The Puzzle Is Real

Happy Vibes, Healthy Tribe

• Matt & Melissa Pisani • Season 1 • Episode 41

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 Join Matt and Melissa as they discuss healthy habits, fun recipes and cheat treats for plant based freaks! 

@puzzleisreal 

www.mattandmelissapisani.com

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Puzzle is Real podcast where we will be discussing faith, family, and Relationships hosted by Matt and Melissa Paani. This is The Puzzle is Real podcast when you know, you know,

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to The Puzzle is Real podcast everyone. Hey, we are excited. We are on a roll and we can't wait to share with you what do we have for them today?

Speaker 3:

Well for all of you organic people out there, you gluten freer, you plant-based freaks<laugh>. Just kidding.<laugh>. I don't know, we're the, does that come from plant? No, that's us. No,

Speaker 2:

That's kind of me<laugh> that.

Speaker 3:

That's kind of us. Well, you know, it's funny, like years ago people would talk to me about like eating almond butter and like being plant-based and it was so foreign and you'd be like, that's weird. Like what? And

Speaker 2:

Like I'll stick to my Oreos and my Fruity Pebbles. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And my enriched wheat flour and everything and lots of sugar and lots of, uh, what's that stuff called? Corn, CB corn

Speaker 2:

Syrup.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, we've just been trying to really make healthier choices, truth and things that we can do to help our children not be obese. So I think that today's episode is really important. It's about our family and even how our bodies a temple and we're not mocking or making fun of these things as much as we're just laughing at ourselves. Cuz we have our days where the cheat treats are going down and I'm over it and I don't care if it's not gluten free. I'm willing to deal with the consequences.

Speaker 2:

Oh. Like, um, this evening, what did you do<laugh>?

Speaker 3:

We had a beautiful, um, I dunno if it was a gallon, but it was a nice size briars ice cream in the freezer. It

Speaker 2:

Was a half

Speaker 3:

Gallon, it was a half gallon vanilla chip, which I believe you had, uh, purchased.

Speaker 2:

I did for the

Speaker 3:

Company we had and for company. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, we ended up not using it. So I don't know, I just thought it'd be nice to have a milkshake with a dinner,

Speaker 2:

But not just any milkshake. It was like one of those fancy whipped cream toppings. Cookies.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

Sprinkles. But anyway, getting back to the, uh, healthy choices.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. I think that, um, again, all moderations. So yeah, we just thought it'd be fun to share some things that we've done with the kids and with each other to try to make healthier choices when it comes to snacking and even just meals. And hopefully it just encourages you if you're trying to do the same. I know that a lot of times we go on to social media to get ideas and to look up recipes and see what people are doing to create alternatives to the usual stuff that maybe we were raised on that we didn't know. Mm-hmm.<affirmative> would be bad for us if we continue to intake it at large amounts and um, yeah. So we're just gonna go for it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So one thing that I know Malachi especially loves Mercy is hit or miss sometimes, but, um, we make banana pancakes super easy and all you do is use oats. We use almond milk. Um, you can put a little bit of honey or a little bit of maple syrup in there with banana. And then sometimes we'll add chia seeds and then you mix that up in a blended cinnamon. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Vanilla.

Speaker 3:

Yep.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sorry. So I can, we'll post this recipe on our, um, Instagram at puzzles real plug plug. But um, yeah, so that's one thing that we switched out from regular pancakes and not saying they can never have regular pancakes. It's just a healthy alternative when they want that all the time. Um, and another thing that we've done is juicing. We really love juicing. Oh yeah. And the kids love it and it's just a great way to get some fruits and veggies in your little kiddo and you can make popsicles out of it. You can give it straight with just ice. So that's been really fun. And um, the kids enjoy the process too. They love watching the juice come out and putting all the fruits and vegetables in and, you know, they feel like they're part of it. And I think that's the big, that's a big thing too, is like once your kid is a part of the process, then I think sometimes they're more likely to try it because they've made it with you. So that's been fun with our family.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. I think you can even like, have fun with the idea that you can sneak in vegetables that mm-hmm.<affirmative> the kids probably wouldn't eat right by itself, but you throw it in the juicer and like, like

