I have a confession to make. I cheated. Sam has refused to be happy this week. Teething + Runny Nose + Tummy Problems + General Angst About Life = Stressed Out Mommy and Baby. Nothing worked. Let me repeat - NOTHING worked. So he whined and fussed and cried. All. Day. Long. For five days straight. By Wednesday night I had pulled all my hair out and decided to stow away on the next boat to Australia. So I had to go to Target and get ibuprofen for Sammy, and the candy aisle was directly between the pharmacy and the checkout counter. The people who designed my Target are jerks. I swear, those gummy bears jumped off the shelf and into my little handbasket. No really. They did.
Anyway, other than what shall henceforth be known as the Gummy Bear Incident, we had a good week. Like I said last week, Thursdays are a "cheat day", so I'm not counting the fast food lunch I had with my Papa. Since we started this I have lost five pounds, and I feel so much better without pumping my body full of caffeine, sugar, and additives.
I decided not to do a definite meal plan this week. We bought into a food co-op for our produce this week, and the pick up day was Saturday. I usually do my grocery shopping on Friday, and since I wouldn't know what produce I was getting it was hard to do a plan. Instead, I just bought a few staples and supplemented with anything I didn't get in my basket by making a quick trip to Sprouts on Saturday after the pick up. Here's the breakdown:
Produce $30 (The co-op was $15, and I supplemented with $15 for things I usually buy but didn't get in the co-op basket)
Grains/Bulk Items $25
Dairy $6
Meat $12
Total $73
The biggest frustration I have is trying to find nuts and grains at a decent price. I can get large bags of raw nuts at Costco for a great price per pound, but if I spend $15 on a bag of pecans it makes a huge dent in the weekly budget. I think next time I have some unexpected cash I'll make an investment at Costco, but until then I'll do the best I can at the Sprouts bulk bins. The co-op was a great choice for us! Yes, we spent $30 on produce (just like always) but we got almost double the food that we've been getting for the price. Great bargain!
Showing posts with label Project Real Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project Real Food. Show all posts
May 4, 2012
Project Real Food: Week 1 Recap / Week 2 Meal Plan
It's been a week! If you missed it, Aaron and I are eating only "real food" for the month of May. The rules are from the 100 Days of Real Food blog:
We are not able to afford to eat all organic produce or all organic meat, but I do the best I can to find locally grown produce and meat with no hormones or additives. We also do our best to purchase dairy products with no hormones. Starting in June we'll reassess and decide which processed foods we'll reintroduce, but it won't be many and they'll be in moderation.
We both made it through the week with minimal cheating. Monday afternoon we both had horrible headaches (it was a rotten day!), and so we decided to visit Sonic Happy Hour and get a medium Dr Pepper. Typically we would've ordered a large or a 44 ounce. Other than that, the only beverage we've put into our mouths this week is water. Thursdays are a hard day for me to follow the rules because I meet my family for lunch, and my grandpa always picks a "fast food" joint. This week's choice was Carl's Jr. Oy. I ate a garden side salad and a 3 piece chicken tenders. Not ideal, but after consulting their website I decided it was the best I could do. Since Thursdays are probably going to be a "cheat" day for me Aaron gets to cheat, too. He had pizza yesterday. It'll take awhile to get our pantry totally online with our goals. I'm not going to throw out food because it doesn't fit these rules, so a few ingredients this week were not ideal. We ate semi-sweet chocolate chips, regular pasta (sparingly in a soup), fat-free microwave popcorn, and bottled salad dressing.
Overall, I'm pleased with how the week went. My body is definitely craving sugar, but it's not terrible, and the caffeine headaches are minimal as long as I drink plenty of water. I'm sleeping better already, and I'm noticing that I feel full much faster and stay satisfied longer. Not a surprise considering how often we hear people say those things, but it really hits home when you experience it yourself. I also discovered a new recipe that knocked my socks off. I'll be making it again this week so I can tweak it just a little, take some pictures, and share it with you. AND I learned how to make corn tortillas. They are so easy and they tasted fantastic!!
