Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Freedom Series: Honoring Food Choices

Whole Life Unschooling extends the philosophy into all the other areas of living, beyond simply how one learns. This means a democracy and equality reside in the household as every member is honored and respected as an individual with same freedoms adults are granted so long as it is not infringing upon someone else's freedoms or causing harm.

Food Freedom falls into this area where food is not restricted, and one is free to choose what to eat and when, based on when their own body says it is hungry and what it desires to satisfy it's hunger. As adults, we have cravings and if paying attention to our body, give into those cravings as a body has a way of knowing what it needs, whether it is sweets , oranges or other fruit, veggies, or whatever. We know when we are hungry, so we eat, this also goes for children as it is the way our bodies are designed so why as adults do we restrict what and when they eat? Many are afraid if a child is allowed to eat with the same freedoms as adults, all they will eat is junk food and candy, yet this would only be the case, if that is all that is offered in a household.


Many times in our house it was a matter of financial circumstance, we had a very small food budget and the only way to get us through the month was if I did the shopping for our family and watched how much we all ate. We had $250 a month for food for a family of 5. We still made snacks and such but our diets were restricted as a whole to a tiny budget and I tried to choose a little of something that each member would like as a dinner or snacks like smoothies.

This has changes recently, now we are a family of 4 with a grocery budget of $429 to $570 a month so this has opened the door for total freedom in many ways along with simplifying my days!

For May each member will be allowed $100 to buy their own food, leaving me $170 to fill in the gaps and to cook weekend family dinners.

We have broken this up into 2 shopping trips of $50 where they shop for meals for 2 weeks at a time with me mentoring and helping when needed. Believe it or not it was hubby freaking out over how to shop in a frugal manner and get enough meals!

There are a few guidelines where the $50 goes to get what they want including snacks but to bear in mind the 3 meals a day for 2 weeks.  What they buy they prepare, I will only cook family meals on the weekends. They can eat their own food, when they are hungry without having to ask.  They can not take another persons food, they do not have to share their own food, but bartering and trading are perfectly acceptable!

When it came to the first shopping trip it was my daughter, hubby and myself that went, our 15 year old son decided he did not want to go. To respect his desire to stay home, I picked out his food on the $50 based on foods I know he loves and could fix himself.

My daughter has been going through her food kind of fast and I have gently reminded her a couple times that her food has to last until she gets more money to shop in 2 weeks, she is not very good at self regulating!

Yesterday as she had it in her head she has to wait a month ( that is how I normally shop, is for a month at a time with just having hubby pick up a few things here and there throughout the month when he gets out of work and is already uptown.)  She came to me and asked....

"Mom, how long can a person survive without food? A Month?" I was like you know I am not sure but I don't think so, we would have to google it to be sure..... her response a very dramatic "OMG I knew it I am going to STARVE TO DEATH!" Ha ha poor baby!

All in all though it has been a great experience and seeing how different everyone food choices were. And seeing how everyone in the family has self control over their food, all but our soon to be 12 year old daughter anyways ha ha.

I will do another post showing those choices and what was purchased.

I am also LOVING not to have to worry about what to cook for dinner 5 nights a week! Awesome!

1 comment:

  1. A year ago I ate for 30 days on $45. I did to see if I could do it, and to draw attention to world hunger and raise some money for charities. I chose the figure of 1.50/day because that's the international poverty line.

    So when you say $250/month for five people, I can guess how you were eating. It's really tough! I'm so glad you have more now! I'm so glad I have more!

    I have found food freedom difficult because of our low, low food budget, which is not even a "budget" really, because our income is so sporadic. And my husband tends to buy what he wants and often leaves me without money for staples or more nutritious foods, or more thrifty options. I try to get my daughter what she asks for, but often I really don't have the money for it.

    I'm really struggling for a way to do this that is both WLU and within our erratic, low budget.

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