Monday, September 27, 2010

Why Play "Hide the Vegetables" Game?!

I don't watch TV much.  If I do, I record my favorite shows on DVR and watch.  The DVR machine allows me to skip commercials :).  One evening as I was passing through the room where my husband was watching TV, one commercial caught my eyes.  A celebrity was introducing this fruity drink with "invisible" vegetables and said, "This is the way to help your child to eat vegetables." As I was watching and thought, I used to think like that.  I even bought a cookbook to create meals for my children that hid vegetables in the past.  A couple minutes later, I watched another commercial of canned meat with the hidden vegetables.
I thought how and why our society became so "anti-vegetables" that the adults have to hide or disguise vegetables in the processed juices or food to please the younger population. For me, I was not consciously aware of it until I started to eat living food.  I started to realize that I fed my children the process foods out of convenience, and I just wanted to feed them exactly what they wanted to eat so I don't have to argue with them.  As a responsible adult, I should have been thinking in terms of what their bodies needed in order to grow and be nutritionally fit. One of my client's daughter (10 years old) told me that she took a kiwi fruit to the school for lunch and one girl asked what it was. The girl did not know what kiwi fruit looked like or tasted it before. The children tell me that they do eat vegetables. Their vegetables are french fries, ketchup, corn, and some types of  lettuce.  Corn is not vegetable, but it is a grain. What a sad list :(
I feel that it is important to take the children to the grocery shopping and spend some time explaining benefits of each vegetables.  Keep introducing vegetables as a whole and unaltered to your family. Also, share your positive attitude towards vegetables with your family when you are preparing plant based meals because many times children will react to your opinions or reactions.  Better yet, include your family in creating meals and have a great family time.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

To Find that "PERFECT" Pair of Jeans......

I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy clothes shopping very much. It is a huge, time consuming activity, and my nose and eyes get itchy due to the dust and perfume in the stores. Usually, when I need new apparel, I make the shopping experience as quick as possible. However, when I need a pair of jeans, I am at the store for a long time. A pair of jeans can make you look "good" or "bad". Of course, the clothing companies do not make choosing a pair of jeans easy; so many different cuts, bottoms, colors, sparkles, pockets, length, or desiger names get me all confused. So, I do spend extra time to look for that perfect pair of jeans that would make me look like I have longer legs, up-lifted rear-end, and flatter tummy.

Now, you might be asking yourself why is Na talking about a pair of jeans? My question to you is; "Do you take the time to find that "nutritious food" for your body?" When we buy our clothes, we look at the size, color, decoration, length, and even consider to find the matching shoes and jewerly. We should apply the clothing shopping process to shopping for food. Food is more than just filling your stomach. Food is your energy and life source. Dr. Oz said, "Food is not just something you pull off a shelf - it has a life force to it."
To find that "nutritious food" for your body, it will take some time to research and learn, but once you know where and what your body needs you won't have to take as much time. You feel "good" and confident when you are wearing that "PERFECT" pair of jeans. By consuming that "nutritious food", you make your body feel "good" and healthy.

The following suggestions will help you to start looking for that "nutritious food".
1. Read labels. If you are not familiar with the ingredients, research and find out what it is.
2. Eat whole, fresh foods. Eat a banana, not the banana muffin.
3. Educate yourself how to prepare food to maximize the nutritional value.

By reading labels and educating yourself about food, you have just bought yourself that "PERFECT" pair of jeans.