a candid hot mama perspective

oh christina... cheers to you, your friendship and all the fun & knowledge i wanna suck out of you.  you mean the world to me.  reading this gets me alll vehklempt... oh and ditto back atcha with the "hottest":)

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Lindsey – The hottest mama of all 

I want to start by saying that Lindsey has begged me to write this.  It came up one night over a glass (or 2 or 3) of wine and we were talking about how her family used to eat and how impressed she was of my family and of our from scratch cooking, vege eating children, and commitment to organic and local foods. She says, “Oh my god you have to do a post on this for me! The view from a friend.  Chris did one, you can too!”  I wasn’t so sure, it is one thing to be laughing over it between the two of us, but for me to put it out there, the nitty gritty habits of old.  I wasn’t so sure.  I of course have been there for Lindsey from the very start of her food journey, cheering her on and encouraging her any way I can.  And of course am very proud to be one of her hot mamas. 

Well here it is… the good, the bad, and the dino shaped chicken nuggets…

The past…

Although my family for the most part eats unprocessed foods, I realize that this does not always work for every family and on some crazy nights doesn’t work for my family either.  I have 2 wonderful children, I cannot even imagine having 3 so I never judged the food choices Lindsey made for her family, whatever works for you…  So when our 2 families would hang out at their place, I would let my kids eat whatever Lindsey would cook.  So my kids would indulge in dino shaped chicken nuggets, Little Ceasars pizza, pre-made and packaged PB&J, basically all the things they don’t get at home ; ) My 5 ½ year old, Ava, and Abbie play together quite nicely especially given their age difference.  I never really noticed anything off with Abbie’s behavior until Lindsey made her food change.  She was all over the place and I found them once hiding in the pantry housing marshmallows and giggling, but nothing that as a friend would have set off alarms.  Then one day last September Lindsey says, “I just cleaned out my pantry and got rid of all the processed foods, and anything with food coloring, preservatives, and fake stuff.  I think that stuff is affecting Abbie’s behavior.  Oh and I’m going to blog about it.”  My jaw dropped on the floor, I was shocked that she was going from one extreme to the other.  I was thinking to myself, “Ah, yeah, duh, didn’t you know that food can affect behavior??”  She was doing one of the hardest and bravest things any of my friends has done for their family.  She was talking about a total lifestyle change.

The present…

The changes Lindsey has made are amazing and I am so proud of her because she is spreading the word, working so hard at her blog, finding and creating new recipes and helping others make positive changes in their lives.  She has shown people that you can make changes in your kid’s behavior and their health by feeding them better food.  She has had lots of success but also lots of bombs and has bared it all to her readers.  That is one of the things that I love about her journey, she shares everything!  When I read her blog, it is like I am sitting there, just talking to her.  Now, when Abbie and Ava play together they play differently.  Their play has more of a purpose; they perform skits, dances and show up in some crazy outfits.  Lindsey has talked a lot about hard it has been and I hope I have helped her with my advice, recipes, and crazy ideas for her to try!  I mean kohlrabi; she would have NEVER picked that up at the store on her own!

The future…

I have learned a lot from her and have improved my family’s eating habits too.  I love that I have a friend that loves to eat the way my family does and will try new things.  I don’t know what the future will hold for my dear friend but I think the possibilities are endless.  A cookbook, maybe… Total food world domination, most definitely.  Where ever this crazy road takes her, I (along with lots of others) am right there with her every step of the way!  

Keep cookin!

-Christina

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"no one's more important than people.  in other words, friendship is the most important thing.  not career nor housework, nor one's fatigue - and it needs to be tended and nurtured."  - Julia Child

you light me up christina!!!  

let's keep this real thang (sing it in your prince voice) going, shall we?!  xoxo