This week I'll be looking for a yummy vinaigrette that my husband will eat. I'll also be trying several new things and, hopefully, will find time to blog about them. Aaron needed the computer every night this week for school, so I wasn't able to get much computer time. Here's the meal plan for Week 2:
Breakfast
Breakfast Tacos
Banana Nut Muffins
Vanilla Spice Oatmeal
Lunch
Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Turkey Sandwiches
Avgolemono
Dinner
Spaghetti Bolognese; Tossed Green Salad (tweaking this recipe)
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Italian Sausage; Tossed Green Salad
Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp and Mushrooms
Lemon-Thyme Chicken; Garlic Rice Pilaf; Parmesan Green Beans
Black Beans & Rice
Snacks
Homemade Granola Bars (Cherry Almond and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)
Plain Greek Yogurt with Berry Sauce
Popcorn (popped the old fashioned way!)
I put the groceries away and forgot to take a picture, but here's the grocery breakdown (rounded):
Ezekial Bread $4.00
Bulk Grains & Nuts $11.50
Canned Goods (Sprouts brand; no additives) $8.00
Whole Wheat Pasta $2.50
Meat $25.00
Produce $18.50
Dairy $5.50
Total: $75.00
That total is still higher than I want our weekly budget to be, but we got a ton of food for the price, and I think at least two of our meals will make enough to freeze and use later this month.
Have a great weekend!
PS...I don't know what in the world is going on with the weird spacing in this post!
- No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
- No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
- Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label (And none of those five ingredients can be refined sugars or grains)
- No deep fried foods
- No “fast foods”
We are not able to afford to eat all organic produce or all organic meat, but I do the best I can to find locally grown produce and meat with no hormones or additives. We also do our best to purchase dairy products with no hormones. Starting in June we'll reassess and decide which processed foods we'll reintroduce, but it won't be many and they'll be in moderation.
We both made it through the week with minimal cheating. Monday afternoon we both had horrible headaches (it was a rotten day!), and so we decided to visit Sonic Happy Hour and get a medium Dr Pepper. Typically we would've ordered a large or a 44 ounce. Other than that, the only beverage we've put into our mouths this week is water. Thursdays are a hard day for me to follow the rules because I meet my family for lunch, and my grandpa always picks a "fast food" joint. This week's choice was Carl's Jr. Oy. I ate a garden side salad and a 3 piece chicken tenders. Not ideal, but after consulting their website I decided it was the best I could do. Since Thursdays are probably going to be a "cheat" day for me Aaron gets to cheat, too. He had pizza yesterday. It'll take awhile to get our pantry totally online with our goals. I'm not going to throw out food because it doesn't fit these rules, so a few ingredients this week were not ideal. We ate semi-sweet chocolate chips, regular pasta (sparingly in a soup), fat-free microwave popcorn, and bottled salad dressing.
Overall, I'm pleased with how the week went. My body is definitely craving sugar, but it's not terrible, and the caffeine headaches are minimal as long as I drink plenty of water. I'm sleeping better already, and I'm noticing that I feel full much faster and stay satisfied longer. Not a surprise considering how often we hear people say those things, but it really hits home when you experience it yourself. I also discovered a new recipe that knocked my socks off. I'll be making it again this week so I can tweak it just a little, take some pictures, and share it with you. AND I learned how to make corn tortillas. They are so easy and they tasted fantastic!!
This week I'll be looking for a yummy vinaigrette that my husband will eat. I'll also be trying several new things and, hopefully, will find time to blog about them. Aaron needed the computer every night this week for school, so I wasn't able to get much computer time. Here's the meal plan for Week 2:
Breakfast
Breakfast Tacos
Banana Nut Muffins
Vanilla Spice Oatmeal
Lunch
Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Turkey Sandwiches
Avgolemono
Dinner
Spaghetti Bolognese; Tossed Green Salad (tweaking this recipe)
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Italian Sausage; Tossed Green Salad
Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp and Mushrooms
Lemon-Thyme Chicken; Garlic Rice Pilaf; Parmesan Green Beans
Black Beans & Rice
Snacks
Homemade Granola Bars (Cherry Almond and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)
Plain Greek Yogurt with Berry Sauce
Popcorn (popped the old fashioned way!)
