Healthier Eating Step No. 1 - Fruits & Veggies

This post is dedicated to my friend Sonia Chun. I remember when I was shopping for you and thought to myself, "I know Phil loves his potatoes but do they really have to be organic?" You sparked my curiosity and now my family is eating a little bit healthier. You make me want to pray more, too. Thank you!

I've heard that we don't need to buy everything organic. But how the heck are we supposed to know what to buy and what not to buy? Here are some basic guidelines from the EWG (Environmental Working Group), the latest "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" list.

I used to have three grocery lists - Shoprite, Costco, and HMart (major korean supermarket chain). I was avoiding a fourth for so long because of cost but now my priorities have shifted a bit and I now have a WFoods/TraderJoe's list. The Dirty Dozen fruits & veggies now go here. When I see the non-organic dirty dozen with cheaper prices and looking fresh and yummy, I do get tempted. Who wants to go to another store in the middle of our busy days? But then I think back to this video and keep on walking down the aisle. If time and money is really a concern, I just opt for a less pesticide ridden option on the Clean Fifteen list. 

The full list of 50 or so fruits & veggies can be found here.

Update: I want to note that list is not perfect. From what I've read, the EWG bases this list on (1) the number of pesticide residues found (2) the percentage of samples with pesticide residues, and (3) the total amount of pesticides detected. It does not take into account how toxic the pesticides are nor the toxic organic pesticides used on organic fruits & veggies. Are you surprised that there is no simple straight forward answer? Course not.

In an ideal world, we would all just grow our own fruits and vegetables. I do want to start a small garden sometime in the near future. Plus, it's so much yummier. Or we would shop only at local farms where we could ask farmers what kinds of pest control and chemicals they use. Anytime we can do this, great! But realistically, our options are:

(1) blindly just eat what's cheap and easy with no concern for our health - But we're past that already, yes?

(2) buy everything organic - Then I've at least eliminated the synthetic pesticides, right? I wish I could afford to do this but I can't. And I need to still save to buy organic meats!

OR 

(3) just stick to this EWG list as a guideline

It's about progress, people, not perfection. And what's most important is eating more fruits & veggies overall. Let's just keep trying new recipes and including more nutritious foods into our daily.

Oh and there are also many Asian fruits and vegetables that aren't even included in this list. Again, I'm aiming for improvements and realistic, doable changes. So for now, I will continue to buy my bean sprouts and Korean melons from HMart and get my organic dirty dozen from Whole Foods or wherever else I can find them.

Why I (Finally) Decided to Make Some Changes To What We Eat

I know a few people who are health food crazies. Honestly, I don't think many of them know why they eat what they eat so I see most of "them" simply as trend followers. Koreans are notorious for this and I actually find it rather annoying. Why would you do something when you don't even know why you're doing it? Of course everyone knows we should all eat healthier but why? I've always enjoyed food and generally thought healthy eating wasn't ever going to taste as good. So why become one of "them"? I'm the kind of person who needs facts and numbers to be convinced of most things. Not that I ever went looking but no one ever really told me the details as to why eating healthier is important.

I've seen snippets of different food documentaries and have overheard my Whole Foods employed sister mention a few things but nothing clicked until I came across this video.



I have three children with peanut and tree nut allergies and one of them also has an egg allergy. Sadly to say, many of my friends have little ones with some sort of food allergy. I've also been praying for friends and their family members with different illnesses including cancer. So naturally, a switch flipped in my head and I decided I needed to start looking into all this and make some changes for my family's sake.

Now, where to begin...

"You're a Nice Mom"

me: M, what kind of mom am I?
M: You're a nice mom. You're a faither mom. 'Cause you have faith. You're a studying mom. 'Cause you study knitting. (LOL) You're a cooking mom. I like what you cook. You're a nice mom.

Then he tipped his head to the side to touch mine.

God knows how to send me just the right kind of love to give me a boost.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, Maxx learned what genetics was. One of the examples I gave him was that we had the same toes.
"Mommy, when you pass and go to heaven, I'm going to look at my toes and think about you."
I became mush.

Today, the first person to wish me a Happy Valentine's Day with hugs all day was my Ellie. No one gives me more hugs daily than my Ellie.

Nowadays, when I tell Iann that I love him, he responds with "I love you a lot." He said it all on his own. Love. And today, in the car on the way to pick up the big kids...
Iann: When I'm a grown up, I'm going to sit there. (Pointing to the driver's seat where I am.)
me: What about me?
Iann: You can sit there. (Pointing to passenger seat.) And I'm going to drive you when I'm a grown up.

And as a grand finale, the hubs left work early to pick up one of my fave foods, Taqueria, on his way home from work. We always go to the one in Jersey City but he totally surprised me this time and picked up from a New York location. Might seem small but it really is the little things.

Oh happy day.

Before They Get Even Older...

Ellie is 3!

This post is waaaay overdue but I wanted to make sure to write my Ellie a little note when I found some time.

