by Claire
Yesterday was…by far…our most touristy day. It wasn’t a huge slip but we did spend $15 on ice cream, $5 on taffy and about $50 on other miscellaneous stuff. It was payday so we had new spending money but I still had money left over from last week’s spending so…that’s pretty darn good I say considering we are on vacation.
On Friday afternoon after our big hike we went out to our first restaurant meal. It was $80 (with tip) for the six of us to eat and we put no limits on the kids–meaning they were allowed to get drinks and their selection from the menu. Steve and I noticed right away that the kids were genuinely excited and grateful to be eating out. This, in itself, was a proud moment! That’s what a meal out should be–a treat…not the norm. Steve and I agreed we could “cheat” on the real food diet on this one day. In the end, we (Steve and I) were disappointed. We think we built up the getting to eat out thing so much that the food couldn’t live up to the hype. Now, here’s the interesting thing…Steve and I made a point to observe the kids after they ate the restaurant items of their choice. Sure enough–by the time we got back to the house (maybe 30 minutes after dinner)–DD was asking for a snack! This has not been happening with our real food diet as the real stuff keeps her full longer. About an hour later the boys were asking for a snack. It was such a notable difference b/c since we have started this real food thing, we have not had late evening requests for snacks. Dinner is served and that’s the last eating that occurs. We didn’t say anything that night b/c we have to be careful not to talk about this real food thing too much b/c the boys are right at the age where they will rebel just to rebel. Meaning if we say it too much they’ll get sick of hearing it and sabotage the plan…not to be disobedient but just to push the envelope as tweens and teens often do.
Now, fast forward to Saturday. We planned to go to Mass at 4:30 pm so we figured we’d just walk the downtown touristy area a few hours before Mass. We had a huge breakfast at about 10 am and the kids still were not hungry at 2 pm when we were heading into town. Now what we did next was a bit of a slip b/c we were only planning on eating out once but I think it turned out to be a valuable lesson. We discovered a “real food” restaurant and decided to give it a try. What a HUGE difference from the meal the night before! We didn’t have to say anything about food at all but instead listened to the kids discuss the difference in taste, quality, texture and yes…the food making them feel full. Steve did take that opportunity to discuss the differences b/w the two restaurants and how the majority of restaurants are like the Friday night place–just not real food. The kids could not stop raving about Saturday’s lunch spot and it was worth the $57 we spent to feed all six of us. No drinks this time and we were sure to point out that the menu prices were about the same at both restaurants so the savings on drinks was at least 20 bucks! The kids ended up seeing the value of real food without us lecturing about it–and that is a great (accidental) benefit! So, if you are ever in the Estes Park area….we highly recommend Notchtop Bakery and Cafe. http://www.thenotchtop.com/menus.html
And now we are off to pack and put this house back together! We fly back to SA late this evening…ready to dive into the week first thing tomorrow morning! One of the boys leaves for Boy Scout camp at 8 am while the other goes to a conditioning camp at his high school. I am back to the office and Steve flies to Atlanta at 11 am Monday morning and is gone for the week. Nothing like easing into the swing of things! Oh well, we are good at this…it is what we do!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
Can you explain more about the real food choices? What did you order at the real food restaurant vs. what you ordered before that didn’t fill your family up?
Enjoyed hearing about your family trip! Thanks so much for sharing.
Sure Kate–at the first restaurant 2 of the boys had personal pizza on processed white dough and the girl had a corn dog and fries–obviously processed. Boy #3 had a turkey and brie sandwich on a croissant. #3’s choice was the best of the 4 I guess–but that croissant is entirely too “light” to be filling. As I said, everyone was looking for a snack shortly after we ate dinner. The next day–at the real food restaurant–the options are the menu were simply better and offered satiety promoting choices. The girl had whole wheat pancakes with fruit, two of the boys had selections with eggs and the third boy chose a grass-fed beef burger with a made fresh whole grain bun. I’m trying to remember and teach the kids the simple rule that the heavier the food, the better it is for them. I’m also now a believer in avoiding low-fat, low-carb, low-whatever options….b/c when a food is removed from its natural state it has to happen at some cost. Often to be “low fat” a product becomes higher in sugar–for example. I still have a lot to learn but just employing the basic—if the bread is heavier it is going to be better for you and you will eat less in the long run–is making a huge difference. Hope this helps!
Wow, the snack phenomena is interesting! That’s another way in which you now spend less.
We find that the more we cook at home, the better our cooking skills become, and the less we enjoy restaurant food. We try to figure out what’s missing, and usually it’s spices! Restauranteurs seem to think that cheese and butter equal flavor, particularly American restaurants – maybe it’s cheaper? Ethnic restaurants do better with spices, and tend to be cheaper anyhow.
I forgot your definition of real food – what’s the difference?
m–my definition of “real food” is certainly evolving but my first baby steps are that I be able to pronounce it and that it come more from nature than from industry. After my recent post, I stumbled upon a “real food summit” online. It is free so I signed up and I am now officially a fan of Farmer Joel Salatin of of Polyface Farms. He was on Food, Inc. and the moment I heard him, I just liked the guy. His definition includes the pronunciation component and then he has a lot of common sense info. I am now a label reader/question asker and if I do buy something in a package…it generally has less than five ingredients in it. Wow! I still can’t believe it! Let’s see if this is a life change that lasts! 🙂
Wow! It’s great that the kids noticed the difference, too – it will make it much easier for them to keep eating healthy foods.
I second that, what foods make the difference. Fats and proteins are the most satiating, carbohydrates tend to promote additional hunger.