If you’ve missed the other posts in this series…you can go back and read them here!
Today, I really just want to offer encouragement to all of you who want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start. Or to all of you who don’t want to eat healthier, but know that you should anyway. Or to all of you who are overwhelmed about changing your eating habits, but are trying very hard. Or to all of you who have picky eaters in your house. (Does that about cover everyone?)
I think that when many of us think about eating healthier…we feel like we have to give up all the yummy things we enjoy. We feel like we’re trading in rich ooey-gooey tasty foods for dry, bland rice-cakey fiber filled ickiness.
Please believe me when I tell you that since we’ve started eating healthier foods…we’ve discovered truly how delicious food can be.
The food is delicious because we’re eating REAL FOOD!!!! Do you hear me? REAL FOOD I say!!
Just think for a second…Which sounds more delicious: A juicy pot roast cooked with carrots and potatoes, served with gravy…or a chicken nugget dumped out of a box? There is NO COMPARISON! Real food tastes SO GOOD!
Here are a few ideas I will offer you to help you know where to start if you want to Get Real With Food:
1. Begin by thinking about what is a real, whole food and what isn’t. I’ll cover this in more depth in another post soon, but in the meantime, think back to the basics (meat, milk, grain, vegetable, fruit). All food starts out real…but some of it…by the time it goes through several machines to make it become whatever it is in a package…is nothing like it’s original form. (What in the world makes a piece of corn become a Cheeto anyway?)
2. Start looking at the ingredients on a package. If you don’t recognize several of the ingredients….you may want to re-consider eating it. I’d so much rather eat something with the ingredients: milk, eggs, vanilla….than something with the ingredients: calcium and sodium stearoyl, lactylate, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides… I have no idea what those last ingredients are. But one thing for sure…they are not food in it’s original form. They were produced from something to become something else.
3. Here are some small things you can change that are practically painless. (In fact…I bet you’ll find yourself really enjoying these changes because remember…real food tastes better!)
*Make brown rice instead of white.
*Use real butter instead of margarine.
*Make a transition from baking with white flour, to baking with whole wheat flour.
*Begin cooking a simple breakfast instead of opening a box of cereal or a box of poptarts. There are so many yummy breakfast foods that are….real.
*Drink more water instead of sugar-filled drinks.
Okay…I think that’s enough for today. Don’t feel overwhelmed…just pick even one thing and make a change. Any change is better than no change. I really want to help you see how delicious these changes can be!
You can do this! You can eat a healthy diet and serve healthy foods to your family!
I can’t wait to share more. I have loved all the emails and comments I’ve been receiving from all of you who are searching for a healthier lifestyle! Keep them coming. Bring on the questions!
I’ll continue to share some ideas of small changes you can make in your diet to become more healthy…and I’ll share some of the reasons why you should make these changes. (Why is brown rice better than white anyway?! If I shouldn’t drink pop…what can I drink? I thought margarine had less cholesterol? Should I eat organic, or not?) (And oh, so much more…)
Please stay tuned… :)
More Works for me Wednesday here!
Becky says
You can’t wait to share more, and I can’t wait to *read* more! I really love the idea of making wholesome meals. I’ve definitely enjoyed using the cinnamon roll/pretzel recipe you posted. I’m sure I’ll love the others when I get around to trying them!
I would like to ask about brown rice. I *know* it’s better for you, but I have some vague, potential myths running around in my head that has prevented me from making that particular change because I’m afraid of screwing it up. Does it take longer to cook? If I use a rice maker, and know I can put in equal parts rice and water for white rice, can I do the same thing with brown, or does there have to be a ratio difference? Does it keep as well as white rice?
Breakfast… I’ve pretty much hated breakfast foods since I had pancakes nearly every morning for at least 4 years in a row as a teenager. What do you suggest for breakfasts to someone who is very much in a dry cereal/bagel/scrambled eggs rut?
Slacker Mom says
I am trying really hard to ‘convert’ our family into healthier eaters. I do like to cook brown rice and you are right, cooking a breakfast is so much better for us than eating something straight from a box!
Thanks!
Elizabeth says
I just read the entire series and I am in awe. I desperately want to feed my family healthy, whole foods, but I think I am where you were a few years ago in that I pride myself on spending very little on groceries. So spending more to eat healthier is a little scary. Plus, I am not a cook. I want to be, but I have so much to learn. I can’t wait to read more and learn from you!
Teresa says
This is my first time reading your “getting real with food” series and I love it! We are on our way to eating better in this house, but we have a long way to go. Thanks for these tips!
Carol says
Isn’t it amazing what they’re passing off as “food” these days? Primitive diets are healthiest. I’m not sure they ate things out of boxes back then.
