living the healthy life

It was interesting that The Urban Momtographer's post for today was about a new website, Healthy Families BC.  Just last night Kev and I were talking about living a healthier life, what that looks like, and what we can do to make that happen.  I have been reading Lindsay Dianne's blog for quite some time, and she has been such a resource for me as I try to change our family into one that is living a healthier lifestyle.  One of the things that I love so much about her blog is that it is so real.  She doesn't pretend that everyone has unlimited resources or tons of time.  She looks at life realistically and makes suggestions and gives ideas for things that easily fit into my natural rhythm of life. 

One of the biggest challenges for me was feeding my family.  Lindsay sort of challenged me on that by making me think of food as what it truly is, fuel for our bodies.  Once I looked at it in that way, I realized I wanted to be giving my boys premium fuel, not low grade.  There are so many easy ways to do that.  Perhaps the biggest change I have made is to try to cook most of our meals from scratch.  The biggest thing I love about cooking from scratch is that I know exactly what is in that food.  There are no additives that I can't pronounce.  I am surprised at how easy it has been. 

Now, I want to be real, cooking from scratch perhaps costs a wee bit more, because you are using wayyy more fresh veggies, etc, but it is worth it in the incredible taste!  It is so much better.  It also can be more time consuming, but starting small makes it seem not so overwhelming. 

I started out making small changes, and then one month took on a personal challenge, I took an entire month and cooked every meal from scratch without using anything boxed or frozen.  I made sure that it was a month that wasn't too busy for us, and it was also once Rocky was a bit older and not as high needs.  Once that month was over, I was so surprised at how this had changed my way of thinking about cooking. 

One of my favorite things to make now is my own homemade tomato sauce.  I had no idea that making tomato sauce from scratch could be as easy as it is.  I started out using this post from Lindsay Dianne, and now have tweaked it to my own tastes and satisfaction.  It is something that I can do without even thinking about now, and it tastes so much better than canned or jarred sauce.  It is also something that I know once I start working again I can do in big batches and freeze to easily have on hand.  Mmm...so worth it!  If you are looking for a small start, an easy change, this is it.  Once you have tried it, you will never want to go back to the old way. 

Upon reading Lindsay's post for today, I was thrilled to see that there is a new resource for me to go to for bringing a healthier lifestyle to my family.  Healthy Families BC is a great website.  I have spent some time this morning browsing it.  It is encouraging, easy to use, has great ideas for exercise, food...just about anything you need!  I think I will be visiting this site a lot when I feel at my wits end or need an easy idea for a dinner.  I signed up to follow them on Twitter as well, and I love the easy little tips that I have already gotten from them just today alone!  I highly suggest checking it out.

Now, I'm not going to lie.  A lot of the inspiration for this post came from the fact that Lindsay Dianne and Healthy Families BC are giving away a $250 gift card to LULULEMON for people that comment and share this good news, and I LOVE Lulu!  The interesting thing, though, is that this has been something that has become super important to me lately anyway!  I was planning to write about how it is changing my life, and what better reason than Lulu!  Ha! 

Changing your lifestyle can be easy, it just needs one step at a time.  It also means not comparing yourself to someone else.  Being healthy doesn't mean you have to use a ton of ingredients that you have no idea what they are.  Lindsay has shown me that with the helpful posts she does and the ways that she reworks simple old recipes that we all know and love.  It also doesn't have to mean signing up for an expensive gym or yoga studio, you can do things as simple as playing soccer in the backyard with your kids for an hour or going for family walks.  We can be a healthier BC!  It just takes a little effort!

What do you do to live a healthier lifestyle?