Food fail (Vacation-style)

We have gone on a last minute family adventure to Nashville and are checking out the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and all of the Christmas decorations and festivities (possibly a little Blissdom recon... who knows?)

Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville -- full of Christmas activities in November and December and bloggers in February

This adventure required a little road trip and, like most road trips, this one included junk food. We didn't do much planning ahead and just stopped at a gas station and picked up drinks, cereal bars and chips.  So while kiddo had a pretty healthy breakfast of homemade scrambled eggs, fruit, and cereal, his morning snack was cheese puffs.

When we got to the hotel it was lunch time and we ordered hamburgers from an on-property restaurant. Kiddo and I just split a meal and I think I made a healthy(ish) choice of a turkey burger on wheat with guacamole, lettuce and tomato, but my son only ate the french fries.

And finally, after visiting with friends and doing lots of exploring (it really is an amazing place) we stopped by a little pizza place for dinner and kiddo's final meal of the day consisted of half a piece of cheese pizza. This was not one of my proudest days as a mother.

Now, I could pretend like pizza and french fries count as vegetables (kind of like the U.S. congress), but I don't really want to be the kind of mom who considers ketchup and kale to be nutritionally equal. I'd rather chalk this one up to a bad day and start fresh tomorrow than try to fool myself into thinking that puffed corn, potatoes and pizza are acceptable fare for... well... anyone.

Happy new year from a family that (obviously) has not mastered healthy eating!

It's not the fact that he ate a little junk food that bothers me. I've come to terms with the fact that chicken nuggets are going to be a part of my life -- it's the empty calories and total lack of nutrition that bother me.  I cook dinner at home about 5 nights a week and most of those meals are cooked from scratch, but we are no strangers to packaged rice and frozen pasta meals. Kiddo still nurses daily, so I am a little comforted that he does at least receive a little bit of nutrition even on our worst food days. And I take vitamins and supplements daily, but I have yet to find a multi-vitamin I like for him (he doesn't do gummy -- I'm open to suggestions).

So we'll try again tomorrow. We'll forgo the hashbrowns and cinnamon rolls for veggie omelettes and yogurt (both things he likes). I'll see if I can find a mediterranean place so he can have some hummus and pita for lunch (Another favorite. Ever seen a toddler eat hummus? It's hilarious.) And we'll try again to find some sort of balance in a world that makes it very easy to get wobbly.