I put the groceries away and forgot to take a picture, but here's the grocery breakdown (rounded):
Ezekial Bread $4.00
Bulk Grains & Nuts $11.50
Canned Goods (Sprouts brand; no additives) $8.00
Whole Wheat Pasta $2.50
Meat $25.00
Produce $18.50
Dairy $5.50
Total: $75.00
That total is still higher than I want our weekly budget to be, but we got a ton of food for the price, and I think at least two of our meals will make enough to freeze and use later this month.
Have a great weekend!
PS...I don't know what in the world is going on with the weird spacing in this post!
April 27, 2012
Project Real Food: Week 1 Grocery Trip
Well. That was not the best trip to the grocery store. Looking back on it I guess it wasn't all that terrible, but when I left the store I was determined to never set foot in a grocery store again unless I was either alone or had a small army of reinforcements. The need to read the label on every product that goes in the cart makes for a long trip. Add in a teething baby, a tired mommy, and a crowded store and you have a recipe for disaster. We survived the deli counter and the dairy case, but the produce section proved too difficult. Sam - who usually sits calmly in the cart and flirts with other customers - was grabbing at everything and screaming in an octave known to shatter glass. I was trying to hurry which meant I wasn't able to think clearly. I pacified Sam with a handful of Apple Cinnamon Puffs. By the time we got to the bulk section all I needed was peanuts, rolled oats, pecans, and pine nuts. They were all on the same aisle. Ready-Set-Go! Except I was trying to do it all one-handed since one hand was occupied by Puffs. Then a really snotty customer pushed me out of the way to get to the almonds and mumbled something about whiny babies and incompetent mothers, and I figured I should haul it out of the store before I force fed her a handful of Puffs.
I made it to the checkout counter and started to unload my basket. There was one person in front of me, and she only had five items. Then someone tapped my shoulder. Does your favorite grocery store have one checker that you just can't stand? Mine does. I avoid the woman like my soul depends on it. She is slow, she is chatty to the point of being intrusive, and she examines every item before she scans it. And she was tapping me on the shoulder. She said, "I can take care of you over here". It so happens that "over here" was five aisles over. I told her that I was fine, but she insisted and actually put items back in my cart, pulled it out of my hands, and took it to her register. In other words, she took my cart with my crying child in it and walked away from me. I considered force feeding her some Puffs. Or my fist. But I kept my cool. I followed her and started re-unloading my groceries. By the time I got my entire basket unloaded she had not scanned one thing. As a matter of fact she was on the phone. I don't know why. I was trying to prevent Sam's head from exploding. She finally started scanning my groceries and she did her typical "examine and pontificate" routine. "Is this a yellow bell pepper or an orange bell pepper? Oh, it's yellow? I think this is more gold than yellow, though. They should call it gold. Do the gold ones and the orange ones taste different from the red ones?". And if she wasn't jabbering pointlessly to me she was talking to the girl who was bagging my groceries about how sick she had been on Tuesday and who the manager got to fill her shift when she called in sick and how that person was completely unacceptable because they don't take time to connect with the customers. (!!!!!!!) Remember the crying baby? Yeah. They seemed oblivious. The girl bagging my groceries did a terrible job. She put heavy stuff on top of squishable stuff. She didn't put the plastic "base" on the bottom of my reusable grocery bags; she just left it on the side so the bag was off balance. She loaded one bag so full I could hardly lift it and barely filled the other two. And she gave me attitude when I requested that she leave my chicken in the plastic bag I had put it in to prevent it from leaking everywhere.