Speaker 2:

Spinach.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And even I'm thinking celery, even when our kids like celery, just like carrots. They do. And it's amazing what the flavor, um, components are. Bees

Speaker 2:

Beets

Speaker 3:

Are a good one and everyone usually is like, well how do I do it? How do I store it? And we've done everything from putting'em in in little jars Yeah. To, um, containers and it just works and they are delicious. So I know that that might be a more expensive budgeting thing sometimes when you think about what fruit and vegetables cost. But we also encourage our listeners and our friends to try to start growing your own stuff. I mean, we've been trying to be more proactive at doing that and it's been fun to see some things work out. Other things not so much, but I think we're still at the beginning phases of growing our own fruits and vegetables just so that we could have those resources to make more of these tasty little treasures.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. And it's also just a learning experience for your children as well. Like, this is the first time that I've personally tried growing vegetables from seed and we did it kind of as like a homeschool project since we're homeschooling our little kiddos. You know, I just set them up with two big buckets of dirt and then we had little containers, they had the seeds and they planted them and then now we have'em on the counter and they're just, they're starting to grow. So they get to see from the little tiny seeds that now they're growing into what eventually will be the full size vegetable, which is just really cool. And um, it's exciting because now we'll be able to eat fresh vegetables from our little garden that we're starting.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And even just the, the milkshake alternative, I know that<laugh>, that's not for everyone. Lactose intolerant, all the different things that are tied into it. Smoothies have been a home run for us. I mean, oh yeah. You get some frozen fruit. Again, some of those elements like cinnamon you've given, throw an avocado in there, peanut butter, almond butter. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, chia seeds, all these different elements that the kids love it, it still tastes sweet. You could throw a banana depending on mm-hmm.<affirmative>, there's tons of recipes you could look up online. And that's just been a really nice substitute too for like a breakfast or a lunch when the kids don't wanna eat anything. But that smoothie, you know, has the nutrients and has a lot of good treasures that are tied into it. So I think that's another thing for everyone to consider is, you know, what's that alternative look like for you? If it's not juicing, is it a smoothie? And just even homemade granola, which Melissa introduced me to, I think you found the recipe and then we like mm-hmm.<affirmative> just took those things to the next level. We've realized that a lot of these pre-packaged power bars or granola bars can be made at home and it seems a little tedious and like, I guess a huge time commitment. But once you do it, I mean those things can stretch over a week if you do it right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. And you can batch them, you can freeze them because Malachi was going through chocolate, what was it? Um, granola bars. Oh yeah, yeah. All the time. Like we, we would buy the hundred pack from Costco and we would go through it pretty quickly.

Speaker 3:

More chocolate bars, more chocolate bars more

Speaker 2:

So we're like, we gotta make our own because you know, I was looking at the ingredients and even though they weren't terrible, it still was not great. So I'm like, we could do this on our own. And he loves'em. He's like, Ooh, more chocolate bar. So that's been great. And another thing also is staying active. We want to teach our kids to stay, stay active and be outside. So we try to do like a family walk at least once a day. If we miss a day, we'll try to do something inside that's active. I'll put on like a, uh, dancing video with the kids. It's a learning video and we'll do it all together to get their blood flowing and just to create healthy habits and just healthy lifestyle really from when they're small till they're older so that it's not foreign to them Right. When they are older that they already have just a, a good platform to start on.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. I was thinking about like even doing like a home workout with the guys that listen, you know, like you could be trying to do like your quick sets with some dumbbells or some weights, whatever your regimen is. And I know I've been incorporating the kids into joining me and saying, all right, we gotta get our workout. And I have them doing mini leg lifts and just different things to work on their core and just getting just to more acquaint with the idea that they can eventually start doing exercises and it's super cute even when they're so young. But just introducing'em to the idea of fitness and um, just these little baby steps, planting seeds so that our kids someday can even be healthier than we were at our, at that, that age, you know, as they continue to go into adolescence.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. We didn't know what we didn't know. You know, times have changed, things have shifted. When we were younger it was like you ate cereal every morning for breakfast, you know, all the

Speaker 3:

Ci, cinnamon toast, crumb,

Speaker 2:

<laugh> and it was delicious at the time. Right. But

Speaker 3:

Drinking the milk, did you drink the milk?

