Food and Media - Figuring It Out

I spend a lot of time writing about food and limiting out family's exposure to media. I write about those topics so much because I really stink at consistently applying the rules that I create and recreate over and over again. The biggest offender of my boundaries is not my kids, but rather myself.

I have gotten myself into a pattern where I am "quickly" checking my email (or Facebook or blog b/c let's be honest you cannot go to one site without going to the others, right?) about 5 times a day. I know that I am spending too much time online, and yet I know that this sounds ridiculous, I cannot seem to help myself. I guess, that's not entirely true. Of course, I can help myself, but I don't know that I want to put for the effort to train myself to not be online so much. On the other hand, I don't like feeling like garbage (which I do pretty much every day) because I am taking so much time out of my day checking things that really aren't all that important. Television isn't a big deal in our house because unless it is a cooking show (for Elizabeth) or the Olympics we don't really watch TV too much. Yes, we have days where we snuggle up and watch a couple of shows (like yesterday), but for the most part we all have TV under control. I would venture to say that video game time is the second biggest area where I struggle. There are some days where I am a little more lenient in my rules, and I let the boys play a bit more than I am comfortable with, but I find that when I do that their attitudes change. Do you find that as well? My boys seem to become more grouchy, argumentative, less creative, and get "bored" more easily as their video game playing time increases. What usually works to curb those crabby feelings is an extended period of time away from video games, but then they will ask to play again, and I will allow them a little bit extra time because they haven't played in a while and boom we are right back to square one again. Am I the only one that struggles with this? I struggle with it constantly, and I would like to find a solution once and for all.

As for myself, I have thought of blogging on only certain days instead of most days. This will help keep the temptation away to visit my favorite bloggers as much as I do. Then if I am not blogging as much maybe I won't head over to Facebook as much. I do need to check my email daily though because all of the kids outside activities require email as their main mode of communication. Because I have a flip cell phone I cannot access my email from my phone which means I have to sit down at the computer to check it. Which - surprise! - then tempts me to just check my blogs and Facebook account out since I am already sitting here. AHHHH!!! If only I had more self control! That is pretty terrible that I am 34 year old woman that struggles with self control. I thought that was only a toddler issue. Kinda embarrassing.

My other issue is food. I hate it again. The amount of energy that I need to educate myself and put into menu planning and preparation is on par with a full time job. Okay, maybe not a full time job, but honestly, I think I could spend 20 hours a week trying to learn all that I need to to keep Sarah (and Andy, Josh, Elizabeth, Bob and myself) healthy. I know nothing about food except that I really like the bad kind of food like Stouffer's Mac and Cheese and french fries, and white pasta and bread. Oh, carbs! I love carbs! (Hence the extra cushion of lbs that sits on my 5'7" frame.) Sarah's new neurologist (the one that I really like) sent us home with a list of foods to avoid, and I have been avoiding trying to implement it because it will leave us eating tree bark and grass. (Ok, maybe I am exaggerating just a bit....)

Because of my avoidance of the worksheet that is sitting in a stack with all of Sarah's other medical paperwork we have been having more "special" treats than necessary. In fact, we have been having so many that Andy said to me yesterday, "Mom, I think we should probably stop having so many special treats because if Sarah goes blind one day we will all feel really guilty that we had so many treat days especially if that it what causes her to go blind." Yes, I have one smart and thoughtful 13 year old. He has a point there. So, I really need to get back on the horse and work on this issue until food becomes second nature.

Here is the infamous list (that is stressing me out. What a surprise - me stressed? Never!)

Foods to Eat:

Fish

Fruits & Veggies

Soy milk & yogurt

Soy Cheese

Tofu

Herbal Tea (especially Green Tea)

Nuts

Almond or Macadamia Nut butter

Cocoa

Chicken or Turkey w/o skin

Flax seeds

Flax seed Bread

Sprouted Grain Bread & Cereal (Gluten Free)

Quinoa

Brown Rise (which include pasta, crackers)

Gluten Free Crackers

Egg Whites

Beans

Spices

Coconut Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Canola Oil

Organic Cane Sugar

Honey

Agave Juice

Water

Foods to Limit or Eat in Moderation

Gluten

Peanuts/Peanut Butter

Corn, Corn Starch, Corn Syrup

Dairy

Egg Yolks

Sugar

Processed Refined White Flour

Red Meat

Pork

Deli Meats

Dried sweetened fruit or sweetened fruit juices

White Rice

Instant Tea

Caffeinated beverages

Alcohol

Soft Drinks

Foods to Eliminate NEVER Eat

Artificial Sugar (sucralose & aspartame)

Artificial Fat (olestra)

Artificial Flavorings and Food Dye

MSG

So, there you have it. Some of the items on the 'Do not eat' list are things that we like to eat. Gluten, peanut butter, corn, etc...AND those are things that are really hard to break yourself of. 

I have a lot of work ahead of me. I really have to get my life in check when it comes to the amount of time we spend on electronics and our diet. Once I can get those two things figured out (AND implemented successfully and consistently) I will feel so much better.

On a side note - Sarah asked me last night if she will still have to be hospitalized now that she is on this new medicine.Plus she asked me to give her her vision test that Dr. Rensel sent home with us, and she has been rubbing her eyes a lot lately (a sign that her eyes have been bugging her). I am sure it is nothing, but I am kind of worried. I didn't ask her last night if her eyes were bugging her because she could have been just asking a general question, and I don't want to bombard her with questions about her eyesight every time she has a general question. On the other hand, I hope that she is not asking because she is beginning to not feel well. Blah!