One of the greatest things about continuing to build my health is the continually improving ability to manage stressors.
There was a time not too long ago that my moments when I should be laughing, I felt myself bursting with frustration. In my heart, I wanted to love the precious moments with these two little ones, but oh my goodness their energy seemed too much, too overwhelming. Although I loved going shopping with them, just being with them in general, it was really difficult and took a really long time when I felt so pressed with a long to-do list waiting at home.
Fortunately, I found the root of my frustration, and, guess what, it had nothing to do with the girl's energy!! As I described in previous posts, my studies about gut health and its connection to brain health drew me to Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner training! Fortunately, I dug deep enough to uncover my own imbalance! I went through a treatment protocol and made several lifestyle modifications and WOW, the world is so much different now!
Onto my day with the girls!
Every Friday we set off on a shopping circuit. We leave right after putting the boys on the bus, snacks, water, loveys, stuffed animals and many times umbrellas (even if it is not raining) in tow. We hit our loop of Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Costco and the Farmer’s Market. I have done this same loop for years, with two double strollers, starting with the boys before they were in school and now with the girls. We know many people in the stores and at the Farmer’s Market, so it is fun! Yes, it is a handful but also very fun!
Whole Foods
Our first stop is always Whole Foods. This is the case because we learned that if you go later than 9 am, the coveted blue police cart is not available. The red fire truck is for some reason completely unacceptable. Now that I have cleared up my gut and I am absorbing my food, my stress tolerance and patience with the “pace” of everything is all good, in fact, it is actually kind of nice.
As soon as we get into the store, the girls are suddenly hungry and they know exactly where their specialties treats are found. Date rolls are an extra special treat! They get two in their own bag. One for after Whole Food and one for after dinner. The ingredients are simple, dates and coconut.
We always sprint through the parking lot with the blue cart powered by me, the engine. They laugh and scream, honking their little horns as we go. It’s quite a show.
Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s is always our next stop because getting there past 9:30, it is super crowded! The attraction in Trader Joe’s is the bathroom with the colorful walls, little hand washing sink just the right size, and of course Fennel the fox who is hidden somewhere around Trader Joe’s.
Their favorite snacks are Chomp sticks which are a good balance to the date roll from Whole Foods. We stopped for a moment to have a brief chat about some random thoughts after Trader Joe’s. My favorite is Madelyn’s lovely language gifted to her by her brothers.
Costco
Next, four-year-old we are off to Costco to sprint the aisles and hunt for our ingredients for meals!
Their favorite thing to do is check items off their list and load it into the cart!
Sometimes we can even have a little fun with their can-do spirit!
They of course LOVE touch everything so we had to implement some guidelines! Especially around the chicken case... Yuck!!
Farmer’s Market
We always have the final snack, the one from home, on the way to the Farmer’s Market. Usually, it is some version of the snack below with figs with pecans, carrots, peppers, and maybe a protein like smoked salmon.
Our final stop is at the NC State Farmer’s Market. We visit our favorite farmers for pastured eggs, local mushrooms, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and other seasonal veggies.
By the time we arrived on Friday, the girls were cooked and ready to go home. Madelyn was also quite unhappy that she had left all of her supplies in the car!
The ride home
Our ride home in the car is always some sort of a discussion about what we are seeing out the window, something silly about our shopping trip, or the requests for lunch. We had stopped for a train and Maddy started announcing her lunch request…
Does it seem like our world revolves around food? Well, I must say that yes, much of it does. Health is much more than food and we do other things, but the food really is the foundation and with the right nutrients coming in, our bodies cannot perform the way they are supposed to.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our morning out!