A trip to the grocery store!

Can I keep putting it off! Surely we still have food at home we can eat!
OK so we are out of juice, meat, bread, eggs, butter...agh! Better go!

When you have shopped at the same store for years, buying the same food week in week out, its hard to change! I am still getting used to all this change for the better, but honestly it is still overwhelming! I'm still learning a lot and am not sure what to buy (ie, what tastes good and my kids will eat. Yes we have had a lot of wasted food lately which is adding to my frustration) I figured I will just try my best and cut myself some slack! There are a number of things though that I have found and the family likes, my cart consists of a lot of fresh produce now too as we are making so much from scratch.

I have to say before I left for the store I spent an hour going through some "naughties" like bleached white flour (see previous post for the "goodies") So I could go armed in my mind with what to look for and what to avoid when it comes to grains. Whole grains and wheat it is. It feels empowering to start a shopping trip with some new knowledge like this.

With most of the store "of limits" the organic section has been such an adventure too look through. Its funny I have kind of turned it into a treasure hunt. Looking for something to replace the old bad version, its kind of fun and a total victory when I get home and it tastes good too...lol!

This week I ventured into the baking department, somewhere I would never go before unless it was to buy a packet confetti cake mix. Now I find myself with list in hand looking for things like, baking powder, wholewheat flour, allspice. I am going to do (try) some baking...Oh my gosh!!!
Pie crusts, muffins, cookies, pizza dough and anything else I can think of...wish me luck!

Now what to do with the cans of Pillsbury biscuits in the fridge? Have you seen whats in those things...yikes!

I want to thank the wonderful staff at Fred Meyers in Renton who are so supportive of my new journey, especially Jan in the organic department and Michelle in the kids club who let me have an extra hour of kid free shopping yesterday...THANK YOU!!!

Our Journey while eating out

Last night was hard....
How to maintain this lifestyle while eating out!

OK, so basically I didn't...oops!
I'm sure the Thai food I ate was OK, but how do you know? You don't. Unless you ask them for the packaging to everything that went into your meal, you have no idea. But seriously who is going to do that, I don't think so!
This was the first time I have eaten out since starting this and honestly I was a little overwhelmed. All I could think about was "I am going to blow it!" I have worked so hard to get to this point, only to throw it away on movie snacks and Thai food.

So my solution was to think "No, I'm not blowing it! Its a few hours with friends for a night out, if I can't enjoy myself because I am so worried about what I am eating, that's just crazy and not how I want to live. I may as well give up on the changes now, because its about being healthy and loving life! Not restricting myself so it takes from my quality of life"

After I stopped beating up on myself and the personal little pep talk, I started to enjoy the evening so much more. I thought, I'll just make the best choices that I can, in the moment that I am in. Its not about changing the moment because that's what I live for!!!

I'm also not going to deny myself some of my favorite guilty pleasures that make moments that much more special. Like movie popcorn (which I am sure is fine if I didn't get the butter, but I got the butter!) or the pretty colored cocktail when out with the girls.

If this was something I did every week, then maybe I would rethink my strategy, but going to the movies happens a few times a year, so I say enjoy!!!

What helped me take the step....

I want to change my diet
But I am too overwhelmed!

One of the things I am loving about this new lifestyle has been sharing it with my friends, they have been so supportive and encouraging...thank you!!! Its also encouraging to see how many others out there want to do it too. So I thought I would share what got me moving down this path. One that I had been thinking in the back of my mind for years, but just seemed impossible for this lazy cook and busy mom!

A comment I have been hearing a lot lately is,
"I want to change my diet but I am too overwhelmed, there is too much that needs changing and I wouldn't know where to start!"

I wish I could wave my magic wand to make it easy for you! Like anything taking the first step is the hardest, no matter how big or small.
For me it has a lot to do with "thinking" about everything that needs changing at once and that once you start you are committing. Both these thoughts are enough to scare anyone and make them feel to overwhelmed from taking that first step!

