One of the decisions I made earlier this year is to reduce as much as possible, my families consumption of fizzy pops, KoolAids, Caprisun, Tang and all such drinks and to replace them with fresh, healthier options.
Initially, it was not an easy sell to the children and Dear Himself. I heard a lot of moans and groans to start with, but it caught on right after the first trial run. Now, we bulk purchase a variety of fruits, juice them, mix them, make smoothies out of different blends and bottle to freeze.
The children participate in doing this, from washing the fruits, to peeling, to juicing with the electric juicer….
The process is fun since they get to eat the sweet pulp from the fruits and to label their hard work. Each school morning, a bottle of frozen homemade juice is tossed into their lunch box (it retains its freshness from freezing and would have melted by break time) and they bring back the bottles, rinse it out with warm water and reuse.
The interesting thing is that when we eat out these days, the kids compare the drinks they get outside to the one that we make at home and their verdict is that our’s is better 😉
How do you get your children to assist in the house? I love to learn from others.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 
awww. this is one of my future goals. as mom was diagnosed last year with gall stones, doctors said green apples can help dissolve the stones. She was not too fond of eating green apples raw (beucase she said it is too hard) so I am praying I would be able to buy a juicer for her. My little siblings need some healthy drinks too!
How do you juice them? you use a juicer? 🙂
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That would be totally awesome Rosema. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it a lot. Yes I use the juicer for the juices and then I use Nutribullet for the smoothies (but any good old blender will do as well).
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thank you for sharing! 🙂 i’ll wait for the Christmas bonus. My salary just barely support my fam’s need so I need a bonus to buy a juicer. 😉
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You are such a wonderful young lady. That would be a great present that will be beneficial. I feel proud of you 🙂
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thank you. 😉 my mom ddeserved it. it’s the best that i can give her as of now. 😉
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This is awonderful way to start eating healthy and teaching kids good habits, nice post J! and getting them involved in chores is a plus, nice to be talking while doing the chores too and we get to know what goes on in their day.
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Thank you. I wish I’d started this earlier than now, but it’s never too late to begin. It’s really worthwhile 🙂
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yes never too late, even when they are young adults its good to start somewhere.
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Excellent idea.
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Thank you Mick. I got tired of all the packaged drinks out there filled with preservatives and sugar. I pray to sustain this habit.
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Oh wow that’s great Jacqueline. I also I’m cutting out Soda from my diet. It’s not been easy though
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No it’s not easy! Now we are down to only occasional consumption when we eat out and when I can get away with it, I make everyone drink water when we are out – at the risk of my children’s groan 😉
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Lol I can imagine hahhaha
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This must be so much fun to do and so healthy too for you guys! Earlier this month, my son and I made a decision to reduce eating out and eat more home cooked food, so far it’s been going good.
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We have done the same as well. We haven’t had soda in months. Wise choice.
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Healthy grab and go works well for me too!
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It’s definitely a habit worth hanging to.
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