Bright Futures are Built on Healthy Foundations! Establish and reinforce food rules to give your kids the gift of a strong start.
Food Rules Work!
Researchers collected data from 1,246 high schoolers and asked them to choose two snacks from an offering of ten different options. The results showed that those who reported having at least one healthy eating rule at home (such as allowing junk food only on special occasions or expecting that a vegetable will be eaten with dinner) were almost two times more likely to choose a healthier snack.
Food Rules provide a helpful framework for decisions!
Our family established the following food rules to help us navigate living in world that is full of ultra-processed food.
Lowery Food Rules
1. No added sugar or junk* food at school or school-sponsored events.
2. No added sugar or junk* food at sport practices or games, dance, VBS, Sunday School, gymnastics, or summer camps.
3. Limit processed foods and ensure they don't contain added sugar/sweeteners, refined grains, industrialized seed oils, artificial flavors, artificial ingredients, synthetic preservatives, or synthetic dyes. {*This is our definition of junk food.}
4. We save our added sugar for the weekends and special occasions. We then ensure the amount is within the maximum allotment suggested by the experts. When possible, we surround that sugar with nourishing ingredients!
5. Meals should be nourishing and provide several food groups:
high-quality protein
low-carb veggies
starchy veggies (like sweet potatoes & butternut squash)
fruit
full-fat dairy
raw nuts & seeds
healthy fats (butter, avocado, olives, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, sustainable palm oil)
herbs & spices
We limit grains, and then choose Ezekiel bread, European pasta, nonGMO corn or wild rice, or minimally processed sourdough.
6. School Day Breakfasts should be rich in protein and healthy fats, with no added sugar or sweeteners. Carbs should be nutrient-dense and low on the glycemic index.
7. Restaurant Food is tricky as they all use refined seed oils & refined grains. We limit restaurant outings and then pick the healthiest options, rarely ordering off the kids menu. If possible, we bring our own Primal Kitchen Unsweetened Ketchup so we can save our sugar for dessert!
We seek out Farm-to-Table restaurants.
We bring our own snacks to concession stand events.
8. We enjoy Birthday Parties hosted on the weekends or after school! We choose two sugar things - ice cream and cake, cake and cookie, but not ice cream, cake, AND cookie.
9. For Abby Raye - only drink whole milk & water. Juice is sugar.
10. We choose Organic, All-Natural, Sustainable, Local, Backyard, Pastured, Wild Caught, Grass-Fed & Finished, Regenerative Farming, Maximum Nutrition, High Quality, and/or Green options whenever possible.
We support individuals, companies, and agencies that align with our values.
Every purchase is a vote toward the world we wish to see.
We always choose organic when purchasing produce found on EWG's Dirty Dozen list.
11. Proper Nutrition is very important to us as every ingredient we consume is either feeding or fighting disease. We embrace food as medicine - the food given to us by God.
BY HIS HANDS WE ARE FED
Our number one goal is to live a long, healthy, & productive life - one that honors our Lord, our Family, and our Community.
Healthy Choices Get Rewarded!
For every choice that aligns with our family's food rules, Abby Raye is rewarded with a toy or a card with points. We save up our points to get a special toy, outing, or playdate. It's not easy being the odd man out. It's not easy to constantly say "no thank you" to the consistent offerings of candy, sugar, and ultra-processed food at school and extra-curriculars. But our little 6-year-old is upholding our family's nutritional values like a champ! One day in the future, as more and more medical professionals speak out and more and more parents become aware, candy & junk food at school will become a discarded thing of the past. The general public will one day truly understand which ingredients lead to positive health outcomes & which ingredients lead to negative outcomes and parents will demand that their children only be served the positive foods!
"No Thank You" to
Candy at Chapel
=
"Yes" to a New Fun Toy
No need to eat candy at school when there's a yummy apple in your lunch box.
The frequent trips to Walmart to pick up Healthy Choice Rewards were a bit draining on our evening commute (& wallet). So we implemented a new reward system! For every choice at school or extra-curriculars that aligns with our family's food rules, AR will get a card with points. We'll save up our points to get a special toy, outing, or playdate.
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