Real Foods Month Recap

I apologize for not reporting well about our Real Foods month.  Vacation kind of put it on the back burner.

We are wrapping up the month and if you asked the Fish Sticks, they would scream and cheer for December to come so they can have the "old foods" back.   Junk food is what my son asked for this a.m.

Like I told you before, the breakfast and lunch menu were really the only big change in our house.  For the most part, we make healthy day-to-day choices.  I had made a chart for the Fish Sticks of all options for breakfast and lunch.  I even took a photo of it to show you, but it must have gotten erased because I can't find it anywhere.  I just wanted to show the Fish Sticks that although the pantry looked different (and empty) there were many options for them to make for these meals.

For breakfasts, I kept homemade yogurt stocked with Overnight Granola or a new recipe my friend shared called Peanut Butter Granola.  Fresh fruit, frozen berries and dried fruit were added.  I made pancakes, waffles, muffins and coffee cake all from fresh milled wheat flour and used sucanat, honey, honey granules, stevia and real maple syrup only as our sweeteners.  This required me to plan ahead a bit and sometimes I would make breakfast the night before.  Oatmeal with all the trimmings was a big favorite too.

Lunches were much more difficult.  We continued with sandwiches on fresh milled whole wheat bread but I purchased natural peanut butter and fruit spread.  The Fish Sticks did not like the fruit spread but ate it anyway.  No chips except for tortilla chips which are only corn meal, oil and salt.  We got some with a more healthy oil and ate them with homemade salsa that I canned last year.  Fruit as usual or vegetables cut up with hummus.  For snacks I made popcorn on the stove top with olive oil or coconut oil, homemade granola bars, nuts, or any of the things I've already mentioned above.

Being on the go made things more difficult.  Basketball games and wrestling matches were a challenge.  I had to be prepared and made advanced plans in order to prevent lots of whiney, hungry Fish Sticks.

We did have a normal Thanksgiving and celebrated a birthday a couple of times, so we weren't totally pure about the changes.  My kids got candy here and there at school and were invited to several parties, partaking of whatever was offered them.  I just wanted you to know that we weren't 100% for the entire month.

As for my budget, I didn't notice a huge difference.  At the middle of the month, I felt like it would actually help my budget because I had so much healthy choices stocked up through my Bulk Natural Foods, Bread Beckers and gardening.  I didn't buy every thing organic but tried to get the things I felt were important to purchase organic (like kale and lettuce).

As I head out to the grocery store today to shop for the month of December, my pantry is empty - honestly though that is nothing new to the end of the month situation in our house.  What I realized is that I can push my family a little bit more to make healthier choices.  Doing without white sugar and white flour is totally doable in our house.  I can bake more with milled wheat flour and use natural sweeteners more.  If we are going to be on the go, I need to plan well in advance.

Last, some of you might know that I have a love affair with chocolate and my recipe for chocolate chip cookies can't be beat.  I cringe to think of eating wheat chocolate chip cookies without white flour, white and brown sugar and Crisco.  Sounds like cardboard cookies to me.  BUT...I tried a recipe for chocolate chip cookies in my Bread Beckers cookbook and we all loved them.  They were totally wonderful and I was shocked!

So it can be done - changing your family to healthier choices - without breaking your budget, without killing the spirits of everyone in the house, without adding unthinkable amounts of kitchen prep time to you, the Mama.  If you would love to make some healthier changes, my advice is to take baby steps.  Pick one challenge a month that you want to change.  Start small.  You don't have to change everything overnight - that would be a recipe for disaster in my house.  Do what you can and know you are improving the health of your family, even in the baby steps.

Day 1

The Halloween candy is put up and we are geared up to start Day 1 of our month of "real foods."

For breakfast, I made Lorrie's Lazy Granola the day before.  (Recipe coming tomorrow)

The Fish Sticks ate it over plain yogurt with honey and I had it with some milk with sliced bananas on the top. 

 For snack we had 3 slices of blocked sharp cheddar with 4-5 Triskets.

Lunch was natural peanut butter with fruit spread on whole grain bread, hummus with carrots and grapes.

Side note - I bought these things at Aldi and although the peanut butter and fruit spread have a small amount of sugar, they are free of corn syrup and about 1/4 the price of the 100% natural things I found at Kroger.  It was worth the purchase to save the money.

For supper, I have pintos brewing in the crock pot for my favorite refried beans, ground turkey with taco seasonings, and all the trimmings for a Mexican buffet.

