Healthy Living starts with YOU! You have heard it time and time again but it is really true. In order to have a healthy family you have to have a Healthy YOU!!! Our children are watching our every move. If you make healthy choices, chances are your children will too. Have you ever watched a toddler come home from daycare and act like the teacher? Or ever seen your own children do or say something and it’s totally you??? YES! It happens. They are watching your every move! Start by making healthy choices for you and your family will follow. If you are a Father, Grandmother or college student reading this, you can all take something away to make better choices for YOU! Life is a cycle, find where you are in the cycle and create a healthy you and help the ones you love. ❤️ As a busy Mother of 3 children with a wide range in age, 12, 9 and 3 (and a sweet amazing Husband who sometimes I put in the children category) I am constantly serving to keep everyone healthy. Luckily I found my groove years ago and today I’m sharing with you my “TOP 10” I feel keeps this Mama sane, my children healthy and my husband happy = A Healthy Family! Ready? Let’s GO! #1. Positive Mindset! As a mother to 3 children and a husband who works his butt off, there is NO time for negative Nancy! When I send everyone out the door in the morning I want everyone to leave happy, healthy and with a positive mindset. Do what you gotta do here: maybe it’s read the Bible when you first wake up, maybe it’s listening to upbeat happy music, maybe it’s a gratitude journal, find what it is for you. Make it a habit and commit to it everyday. #2. Exercise! This could be a quick 20-30 minute walk or an hour + gym session. Do you! But do it! Makes a world of difference. Walk the dog if you have to. There are great online programs nowadays too. I use one that I have found to be effective and the best fit for a busy schedule! #3. Water! Drink water. Google what your proper water intake should be for your body weight and Drink Drink Drink...all.day.long! Especially in the morning, after a good nights rest, your body wakes up dehydrated and needs water asap. For my family, we are shake drinkers in the morning. No matter how you get your water in, drink it. My son actually took to taking a gallon of water to school everyday...he is a two sport athlete, so that might be a little much for the average 12 year old, but teaching your kids about water is important too! All of our kids have their own water bottles with their names on them. We teach them to keep track of them and keep them full. Even when they are at school! #4. Me Time! As a busy Mom I don’t take this one lightly. This could go under your Bible reading time, exercise or maybe you even finally getting to go to the bathroom alone. Be intentional with some time to YOURSELF, maybe it’s in the car pickup line. Be creative and be positive....don’t say you don’t have time. Like I said, this could be in the bathroom 🤣 #5. Healthy Eating! It’s simple! It doesn’t have to be hard and you don’t need gourmet meals. Be simple, be intentional and use Pinterest!
Breakfast - We trust the health of our kids and ourselves to USANA's Nutrimeal shakes every morning. It's rather funny how our 3 year old will ask for her shake before she is even out of bed in the morning. We made this a priority and a routine years ago. It's hard to find a product you can trust, I know...especially for your kids, but we have seen the research and absolutely trust USANA's Nutrimeal shakes to our kids and not to mention how fast and easy they are in the morning! Trust me moms, you would like how quick and easy they are! Ask the person who invited you here about them or ask me if you need to! Good eating doesn't stop there!
Healthy Shopping - for people that are use to being on the go, it just takes pure determination to make the right choices. Most health food stores offer some type of curb side pick up...this helps me because I can plan out our meals, create a shopping list and pick it up on my way home and it's done! It may take me an hour, once a week to knock this out, but what is your health worth right?!
Travel - Now lets be honest, airports are just hard...do your best. But I will say, with the ease of access to healthy delivery food nowadays, I log on a couple days early and have a grocery list of healthy food items sent right to our hotel room! I call the hotel and let them know, and they are always more than willing to accommodate!
Out to Eat - This can be hard too, but one thing we have always believed in...is teaching our kids how to order the right way. Kids menus today are normally not the healthiest thing on the menu...so if we have to order an adult plate and have them bring a separate plate, we do. Honestly, its way healthier and most of the time the same price of two kids meals...or sometimes cheaper! #6. Nutritional Supplements! USANA has some amazing choices for all people. Young, old and everything in between. I call these nonnegotiable‘s!!! It use to be a thing people would say, 'I dont take supplements'. That is rarely the case anymore...people take something, from somewhere and if you dont, well you should. The problem is the industry has become so over populated with products and companies just focused on selling a product with good marketing, that the quality of the product is the last thing on the list. Trusting a company that puts quality ingredients first is a must. It is also important that you can trust how they are made. It is not acceptable anymore to simply TRUST a company is doing it right...I have flown to the manufacturing plant of USANA to see if their FDA certified facility really is as good as they say it is. I have met with the scientist and founder of the company...I can honestly say, I trust this company.
