I am two days into my new fruit and vegetable eating and exercise regimen. So far so good. I am probably not quite at 50% fruits and vegetables but close, perhaps 40%. I am the only compliant member of the family at the moment although other family members are making an effort too.

Fruit and Vegetable Progress

Much like one of my first Ruly Challenges 2 years ago to eat from your fridge and pantry, I was surprised to discover that I actually have quite a stockpile of fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, freezer and some canned goods as well. At some point, I purchased a 10 pound bag of carrots that I had forgotten about! The carrots are still in good shape so I am munching a lot of carrot sticks.

I found a huge bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer that we need to use up, so for breakfast I have been making blueberry smoothies. They are quite good, if I do say so myself. The ingredients are simple: frozen blueberries, a few spoonfuls of orange juice concentrate and some milk.

Blend and voila!

My 3 year old even liked this one.  If you are worried about calories, I suppose you could put some sugar substitute in for the orange juice and use water instead of milk.

For dinner last night, we used up a spaghetti squash that had been in the fridge for quite some time. I was hoping this might be something that would tempt my children since they love pasta.

Nope. All this got was a “Yuck!” The 3 year old took one reluctant bite and the 5 year old just made gagging noises and refused to touch it. I overcooked it a bit but my husband and I ate it anyway.  Since this was nearly an all-vegetable meal (spaghetti squash and tomato sauce to boot!), we felt we had earned some dessert so we finished the meal with fudge ripple ice cream.

The children were far more receptive to the new Barilla vegetable pastas I found in the grocery store. The zucchini and spinach flavored wheel noodles were a huge hit! I tasted a few and, to my surprise, you really can taste some vegetables in them. Previously, we tried the tomato and carrot-flavored bow tie noodles and the children didn’t like them quite as much but still ate them. I hope everyone with children tries and buys these so Barilla will keep making them! Any time I see a pasta and vegetable combination, it usually works with my kids.

So, at the moment I am both eating healthier and cleaning out the fridge simultaneously. Multitasking is good!

Exercise Progress

You would not think that 20 minutes of exercise a day would do all that much good or be that effective. On day one, I did the Jillian Anderson 30 Day Shred Level 1 and while it was challenging I thought, “Hey, this is not so bad.” The next day, my thigh and arm muscles were modestly sore and I thought, “Well, it must be doing something.” Doing the exercise program again that night was painful and I was not sure I was going to be able to finish. Exercising with sore muscles is tough! But, I made it through, although afterward my thighs were practically on fire! Today, I am still sore but I seem to be building up some stamina.

If you don’t think 20 minutes can do much for you, I encourage you to give the 30 Day Shred a try. Given my constant child-minding responsibilities this is really about all the time I have to exercise right now. During my workouts, I have one child imitating Jillian and shouting at the top of her lungs, “Go! Go! Go! You can do it! Faster!” The baby is occasionally fussing too. The noise is so loud it becomes stressful and hard to concentrate. (I imagine this is what it is like in military boot camps.) My other child is trying to do the workout with me, sometimes crawling on top of me as I do my sit-ups. Despite all these distractions, I am getting the workouts in.

The only thing I wish the workout had was a little more stretching. Everybody responds to exercise in a slightly different way. Perhaps it is my ballet training surfacing, but I feel the best when I stretch a lot and loosen up my muscles, particularly if I am doing strength training exercises that tighten the muscles. I found another video that is 20 minutes of stretching that I may eventually add in to my regimen.

Jillian comments in the video that the only way to make something change is to put it under stress. While she was referring to exercise, this is certainly applicable to any change.

The experiment continues tomorrow. If you have any suggestions for yummy, nutritious vegetable recipes, please share in the comments!