So far so good, if I can get my 5 year old to understand "Mommy said NO HALLOWEEN CANDY!"  :)

Gearing Up for Real Foods

I went grocery shopping Monday for my "Month of Real Food."  Her goal for a family of 4 was $150-$175 a week.  My family is twice that size, but I knew that I couldn't double her budget.  Looking over her menus, I saw that many of the grains and legumes she mentioned, we have in bulk already.  I didn't go completely organic but bought my 39 cent can of tomato paste at Aldi instead of the over $1 can she got organic.  I also realized that her menu would starve my family so I added some veggies here and there and got extra fruit to keep for snacks.  I tried to shop for the first 2 weeks so I don't have to grocery shop every week - I tend to spend more if I do that.  I spent $235 and got everything I could at Aldi and the rest at Kroger.  I also added a few things in there like a bag of baby pumpkins for the kids to paint, a few pre-real foods month treats like caramel dip and caramel apples, but other than that, I stuck right to the plan.

It starts Thursday and my kids seem to be on board except when I told them that all Halloween candy would be put up.  OUCH!  (That goes for their mama as well - so hold me to that!)

Funny how empty my pantry looks after I just spent $235!  No crackers.  No cereal.  No chips or pretzels.  Nothing but potatoes, onions, brown rice and beans.

I'm excited!  I hope some of you are in with me.  I'll be checking back with you to let you know how we're holding up and if we are shaking from sugar withdrawals.  :)

Challenge Anyone?

I have been thinking for a long, long time to try to take bigger steps away from eating any processed, man-made foods and only offer real foods to my family.  What has scared me away from doing this is not only money, but time and convenience.  What would I put in their lunch boxes?  What would they eat for snack?  Would they really be filled up and satisfied?  Would they revolt against me for not having the things they are used to?

As I have shared with you my steps toward better nutrition, my pantry still stays stocked with boxed cereals, pretzels, crackers, regular peanut butter, processed lunch meats and sometimes cookies and ice cream.  What if I challenged my family (and myself as well) to go "real foods" for 1 month?  What would that look like for me as the cook of the house and for the family as the eaters of the house?

When mentioning this to a friend yesterday, she mentioned a website called 100 Days of Real Food.  I checked it out and liked it.  I like better her budget friendly menus.  Although she does base her budget on a family of 4 eating with $150 a week for all foods consumed, I might have to double that for our crew of 8.  After printing off her menu plans and grocery lists, I think it might be something to try.  Many of the foods she mentioned, we do already.  It would just be a matter of knocking out the convenient, snack foods that we keep on hand.

So I'm just throwing this out there.  Check out this web site and see if you'd like to join me in a 1 month challenge to eat real foods starting in November.  I am curious if we would feel better, sleep better, have more energy, focus better and feel full with less food.  Who's in? 

Baby Steps Toward Nutrition

So it's been a while since I've posted about taking steps toward better nutrition.

A few little things that we have done in addition to the more major things that I've already shared with you are these.  We have made some substitutions that don't take much money and really are not huge adjustments.  Just little ways to improve our health.

We use butter, olive oil and coconut oil instead of other more processed, bad-for-you oils.

We use Braggs Liquid Amino Acids instead of soy sauce.

We use arrowroot powder instead of corn starch.

Sea salt is so much better for you than iodized salt.

Plain yogurt is great for you and can substitute for sour cream (we still buy sour cream occasionally though.).

Homemade salad dressings not only taste better but are so much better for you than store bought.

Pure maple syrup (although more expensive) is better than processed pancake syrup (which by the way isn't maple syrup at all).  We sometimes use honey as a replacement too.

I used to mix up water with essential oils in a tiny spray bottle in the bathroom instead of Glade.  I haven't done that in a while but it's a great way to freshen up the air without using toxins.

What have you done to take tiny steps toward nutrition?

Free Bread DVD

I meant to share something with you on the bread post.  If you are even remotely interested in milling your own flour to bake bread, you can order for free a great DVD from Bread Beckers about the nutritional benefits of milling your own flour and about what the Bible says about wheat and bread.  It's fascinating.  The link is here.

Homemade Granola Bars

 Have any of you noticed that packaged granola bars are getting smaller?  Not to mention, less healthy?  I have been making homemade granola bars for years.  They are easy to make.  A 9x13 makes more than a box of granola bars.  They are filling and they are healthy.  And the Fish Sticks love them.  So do their friends because folks ask me all the time for the recipe.

I have tried many, many recipes for homemade granola bars over the years.  Some ultra healthy, some not so healthy and some that tasted like cardboard.  My tried and true recipe is the one my mom made for us all the time growing up.  It's kind of a 2 step recipe but easy to make.

First you make a batch of the Granola Mix:  (I mix mine up in a gallon Ziploc bag.)