Nevertheless, everyone remained unscathed. The store was not a fireball of death and destruction when I left. And the moment the sunlight hit him Sam calmed down and started babbling happily. We got home, I put him down for a nap, and collapsed in the recliner to look over my grocery receipts and type up this post. And here's what it looked like:
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Gallon Whole Milk $2.24 (Not organic, but it is hormone-free and much cheaper than the $3.59/half gallon for organic)
Mini Sweet Peppers (Costco pack) $3.99
Baby Bella Mushrooms (Costco pack) $3.99
Bulk Items (peanuts, pecans, pine nuts) $10.93
Rolled Oats (1 pound) $0.81
Heavy Cream $0.50 (No that's not a typo! It was on clearance because of the sell-by date. Score!)
Bacon (1 pound) $4.64
Chicken (whole fryer) $4.90
Carrots (1 pound) $0.69
Strawberries (1 pound) $2.00
Baby red potatoes (2.25 pounds) $4.14
Broccoli (1.25 pound) $1.25
Cilantro $0.34
Corn on the Cob $0.40
Parsley $0.49
Pineapple $1.50
Bell Peppers (7 assorted colors) $5.40
Lettuce $1.76
Green Onions $0.49
Jalapenos (3) $0.34
Bananas (3.75 pounds) $2.03
Mangos (2) $0.67
Beans $3.73
Water Chestnuts $1.07
Tuna $4.88
Pasta $2.94
Mozzarella cheese-sticks $4.18
Pinot Grigio $9.99
Total Groceries $83.31
That's over-budget for us, but there are several items here that will last for two weeks or more so it should all even out. This was definitely an expensive week because our fridge was running on empty! Thankfully I had plenty of meat in my freezer which kept the price down.
Here's what I learned today:
I made it to the checkout counter and started to unload my basket. There was one person in front of me, and she only had five items. Then someone tapped my shoulder. Does your favorite grocery store have one checker that you just can't stand? Mine does. I avoid the woman like my soul depends on it. She is slow, she is chatty to the point of being intrusive, and she examines every item before she scans it. And she was tapping me on the shoulder. She said, "I can take care of you over here". It so happens that "over here" was five aisles over. I told her that I was fine, but she insisted and actually put items back in my cart, pulled it out of my hands, and took it to her register. In other words, she took my cart with my crying child in it and walked away from me. I considered force feeding her some Puffs. Or my fist. But I kept my cool. I followed her and started re-unloading my groceries. By the time I got my entire basket unloaded she had not scanned one thing. As a matter of fact she was on the phone. I don't know why. I was trying to prevent Sam's head from exploding. She finally started scanning my groceries and she did her typical "examine and pontificate" routine. "Is this a yellow bell pepper or an orange bell pepper? Oh, it's yellow? I think this is more gold than yellow, though. They should call it gold. Do the gold ones and the orange ones taste different from the red ones?". And if she wasn't jabbering pointlessly to me she was talking to the girl who was bagging my groceries about how sick she had been on Tuesday and who the manager got to fill her shift when she called in sick and how that person was completely unacceptable because they don't take time to connect with the customers. (!!!!!!!) Remember the crying baby? Yeah. They seemed oblivious. The girl bagging my groceries did a terrible job. She put heavy stuff on top of squishable stuff. She didn't put the plastic "base" on the bottom of my reusable grocery bags; she just left it on the side so the bag was off balance. She loaded one bag so full I could hardly lift it and barely filled the other two. And she gave me attitude when I requested that she leave my chicken in the plastic bag I had put it in to prevent it from leaking everywhere.
Nevertheless, everyone remained unscathed. The store was not a fireball of death and destruction when I left. And the moment the sunlight hit him Sam calmed down and started babbling happily. We got home, I put him down for a nap, and collapsed in the recliner to look over my grocery receipts and type up this post. And here's what it looked like:
.JPG)
Gallon Whole Milk $2.24 (Not organic, but it is hormone-free and much cheaper than the $3.59/half gallon for organic)
Mini Sweet Peppers (Costco pack) $3.99
Baby Bella Mushrooms (Costco pack) $3.99
Bulk Items (peanuts, pecans, pine nuts) $10.93
Rolled Oats (1 pound) $0.81
Heavy Cream $0.50 (No that's not a typo! It was on clearance because of the sell-by date. Score!)