Really it was the thinking that was holding me back. So wanting to do it and having that thought, I think really is the first step. So Yay! You've already started =)

What we did next, was pick one small "active" thing and stick to it for a few weeks. I had to not allow myself to get discouraged if I messed up one day and to believe that I wasn't a failure. If I did mess up it was a great reason to try harder and to focus on doing better the next day...I had to make an effort to not beat myself up about it.
I started with the decision of not eating fast food (the boys and I used to eat it at least twice a week, if not more! because it was cheap and easy when out and about)
After a few weeks of this I was excited to be rid of fast food and would pack peanut butter sandwiches for the car instead, I had, I guess a new habit, if you want to call it that. It felt great! and seriously thought that would be impossible since we had come to rely on the 3 local Mc's so much for lunch.

The more I made the right choices the more consistently I wanted to do it!

After a few weeks of this, I decided to go through my pantry and read all the labels on products we normally eat...this was scary! For starters, there were so many ingredients that I didn't even know what they were, but yet I was happy eating and giving it to my family? This was probably the most motivating thing I did, to take the next step!

I jumped online with the list of words I was not familiar with, also the colors and preservatives and started reading about them. Holly cow, what the hell were we eating! Petrolium, rat poison, chemical resin...scary!!! This was huge motivator for me and I have not changed my real foods mindset since.

We have a pantry half full of things we will not eat, time to donate to the local food banks and time to rethink my shopping list for my next grocery shop.

If anyone would of asked me 2mths ago if I would be eating this way, I would of laughed at them and said no way, I am not a health nut! I loved my easy, quick, prepared foods way too much, I am a lazy eater and an even lazier cook, I would always opt for what was ready at hand and could eat on the run.
But now that I have started eating this way I feel the healthiest I have felt in a longtime, I have more energy, I sleep better at night, I just feel so different, its great!!! It feels amazing doing something so good for myself and for my family!

You and your families deserve only the best!!!!

Family Journal

Feeling the effects!

We have been on this real food only diet for over 2 weeks now and I feel great!!!
My energy level is starting to rise, which is better than nothing because that's what it used to be...Nothing! I had no energy!

We had a delicious homemade roast pumpkin soup last night, chock full of yummy real goodness. So why oh why did I suggest getting a French bread stick to go with it, white bread! Holly cow my body felt it, I had a headache later that night as well as indigestion, I also started to feel a little groggy.

I think it was good to have the bread last night, just as a reminder how your body reacts to things you eat. When your body is so used to eating a certain way over time it no longer reacts. Last night was a mini wake up call to say don't do that again as well as a reminder to keep up the good work with eating right!

You may be thinking, what is wrong with the white bread I ate? It had HFC in it as well as useless white processed flour. Nothing in it my body needed or could digest easily...bring on the whole grains =)

It's making an impact!

When you see your good example rub off....

We have been discussing our real foods change with our kids. While Thomas our 4yr old is not really getting it, Harrison our 7yr old is really interested!

Harry will ask me before he eats something now "Mommy, is this good for me?" if it is he gets excited but if its bad for him he will put it down...yay! It is great to see our example enable our kids to make healthy food choices for themselves.

The healthy food pyramid has been among Harry's interests lately, I think they must be teaching the kids at school. He's been drawing it and talking about what foods he thinks are healthy...way to go Harry!

Welcome to our blog

Welcome to our Real Food Blog!

Our family is on a mission to change our diet for better living!
We believe that diet is a major component to how we feel and behave.
And that how you fuel your body, is a huge contributor to how productive and positive your day is (or isn't!).

With ADHD and deppresion in our family, we are hoping that through a change in diet, we can live life to the fullest without these conditions effecting the lifestyle we want.

This journey for a healthier, real food living has only just started!
And honestly there is a lot of information out there to help and hinder on this ride. Its overwhelming! One site saying one thing and the next you read totally contradicting what you just read, its enough to send you crazy!

I am hoping this blog can provide an unbiased view on how beneficial whole/real foods are for the body and mind. Also posting the things we eat and what they really contain. Just because its in food that we can purchase from a major store, does not mean it is safe/good for us.

Our goal is to have a healthy & happy family =)