Eating of Real Food

I haven't yet talked about our food plans, because frankly, I wasn't  sure if I was setting us up for failure. Originally, we were talking about deleting every single processed product from our lives. Then it changed to eating processed foods with 5 ingredients or less. I think we are having on to that plan for the time being. But we are making the process slowly and in stages. Making changes in stages is a lot safer, in my opinion. Which is why I am following the 52 small changes path. But lets talk about some of the more specific food changes that we'll be making.


One day,  I landed upon a fantastic website called "100 Days of Real Food." I haven't a clue what I was searching for at the time, but I couldn't be happier that I landed here.  I have known for some time that this is the direction I really wanted to go in, when it comes to changing our diet. I didn't want to go on some fad diet from a book. I didn't feel it was necessary to cut out carbs, fats, etc from our diet.  I always feel ill when I try and reduce the amount of carbs I eat.  I wanted to be able to eat without a great deal of restrictions. So whole foods it is!


We started following these rules the week after Christmas. Slowly but surely we're following them. We still haven't gotten rid of sugars (those darn refined sweeteners), but we're no longer buying products with high fructose corn sugar. We're buying almost NO snack type items at all. No chips! No junk! I bring a lot of fruit and veggies with me to work and have already noticed a difference in my appetite levels. I make my own granola bars, too. In the first week, I lost 2 pounds! I'm not necessarily working on losing a ton of weight, but I gradually have gained a few pounds and would love to get back to where I was. 


These rules and changes aren't going to be hard, not really. We've already located where we can buy local meats. And when the Farmers Market here in Kzoo opens this spring, we'll be heading there a lot, I'm thinking.  We already have to avoid a ton of processed foods thanks to my allergy to sunflower oil, so I'm not crying about that.


This is all so exciting! Eating better can do SO MUCH for your body and for your health. I have some nay-sayers already, though. Saying that they eat junk and they feel fine. Well, you may feel fine NOW...But I assure you, that WILL catch up with you one day. Without a doubt. Take care of yourself TODAY so you don't have to worry about how you could have changed your health ten years from now.


Eat real food with me!


From the site, here are the "Rules" for Real Food (I encourage you to explore that site further for more info, recipes, and other rules for your pantry and fridge!).

What you CAN eat:

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables(we recommend that you shop for these at your local farmers’ market)
3. Dairy products like milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese
4. 100% whole-wheat and whole-grains (find a local bakery for approved sandwich bread and check the Understanding Grains post for more info)
5. Seafood (wild caught is the optimal choice over farm-raised)
6. Only locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken (preferably in moderation)
7. Beverages limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and beer!
8. Snacks like dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn
9. All natural sweeteners including honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are acceptable in moderation
10. Also check out the Recipes & Resources page for a more detailed list of meal options including links to recipes

What you CANNOT eat:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”