Bacon (1 pound) $4.64
Chicken (whole fryer) $4.90
Carrots (1 pound) $0.69
Strawberries (1 pound) $2.00
Baby red potatoes (2.25 pounds) $4.14
Broccoli (1.25 pound) $1.25
Cilantro $0.34
Corn on the Cob $0.40
Parsley $0.49
Pineapple $1.50
Bell Peppers (7 assorted colors) $5.40
Lettuce $1.76
Green Onions $0.49
Jalapenos (3) $0.34
Bananas (3.75 pounds) $2.03
Mangos (2) $0.67
Beans $3.73
Water Chestnuts $1.07
Tuna $4.88
Pasta $2.94
Mozzarella cheese-sticks $4.18
Pinot Grigio $9.99
Total Groceries $83.31
That's over-budget for us, but there are several items here that will last for two weeks or more so it should all even out. This was definitely an expensive week because our fridge was running on empty! Thankfully I had plenty of meat in my freezer which kept the price down.
Here's what I learned today:
- There is no such thing as bacon that does not have added sugar. I checked every package at Target and Sprouts. I bought the Sprouts store-brand because it was the most reasonably priced and sugar was one of the last two ingredients listed. No preservatives or additives.
- Barilla Whole Grain pasta is not, in fact, 100% whole grain. Oy! To get pasta that is truly 100% whole grain it was going to cost nearly three times as much. I went ahead and got the Barilla. Next week I will plan on less pasta.
- Lunchmeat is nasty. Even Sprouts "off the bone" lunchmeat has sugar and tons of other additives. I decided to spend my money on a whole chicken which I'll cook in the crockpot for sandwiches. Then I'll use the carcass for making broth. (I love that I just used the word carcass!)
- I am going to try getting involved with the Bountiful Baskets co-op that several of my friends use. I'm nervous about the "lotto" approach of not knowing for certain what I'm getting, but I think it's worth the $15 to check it out.
I'm excited to cook dinner tonight and see how it turns out with whole-grain (sort of) pasta. We're having Pasta with Roasted Pepper Sauce and grilled Italian sausage. I think it's a perfect night to sit on the patio after Sammy is asleep!
Project Real Food: Week 1 Meal Plan
Today starts our first week of Project Real Food. Ironically I'm starting it with the Last Dr Pepper. We had one more in the fridge, and it needed to be taken care of. The mood is solemn. Let's have a moment of silence.
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Okay. Moving on.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to handle our meal plan. We already do really well where dinner is concerned, but breakfast and lunch are usually a grab-on-the-run kind of event. I decided to plan two or three meals that would yield leftovers and we'd use those for breakfast and lunch all week. Dinners will be handled like usual which means I'll cook every night except two: Sunday (dinner at church) and Thursday (leftover night).
Here's what we have on the meal plan this week:
Breakfast
Pecan-Maple Breakfast Cookies (doubles as a snack)
Breakfast Tacos
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Breakfast Casserole Bites
Lunch
Honey Mustard Turkey Sandwich
Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Dinner
Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Grilled Italian Sausage, Tossed Green Salad
Slow Cooker Puerto-Rican Pork, Black Beans, Roasted Corn with Cilantro Butter
Grilled Asian Chicken, Peanut Butter Noodles, Veggie Stir-Fry
Lemon-Thyme Chicken, Rosemary Red Potatoes, Tossed Green Salad
Slow Cooker Refried Beans, Fajita Veggies, Cilantro-Lime Rice
Snacks
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Fruits/Veggies/Cheese
Nothing in this list includes any added sugars, preservatives, or refined grains. I thought I would struggle to find meals, but I really didn't. Granted, we haven't actually tasted everything yet, but there wasn't one thing on this list that made Aaron turn up his nose. I also haven't gone to the grocery store and double-checked all the labels. I'll post tonight about my trip to the grocery store today. Sam is cutting two top teeth, and Mommy didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm hoping this doesn't end in disaster...
Click here for the grocery store details.