You don’t follow Maker’s Diet by chance, do you?
Happy Mommy says
I love this idea and I do it too! I don’t use real butter though, I use spray butter by Parkey which has no transfat. I use WW so I can’t afford the points in real butter. I do use whole milk for the kids though.
I love being a homemaker and will come and check out more of your ideas soon.
Meshellyn says
I am really appreciating your series about food and eating healthy. We just bought ourselves a new deep freeze and your post was one of the major selling points for my husband. I’m hoping to make many meals ahead of time for freezing and make the most of it’s convenience.
I do have a question for you about your jars however. I have looked at mason jars at the store and considered buying some for storing purposes, but changed my mind, thinking I already have plenty of storage items at home. Today though, as I was getting ready to toss the empty spaghetti jars in to the recycle bin I realized I should keep the jar! BUT, if you ever do this, how do you get the labels off and remove the stickiness? Or do you not bother? Thanks!
Wani says
Sometimes its overwhelming trying to think about feeding my family the best way possible. Eating healthy isn’t always cheap! So, we’re taking baby steps.
Some friends and I are doing a supper swap next week! I’m so excited!
brandy says
I already buy brown rice and work whole wheat flour into my recipes but I know that’s just the beginning of what I could do.
Looking forward to the next part!
Brandy
Lori Anne says
I too desire to do this for my family. I often start with full steam and soon become overwhelmed and fall into old routines. Thanks for the encouragement and reminders of baby steps in the right direction. I enjoy all of your posts!
Elizabeth says
Thanks for stopping by :) I love this series of yours. Awhile back, we were on the South Beach diet to regulate my low blood sugar and learned all about wholesome non-processed grains, lean meats, cheeses, etc. We’re not on it anymore (though we are mostly GFCF for my monkey) but I still apply most of what we learned because it tastes better and you feel better eating it. Of course, we do cook processed foods on lazy days but that’s because it’s better than going to mcdonalds!
Christine says
What kinds of breakfast foods can you eat that are filling and don’t involve eggs? The very smell, sight, and even thought of eggs makes me nauseated (I’m not pregnant, either).
Michelle says
Any suggestions for baking gluten free? I am finding this to be quite difficult.
Kim says
I have wanted to start eating healthier for a long time! Thanks for these easy changes! I’ve bookmarked you to go back to the other post too!
Suzanne says
I have started doing some of these things (the real butter, brown rice) and I’ve noticed more energy and I actually lost a couple of pounds! Thanks for some great ideas!
Audra Krell says
Another great blog post, thanks for sharing! I love how you encourage people, especially with just trying by making one change. That is totally doable.
Catherine says
This was a great read full of great ideas.
I’ve tried to switch from margarine to butter, but my mum has been feeding me margarine since I was a little girl and I find I dislike the taste of butter.
I DO love the taste of brown rice, but my husband prefers white. Sometimes I do half and half, which he will tolerate.
Chelf says
I am working now to change our patterns. But… I have a question for you. I would guess that as a family of boys, you probably don’t have many leftovers. But I have only DH and me. I have to be careful to buy small amounts, because it is tough to use all fresh ingredients, when I don’t know how to prepare/store them.
I am attending a weekly class at church, where one of the elder’s wives is showing us young’uns how to budget our money, and eat healthy. We talk about Bible verses about how to take care of ourselves.. and how the Bible examples how to eat, move and stay healthy.
Marian says
Thank you for this series! I’ve been led toward eating more healthily baby step by baby step (and I’ve only taken two steps!), and this was truly encouraging.
My mom doesn’t cook much (and RARELY from scratch), so any help I find before getting married next year is so appreciated–just wanted to say thank you!
Kate says
Those tips are just perfect, and so encouraging for me right now. You make me feel like we can DO this, and like we really are already on the right road. That is so exciting to me.
Thanks again for doing this series Laura. I look forward to each and every one of the posts.
Tana says
I am commenting on a comment! I find that I actually don’t spend more on groceries, and I don’t buy from upscale markets. Now that we eat mostly real food, I find I am skipping most of the middle isles at Walmart while I spend money in produce, some dairy and meat. I can find many organics at Walmart. We buy our milk and eggs from farms. I do pick up whole grain pastas and rice,frozen vegetables and off season canned items. Because I skip all of the boxed items and phony snacks, I save money there and spend it on real food.
karen says
I bake with whole wheat pastry flour. It is ground super fine–your family won’t even know it’s not white flour. Start with one quarter WW flour and slowly increase the amount. My hubby didn’t even notice that I had stopped using white flour.
(small tangent here) I’ve been trying to find a whole wheat pasta that tastes good and doesn’t turn to oatmeal texture when reheating.