Real Food

I took the plunge today;

I purchased ALL real foods.

This means that I am going to have to cook.

and bake.

UGH.

But, honestly, I'm not dreading it because this time I have a purpose.

I'm baking and cooking non-processed foods for my husband and son (who are so worth all the extra labor!) so they are not consuming chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

From recent conversations with whole-food-ish type friends, the amount of people I know who have recently been diagnosed with cancer, a sister-in-law who went gluten free, and the online research I've done, I've become convinced that I need to do more to help my family eat whole, real foods. 

I wasn't sure where to start, but I found a website I really enjoy:

100 Days of Real Food

If you "like" her FB page, you'll have access to four weeks of meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists.

Yesterday I got everything organized and today Aidan and I did the shopping.

(He was a perfect shopper, by the way.  No meltdowns!)

We shopped Target for a few items and then went to the Organic section of Hy-Vee. 

 

I'm not completely sold out on organic (I don't buy organic fruits or vegetables; I wash them with soap and warm water); instead, I look at the ingredients.  I'm following Lisa's (of 100 Days of Real Food) rule:  Foods purchased must contain less than five ingredients that you recognize (and can pronounce!).  I haven't yet found bread or corn tortillas that meet this requirement.  Any suggestions?  I'm a wee-bit disgusted by the USFDA - why are they allowing such chemicals into our foods?  How can formaldehyde be OK to consume?  That's what we preserved our specimens in when I taught biology.  This could get me going on another tangent: Am I going to let this crazy government educate my child?

As I shopped today, I was filled with uncertainty: Shouldn't I just trust the USFDA - they're the experts?  Is it worth all this time and effort?  Is it worth the extra cost?  Thankfully, this face relieved me of any uncertainty:

Aidan ate more today at lunch than he has in three days.  He was ravenous and ate up the cucumber sandwich with cream cheese & dill, blueberries, sunflower seeds, and bananas. 

Now we just have to convince his chocolate, cookie loving father that this is what's best for our family's health!

***

I want to thank the families in our church who have so graciously donated their beef and pork to our family.  Just today, I picked up 1/2 a hog that a family gave us.  We are so thankful for the ways it supplements Brian's salary and enables us to eat healthy, farm-raised meat!

Please let me know if you have any other suggestions for our journey to whole food eating!  I'll let you know how long it lasts (but I hope it's not just a fad - I'm not a quitter!).  :)  And, please, don't let me become a granola (or "crunchy" as I heard referenced last weekend).