Today’s Bloggers of the Day!! (random from yesterday’s comments)

• Running Around Normal – Paige is a personal trainer and gives great workout ideas as well as meal ideas
• Healthy Coconut – Lea is gorgeous and loves sharing travels with healthy eating and fitness as well
• Live Love & Peanut Butter – Bec is a new reader (or at least commenter – hi!) and her blog seems to have some great stuff

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Last night began our weekly small groups in church. Each week, we spend part of this time together sharing a meal and catching up before getting into the discussion and prayer. Last night’s meal was fried chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw.

Not the most appetizing thing to me since realizing I don’t really care for chicken too much unless a small part of a whole dish (like a casserole or in a salad). I had a few bites of the chicken before it made me feel sick. And of course a meal of potato salad and coleslaw doesn’t quite make a satisfying meal. Lindsay asked me to do a post on how I handle eating differently than friends/family. So, here’s another Reader’s Request!

First of all, I don’t find I eat too differently from friends and family. Peter is always open to foods I prepare, even the more veggie based meals I’ve been whipping up. With friends, we usually dine together at restaurants or social events. At restaurants its easy to order what I prefer and at social events I usually enjoy to some extent many of the foods provided and there are always a few healthier choices, like below with a plate full of veggies to balance out other things. I wrote a post about not overeating in social situations here, if you’re interested.

However, I do still encounter some remarks and questions about my food choices. And I do find times I have to adjust things, especially when not pregnant because my preferences are different then and I will have to be more mindful while working to lose the baby weight (I’ll open the can of worms on how I plan to approach that process in the future).  So without further ado, below are the scenarios I encounter the most and how I handle them.

When I know there will be a limited selection of foods I enjoy or feel comfortable eating at a social engagement. I want to be clear here. I will always choose to eat things I enjoy. However, there may be times when faced with food you outright do not like, or times when options do not fit into what you can eat if you have food allergies or are vegetarian/vegan. In the past, I used to pack and bring my own meal. Now, I do not do so because I personally feel rude and prefer other ways. I will eat a satisfying meal before I leave, then still munch on what works for me with others without starving.

Remarks when you do eat something not quite so healthy. I think the most annoying scenario for me is when I do eat sweets or a heavier dish that I like and someone says something along the lines of “I thought you were a healthy eater’”. In that situation, I always laugh it off (because its usually not said with ill intent) and respond with “I believe its healthy to eat things you love and its all about balance”. Yes, I have said that. Numerous times. Including to the waiter at the Italian restaurant on Tuesday night after telling him I write a healthy living blog and ordering the cheesy fondue.

Remarks like how do you do it, don’t you get sick of vegetables, why do you even like that stuff, I couldn’t eat that way, etc. With this, I yet again remember that people likely intend to make conversation and are generally intrigued. I don’t think people attack me and my eating habits. So once again, I always laugh it off and simply state that I feel best eating the way I do and choosing healthier foods as often as possible. I will also at times bring lighter dishes or share recipes so people can see healthy doesn’t equal gross.

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Overall, I prefer to live my life and if it acts as inspiration or an example to someone, great. I refuse to divulge all my reasoning in a long diatribe or feel the need to defend myself. In other words, I simply don’t let it get to me. I think people generally don’t notice or don’t care and then, those that do comment, are either genuinely interested or validating their own habits. By not making a big deal of it myself, it once again doesn’t give food the power. I also always keep the perspective that one meal every now and again that isn’t my ideal choice won’t hurt me. So there are still plenty of times where I’ll just go with the flow, eat the sub-par to me, and enjoy the time…like I did last night.

• Do you ever encounter misunderstanding from others with your food choices? How do you handle them?
• What do you think of bringing your own food to social events and eating something completely different than everyone else? I can understand it and I’ve done it, but now I don’t see it as necessary and prefer being more laid back about it since I don’t have many dietary restrictions.
• Any other reader requests???

I made it to the afternoon! Oh, thank goodness. I had numerous times today where I simply wanted to crawl into bed, nap, and ignore responsibility. Duty calls though. Nonstop in the life of a mom. Makenzie kept my hands full today…from 6 am on. Her little fake-mommy-out cry she shared in her “guest post” wasn’t a fake today. I lost my hour or so of productive time this morning.

Somehow, three hours disappeared in the blink of an eye and I was scrambling to get out the door and make it to Power class. I heart workouts on stressful mornings. They totally relieve stress and tension for me. At least for that hour, since after making it to my street I realized I had to turn around and drive back to the gym to pick up my Camelbak water bottle I forgot. I’m not about to lose that thing! It’s attached at my always thirsty side.

Then, I had to act all productive and do responsible things like finish the dagnabitwilliteverend laundry, handle a tired cranky toddler who wouldn’t nap, finally respond to a pile of emails, and type up a final lesson for the first meeting of our church small group I co-lead tonight.  Okay, okay. As much as I bemoan all of this, I know it isn’t much and in truth didn’t let it get to me. Much. If I had in fact felt totally overwhelmed, you would not have found me in the kitchen whipping up Estela’s Nutella Blondies. Ohhh….yes.

I have a feeling I will be whipping up treats for our small group on a regular basis. After all, there are too many fabulous recipes out there to try! We all know I fear cooking, but baking? Baking I can do. I hope the members of our small group like them! I clearly wouldn’t know. 😉

I do want to discuss something I feel strongly about in this post as well. Well, besides cranky toddlers and sugary treats, both of which hold my affection. I want to share the importance in finding a small group of people to connect with. I have my friends from school. I have family friends. I have an amazing group of friends here in the blog world. And for awhile, Peter & I would be perfectly content to hand just the two of us. Then, we joined a small group. My strongest connections ever began there.

Having a small sized group to meet regularly with helped us connect on a much deeper level and now many of these people are my closest and dearest friends. If I had something I felt the need to share, I would turn to them…and truthfully you all as well, but you understand the difference.I can send them a phone call or email and know I will receive a completely open ear and heart from any one of them. I love these people. They help me be a better person and continue my growth in loving myself and others. Basically, its a pretty awesome thing to have.

I found my group through my church and the bonds I made there. I have friends I have also greatly connected with through the small group of the playgroup I am involved in as well (hi Kelly!). There are so many opportunities out there to plug yourself into a community of support – runner’s groups, book clubs, group fitness classes, church, and so much more. If you aren’t already involved in a place you know you can turn to for encouragement and friendship, I hope you find one. I truly believe it can help us each experience more pleasure in life to have these relationships.  Get connected!

• Are you forgetful? I forget things everywhere!!!
• Are you involved in a small group of sorts? How? Any tips on helping people get connected who aren’t already? I think www.meetup.com is a great resource!