If you have ever struggled to make healthy choices for your family while also taking care of everything else that needs to be done, you are in the right place!

What can you expect from Choosing Real?

You will find practical tips to make it easier to make healthy choices. 

I share new blog posts on topics that include:

• Real food (recipes and holidays)
• Kitchen tips (grocery shopping and meal prep)
• Natural home & body care (cleaning tips and natural body care)
• Healthy habits (self care and family activities)
• Simplified planning (printable calendars and meal planners)

Since I love cooking for my family and enjoy discovering and creating new recipes, food is discussed here A LOT. I have been working more and more with my kids in the kitchen. Check out the naturally sweetened cranberry walnut muffins my kids made.

Thankfully my family does not have any food allergies, so we do not eliminate entire food groups. I simply offer practical advice for reducing processed foods in your home. However, I have completed a Whole30 challenge, so I am very familiar with that eating style. To get an idea of how we eat, you can check out my actual grocery shopping list.

You will also find tips on reducing chemicals in your home as I continue to explore natural cleaning and skin care alternatives, such as 5 ways to naturally whiten your teeth.

There is more to health than food and cleaning, so I also talk about other healthy habits, such as 5 tips to stop biting your nails.

I make various calendar printables to make organizing your time and activities easier. Get started with my 2020 monthly calendar printables.

But don’t expect me to have it all together. I also share the not so healthy stuff, like why I have struggled to make exercise a priority.

Let me tell you a bit about myself 

My name is Dawn. I am a wife to a huge sports fan and a mom to two, a teenage boy and an elementary school girl. We are big St. Louis Cardinals fans and try to get to a game at least once a year.

I am most active on Instagram. If you want to see what I am doing when it comes to food, family and home, follow me on Instagram. You can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Why I Started Choosing Real

After being laid off from a “good” job for the third time in 2013, I didn’t immediately go back to work or school like I had the previous two times (2007 & 2012). I realized this was my opportunity to focus on taking better care of my family.

I took over doing all of the grocery shopping and cooking most dinners for my family. While I was working, my husband had done most of the grocery shopping and cooking because he got home earlier than me most days.

I learned to make foods we had previously bought pre-made (think pancake mix and frozen pizzas). I learned about the health benefits of simply switching from canned vegetables to frozen vegetables. I continued to incorporate small changes into the way my family ate.

I also realized I could help other moms who were struggling to incorporate healthy choices while also juggling the responsibilities of working full time and taking care of a home and family.

When I returned to working full time outside the home, I used what I learned during those two and a half years I was home to continue to make healthier choices for my family.

Let’s go deeper

I would love to send you tips twice a month by email to help you balance healthy choices with everyday life. Just click the image below and enter your email. I will send you my kitchen measurement conversion chart that you can put on the inside of a kitchen cabinet or in a recipe binder.

Also, feel free to email me at Dawn at ChoosingReal.com, or contact me here with any general comments, questions, or even topics you would like to see me to write about.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Dawn