Good news! I have added a tab at the top of the home page, entitled "Recipes". Clever, I know. Here you will be able to find all of the recipes that I reference on the blog, as well as recipes that I invent on my own. You read that write. Apparently some of my creativity has stuck around, and yesterday I had an enlightened moment when thinking about what I could eat for lunch. Behold, "Cashew Curry Chicken Salad". It's pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself! I have no idea how I thought of it, as usually I'm a stick-to-the-recipe kind of gal, but fortunately it turned out to be edible. And not just edible but something I'd like to eat again in the future.
Anyway, check out the new recipe feature...I'm hoping to add lots of recipes along the way, most of which I hope to be unprocessed for the most part. Obviously mayo is processed, but it's a work in progress, people.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
On second thought...
A day or two ago I posted about my experience at our local farmer's market, which was really great. I was very excited about eating the local grass-fed beef that we purchased at the market and I was sure I was going to be permanently substituting it for the antibiotic & hormone-laden kind we had been eating.....
...But I hated it! Ok, hate is a strong word. I really didn't like it, though, and it was a very disturbing experience for me. We bought ground chuck and we had decided to make it into homemade hamburgers on the grill. I loved how fresh the beef was, I loved how I knew where it came from, and I loved how it was bright red and not the weird brownish-gray color that you see sometimes in the beef at the mart. What I didn't like about it was the taste; obviously, quite a big thing when it comes to food. Honestly, it wasn't a bad taste at all. I'd imagine it is quite an appealing and delicious taste to an unknowing person or to someone like my husband. He thought it was fantastic and he was very excited about having the leftovers all to himself too! You see, the beef just had a very strong herby flavor. Like those wild onions you find in your backyard (or at least in our backyard). The wild onions around here are everywhere and the scent of them is quite overwhelming, especially when people are mowing their yards. That's what the beef reminded me of. The taste of wild onions just hit too close to home for me to be able to enjoy my beefy burger in front of me. I realized that this cow that I was eating was probably one that I had seen on a farm not too long ago. A cow that had been peacefully grazing in a rolling meadow chowing down on some wild onions. Now, I'm no animal activist, and eating meat has never bothered me before. This time, though, the meat just seemed way too fresh and way too local. "That's the point!" I hear you say. Yes, this is true. I am trying to eat locally. I am trying to eat unprocessed foods. The point is, though, that I'm trying! I'm not saying I'm boycotting local grass-fed beef. I'm still a big supporter of it and the farm that we bought it from. I think it's an amazing thing and I am willing to give it another try. Maybe next time, though, I'll buy a steak. And use lots of A-1!
And that is just one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
...But I hated it! Ok, hate is a strong word. I really didn't like it, though, and it was a very disturbing experience for me. We bought ground chuck and we had decided to make it into homemade hamburgers on the grill. I loved how fresh the beef was, I loved how I knew where it came from, and I loved how it was bright red and not the weird brownish-gray color that you see sometimes in the beef at the mart. What I didn't like about it was the taste; obviously, quite a big thing when it comes to food. Honestly, it wasn't a bad taste at all. I'd imagine it is quite an appealing and delicious taste to an unknowing person or to someone like my husband. He thought it was fantastic and he was very excited about having the leftovers all to himself too! You see, the beef just had a very strong herby flavor. Like those wild onions you find in your backyard (or at least in our backyard). The wild onions around here are everywhere and the scent of them is quite overwhelming, especially when people are mowing their yards. That's what the beef reminded me of. The taste of wild onions just hit too close to home for me to be able to enjoy my beefy burger in front of me. I realized that this cow that I was eating was probably one that I had seen on a farm not too long ago. A cow that had been peacefully grazing in a rolling meadow chowing down on some wild onions. Now, I'm no animal activist, and eating meat has never bothered me before. This time, though, the meat just seemed way too fresh and way too local. "That's the point!" I hear you say. Yes, this is true. I am trying to eat locally. I am trying to eat unprocessed foods. The point is, though, that I'm trying! I'm not saying I'm boycotting local grass-fed beef. I'm still a big supporter of it and the farm that we bought it from. I think it's an amazing thing and I am willing to give it another try. Maybe next time, though, I'll buy a steak. And use lots of A-1!
