We were both raised in conventional cooking and eating families. For my family, living in the country, we would buy our meat an entire steer at a time (700-800 lbs each), had a lot of garden fruits/veggies, and access to fresh eggs-- very "meat and potatoes". For his family, in the suburbs with lots of kids in sports and activities and Market Day easily available as a school fundraiser, he grew up eating a lot of prepared foods.
So-- boy meets girl. College days of pizza and beer end and having to cook for ourselves as newlyweds begins. At first, I want to make everything my mom made- and I tried. But we lived in Las Vegas and didn't have fresh beef and veggies in our yard. He picks up the occasional convenience/frozen food, and I am not thrilled. We slowly adopt our own meal time traditions-- that were not the healthiest.
When we had our first child who was getting started on table foods, I didn't want him to eat some of the things we were eating. That is when changes started to come-- we drastically cut down on things with corn syrup and that were processed. That has been something that I have been very particular about for a long time. If my kids drink juice, it is only a small amount once in a while and it is 100% juice. If they get a piece of candy, it is organic and made with real cane sugar instead of garbage.
As time went on, I read more about artificial colors and their affects on children. One article actually linked them to ADD and ADHD. Parents claimed their children behaved much different when they were not consuming any artificial colors. More rules came into play regarding foods-- for instance, if the cereal turns your milk a different color, we won't be buying it. Ketchup is not a vegetable and you won't be dipping everything into it, and more....
Now, I would like to think that we are reasonably healthy eaters- but we have a long way to go. I buy organic when I can, but only 60-70% of our foods are organic. Lots of white flours and sugars are in products that we buy and consume-- and they are not healthy for us. So- changes are coming.
1) My new goal is to buy 90% organic. Your body doesn't know what to do with chemicals and pesticides, so it stores them in fat cells. I don't know about you, but I don't need anything else being "stored" in me, especially in my middle! It does cost more, but it is worth it to eat foods free of chemicals (that are known to cause health problems) and to also support sustainable agriculture.
2) Sugar is a bad word. Especially when we tend to eat and drink so much of it. New goal is to make water the beverage of choice and to flavor it using lemons, strawberries, cucumbers, or by using the Soda Stream for carbonation. Coffee and tea will be my new sources of caffeinated bliss. We will greatly limit our sugar intake and use stevia (which I am growing in my garden) and agave nectar as our new sweeteners.
3) White is a bad word. Wheat is a good word. So is "whole"...especially when it is placed in front of the word "grain". Pasta will be whole grain and organic when possible. Wraps, muffins, bread- all will follow the same path. Ezekiel bread is a new member of our family that we plan to adopt and learn to love. Other whole grains are becoming regulars in my cabinet as well. Steel cut oats for breakfast tomorrow with sprinkled flax seed.
Follow along with us on the new eating adventure on my blog! There will probably be a lot of whining at first, but I hope to have great tales of energy increases and weight losses to report soon.
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