Like my readers, my life is busy. Juggling Real Food and Real Life is not just the name of this blog, it is my way of life.  It’s a way of life for a lot of parents that I know. My kids are active with sports and scouting and I work a full-time job outside of the home. My husband and I are scout leaders and Sunday school teachers. I always give all of my heart and soul to everything I do, including this blog. I’m tired.

Social media is more work than I could have possible imagined.  I spend countless hours tweeting, hanging out on Facebook, and pinning posts to Pinterest. I hardly ever have good light to photograph recipes since I cook dinner at 8:30 at night after football practice when we finally get home. The rest of the year, it is just dark when I get home at 5:30. My children need me and keep me hopping.  Blogging is hard work. Perhaps, the world doesn’t really need Juggling Real Food and Real Life.

There has been so much improvement in the food industry since we started this blog back in 2012. I see more and more natural and organic products at the stores. You can even find wonderful food products at discount stores like Aldi and Walmart now.  Did you ever think that quinoa would be mainstream?  Remember when we couldn’t pronounce quinoa?  It is not that long ago. I have even noticed an improvement in our local school lunch selections. That is progress! I always thought that people just needed information to make informed decisions and the food industry would have to respond. We vote with our dollars and the food industry wants our dollars. It just makes sense. Perhaps, the world really doesn’t need Juggling Real Food and Real Life.

 

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, the world does still need real food blogs. While out and about I overheard two different conversations that changed my mind. The first one goes something like this……..Grandma shows up to practice and sees her daughter (the mom of this story)………….”Hi honey, I brought little Johnny a snack for after practice. I didn’t want to bring him junk food so I brought him this.” She then goes on to show little boxes of very colorful and very sugary cereal. Head smack! It’s all I could do to keep my mouth shut. Here is a very loving grandmother who doesn’t have a clue. She doesn’t want to bring junk food?  She says that.  However, the amount of sugar in that cereal is horrendous! And if you don’t already despise artificial colors as much as I do, maybe you may want to read these two articles.  Dump The Artificial Colors and Artificial Colors – Why They Are Enemy #1 In My House.  Let’s think about this…..Little Johnny has exercised at practice which is good for his body. Afterwards, he is going to sugar himself up and be expected to behave and then go to bed without a fuss. Good luck mom! It’s going to be a long night.

 

 

The other story is well know around our football practices.  In youth football there is a maximum weight to play.  These are children we are talking about so we don’t want an adult-sized child playing with the little ones for safety reasons.  Sometimes we have children who are “on the bubble”.  The children are required to weigh in before each game.  One pound over the max weight and that child has to sit out the game.  None of us want that for our children or our team.  They just want to play!  It makes sense that if your child is on the bubble, that it would be very important for them to eat real whole foods to maintain their weight and fuel them to play.  I have heard over and over that “they are kids…………they should be able to eat donuts if they want.”  Sure sugary treats are fun once in a while, but isn’t health more important?  Why is it still that so many of us parents feel like we are not being “good parents” if we don’t allow our children to have sugary treats?  When did treats become better parenting than fruits and vegetables??  

God is amazing!  Just as I was thinking about giving up Juggling Real Food and Real Life because I was no longer needed, God reminds me that there is still much work to be done.  I get it.  I have figured out the messages You sent.  As parents, we all want what is best for our children.  The messages can be confusing though.  That’s why Juggling Real Food and Real Life exists.  Together, we will figure out what the best food is for our family, how to prepare it with our busy schedules, maintain our balance and calm in all areas of our lives, and have fun all along the way………My new mission statement.  I hope you will continue to join me on this real food journey and share our website with your friends.  There is still so much work to be done and I need your help.  Thank you friends!

Tell me your stories.  Leave me a comment below and let me know why you think we still need real food blogs……….or maybe why they are no longer needed.  I’m serious!  I really want to hear from you.  Let’s Get the conversation going.