Healthy Eating

This is something that has bothered me for a long time now. People seem to think that since we are a lower income family, then we must be ignorant when it comes to healthy eating. Well, we aren't! I have taken women's health classes in college (yes, I have a college degree and we are still "poor"!), I read books, magazines, and online articles all the time, and because both kids are enrolled in WIC we have mandatory health classes. I feel that I am pretty much up to speed on what my family needs to eat. I also cook every single day. I rarely get a day off, whether that be Adam takes on the cooking, we go to someone else's house for dinner, or friends and family take us out to eat. Let's face it, that just doesn't happen often.

Am I a bad mom because I feed my family the occasional can of vegetables that we were given for free from the food pantry? Not if the choice is no veggies versus canned veggies. Canned veggies will win every time. Yes, I prefer fresh or frozen veggies. Can we always afford them, or do we get them from the food pantry? No. And yes, some of you have a problem with the food that the food pantry gives out. Well then donate the food you would like to see handed out, or contact your local food bank and found out how you can help!

We rarely eat organic. We have a very small budget when it comes to food for the family, and unless the organic stuff is on sale crazy cheap or it's on the clearance rack because the box is damaged, then we can't afford it. How well would you do on $100 every 2 weeks to feed a family of 4, and that includes toilet paper, bathroom goods, and other random things around the house. At least now that the kids are potty trained, the money set aside for diapers can go toward food items. I shop where I can, I meal plan around the things I have in the house and what is on sale, I cut coupons, and yes, get things at the dollar store. We have WIC and get food from a local food pantry. We have also planted a garden so that we can have fresh veggies this summer out of our own backyard.

I do whatever I can to make sure that my family eats healthy and gets plenty of exercise, but sometimes things don't work out to the ideal. So we deal with it. I just hope that the next time someone starts to judge me about the food I give my family, you will keep your comments to yourself. Thanks!