21 days = brand new habits?

They say it takes 21 days to make something a new habit (or to break an old one).  I would say that is partially true with our new eating habits.  We have successfully made it through 21 days on our new plan, and we are *mostly* adjusted to our new habits.

This week's changes/learning experiences/etc.

1.  For some reason, all 4 of us have had major flare ups of our reflux issues this week.  I am not really sure what has caused it, or if it is connected to our new way of eating, but I don't really have any other explanation, either.  For my hubby and kids, I would have said the increase of whole grains the past few weeks, but that wouldn't explain mine, as I haven't been eating any of the wheat stuff they have had, and I have been eating only whole grains for months.  We have had no acidic foods like tomatoes lately, so I am somewhat confused by this.

2.  Sleep has still been improved, especially for the kiddos.  I am SOO thankful for that!

3.  Yesterday my daughter said, "Is it true that just about anything homemade is better?"  Never thought I'd hear her say that!

4.  We all seem to have more energy and less of that evening "slump."

5.  Digestion has improved for all who had issues with that.  My kiddos have only had 2 miralax doses in 21 days...as opposed to 1 a day each before that.  

6.  Switching to whole milk has had the unexpected side effect of more calcium intake for all 3 of the others in my house.  I had always done skim milk because I thought it was healthier, but because of additives in it, we switched to whole milk, and now I can't keep it in the fridge for more than a few days or it's gone!  We went from 1 gallon every 10 days (mainly for cooking), to a gallon every 3 or 4 days.

7.  No more scrunched noses at real food recipes, and much more honest answers about taste, instead of deciding ahead of time that it is "gross."  :)

8.  The hardest part this week, for me, has been predicting how much of things I need to buy at the store.  Flour has been the hardest, as I have started making EVERYTHING from scratch.  Because it is new, it is hard to know how much to buy.  This means I'm in the store every couple of days, which could wreak havoc on my budget.  Thankfully I have been careful to stick strictly to my list!  I really really REALLY want to save for a grain mill and grind my own wheat and such, but every time we start to save money, something major (and unexpected!) comes up, so that will have to be one of those "someday" projects.  :)

9.  We have had NO sniffles and coughs for 2 weeks.  Considering my kids are generally constantly sniffly and congested, I think that is great.

*Note:  All of these things COULD be coincidence.  I think 3 weeks is too short of a time to say for sure that food changes are causing all of this, BUT I do believe that we are healthier, so the rest of these things are just "icing on the cake!"  And, speaking of icing, I am looking for a good icing recipe that isn't shortening-based but isn't just butter.  We LOVE homemade icing here, but I can't afford the $8 container of organic palm shortening when icing a big cake!!