Saturday, November 7, 2009

One week challenge - Starts Sunday, Nov. 7 - Eat 4 different fruits and veggies each day! Even a bite counts!


When Kirk and I were at Super Walmart on Halloween stocking up on candy (I can't have anything like that around for more than an hour before I go into some crazed candy eating monster), our cart also held bagels, cream cheese, and a box of cereal.

The man in front of me in line had a cart loaded with fruit and vegetables, including fresh pineapple which I've never in my life attempted to chop and eat, and some green leafy things I didn't even recognize. He may have been a recent immigrant and I only noted this as when I taught in Chicago, many of my students were recent immigrants from Eastern European countries, Africa and Mexico. And these student were regularly seen munching on an apple between classes. They eschewed the vending machines unlike the faculty, and whether this was based on cost or coming from a culture that ate more produce, I'm not sure. Regardless of the reason, they were making smart choices.

There are days when I will have a bagel and cream cheese and a Pespsi for breakfast, which my neighbor (not a pop drinker) thinks this is a bit disgusting;-). A cheese sandwich, chips and a Diet Coke for lunch and pizza and iced tea for dinner. Do you hear the resounding lack of fruits and vegetables here?

I'm really trying to get into the habit of sitting down with the kids for dinner and our eating at least something that came from the ground. So I thought I'd try this one week challenge of eating four different types of fruits and four different types of vegetables each day for a week. Even one bite counts. Hope you'll join me!

4 comments:

  1. Eileen,
    I have been so impressed with all the things you do in your life. However, your diet was a bit shocking to me. I love fruit! Unfortunately fresh fruit is very expensive for us here. We open a can of pineapple or peaches for a snack. (Sometimes to distract them while I cook an actual meal.) I bring fruit on car trips (does not need to be refrigerated, comes in it's own packaging and will not result in sugar fueled mania). In a rush of a morning I have tossed some frozen strawberries, a banana, eight ounces of yogurt and 1 and 1/2 cups of Orange juice in the blender for breakfast to drink in the car... (cups with lids from Chili's the kind they give my kids for all of us) and we've all had "breakfast" and fruit before we get to school/preschool/work. (You can also add milled flax seed and lots of other things to beef this up) Yay!
    Hope you do well with your plan.
    For us, just putting an improvised tray out with a little bit of whatever is a way to get us all to eat something healthy. I am not above putting out a bit of ranch dressing or something else to sweeten the deal.
    Good luck!
    Antoinette

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  2. Excellent challenge! We eat a ton of fruits and veggies, but I know it is a challenge for some. Good luck! If you do it for a week, it may become a habit!

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  3. I've read about your about me page and I would really love to achieve the status you've achieved.

    By the way, I am also blogging about personal finance, savings, investments and self-motivation to achieve financial independence just like you.

    More recently, I've enrolled myself into Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Coaching Program and blogged about it. Hopefully, you can visit my blog as well and share some of your views.

    I would really love to have some comments and opinions from someone who have achieved it. :)

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  4. Antoinette,
    I loved your breakfast idea, especially putting in some flax seed oil. I put all the ingredients down on my grocery list and come Thursday, they will all be in the fridge. And just for the record, I definitely don't always eat so bad, but there have been days that I did.

    Frances, I just saw that your son had been at Fort Hood when the shooting occured. I wanted to let you know my heart is happy for you that he is okay. It was the best birthday gift you could have gotten. Sending you a belated happy birthday. And prayers for all the families affected. Eileen

    Tyrone, I really enjoyed your website. I suspect you will go places considering you are still in your twenties and very much "thinking big". A neighbor invited me to go to a free seminar this week put on by Rich Dad/Poor Dad about launching your own business. I'm intrigued to see what there is to learn. Best wishes. Eileen

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