4 c. rolled oats

1 c. coconut

3/4 c. wheat germ (I substitute whatever I have on hand like ground flax seed, oat bran, etc.)

3/4 c. almonds

2/3 c. brown sugar (can substitute sucanat if you prefer)

optional 1/2 c. dry milk

Granola Bars

5 1/2 cup granola mix (above)

1/2 c. brown sugar/sucanat

1/2 c. honey

1/2 tsp. almond OR vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

12 Tb melted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

optional 1/2 c. peanut butter

optional 1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix honey, extract, salt and butter (and peanut butter if you like).  Add to mix, sugar and granola mix in large bowl and mix well until dry ingredients are coated.  Press into greased 9x13 pan and bake for 15-20 minutes on 350.  Before cooled, you can sprinkle chocolate chips over top and spread when melted to form a coat or just leave them as is.  I have also tried mixing the chocolate chips in the bars and that is good too.  Makes 18 bars.  Wrap individually or serve from pan.  If they are crumbly, put in fridge.

Going Healthier

For years I read about the benefits of baking your own bread and milling your own flour.  I learned how to make bread in 2000 while living in Asia.  I decided one day to follow my Betty Crocker cookbook and try out some bread recipes. I found that I liked it and it wasn't too hard.  That was the days before my Kitchen Aid so I got a good arm-workout from hand kneading.  I tried basic bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, french bread, cinnamon rolls and even bagels.

Milling my own flour kind of scared me.  It seemed a huge step to take and so I put it off for years, all the while reading about the wonderful health benefits of freshly milled flour.

While pregnant with number 6, I tried to eat especially healthy to prepare for my first home birth.  I found a friend through my raw milk co-op who baked freshly milled bread for me.  I expected to gag the dry stuff down for the health of it.  Boy, was I shocked when I tasted it.  Honestly, the first warm loaf did not make it home.  We scarfed it down together in the car.  It was delicious!

About a  year later, I asked my friend to teach me how to make bread and mill my own flour.  I got a mill and wheat grains for my birthday and she spent the day with me.

I have no clue what made me so scared to take the plunge because what I realized is that I already knew how to make homemade bread.  The difference was pouring grain into a mill, pushing a button and waiting for flour to come out!  It was that simple.  The bread was superior to what I had been making and the nutritional value couldn't even compare.

So we are hooked.  I make about 4 loaves every 2 weeks.  I sometimes make dinner rolls and homemade pretzels too.  My goal is to totally wean our family off of using white flour for baking and substitute with the good stuff.  We are not quite there yet.  Sometimes mixing water with pancake mix just sounds more simple to me in the mornings.  I'm not quite sure if my famous chocolate chip cookies will be as well loved if I make them whole wheat, but we are taking baby steps in the right direction.

Back to the Basics - Nutrition

I thought it was time to post another one about our quest to eat more nutritiously.  We have taken baby steps so I thought that I would let you in on what we have done to eat more healthy.

From what I have read and researched, the best nutrition is not calorie counting, fat limiting, label reading, etc.  The best kind of nutrition goes way back to eating the way man ate in the beginning.  I'm not going back to the Garden of Eden and telling you to eat all raw fruits and vegetables (although I did read that book - found it interesting - just not for us).  I mean eating as little processed foods as possible and eating a well balanced amount of fruits, vegetables, carbs, meats and fats (all God-made, not man-made).

About 10 years ago was when I started my quest.  It dates back to a 2 year stint of sickness in our family and a mission to improve our overall health.  My first findings were herbal remedies.  I'll save those for another post, but in my research of herbs, I found the benefits of raw milk.

I won't post a huge list of the benefits of raw milk, because they are readily available on the internet so I encourage you to conduct your own google search but I will include this helpful chart comparing store-bought pasteurized milk to raw milk.  Not only has my family enjoyed the taste of raw milk, but I enjoy knowing that this is the best stuff I could give my growing Fish Sticks.

I have loved using the cream off the top for my coffee each morning and for homemade ice cream.  I have made homemade butter many times also.  I keep warning the Fish Sticks that when they go to college, they will have to drink the store bought milk so prepare now.  They are not too happy about this.  Some might worry that the high content of fat will make them fat, but look at history.  That is just not so.  Some may say that it contains germs that could cause sickness, but finding a farm that you trust with cows that are living natural lives is key to keeping sickness away.  We have never gotten sick from drinking raw milk.  When the milk starts to sour, it is still good to be used to make sour cream, cheese, butter and to cook with.  This can not be said of pasteurized milk.  Milk became pasteurized when early Americans crammed cows into warehouses in large cities so that the milk man didn't have to travel from the farms to the cities each a.m. with fresh milk.  The living conditions were very unsanitary, resulting in sick cows, contaminated milk and many deaths.

