I never would have considered myself to be a picky eater when I was younger. But the other day, as I sat eating an orange, it occurred to me how far I’ve come now that I’m “all grown up,” even if I did have juice from an orange dripping down my chin at the age of 39….

It is a fact that when I was a little girl, the only fruit I would eat is an apple. The apple had to be cut into chunks, and it had to be peeled. Otherwise I could not, would not eat it (Sam I am).

When I think about that, two thoughts come to mind:  First: Mom, I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time about trying a strawberry. And second: I am so thankful I have now learned to like so many new foods!

Let’s just reflect a moment on the “never tried a strawberry” apology. For Pete’s sake – it’s not that I really didn’t like strawberries. I don’t believe I’d ever really tried one. The same goes with fresh peaches, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, pears, plums, grapes, oranges, and the list goes on and on. I had decided that I didn’t like any of them before I even tried them. 

I think texture had something to do with my assumption that I would not like these delicious foods. Beyond that, I sure didn’t know what I was missing!

I say all this to encourage you in several ways:

1. If you think you don’t like fruits or vegetables, ask yourself if you’ve ever really given them a chance. I seriously never even tried broccoli until after I was married. I never ate a whole orange until after I became a mother. And I was over the age of thirty when I realized that plums were amazing. I am obviously a slow learner. But I’d like to share that if I can learn, so can you. I’m so glad I did!

2. Focus on eating a variety. Try not to get stuck in a rut. There are so many great fruits and vegetables to choose from. Branch out!

3. If your kids are picky, keep trying and don’t be discouraged. I have definitely learned that my kids’ tastes change and develop with age. (I believe I have learned that about myself too, huh?!)  My pickiest son is now starting to like and eat more fruit and vegetable varieties – finally! That’s because we keep offering them, keep making him try little bites, keep giving them to him in different ways (like in smoothies or on fruit pizza). He has quite a nice, long list of his “favorite” fruits now. 

4. If you’ve tried hard and really don’t like certain fruits or vegetables, it’s okay to move on to other ones. No matter how hard I try, I really don’t like pears. Everyone else in my family loves them. I keep trying them, thinking that maybe, just maybe, someday I’ll bite into one and say, “Mmm, that is so good!” But it hasn’t happened yet because wow pears are so dog-gone grainy. (It’s that texture issue I referred to earlier, apparently.)   But guess what? My world goes on, even without pears because while I really don’t like them, I really, really like about three dozen other fruits. So I’m good to go.

I’m also proud to say that I don’t have to peel my apples anymore, or eat them only in the form of chunks – just in case you were wondering. ;)

Do you have picky eaters in your household? Have you found that you like more fruits and vegetables now that you are older? What tricks have you found to help your family eat more fruits and vegetables?

How silly of me to go on and on in my last post about the difficulty I had in figuring out how many pounds of wheat make how many cups of flour – and then fail to share the nitty gritty info with you! I had it totally figured wrong, by the way, and plan to post more details soon about how to convert pounds of wheat to cups of flour. But, as far as I can tell:  One Pound of Wheat (unground) = Three Cups of Flour. So there you go. You will sleep so much better tonight now that you know that information.

Oh, and in case you’re interested in another piece of random information that may or may not help you to sleep better, I have also learned this week that when I walk for several miles at a time, my hands swell up really big because of circulation and gravity and also because of something with the blood flow to the lower extremities and how veins do something or other while I’m walking which causes my fingers to turn fat. Did I mention that my walking buddy is not only a coach, but also has a degree in biology? Yes, I have learned all kinds of interesting information on these walks.

But moving on to some more Real Food – Low Cost calculations, which is the actual reason, I believe, that you have stuck with me through this post so far…

This morning I made a loaf of Applesauce Bread, which is super easy and makes the house smell awesome. I calculated that this loaf cost me $1.65 to make, which is more than I expected. Whole wheat flour, raw organic honey, two farm fresh eggs, butter – it all adds up I guess. However, this makes for a very low cost breakfast when served with milk and fruit. So, I’d say it’s a $1.65 well spent.

