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Preparing Your Family and Fridge

1/20/2012

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The idea of starting a new way of feeding yourself can be really overwhelming.  You can read more of my journey HERE.  What I have learned as we have moved in and out of stages of healthy eating habits is that it is crucial to be prepared.  Your family must be spiritually and mentally prepared and your fridge must be well stocked!

Tips for Preparing Your Family

~Replace as many drinks with water as possible.  Drink at least 8 glasses a day.  This may mean filling up several large glasses and leaving them on the counter so you don't forget.  Or sending your kids with a water bottle everywhere they go.  Don't forget about your husband and kids on this point.  They need their water too!


~Start adding more fruits, vegetables, legumes and healthy grains to your diet.  Our food is built on habit and if we can start adding some healthy foods into our routine before removing items we will be more successful.

~Start rotating foods today!  This is one of the single most important things you can do for your health, especially if you suspect food allergies or intolerances.  If you are like me you may get into a ground beef kick or a chicken swing...but it really is important to practice moderation and variation in our diet.  This also helps prepare your family for trying new foods that will be necessary on a healthier diet.

~Add a Green Smoothie!

~Cut back on eating out, especially fast food.  Look for a couple of restaurants that prepare food from scratch and have healthier items on their menu.  They may be more expensive but we have found that this keeps us from eating cheaper fast food more often!

Tips for Preparing Your Fridge


~Stock up on healthy condiments or make them yourself.  Look for recipes that are gluten, sugar and dairy free (unless you plan to continue dairy).  I love Elana's long list of healthy, yummy dips and dressings. 

~Consider buying organic, free-range, hormone free meats, eggs and milk from a local farmer.  Buying in bulk or on a schedule can save you money and help make it more realistic for the long term.  I have a list of local resources in my Food, Birth and Community Guide.  You can also try Local Harvest for resources in your area.

~Find a couple of cookbooks or a list or recipes that fit your family's eating habits (with a healthier twist) and start stocking up on grans, legumes, herbs, flours and other items.  What I love about starting with a couple of cookbooks is that each one tends to have a theme to their ingredients and you can usually make most of the items with only a short list of new purchases.  I will be posting some of my lists along with recipes soon.

~Make Ahead Chicken and Broth is a great way to stock up on healthy chicken for soups, salads and casserole's.  And you will have lots of stock ready too!  Drinking chicken stock is a great way to heal your digestive system when cutting out sugar and other irritants.

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_Make Ahead Chicken

There is a reason why people have been serving their families homemade chicken soup for generations (real chicken stock, not the canned stuff).   Real chicken stock heals the stomach and digestive system and allows the body to protect and heal itself more naturally.

·      Begin with the bones of an organic, free range or hormone-free chicken.  Place in a large pot and cover with cold filtered water and a couple tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar.

·      Bring to a boil (remove any film that floats to the top).  Add an onion, 2-3 carrots, and 2-3 celery stalks.  Reduce heat and simmer for 12-24 hours (you can use a slow cooker if you would prefer).

·      Pour through a strainer and store in airtight containers (I prefer mason jars over plastic).  You can also freeze in ice cube trays so that you can have individual portions.  Divide the Chicken into freezer bags or use right away.
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A Fresh Look at Food

1/19/2012

3 Comments

 
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I've postponed this post for as long as possible.  Not sure why it has been so hard to write.  Maybe because there have been so many changes in our eating in the past few weeks or maybe because I needed some time to take a serious look at how I view food.  That view has changed from me physically, spiritually, mentally and relationally. 

Let me step back for a minute and say the influence in my life on food started with my grandparents.  They were very particular about the foods they ate and seemed very "strict" on making sure they were eating they right things every single day.  Having spent a lot of time with them on their self sustainable homestead located in Canada I believe that the things they were living out influenced me.  Growing up in San Diego, California my school lunches were full of good, wholesome foods like grilled fish, chicken, and fresh vegetables.  Because of our situation we were unable to purchase as many fresh foods for meals at home but I do believe that eating a healthy lunch every day continued what my grandparents had started.

Fast forward into my teens and we moved to Kentucky.  Now let me say that there are so many things I am thankful for in this beautiful state.  But it is safe to say that healthy food is not always the priority.  After a couple of years living here I started to gain weight, feel sluggish and crave sweets and junk food.  I remember visiting my grandparents and hearing their concerns over my lack of interest in healthy food and my serious cravings for things unhealthy.

As I got older and more concerned with my weight I started fad diets and fasting in order to lose weight.  That really became my focus for eating.  I would try to get away with eating as many bad things as possible and then diet the weight back off.  This was the point where I had become completely separated from the truth that food is nourishment, our first medicine and a gift.

After several years of eating the Standard American Diet (or Western Diet) my health concerns were growing.  See if you can relate:

Overweight
Tired
Numbness and swelling in hands and feet
Dry Mouth
Swollen Lymph Nodes
Sore Joints
Colds and Allergies

Moodiness

I could go on and on.

So what changed?  I started to look at food from God's perspective.  He had given us everything we needed and it wasn't enough.  I started to dig into my roots and listen to the voice of my grandmother as we picked wild blackberries and a bounty from her garden that would be eaten for that night's dinner.  I went to the web and was inspired by several bloggers:

Happy Foody
Vintage Remedies
Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
100 Days of Real Food


The Green Smoothie really changed our lives.  The idea of using whole, real foods to gain energy and heal your body was like opening up a door for me.  What happened over the next couple of years can now be seen as me setting the ground work for several health conditions our family would face.  But it wasn't until our daughter was diagnosed with high functioning autism and we saw huge improvements with diet changes that I became committed to changing our entire families diet for good.  Over the last year I have continued to research how food can heal our bodies.  As we watched more and more of our family and friends suffer from diabetes, heart conditions and low energy Nathan and I became more and more committed as a family to officially say no to high processed, sugar covered foods.

While I will be staying true to supporting and promoting local food in South Central Kentucky I would like to introduce new and exciting ways that our family has learned to eat healthy, nutritious foods that taste good!  As always, I love questions and will do my best to answer them as quickly as possible.

Soon To Come...

Sugar Free Treats
Gluten, Dairy and Sugar Free Meals
Managing Potlucks
Ways to Handle Temptation and Cravings


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    Real Food for Families 

    Join me as I share my journey to the discovery of real food.  Local, healthy food that nourishes our bodies and minds...all while living on a budget! 

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