Dear Ellie,

This past year you've become a real little girl, no more baby Ellie. You started a 2's preschool program and are doing amazingly. You still miss me now and then but you always get over it and are that happy little camper you are. It takes literally, so little, to make you happy. I love that. Some people say you're just like me but in all honesty, I wish I was like you. You're so free spirited and you love people so easily and somehow get them to love you in the blink of an eye. You are such the determined one. You demand (I mean ask, haha) to do everything yourself...everything. You always try and if you need help, will then always ask. Then you'll try again and when you finally get it, you beam with pride and I always laugh cause in that moment, I feel like we're the same person. From getting yourself dressed and undressed by yourself to coming in and out of the car/carseat all by yourself, it all has helped me sooooo much these past few months in raising you and your brothers. You have no idea right now but one day you'll know. ;)

You know, everytime you see your oppa at school, I hear you guys cause a commotion...like long lost loves. Even though it's not okay to tackle hug each other at school, I hope you two are always that close and that as Iann gets older, that you bring him into that special bond as well.

Sometimes I tell people you're like a little boy, the way you are so crazy and wild in how you play with your brother and the other boys. But you are so much a sweet little girl and the way you love clothes, accessories and PINK! I used to dread that color but now it just reminds me of you so I'm good with it too. And oh, you know what I love? I love love love that you love arts and crafts! You make the wanna-be crafter in me so happy.

More than anything, I hope you always know how special you are. And how beautiful you are on the inside, not just the outside! We need to work on that a bit, haha. God gave you this gift of sweetness. Your hugs heal and cure. You just plop yourself on people's laps or lean up against them and although I love how affectionate you are, it makes me worry about your future and boys!!

Before I go, I want to apologize for all my mistakes, the times I've hurt your feelings with my words or tone. I'm definitely far from perfect. I hope you know how much I love you and really am trying my best to mold you the way I think God wants me to. Sometimes I may go overboard, I'm learning too, so thanks for your immediate smiles.

Happy Birthday again to my special little girl.

Love you so much,
Your mommy

Happy 2013!

My 1st Graduation

I rarely post a status on facebook but I did today:
I happy cried 3 or 4 times today because of Maxx. He just turned 4 and "graduated" from preschool today. So proud of him and ♥ him so much. So not used to this! :P

I took preschool graduation VERY lightly. I was late going to school and didn't even bring a camera. I got there and most dads were there and most parents were dressed up a bit. I didn't realize I was the odd (wo)man out until the teacher began to give out diplomas said the sweetest, most thoughtful things about each child. She knew each well and how much they grew up in the class. I was tearing. Then my friend, the class mom, presented the class present to the teacher and was reading our message to her aloud and again, I started tearing. I was thinking about how much she loved Maxx and how much she believed in him and really helped him in the areas he needed help in.

Later at home, he did something that landed him a time out and during our conversation about what happened, I started tell him how proud of was of him again and I started tearing.

Then bedtime came...

me: Look at how B (classmate) is looking at you in that picture. I think she really likes you!
M beaming from ear to ear and eyes barely visible.

me: Did you know that L said she wanted to marry you?
M beaming harder.

me: Do you want to marry L?
M: No, I can't because I'm too little to get married.

me: What about when you are a grown up?
M: No, because I'm going to marry someone else?

me: Who?
M: Umma (mom)!

me : You can't marry me!
M (tearing & hugging me): Why not? But I want to.

me (tearing): Cause I'm going to be too old.
M: I don't want your face to change.

me: Your face is going to be different too! You're going to be a grown up!
M cracking up like crazy.

Then I was laughing out loud too.

Iann is 1!

My handsome little man Iann!

I can not believe you are 1 already. Time flies faster these days than they ever have. First I must thank you for being the easy baby of the family! God really knew how much I could handle and made it all doable. You are such a happy baby. You love to smile and laugh at anything and everyone. You are sensitive, yet still flexible. You eat and sleep so well. And you play so well anywhere, always taking the time to carefully observe things in depth. You make everyone love and want to have babies because of your sweet and adorable behavior. And we can't not mention how you look like me! Well, my side of the family at least. :)

Your first word was appa (daddy), then Ellie, then umma (mommy). You need to learn how to say hyung-ah (older bro) fast though, cause Maxx gets sad when you only say Ellie. haha.

You are our last baby so I love that I was able to really enjoy time with you while you were so little. Life will always be busy but please know forever that you are never last and that you have my love equally. I'll want you to be my baby forever so hope you don't get too annoyed by that and understand how much I love you and how you hold such a special place in my heart.

With deep love,
Umma

Maxx is 4!

Photos by MPark                                                                                                                                    

Dear Maxx.

Happy 4th Birthday! You're such a big boy now! You're in school now, you listen SO much better these days, and you help me so much now too!. Even though you still have the cutest cheeks, you have more of a boyish face, rather than the baby face you've had for so long. You still love to make those you love, laugh. You'll do anything to be funny, even when you're in so much trouble. You're so charming and I know you will sweep girls right off their feet! You remain so particular and your senses so keen! You keep us all on our toes with your amazing memory and knack for curiosity. Ms. Jenny, your teacher, said you're going to be an engineer. Whether or not you are, I pray you do what God's built you to do and what you love...using that engineering brain of yours. BTW, besides your favorite color still being green and your still LOVING buttery popcorn, your current favorite show right now is "How it's made" on the SCI channel. LOL.

You're my big kid so I don't always know what to do but I know I love you so much so I'm always trying my best to be the best mom for you.

And I know that you love me so much. Thank you for loving me so much Maxx.

Your biggest fan,
Umma