While I don’t have a lovely stack of pancakes pictured for you, I also calculated how much it costs to feed my family Whole Wheat Pancakes for breakfast. I always make a triple batch of this recipe, and the six of us typically finish most of the pancakes off. Total cost for this meal:  $5.22 – which includes the real maple syrup we use on our pancakes. Add an additional $1.50 for the milk we’ll drink with these pancakes, and maybe $2.00 for eggs if I make those, and then we’re talking $8.72  for a full meal, which is $1.45 per person.

I don’t know what you’re finding in your calculations, but I’m not finding that eating real food is adding up to being very expensive. I’ve still got several more recipes to experiment with though, so stay tuned!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my fingers only stay fat for a few minutes after we’re done exercising. This is why, now that I’m typing, I’m actually able to hit the correct keys…mostly. I’m sure you were worried. ;)

Any fun calculations you’d like to share? Ever experienced “fat finger syndrome” while taking a long walk?

If you recall, during the next few days, I will be making some of my family’s favorite, healthy meals – then breaking down the cost of each to see how expensive (or not expensive) it really is to make these healthy foods.

I had no idea, when I took on this challenge, how much I’d have to stretch my brain. I mean, here I sit with my laptop, a notebook and pen, a calculator, and several webites pulled up online so that I can reference prices I’ve paid for food. I’ve also got a pile of receipts, several invoices, a water bottle, and a little bit of a crick in my neck. Where is the chocolate when I need it? (I don’t have any scientific research to back it up, but I often find that chocolate helps with brain function and grocery break-down calculations.)

Not to worry though, my brain and I have this experiment well under control by now, even without the chocolate. It’s just that some of the calculations were a little more complicated than others.

For instance, in order to figure out the cost for one cup of freshly ground flour – I need to first figure how much one pound of wheat costs, then figure out how many cups of wheat make one cup of flour, then figure out the cost of a cup of flour, and then add up the number of cups of flour in each recipe. Some of you math majors might not find that hard, but I have creases in my forehead right now and a very confused look on my face that I’m trying hard to disguise.

Ah, but I did figure it out. I am happy to report that, as near as I can calculate, one cup of organic, freshly ground whole wheat flour costs me $0.13. Yes indeed. Now that I’ve figured out this information, there should be no limit to the recipe break-down calculations I can do. Unless of course the recipe I’m making doesn’t call for flour and I instead need to figure the cost of say, a potato.

I’m getting this thing figured out though – don’t you worry. The cost for a cup of sucanat? The price I pay for a wedge of cheese? I’m all over it. But if I come up missing at any time during this challenge, I’d suggest the first place you look might be in my office under all the papers and notes I’ve scratched out, where I will likely be nursing some paper cuts and mumbling incoherently about cups and ounces and most likely, potatoes.

Speaking of which, first up – the Taco Potato break-down. As near as I can figure, it cost me a total of $9.48 for our Taco Potato meal on Sunday. This amount fed eight people, which breaks down to $1.19 per person. I love that this is a complete, well rounded, filling meal. I would definitely call this a Real Food – Low Cost Meal!

Next, I calculated the cost of my Homemade Pizza. This recipe is a little pricier to make, and in fact, is not a whole lot cheaper than grabbing some take-and-bake pizzas from Walmart. However, since I went all out on the pizza this time, adding homemade pepperoni, lots of raw white cheddar cheese, mushrooms, peppers from our garden, and olives –  I didn’t feel like $9.00/pizza was a terrible price. Especially since most of the ingredients were organic and the crust was made from freshly ground whole wheat flour (which cost me precisely $0.13/cup – just in case you forgot). Cost per person on the pizza:  $2.25 – and everyone was stuffed. More expensive than Taco Potatoes, but still not too bad, especially since I only make pizza once every three weeks or so.

There are all kinds of recipes left on the Real Food – Low Cost Challenge list for me to break-down. But hey, once you know the cost of a potato, you’ve pretty much got life made. (If only.)

Have you joined the challenge? Done any real food price break-downs you’d like to share? Do you know how much one potato costs? Yeah, good luck with that. :)