.JPG)
Okay. Moving on.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to handle our meal plan. We already do really well where dinner is concerned, but breakfast and lunch are usually a grab-on-the-run kind of event. I decided to plan two or three meals that would yield leftovers and we'd use those for breakfast and lunch all week. Dinners will be handled like usual which means I'll cook every night except two: Sunday (dinner at church) and Thursday (leftover night).
Here's what we have on the meal plan this week:
Breakfast
Pecan-Maple Breakfast Cookies (doubles as a snack)
Breakfast Tacos
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Breakfast Casserole Bites
Lunch
Honey Mustard Turkey Sandwich
Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Dinner
Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Grilled Italian Sausage, Tossed Green Salad
Slow Cooker Puerto-Rican Pork, Black Beans, Roasted Corn with Cilantro Butter
Grilled Asian Chicken, Peanut Butter Noodles, Veggie Stir-Fry
Lemon-Thyme Chicken, Rosemary Red Potatoes, Tossed Green Salad
Slow Cooker Refried Beans, Fajita Veggies, Cilantro-Lime Rice
Snacks
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Fruits/Veggies/Cheese
Nothing in this list includes any added sugars, preservatives, or refined grains. I thought I would struggle to find meals, but I really didn't. Granted, we haven't actually tasted everything yet, but there wasn't one thing on this list that made Aaron turn up his nose. I also haven't gone to the grocery store and double-checked all the labels. I'll post tonight about my trip to the grocery store today. Sam is cutting two top teeth, and Mommy didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm hoping this doesn't end in disaster...
Click here for the grocery store details.
April 23, 2012
Keepin' It Real
I've been having an internal argument. I can argue with myself better than I can argue with anyone else, and trust me, this girl can argue with the best of them. I have been dealing with this nagging feeling that I need to switch my family to what has become known as "real food". (This is a very popular trend right now, so you probably know what I'm talking about, but if you don't you should check out 100 Days of Real Food. It's the closest thing to a "one-stop" shop on the topic that I've found.) Anyway, I've been on Weight Watchers since early January, and I've lost 12 pounds and then I plateaued. I'm sure there are things I could do better (like...ahem...not devote all my weekly extra points to the consumption of Dr Peppers), but the more I read the more I become convinced that Weight Watchers is not the best plan for me. Let me be clear, I am not condemning Weight Watchers. I just think it's not addressing the issue behind my weight problem.
Weight Watchers is very focused on fat-free, sugar-free foods. They also advertise and design their program so that you can make room for the "foods you enjoy" and still lose weight. This works for some people. It used to work for me. It doesn't anymore, and there are two reasons why.
There is always a new diet plan or nutrition theory out there. And with each new "discovery" there is a flood of new products on the shelves that have been engineered to fit that trend. When did we forget that our food was engineered for us by the Master? I don't care if you believe in God, Buddha, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster you have to have some theory about how we got here and how we've stayed alive for thousands of years without the American food industry providing us all with "miracle" foods. I choose to believe that I was created by God Almighty, and I believe He created my body to work in conjunction with the foods He provided. I heard someone say last week that if "walks, swims, flies, or grows it's food; if it doesn't, it's not". Makes sense to me. And this is an approach that has stood the test of time. Imagine that.
Starting with this week's grocery store trip the Turners will be moving toward a Real Food diet. We are on a tight budget, so there will be some things we can't do (like buying only locally raised meats or all organic produce). There are certain ingredients that we'll continue to use until we have exhausted our current supply; when it's time to replace them we'll choose better alternatives. The 100 Days of Real Food blog has a "budget plan" for $125 per week. I don't have anywhere near that much. I'm not sure how that's going to work. My plan is to blog each week's meal plan and grocery store list/cost. I will also most likely be making a long trip once a week to get to stores that we don't have in my little city. The nearest Great Harvest Bread Company is 30 miles away, and until I can perfect the art of making my own bread I'll be making a trip up there once a week.
