My name is Melise. I’m a Holistic Nutritionist and Vaginal Steam Practitioner. I’m from Baltimore, MD. I have 2 children, Burgundy (7) and Jett (5).
As an adult, it is hard to stay on track with taking care of yourself and choosing a healthy lifestyle. How hard was it to Introduce and maintain that lifestyle to your kids?
It is difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle, mainly because of the time it takes. You have to make time to workout and prepare healthy meals. It definitely has to be a part of you or else its impossible. It wasn’t hard for me to introduce a healthy lifestyle to them because I already lived that way before I had kids. I hadn’t ever considered another way. I started out exclusively breastfeeding and making homemade organic baby food so my children have only lived with health and wellness as a way of life.
When your son and daughter are away from you, what are some ways you make sure they are eating the right things?
Now that’s the tricky part, when they are with other people other than myself or their dad. When they were babies, I sent food with them when they went to relatives houses. Some people were offended but I didn’t really care about that. My main focus was making sure they were being fed well with real food. They’ve always taken lunch and snacks to school. They are now mindful of food choices and they’re allowed to have some “regular” snacks…its kind of inevitable because they’re in school around other children who eat a lot of processed foods, but it is definitely very limited. I don’t purchase processed foods or juice for that matter so they don’t even have that option at home. Their snacks are fruit and “healthier” homemade goodies. So they get real food 90% of the time and the other 10% is whatever they like that they see their friends eating.
Balance is one of the main things I think new moms have trouble with. What’s an average day for you like running a business and being a full-time mom?
First off…balance is bs! Every day is different. I wake up at 5 am most days. I get up that early so I’ll have some “ME TIME.” I meditate and pray and make my smoothie and eat breakfast, alone, in silence…lol! I wake the kids up at 6:15 and its rush, rush from that point on. Drop them off to school by 7:20 and then go workout for an hour. After my workout its back home to change and go to my office to see clients or stay home and do administrative work. Some days I have tons of other things to do like record videos, run errands or just wash clothes and clean the house. It's never a dull moment…always something to get done. I make it a priority to eat well and on schedule (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between) and I keep a very detailed calendar. My kids are home by 3:30 and then the evening ritual begins….homework, dinner, play time, extracurricular activities 3 days a week and bath and bed by 8 pm, sharp. Once they’re in bed I clean, read or listen to podcasts (my fave), spend time with my boo or do more work. So like I said, every day requires me to give 100%. No days off! Even my rest days get 100% of me…I commit 100% to not doing a damn thing! Now that’s how you STRIVE for balance.
What does dinner look like in your household?
Dinner in my house is always real, unprocessed foods. Simple meals that are quick and easy. I put almost everything in the oven so I don’t have to stand over the stove. We do eat steamed and sautéed veggies though. Lots of baked chicken with different sauces to change the flavor, baked yams with cinnamon and raw honey. They also like lamb chops and turkey meatballs, so we pretty much eat the same things over and over again. Some weeks are good and I will have made meal prep for Monday - Wednesday and other weeks, we wing it. Its all about being realistic with your abilities and being fluid like water so you can adjust when you need to.
P.s., I make my sone eat his veggies first, on the plate, alone or else he won’t eat them. See….everything isn’t perfect but you find a way to get it done!
Do you have any tips for parents on keeping your children active and healthy?
I make them go outside in the evening, even if they don’t want to as long as the weather is good. I only allow electronics for 45 minutes in the evening. They can use it all at once or split it up throughout the evening. They both have physical extracurricular activities a few days a week so the ensure that they’re active as well.
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