I started asking around, trying to find a way to purchase raw milk as the local farmer's market charges about $9 a gallon.  I found a way to purchase it weekly for my family, along with a group of other interested families who formed a co-op.  We do this by owning a share of a milking cow from some "plain folk" to receive milk from them weekly.  We take turns driving the hour distance once a week to collect the milk and distribute it at a meeting place for all families.  At first it was a bit inconvenient for me because only 4 families were involved, meaning I drove once a month.  Now there are about 12 families involved and I only drive about 4 times a year.  I revolve my weekly shopping days around the pick up time.

From there I learned about farm fresh eggs and grass fed meats - but will save those for another post.  Have you ever tried raw milk?  If not, you are missing out!!  Come hang out with us and I'll share some!

Riding the Fence of Nutrition

I wanted to dedicate a few posts on nutrition starting by what I call my nutrition testimony.

Like I've told you, after getting married in 1995, I was loving the cooking aspect of my new job.  You could have nick named me Casserole Cassie because if it had cream soups, cheese or sour cream in it, I was game to try it.  That kind of cooking is usually pretty yummy but pretty heavy on producing the extra pounds.  Not exactly what I would call nutritious meals.

In about 2001 I started reading more and more about nutrition.  At this time, my view of nutrition was buying the low fat cheese or fat free cheese (now that is nasty!) instead of regular cheese or getting low fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.  Little did I know that my view was FAR from nutritious.

I wish I had made a list of the books that I read on the subject but I didn't.  I tell you though, you would be impressed because it was a lengthy list.  I read Dr. Andrew Weihl, Jordin Rubin, Nourishing Traditions, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living (Rex Russell) and many, many more.  Part of my passion came from a quest to just return to my pre-pregnancy weight before the next pregnancy arrived.  I had done the Weight Watchers thing with success but after reading some of the above books, I became more and more convinced that that wasn't healthy eating in the way I was searching for it.

The problem was that I was convinced in what I was reading to be good and true.  Basically in a nutshell, I learned that we, in America, have so processed our foods that they are no longer healthy and nutritious.  In my humble opinion, we have probably created the monster of cancer and many other illnesses that American die of today from the processing of our food and our lack of nutrition.  What is good is to get back to eating food the way that God made food.  Try to eat it in it's purest form.

Sometimes after reading a book, I would be so motivated, it would almost overwhelm me.  How could I eat the way I wanted to, keep within my budget and not live in my kitchen preparing everything from scratch??  It was a big source of frustration.

Along the way though, I have learned that balance is important.  I know there are total food purist out there and I admire them for being able to live eating purely in a society as ours.  I also realize that many of those purist might not realize the inconvenience that they can cause on others or the feelings of condemnation when they forbid their child to eat a cupcake at a friend's birthday party because it is "poison" or when they ask "How can you serve that Kool-Aid?  Do you realize what is in that and what it does to your body?" (I have known folks who have done both of these.)

The solution I have found for eating well is taking baby steps.  Our first baby step was 9 years ago when we started drinking raw milk.  We are hooked and never want to go back to store bought.  Does this mean that we don't drink store bought when we are served it?  Of course not.  Next we bought our own chickens to lay eggs.  One year I was able to buy half of a butchered cow, a lamb and half of a pig to fill our freezer.  I would love to do that again.  I don't buy organic as often as I would like, mainly because of the price.  We grow a huge vegetable and fruit garden that supplies us with most of our vegetables throughout the year.  Two years ago I took the plunge and bought a wheat mill to grind my own wheat and I started making our bread.  It's superior to store bought and we love it.  I still buy some store bought bread because one picky Fish Stick just can't seem to enjoy the good stuff.  I have hopes for her one day though.  Last year we butchered 75 chickens to fill our freezer.  It was a learning experience and we might give it a go again.

These are all just gradual, baby steps that we have taken on my quest for better nutrition.  I am not a purist though.  Go look in my pantry.  You will see I have sugar cereals, a few condensed cream soups, crackers, packaged chips for school lunch boxes and even Oreos and cake mixes.  I buy these sometimes for my own convenience and sometimes for budget reasons.  We don't overdo them, but we do eat them.

So now you know where I am coming from.  One day you will get the best whole foods recipe from me and the next post will show you all the Fruity Pebbles that I bought for $1 a box with coupons.  Go figure.  :)  I guess I'm just riding the fence of nutrition.