What I am Learning From Lent

This year I decided to give up sweets and Facebook for lent.  I am learning a lot and am grateful for this short fast of things that seemed to be getting in the way of the person I wanted to be. Cutting out sweets has been more than depriving myself of sugar.  Rather I am learning to eat, love, and crave whole foods.  Strawberries, bananas, pineapple…dare I say carrots!!!  I have always read in magazines, cut some fruits and veggies and have them in the frig to snack on all day.  Yet I could never do this because the jar of cookies was on my way to the refrigerator and I would stop there instead.  But now that it is there, it is amazing how full I am (by such a small amount of calories) and how much more satisfied I am (compared to needing just one more brownie).  It has changed my whole way of thinking and I am hoping to create better habits and provide our home a healthy lifestyle. 

For example, the other night I was snacking on some frozen strawberries while watching a movie and my dear husband joined in…I think I am subtly having a good influence on him!  It is amazing when I do not nag or push certain things…but when I live by example, others tend to join in on their own.  Good parenting preparation, right?!Now the holidays were a concern, as I love to bake my little heart out…until I realized I could use my bakeware to cook food and not just sweets.  So what did I do?  Butterfly and bunny cornbread with our chili!  Yum!  And sooo cute! :)