Kids in the Kitchen, Vegetarian-Style #MakeYourMove

I’ve partnered with Kohl’s for the #MakeYourMove campaign. 

I mentioned in my last post how I’ve gotten my fitness groove back, and how exciting it is to see the changes to my body as well as to the fit in my clothing. My husband has joined me in this journey, too – we’re eating healthier, working out everyday (sometimes twice) and we’re really seeing the effects of these healthy changes in so many ways.

While sitting at the dinner table a couple of weeks ago, hovering over a humongous and delicious plate of smoked meat, my eleven-year-old son proclaimed how delicious dinner was, but how sad he was for all the animals. It was an adorably sensitive conversation we had with our young dude, about evolution, about sustenance, etc. But, he still seemed pretty affected. And the very next day? That was “it” for him, he refused to eat meat anymore, and he’s declared himself a vegetarian since. He still consumes milk (he’d be lost without cheese), and he still eats eggs, but meat (including bacon!) is a no-no for him.

I shared with him how I, too, was a vegetarian at one time – for about a year or so in college, after having two brutal bouts with food poisoning back-to-back. After that ordeal, I was looking for a little inner peace, literally (I think anyone would). I still have a vegetarian cookbook my mother gave me all those years ago, and I plan to delve into it to help him spice things up, because, right now, we’re in a slight rut, and looking to do our best to jazz things up. Sure, there’s lots of veggies, salads, grilled cheese, pastas, but this came as such a surprise from out of nowhere, we were completely unprepared, and still a little shocked by it. We’re trying our best, but we could use a little help in the what-the-heck-do-we-feed-our-kid department, now. I will say, he really digs eating Garden Burgers instead of hamburgers (it was something I devoured back then), but we haven’t found substitutions for anything else (not that he’d enjoy, anyway).

In order to help him best, we’re getting him involved in the food preparation process, and he’s really digging it. (Perhaps he’s a budding chef?) He’s really into making himself hot sandwiches, like grilled cheese, on our sandwich maker. He’s really careful about using it, taking the proper safety precautions, and he does a fantastic job. So much so, he’s even gotten requests from the other kids (and mom, ahem) for his specially-made grilled sandwiches! The kids all agree, he’s getting REALLY good at it!

My husband and I have also been desperately looking into how to make vegetables more fun for him. And, since he loves pressed sandwiches so much, we wanted to even get him involved in the process, too! He’s learning how to safely cut up his own vegetables, and how to make them into pasta with this new fancy contraption called the Veggetti. This isn’t just for making vegetables into pasta, though – he uses the Veggetti to make slivers of carrots, cucumbers, and other vegetables into his own DIY salads. There’s no chance in HECK he’d give up regular pasta or macaroni, anyway, but what’s nice about the Veggetti is it gives both me and my husband a carb-free choice for dinner now, too (considering my husband and I are trying to cut down on carbs). Now, not only is my son enjoying vegetables in a different way, that he can prepare himself, but we’re all enjoying easy-to-prepare healthier-made meals with him, too!

We’re making eating healthy a family affair! Have you had a chance to browse Kohl’s wonderful selection of appliances and tools to help you create healthy meals at home? We’ve got our eye on this awesome oil-less air fryer, and this nonstick ceramic cookware set as our next purchases, since our regular teflon nonstick set is showing wear.

What about you? In what ways are you and your family making YOUR move? What have you done lately to energize, enliven, and inspire yourself to become healthier?

Be sure to follow Kohl’s on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for all kinds of wellness inspiration, and check the #MakeYourMove hashtag to see what the other participants like me are up to! 🙂

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Kohl’s.