As I opened my questionable can of chicken and corn soup last week, mentally likening the glugging suction noise as it poured out of the can to dog food, I got to thinking about the state of my diet. It’s not terrible. For the most part, I eat fresh food. I do, however, find myself getting lazy on work days, opting for two-minute noodles or canned soup for lunch in favour of actual nutrition. Actually, days with missy can be worse, with me being so intent on feeding her nutritious food that I often forget to feed myself, which leads to all manner of sugary snacking. Plus, with all the stress of late chocolate has featured heavily in my diet. OK, so maybe once you put aside my daily home-cooked dinner, my personal diet is not that nutritious!

So, I decided to commence what I deem “the toddler diet”. I’m not one to fad diet, but I thought this would work. This is not about losing weight, it’s about getting healthy. I do not – will not – weigh myself. I’m simply going to monitor how I feel. It’s not going to be easy. A toddler diet requires ultimate organisation (missy’s meals are prepared, and frozen in portion sizes for convenience). Now, to be clear, this is based on my toddler’s diet. I am a nutrition nazi, so it’s pretty strict.

Today was day one, made easier by the fact that I had some leftover roast dinner for lunch. Still, today was a “hungry day”, as are most days where you attempt any sort of self-control. I munched down fruit, homemade muesli bars (homemade are allowed, no sugar in these bad boys), but found myself still hungry. Meanwhile, I worked next to three open blocks of chocolate and an open bag of Starburst chews. I am a friggen super hero for exercising that type of self control! Anyway, let’s start with the ground rules – and no, it doesn’t involve throwing my food around, or creating “art” with my pumpkin soup discards.

The toddler diet: The rules:

  1. I am allowed to eat anything I allow my child to eat, and that isn’t limited to what she will eat. For example, missy isn’t a huge fan of Dad’s homemade butter chicken, jammed full of veggies, but I’m more than happy for her to chow down on it
  2. No processed food. This means no canned soup, no two-minute noodles, no “convenience meals”, nothing that you can buy from the freezer aisle of the supermarket. If I didn’t have to chop it, cook it and/or assemble it, it’s probably not OK. This means substituting my pre-packaged muesli bars for healthy homemade ones. Missy gets a homemade hot meal each day for lunch and dinner, so I’m aiming for that, with an acknowledgement that sometimes she refuses that and just opts for fruit and yoghurt instead, which is also OK.
  3. No chocolate. Missy has had chocolate maybe twice in her life. She’s not that fussed on it. Plus, I don’t let her have it as a general rule. That’s out. Add to that mix any kind of lolly/chips etc.
  4. No salty snacks. It’s pretty much acknowledged that salty snacks are a no-no for the toddler’s liver, so that’s gone. No more salty rice crackers at work for me. Time to buy an alternative!
  5. No take-away. I felt a bit funny putting this on the list. I mean, some take-away is OK, right? It’s not all greasy burgers. However, missy has never had take away, so it goes on the list.
  6. I am only allowed to drink milk or water. Note: There is an adult exception to this. I am allowed coffee (because she gets a babycino, it’s only fair) and I’m also allowed wine on Friday and Saturday nights (because life).
  7. I can have the occasional bit of muffin (but never a whole one), and maybe the occasional scoop of ice cream. However, it should be noted that these are “special treats”, so more than once a week is not acceptable.
  8. In the same spirit as above, an occasional slice of pizza at a restaurant, or a couple of chips is OK, provided I eat something nutritious beforehand. Again, this should not happen more than once a week, if that.
  9. I’m allowed to eat as much as I want. Missy can eat to her heart’s content, so I get to do the same.
  10. Strawberries. Strawberries are where it’s at. Strawberries are the most amazing things in the world ever, and if I could I’d have them with every meal. I am going to throw myself on the floor if I can’t get some friggen strawberries down my hatch NOW!

I’m hoping that by committing to doing this via my blog I’ll keep it going – I’m only committing to a week though, let’s be real about this. So, I’ll try and update you daily on my struggle to resist all things wonderful in life in a quest to clean my innards! Feel free to join me! Special shout-out to my Mum (who, I’m not sure has ever read my blog) for cooking me some homemade soup today to keep things going!

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