Eating Right … or at Least Right Enough
by Dana Whitney
 We all know “one of those moms.” You know who I’m talking about: Her kids don’t know what an Oreo is, her family eats more than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetable daily, and dessert means an apple. If you’re one of those moms, I admire you. And these suggestions are not for you. You’re already doing it right. These ideas are for the rest of us. The moms who have occasionally served popcorn for dinner (it’s a whole grain, right?). And who have wondered if there’s any actual corn in corn dogs. These ideas won’t turn you into super mom, but they will give you a gentle nudge in the right direction.
- Put some germ in it. Wheat germ is full of fiber, vitamin E and folic acid, among other things. You can sprinkle wheat germ on oatmeal, cottage cheese, applesauce or just about anything else. You can also add it to baked goods.
- Baby your family. Steam some vegetables until they’re really soft, (carrots work well) and run them through the food processor until they look like baby food. You can freeze the puree in ice cube trays and then put the frozen cubes in a bag in the freezer. As you cook, thaw them out and add them to food. My son actually likes his macaroni and cheese better with a cube or two of “super orange power” mixed in.
- Be a pick-up artist. Let your kids shop at the grocery store’s produce section or farmers’ market and pick out whatever looks interesting to them. Just because you don’t like a certain fruit or vegetable doesn’t mean they won’t. They may surprise you and find something new that the whole family can enjoy.
- Be a cut-up. My husband once referred to the vegetable drawer in our refrigerator as the compost drawer. After I started cleaning and cutting up a week’s worth of leftover vegetables at a time, the vegetables disappeared into our family’s tummies instead of the garbage.
- Get dirty. Plant a garden with the kids. It can be as big as an acre or as small as a pot on the window sill. Kids like to taste things they have grown, and it’s fun watching seeds turn into food.
Small changes are easier than big changes. But if you add enough small changes together, they will soon become big changes. Maybe one day I’ll overhear someone talking about “one of those moms” and I’ll smile when I realize they’re talking about me.
Dana Whitney is a freelance writer and mother of two from Bigfork, Montana. She’s a member of Bigfork MOPS. Find her blog at triflesandtruffles.wordpress.com | 
