Today, I prepared my lunch first. I prepped and got it ready for the next day. This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but it is huge to me. See, in my household, I don’t eat first. Ever. I feel as though this is the same for a lot of moms as well. I wake up in the morning and I prepare breakfast for the kids because I just need them to stop asking me questions so early in the morning and it seems like food is the best way to get that done. That being said, I started a trend of getting the kids their meals first because I just needed a minute of silence. Now I do it out of habit.
Some people may not find this to be a problem, but it has become a problem for me because I tend to skip some meals. I get through my day of teaching, chores, preparing meals (this includes snacks), and prepping for dinner. After that, I don’t feel like preparing another meal for myself. I feel like sitting down. If it isn’t something I can just pull out the fridge easily, then I don’t eat when I should. I know, I know, I should just prep my meals the night before. Hello, have you met me? I don’t do that. I would love to, but I’m quite forgetful when it comes to things like this. Why? Because it’s for me. If it was for my children, I’m sure I would remember. In fact, I do. I don’t think I’m alone in this culture of moms that find themselves always being put on the backburner. This is what we do to ourselves.
One day, I was getting ready to get the kids their lunch. I had skipped breakfast and I had some chips for a snack. Hey, the chips were vegan. Anyway, my kids had a nice fruit platter for snack and they were getting ready to eat a delicious lunch. I stood up to walk to the kitchen and I was hit with a horrible headache. I immediately, texted my husband and asked him to pray as I did also. My husband, responded in text letting me know that he had prayed for me and then began to ask me if I’d drank enough water. I told him no. He then proceeded to ask me what I had eaten that day. I told him I had some nutritious vegan chips. By the end of the conversation, I knew what he was hinting at. Why? Because it’s something I do way too often and I should know the drill by now.
It’s time for me to start prepping my food and eating like I should. I just wanted to share with you today, it’s okay. It’s okay if you want to have a hot meal. It’s okay if you want to eat first. Sometimes I think we believe that being a good mom only comes in the absence of being a healthy mom. I mean, we don’t say it like that, but it’s what we demonstrate. If you don’t always get the sleep you need, eat your meals when I should, take very little time to yourself, or seldom take time to hang out with friends…does any of that sound healthy? Yet it’s what a lot of us do. It’s what I do. Maybe not all of those things, because I know how to leave the house, okay? I get OUT when I need to get out.
I just wanted to say that I am going to start making sure, I include myself in all of the health goals for this year. I desire to be more consistent with making my snacks. I wonder if you do too? Listen, you can work out in the gym, go running for miles, and eat kale for dinner if you want. None of that matters if you’re not consistent and you don’t put yourself first sometimes. I used to be scared that if I ate the wrong foods or not get enough exercise, I would develop some type problem in my body because of it. Turns out that can also happen if you don’t eat enough, sleep enough, or get enough alone time. Who knew? Ladies, I know that it’s a high chance I’m the only one who goes through this, but if you are also dealing with this then join me. Join me in the I EAT FIRST movement. Pick a day. Not Mother’s Day. A different one. Pick a day, where you prep your meals first. Let’s make a habit of taking care of ourselves, so we can take care of others. Also, so we don’t walk around with a bunch of hunger headaches.
Just Momming 
this is good! and what is that saying, about if you don’t take care of yourself, there will be nothing left for your fam? I am not perfect at this, but I do try VERY hard to think about snacks on hand, and MEALS. good ones. do you eat what your kids eat? I was a bit puzzled by this. if they are eating a fruit tray, don’t you eat with them? I know, I know, you need some time alone, but eating together is a great way to share! maybe they could have time alone doing an activity, or just have quiet reading time. that is what my mom used to do with us. it worked well. she could rest, or do WHAT ever she wanted! often, we did not sleep, but we HAD to spend one hour in our rooms, being quiet. it was good for us too. thanks for sharing!!! NO MORE HEADACHES!
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Tami, thank you for reading. Generally speaking, a good majority of adults don’t eat snacks at all. Because of this, it’s not hard to believe that moms who stay home don’t eat snacks when they should. This post is to serve as a reminder to not forget about yourself throughout your daily routine. Often times, as women, our routine involves taking care of someone else’s needs. This is not a bad thing. However, our schedules keep growing and we keep adding people to list of those we care for (unintentionally) and now we have swept ourselves to the back. This is especially true for those with little kids at home. In this post, speaking on food is an expression of what I personally struggle with. Because we do spend so much time together, breakfast is a time where they share and talk with each other and mommy gets her workout in.
On preparing snacks, I just don’t think about it like that. Although I should, it often slips my mind. When I prepare them snacks, I’m usually not hungry for anything. I don’t think to prep my snack for later on, I just figure that “I’ll do it when the time comes.” When the time comes, i choose to grab whatever is easiest versus or whatever i get to first instead of cutting fruit or grabbing carrots. This is usually done in effort to quickly find my seat while we are in quiet time. I hope that explained it a little further? Thank you so much for taking time to read this. I appreciate your feedback so much!
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I really needed to read this today! I’ve been gong thru this for awhile. So YOU are not alone PAM. It’s easy to just focus on the kids and making sure they eat. I always eat breakfast in the morning but after that forget it. I can barely get a bite in… it’s true the moment you get quiet time you have to pick pick and choose what you want to get done today and sometimes eating is the last thing on the to do list! Maybe some great go-to recipes quick and easy would be a great help for us mommas that don’t have time to search good recipes or even have much time to make snacks and meals. Would be awesome! Thanks for sharing great topic to discuss 😉
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Thank you so much! Thank you for reading! Yes, it’s hard sometimes. We women, in general (but especially moms), just keep going and going. You truly just forget about eating. Maybe we should create a list of easy recipes. I think that’s something we should share next on our blog. Thank you for your input.
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