I am nervous about giving up sugar. I know that for the first 24-48 hours my body is going to be yelling for a Dr Pepper, and I'm going to have to push through it. I know that the craving for bad carbs is going to hit hard. I am not looking forward to the headaches and the struggle for willpower. I am not looking forward to the raised eyebrows when I try to explain this to people who won't understand. I am not looking forward to finding hot dog wrappers and empty soda bottles in my husband's truck (we all know he's going to cheat!).
There are a few things I AM looking forward to, though. Not having to count points and stress out when I can't figure out the best menu option. Full-fat ooey gooey melty cheese. Butter (in moderation, of course). No more caffeine headaches. Making the best choices I can make for my family.
What are your favorite resources for "Real Food"? Do you participate in a co-op? Do you have a favorite health food store? Anybody have suggestions for simple grab-n-go breakfasts and lunches that will satisfy the hunger of a working man with a seemingly endless appetite? What about ideas for baby finger foods for a kiddo who hasn't quite mastered the art of picking up squishy fruits and veggies?
Grocery shopping day is Wednesday. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Weight Watchers is very focused on fat-free, sugar-free foods. They also advertise and design their program so that you can make room for the "foods you enjoy" and still lose weight. This works for some people. It used to work for me. It doesn't anymore, and there are two reasons why.
- I manipulate the situation and justify eating junk by using my weekly extra points or cutting corners during the day. This means that, although I am no longer using several fattening ingredients when I cook dinner, my consumption of sugar has not decreased enough to make a difference in my body chemistry. And sugar is a bad, bad dude.
- I have become a label-reader. I am seeing the additives and chemicals that the food industry is putting in fat-free and sugar-free foods, and I am convinced that those additives and chemicals are killing us.
There is always a new diet plan or nutrition theory out there. And with each new "discovery" there is a flood of new products on the shelves that have been engineered to fit that trend. When did we forget that our food was engineered for us by the Master? I don't care if you believe in God, Buddha, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster you have to have some theory about how we got here and how we've stayed alive for thousands of years without the American food industry providing us all with "miracle" foods. I choose to believe that I was created by God Almighty, and I believe He created my body to work in conjunction with the foods He provided. I heard someone say last week that if "walks, swims, flies, or grows it's food; if it doesn't, it's not". Makes sense to me. And this is an approach that has stood the test of time. Imagine that.
Starting with this week's grocery store trip the Turners will be moving toward a Real Food diet. We are on a tight budget, so there will be some things we can't do (like buying only locally raised meats or all organic produce). There are certain ingredients that we'll continue to use until we have exhausted our current supply; when it's time to replace them we'll choose better alternatives. The 100 Days of Real Food blog has a "budget plan" for $125 per week. I don't have anywhere near that much. I'm not sure how that's going to work. My plan is to blog each week's meal plan and grocery store list/cost. I will also most likely be making a long trip once a week to get to stores that we don't have in my little city. The nearest Great Harvest Bread Company is 30 miles away, and until I can perfect the art of making my own bread I'll be making a trip up there once a week.
I am nervous about giving up sugar. I know that for the first 24-48 hours my body is going to be yelling for a Dr Pepper, and I'm going to have to push through it. I know that the craving for bad carbs is going to hit hard. I am not looking forward to the headaches and the struggle for willpower. I am not looking forward to the raised eyebrows when I try to explain this to people who won't understand. I am not looking forward to finding hot dog wrappers and empty soda bottles in my husband's truck (we all know he's going to cheat!).
There are a few things I AM looking forward to, though. Not having to count points and stress out when I can't figure out the best menu option. Full-fat ooey gooey melty cheese. Butter (in moderation, of course). No more caffeine headaches. Making the best choices I can make for my family.
What are your favorite resources for "Real Food"? Do you participate in a co-op? Do you have a favorite health food store? Anybody have suggestions for simple grab-n-go breakfasts and lunches that will satisfy the hunger of a working man with a seemingly endless appetite? What about ideas for baby finger foods for a kiddo who hasn't quite mastered the art of picking up squishy fruits and veggies?
Grocery shopping day is Wednesday. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
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