{"id":5775,"date":"2014-08-27T08:38:04","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T12:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/?p=5775"},"modified":"2014-08-27T08:38:04","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T12:38:04","slug":"fresh-is-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/27\/fresh-is-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh is Free"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sometime back at the beginning of the summer I got tired of the girls constantly begging for snacks.\u00a0 10 minutes after breakfast, they were hungry.\u00a0 Immediately after waking up from nap, they were hungry.\u00a0 As I was making dinner, they were hungry they couldn\u2019t stand it!<\/p>\n

And I got tired of constantly arguing with them over whether or not it was time or what they were allowed to have.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always tried to steer them towards healthy choices.\u00a0 I keep things like cookies, crackers and chips in the house but I\u2019m not sure why; I never let them have them (truthfully, I indulge on them during nap time!)\u00a0 The struggle became constant, though, and overwhelming.<\/p>\n

So I came up with a new snacking rule: Fresh is free.\u00a0 They are free to have any fresh fruit or vegetable in the house, pretty much any time they want.\u00a0 I do veto certain items that I have specifically for a meal and I do try to hold them off if we are nearing mealtimes.\u00a0 But I figure even if they do ruin their meal, at least it was with something healthy.<\/p>\n

And they\u2019ve loved it.\u00a0 They love the freedom to eat whenever they think they\u2019re hungry.\u00a0 They love the freedom of being able to choose what they want to have.\u00a0 And I love not having to argue with them about it anymore.<\/p>\n

But then I started having to go to the store a couple times a week just for fruit and vegetables because we kept running out.\u00a0 I\u2019d heard about different produce co-ops and had looked into a few but never jumped on board but when the opportunity arose to help a fellow local blogger by joining Annie\u2019s Buying Club, I decided to go for it.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been on a bi-weekly schedule for pick-up and yesterday we got our third box.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried a few different options (selecting a smaller box this time since the kids and I will be traveling) and while I\u2019ll admit I was a little disappointed when I picked up my first box, I\u2019m not sold on the idea and a happy member!<\/p>\n