Speaker 2:

I didn't drink the milk. I always thought that was gross.

Speaker 3:

Oh. Once in a while I just drink some of that coco pebble milk. You get some of that. You didn't do that. Any of the coco crispy

Speaker 2:

Milk? No, cuz I'm not a milk person. I never really liked milk. And I remember, this is kind of off subject, but um, I went to one of my friend's houses for dinner when I was young. I was probably, I don't know, like six or seven and they had milk for dinner. Like that's what they drank. And I remember thinking, oh my gosh, this is disgusting. Like how can I drink this with my meal? So I remember just taking like the tiniest sips every time I needed a drink.

Speaker 3:

<laugh>. Oh was it 1%?

Speaker 2:

I don't even, no, I think it was like whole milk. Oof. Yeah. Anyway, so I always liked milk in my cereal but I didn't like to drink it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Wow.

Speaker 2:

I was more about like draining it and then just eating the cereal. Hmm. I'm a weirdo.

Speaker 3:

So you wanted a moist cereal but not a, like a drenched over, you know, the top milk experience. That's right. Where I was like, hey, if there's sugar and milk together, I'm not letting that go to waste on most cereals.

Speaker 2:

Agreed. Well not agreed cuz I don't drink milk. But anyway, so yeah, we just wanted to give you guys some little quick tips and just little things that we do just to encourage everyone to stay fit and healthy and listen, we haven't arrived, we're not perfect. We still have lots of things. I just had a baby<laugh>, but now that I'm feeling good and getting back into the swing of things, it's exciting to just get active again and to um, incorporate the kids in just this healthy lifestyle and to make it fun and not make it seem like a chore or that it's a burden where they don't get excited about the healthy stuff as much as they get excited about the gummy bears and the lollipops and all that stuff. And there's even healthier options for lollipops and gummy bears and things like that too. Um, you know, we buy the frozen fruit for smoothies but the kids also love to eat them just as little snacks. So like you cut them up in little pieces just for choking hazard and it's almost like a fruity ice cube. Um, or a little frozen piece of fruit. So that's another little thing that we like to do for our kids.

Speaker 3:

And I also like the fact that you had integrated in like taking the juice and freezing it into like little like ice pops. Is that what you doing? Yeah. Right? Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, wasn't that something that the kids liked where Oh yeah. You know. Yep. Like a juice

Speaker 2:

Pop. Yeah, it's like a juice pop. And especially for if you have any babies for teething, that's great. Um, once your child is, you know, eating salads and things like that when they're having teething or if they're not feeling well, it's a great way to get the nutrients in and them to think that they're getting like a treat, but it's actually very healthy.

Speaker 3:

And the last but not least, I was just thinking about um, the lemonade, homemade lemonade. A lot of times we think of the stuff over the counter as like, ah, this is great, but I know we've done it with just fresh lemons, simple syrup, right? Mm-hmm.<affirmative> and just trying to reduce some of the extra ingredients. Yep. Once in a while as like a cheat treat drink. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. And then obviously flavored water, you know, slicing up your favorite fruit. Yep. Throw it in the water. Yep.

Speaker 2:

Yep. That's all good for you guys. And yeah, we're excited to just share those and periodically we'll post some recipes on our Instagram for you guys to try and let us know what you think and if you guys have any things that work for your family, we would love to hear about it. So thank you for listening as always and we will be back very soon

Speaker 3:

Later.

Speaker 1:

Hey guys, thanks so much for listening to the Puzzle is Real Podcast. Please subscribe today and share with a friend. See you soon.