Meghann is a wife, mom and certified Health Coach! I asked her to share about her health journey and what it’s like to have 2 kids and live a healthy + holistic lifestyle. After reading you’ll definitely want to go grocery shopping and make sure you have a blender because she included a yummy recipe at the bottom!
You mention often about living a simple, healthy lifestyle and hope to help others live like that as well. What does your simple, healthy lifestyle look like on a weekly basis?
A typical day looks like me waking up, reading my bible, catching up on work, and stretching. I really value my time before my kids wake up. Once the kids wake up we tend to change diapers, brush teeth, get dressed, etc. Then we will head over to our kitchen to make a green smoothie! This is one of my favorite parts of our morning – I just love watching Sage learn. I let her sit on the counter and load the blender herself. She started doing this probably around 10-11 months old. She knows the name of so many fruits and vegetables all because of this simple process. While we drink our smoothies I read the bible to the kids which is FOR SURE my favorite part of our morning. Sage interacts in her own way and it is too sweet. From there we play. Play time to us means reading books, redirection/correction, doing chores, running around outside, using our hands. We’re all for learning-based play. We don’t have many toys outside of the ones that have been gifted to us. Having a small amount of toys helps our life be more simple! I also feel like it helps Sage be more creative! Lunch time arrives and we’ll whip something up. We only keep fresh veggies, fruit, and whole grains in the house. While Sage is eating I’ll go put Kale down for a nap. After lunch we’ll clean up, read some books (her current favorite before nap is “Bear Snores On”), and then settle in for her nap. During the kids nap time I tend to make lunch for myself, clean, and work. Both kids wake around the same time. We have a snack and play until supper time. Night time routines are the same pretty much every night… Sleep Sound in Jesus lullaby album, tickles, massages, oils, books, teeth brushing, praying, get our diffusers going and “one last hug!”
Your instagram is filled with recipes! How did your journey with healthy eating begin?
My journey to health and wellness ties into my testimony! After graduating high school my life spiraled into a toxic mess. I was involved in excessive drinking, drugs, and disfunction relationships. Fast forward a few years, I was fed up with the lifestyle and decided to make a change. I got heavily involved into weight lifting and clean eating. I loved it. I felt amazing. It was such an outlet. On the way to the gym I would see a sign that said “FOLLOWING JESUS.” Day by day I was more intrigued. Fast forward some months later, someone (my now husband) shared the Gospel with me. I remember leaving and saying, “Wow, God. I want nothing more than you for the rest of my life.” From there my health journey has evolved immensely. I found so much interest in what foods did for the body. Andrew graciously let me go through schooling and January 2018 I graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. My healthy lifestyle began as an outlet of feeling alone and transformed into eating abundantly, having a passion for natural birth, having a heart for a toxic free home, simplifying what comes into our home, and trying to live as sustainable as possible.
Because you’re a mama of two kids, how do you & your husband maintain living a simple, healthy lifestyle?
- We maintain a simple, healthy lifestyle by including our kids! Sage loves eating the food she gets to help with. Plus then we need less toys because cooking can take up some time!
- We schedule. I shared our average day up top and we really like to stick to that. It is simple and honors our kids. They need slowness at this age.
- We say no. We say no to quite a bit of things if it is too much for our kids. And it is hard! It is hard to die to ourselves! Our solution has been inviting people into our home. It has been very lovely opening up our space and serving them meals.
- We really try to make trips outside of the house fun. Ex: Grocery shopping – we let Sage push a kid’s cart (and crash into isles). We ask her to get the Spinach, to pick out some apples. It takes a lot longer to do it this way but it is really fun! In a year or two we are going to let her handle the money at the Farmers Market!
Do you have any tips for other Mama’s to raise their babies in a simple, healthy way?
I already touched on this but, honor your kids schedules. They need you to set the tone. They need you to bring a peaceful and safe rhythm into their day. They need you to keep them safe. This also includes honoring your kids’ personalities. Don’t force them to do something that they don’t want to. For example, Sage hated the nursery at Church. Our solution was to keep her in the sanctuary with us. I’m actually going to start going to the kids center with her and stay with her until she is comfortable.
Another simple way to keep things healthy are by making our own products. Whether that’s soft scrub for the tub or our own homemade almond milk. There is something so simple about having glass jars all over your home over having plastic bottles and bags.
Tip for healthy eating -> include them! Let them prepare their smoothies, let them cut there veggies, let them turn on the blender, let them stir the pot, let them throw away the remains, let them eat the food you are cutting. Don’t waver! Don’t let your kids eat junk food. Be prepared when you are going to family functions. Talk to your children about healthy foods and how they are important for their body. Watch documentaries with them. I’m saying this to empower you, you don’t have to let your kids eat junk food because it is the normal thing to do. Sage is over two and has never had a piece of candy in her life.
Another thing we have found helpful is that we don’t own many toys, so we read a lot. I think that is one of the simplest ways we choose to parents. Books are a major part of our day.
My last tip is to get on their level and treat them like people. Sage does so well when we gently grab her little hands and talk to her. Instead of yelling across the room we choose to get up and get down on her level. We try to talk to her like we would any other person. I think this is very empowering!
Recipe :: Green Smoothie (Makes about 64 ounces!)
- 1-2 frozen banana
- 5 pitted dates
- 2 cups frozen mango
- 3-4 large handfuls of spinach
- 1-2 tbsp Barley Grass Juice Powder (optional)
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- lime juice
- about 3+ cups of water.
My Takeaways:
- Slow down + plan ahead. It’s so easy to eat “on-the-go” or stop somewhere to get food instead of cooking meals and eating at home with your family.
- Say no. I don’t have kids yet, but saying no to people, plans and busyness is healthy to do and is a great reminder!
- And…make more smoothies! 🙂
Want to learn more about Meghann? Follow her on Insta @MeghannJoMurray