If you are not aware of the quality difference that USANA has in their products, you need to watch this video. Click Here
After being involved in the Wellness Industry for nearly 16 years, I will tell you, Trust is everything when it comes to my health and my families health and after 16 years learning and growing around USANA, there is truly nothing better out there that I would trust my health to.
Here is a list of what my kids currently take everyday:
USANA Usanimals - children supplement morning and night.
USANA Probiotics - I add to their shake AFTER you mix it.
USANA Pure Rest - half a tablet at bed.
USANA BioOmega Jr - its a kids fish oil in the form of a squirt pouch that taste like oranges! #7. Nutritional Supplements Part 2! I call these negotiable but important. We take these to fight the fight! Meaning....when flu season is upon us and I bust out all the stops and we’re taking it all! Brian and I often talk about what the options are for parents when their kid starts to get the sniffles! OR maybe just you for that matter! What do you do? Run to the cabinet and hope you have a cold and flu medication? Run out to the doctor and spend money on a co-pay and a prescription at the pharmacy? We are so thankful that we have a natural line of defense in our household when someone starts to talk a little funny, their nose starts running or that scratchy throat shows up...one of my favorite is USANA's Booster C product. It comes in a powder form to simply add to water, either hot or cold, but honestly, I tend to just dump in on a plate and let the kids lick it like a lick-a-maid...it is an immediate immune booster! Add to that USANA's proflavanol C, which is a potent Vitamin C and Grape C Extract tablet and it always seems to do the trick! Lastly, USANA has a Usanimal vitamin (a nonnegotiable). It is a healthy children supplement, with about 1/4 what the adult version has. It comes in the chewable form and it about $15 per month! Really! They make it so easy!
I have a ton of other quick remedies that we do here in our house...and I would be glad to offer any advice I can for what we do for our kiddos...just comment below! #8. Dinner together. I just think this is good for the soul. Not only does it make this Mama Bear’s heart happy but I know my children enjoy the undivided, uninterrupted attention too and NO cell phones at dinner table. I know schedules are busy. If you can only do this once or twice a week, mark it was a win. Do what you can, but I cannot say enough for making dinner as a family a priority. Now don't feel bad if you can't make it work all the time...but do make it a priority to do it often. My rule of thumb is asking myself, 'will my kids say they grew up having dinner at the table with the family or no?' If you can answer YES to this, you are doing great...if not...evaluate your time and prioritize this. It is important. #9. Healthy School Lunches! My kids make their own lunches every evening after dinner. It’s simple but it’s healthy. A sandwich of their choice, a fruit, a veggie and 1 other item of their choice. But I’m not buying unhealthy things for them to pick from. Buy healthy and you eat healthy. Buy junk and you get junk. Pretty black and white. I cannot tell you how many times our kids come home and talk about what other kids eat. Realize your kids are watching a paying attention not just to you, but to everyone around them too! #10. Healthy Sleep! Again, if you don’t know the recommended daily amount of sleep, goggle it! Every age is different and you might be surprise how much sleep your children and even you need. USANA also has an amazing melatonin product called Pure Rest (one of my favorites) you will see on my nonnegotiable list. Children as well as adults need healthy sleep habits. It is just as important as healthy eating.
#11. Can't Help It...One More. Wash Hands!
Wash hands...enough said! I can't believe I forgot this one, but I truly feel washing hands after coming home from anywhere is a must. We have trained our entire family to wash their hands after walking in the door. They is a great book called, The Healthy Home, that even had a seminar we attended where it showed how unbelievably dirty the bottom of our shoes and our hands are when we come in from being outside. It was crazy to see the amount of stuff living on our shoes and hands! A rinse with luke warm water and a good soap long enough to sing the ABC's is sometimes the best you will get from your kids...make it fun and make it happen!
I know this is a lot but if you glance at this list you’re probably already doing a couple. Add a few and your doing 1/2 or more. It’s all about baby steps, being intentional and always having a healthy mindset.
Jaclyn Bohlke
Busy, yet still healthy mother of 3
About the Author: Jaclyn has been married for 15+ years and has 3 amazing kids all growing up too quick. Her focus on the health of her family began when she and Brian started a wellness company over fifteen years ago. After many years of focus on health and wellness, Jaclyn's experience and knowledge led her to speak on many stages around the US to men and women about wellness, personal growth and just life in general. She has experienced training from some of the most sought after scientist and doctors specializing in the health and wellbeing of our bodies and continues to help and pass on her knowledge to others via social media, coaching and other outlets.