no more excuses Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

It’s an excuse I hear from many who choose not to eat a healthy diet – “Healthy food tastes nasty!”

I actually used to believe this myself. I thought that healthy food didn’t taste good, but like a “good girl”, I suffered through it anyway. This is because I had a completely different idea about what healthy food was. I thought that if I was cutting as much fat and calories out of my diet as possible, I was eating healthy food. What were these foods that I thought of as healthy? Fat free mayonnaise, fat free cottage cheese, dry chicken, and for a real treat – baked pieces of cardboard (otherwise known as “fat-free chips”) with low-cal salsa.

With all due respect to fat-free anything – yuck. Just…yuck. Unless, of course, it is naturally fat free. Apples don’t have fat and they still taste good. But that’s because God made them that way. Real food always tastes better when you eat it the way God made it. (Don’t get me started.) But as soon as you start pulling the real stuff (fat, nutrients, etc.) out of a food and replacing it with chemicals to make it “healthy”, the taste of that food is forever altered and well…yuck.

Now, I don’t claim to be the best cook in the world. I have botched recipes, and scared my family and sometimes my guests with some doozies of dishes that just simply haven’t tasted good. But I’ve got to say, now that we’re eating a healthy, whole foods diet, using real food in its natural form – my food tastes so much better than it ever did compared to the days when we just ate whatever cheap, low fat, low calorie stuff I could find with coupons. (Have you ever put fat-free cheese in your enchiladas? I do not recommend it.)

Serve these Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls, and I bet no one would complain about eating healthier food.
Really? These are made with whole wheat and honey? Yep. :)

Now, sit back and close your eyes. Let the deliciousness of the following food list help you know how wonderful healthy food really does taste. (Oh wait. You may need to open your eyes to read. My bad.)

Compare a chewy chicken nugget from a box, to a juicy beef roast with gravy, roasted potatoes, and carrots – and tell me healthy food doesn’t taste good.
Pull some hearty, homemade honey whole wheat bread out of the oven and slather it with (real!) butter – and tell me healthy food doesn’t taste good.
Whip some cream and plop some on top of fresh strawberries – and tell me healthy food doesn’t taste good.
Grill a steak, serve it with tossed green salad, and corn on the cob – and tell me healthy food doesn’t taste good.
Scramble some farm fresh eggs with some chopped tomatoes, peppers, and grated cheddar cheese – and tell me healthy food doesn’t taste good.

You can open your eyes now. ;) I think I’m finished thinking of amazing, healthy food that tastes good, but I’m hungry right now, so no guarantees.

My point is – real food is healthy, and real food tastes incredibly good. In addition, it is satisfying, and makes your body feel good, since your body recognizes what you are feeding it when you are feeding it real food. It is delicious food and you feel great as a result. It’s a win-win situation.

Rich chicken broth with veggies and homemade noodles; fresh whole wheat biscuits right out of the oven dripping with honey; a peach right off the tree; garden fresh vegetables dipped in homemade ranch dip; whole grain pancakes with melted butter and real maple syrup….

Ahhhhh, real food. I love it. (And I should probably go eat some of it right now since I’m so hungry and delicious food is all I can think of…)

What are your favorite real foods?

1. Transitioning to Healthy Eating is a Process

If you’re looking to replace every single not so good ingredient in your kitchen with all of the best, healthiest, organic, free range, grass fed, yada yada ingredients, all at the same time – yep, you’re looking at a hefty price tag right from the get-go. Why not take a step back, make a list of changes you’d like to make, then prioritize them and start making small changes – one at a time? What changes can you make that will help you feel better about feeding your family, but that might not hit so hard on the pocket book? Read through this Simple Steps to Healthy Eating Series for some ideas to get you started. But don’t feel like you need to take all the steps at once. Any small step you take puts you on the road toward healthier eating. Some of those steps might just not cost much at all. And some might actually save you money. How ’bout that?

2. There’s Not a “One Size Fits All” Plan for Eating Healthy

What works for our family may not work for your family. My food resources are likely to be much different from your food resources. The cost of food where I live may be much different from the cost where you live. I’ve heard of free range eggs costing people all the way from $1.00 per dozen to $8.00 per dozen. I’ve gotta say, if free range eggs cost me $8.00 per dozen, I’m pretty sure we’d eat very few eggs and I’d simply buy the regular, cheap ones from the store to use when I bake. Thankfully, I’m blessed to get free range eggs for just $2.50/dozen – a great price if you ask me!

Each family has a different amount to spend on groceries each month. Every family has different dietary needs. Every family has different circumstances. There is no “perfect dollar amount” standard for how much any of us should be spending on healthy food.

3. God is in Control and He Knows Your Heart

No matter what you buy, how much you spend, what you eat, or how you eat it – your choices can honor the One who provides for our every need. If you aren’t blessed to find free range chicken that doesn’t cost the same as your mortgage, you will still honor God and your family by eating a regular ol’ chicken. At the risk of sounding goofy and sacrilegious – God can bless your chicken whether it’s free range or not. God wants us to be wise stewards of our resources and to simply do the best we can with what we have. He knows our individual circumstances and He knows our heart. He understands our desire to do what is right for our family and He will provide what we need to do just that.

Don’t leave God out of the picture and think that you must be the one doing a perfect job selecting, purchasing, and preparing food. God’s gotcha covered. Do not be so focused on trying to make healthy food choices that you lose sight of the One who matters most.

No matter where you are on your healthy eating journey – no matter where you land on specific dietary choices for yourself and for your family, God can and will be glorified.

And that, my friends, is what it’s all about.

What would you consider your biggest struggle in regard to the expense of eating a healthy diet?

Healthy Food Doesn’t Taste Good {No More Excuses!}

Is It Expensive to Eat Healthy Food? Part Two

1. Transitioning to Healthy Eating is a Process

2. There’s Not a “One Size Fits All” Plan for Eating Healthy

3. God is in Control and He Knows Your Heart