small changes in our home. I set a budget, I decluttered like a crazy woman, I discovered that printables are the best thing for organizing EVERYTHING, I finally figured out how to stay on top of my laundry and I cooked dinner for my family every night.
(If you’re in this place where you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start – just pick one thing today. It can be small, but whatever it is, make sure it’s something that will give you joy when it’s done. This can be cleaning the toilet, going for a walk, washing your sheets or polishing the cutlery.)
One small change led to another….
Magic happens when you start to move in the right direction.
- We sold the house we couldn’t afford and a whole lot our ‘stuff’ too.
- We gave up our life in the suburbs and made the move to Rural New Zealand.
- We bought a farm (or a big muddy paddock where we are slowly building our dream farm. It’s an adventure, for sure!).
- We still stick to a budget and we eat Real food.
THE CLEAN EATING WITH KIDS PART OF THE STORY
Clean Eating with Kids at the end of 2015 for 6 reasons (not necessarily in this order):
- Eating healthy is not as easy as it sounds – especially when you have kids, fussy eaters and often a full time job. Most Moms don’t have time to spend an hour or so making dinner from scratch every night. Takeaways, fast foods and processed Supermarket products are part of our everyday. And I know it’s easier – but it’s just not good for us or our kids – we have to do better in the time that we have.
- Healthy food made with happy thoughts, coconut oil and almond flour just doesn’t taste good. There is a middle ground where you don’t have to drive 40 miles to your ‘local’ farmers market. You can eat Clean, shop at your local Supermarket AND buy bottled pasta sauce.
- I didn’t want to quit sugar.
- I like cheese.
- I’m a regular Mom. I’m not a nutritionist or chef. I’m not obsessed with the gym. I just want to feed my family real food that actually tastes good, I want to feel good about myself and I
- I desperately wanted to earn money and take some of the financial responsibility away from my husband who has been the sole earner since was 7 1/2 months pregnant. AND I WANTED TO WORK FROM HOME.
Some super fun facts about me….
I’m a Mom x 4
I have four funny and amazing kids. Two girls and two boys (how clever am I?). I love being a Mom. Love it! Don’t tell anyone, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.
I’m Short.
Really short. I feel I should mention this now because it does come up when people meet me. I think I write like a tall person. I’m 5’1″ if I stand up real straight. I’ve been that height for as long as I can remember. My oldest daughter carries the shortness gene too. My youngest daughter has the longest legs ever from some throwback gene.
I’m an Introvert.
I’m not shy. I just avoid social interaction at all costs. Most people don’t know this about me when they meet me – because I’m really chatty. I hide my feelings well. I didn’t know this about myself until recently. I thought I was just socially awkward. Actually, maybe I am still socially awkward ….
My Husband is my Best Friend
Maybe that sounds a little corny (is that still a word?), but it’s true. We started dating when I was 17 and have been together ever since. He is kind and interesting and he makes me smile every day no matter what.
I Love Animals.
Seriously. I Love the little Critters. It drives my husband and at two of my kids crazy (the three lambs in the lounge nearly broke them all) because I adopt anything that needs a home. But he knew this about me before he married me, so I feel like he already agreed to that Clause.
And a few Random things ….
- I’ve dived with Sharks in the Ocean. Within touching distance! I don’t know if I would have done it if I had known how close we would be to those teeth.
- I only learned to hula hoop when I was 38 years old.
- I can’t sing at all.
- I’ve helped a sheep (3 of them now) give birth
- I am slightly dyslexic. Numbers sometimes reverse themselves in my head.
- I am an extreme cheapskate (never been fond of that word, but haven’t been able to find a better one)
- I’m terrified of heights (and a little scared of the dark. But I’m not scared of spiders)
- I genuinely can’t actually remember what my natural hair color is.
- And I still argue with my kids some nights about eating their vegetables.
Clean Eating with Kids
When we started eating Clean as a family, not everyone was happy about the idea, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions we ever made. OK, to be honest – I kinda made the decision for them. But that’s what us Moms sometimes need to do.
Now we are all healthier, happier and accountable for the food choices we make. And I think it has helped us achieve balance in our lives.
My kids know where the food they eat comes from and I feel as if it has helped them grow into considerate, compassionate little humans that do their part to make the World a better place.
If you are still a little worried about making the change to real food, don’t panic. It took me a little while to get the hang of it. Take a little look around the website and read these posts first:
Here are some Posts to help you on your Real Food journey.
- What Clean Eating Means to Our Family
- Our Real Food Story (the good and the bad stuff)
- Why We eat Clean
- How I Get My Children to Eat New Vegetables
- 5 Things we found really tough when we started eating Clean with Kids
I’m so glad to have you here. I hope that I can help you discover the joys of a Real food lifestyle and maybe share some of the things we’ve learned on the way.
XXX
Carey