And that is just one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Farmer's Market
Today my family and I went to our town's farmer's market for our first time. I wasn't sure what exactly to expect. I mean, I obviously assumed there would be organic produce and probably some other home made goodies, but I was eager to find out if there would be anything that I'd really want to buy...or anything that I'd really be able to afford! Good news: there was!
I found that buying produce at the farmer's market was so much more exciting and motivating to eat better when it all is so fresh. I loved being able to see who grew what. I loved the hand-written signs made out of permanent marker on cardboard next to all of the veggies. I loved not having a list already made up of what ingredients I needed; but, instead, buying ingredients that looked good and feeling creative while thinking about all the possibilities of what I could do with, say, asparagus. I loved it!
I also bought a few veggie plants (bibb lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli). There is definitely a sense of satisfaction gained from growing a nice fruit or veggie-bearing plant that provides a bountiful harvest throughout the season....when you can actually get it to grow! That's how I learned that there is still a huge sense of satisfaction in buying an already established, beautiful plant that you know has enough strength in it to endure a few missed waterings or hopefully even planting it in the wrong sun spot in the garden. Can you tell I'm not exactly a green thumb kinda gal? Anyway, so I bought these great, healthy-looking veggie plants today and I'm so excited about them. The garden that I have been putting off planting for weeks now suddenly already feels started and I'm excited to get these little plants in the ground. Plus, they were only $1.50/6 plants. Now I'm no avid plant-buyer, but I thought this was an amazing price! I almost felt like I was ripping the guy off that sold them to us, knowing how hard it is and how much attention it takes to grow a quality plant from a tiny little seed. At any rate, I'm thrilled to have gotten a start on my garden and I'm really looking forward to eating from it this summer.
Grass-fed beef was another item we were excited to purchase. We paid $6.49 for a pound of ground chuck. It is definitely more expensive than the slab you can pick up at your local Walmart, but I feel so much better about this beef. No hormones, no pesticides, no herbicides, no antibiotics. Just pure beef from cows raised on grass. I grabbed a pamphlet about their farm while I was there, and I learned quite a bit about the benefits of grass-fed beef from it. Check out their website at www.lickcreekbeef.com or some of their resources from the pamphlet (www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm or www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef/ ). I'm not sure how often we'll be able to afford to eat grass-fed beef, but I would definitely like to eat it more often! Of course, I should probably taste it before I make such a bold statement, but with all of the health benefits from it, I can't imagine it wouldn't be delicious.
So, all in all, my trip to the farmer's market was very good. I do have one rant, though, before I sign off. There was a vendor with beautiful home-baked breads of every variety there. Dill bread, honey wheat bread, oatmeal bread, sourdough bread...you get the point. Thankfully, they also had ingredient lists on all of their products. The ingredients read beautifully until I saw the enemy: margarine. Are you kidding me?! I was both shocked and appalled. Saddened and disappointed. Outraged and infuriated. Ok, maybe the last part is a bit of an exaggeration, but I was indeed very upset. Why in the world would you take the time to bake home-made bread and use margarine of all things?! As badly as I would have liked to have bought some fresh bread from the market this morning, I had to simply walk away. I guess I really am changing, afterall, considering a few weeks ago I was clinging tightly to my own tub of margarine. I'm glad I can look back and see just how far I've come :)
And this was just one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
I found that buying produce at the farmer's market was so much more exciting and motivating to eat better when it all is so fresh. I loved being able to see who grew what. I loved the hand-written signs made out of permanent marker on cardboard next to all of the veggies. I loved not having a list already made up of what ingredients I needed; but, instead, buying ingredients that looked good and feeling creative while thinking about all the possibilities of what I could do with, say, asparagus. I loved it!
I also bought a few veggie plants (bibb lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli). There is definitely a sense of satisfaction gained from growing a nice fruit or veggie-bearing plant that provides a bountiful harvest throughout the season....when you can actually get it to grow! That's how I learned that there is still a huge sense of satisfaction in buying an already established, beautiful plant that you know has enough strength in it to endure a few missed waterings or hopefully even planting it in the wrong sun spot in the garden. Can you tell I'm not exactly a green thumb kinda gal? Anyway, so I bought these great, healthy-looking veggie plants today and I'm so excited about them. The garden that I have been putting off planting for weeks now suddenly already feels started and I'm excited to get these little plants in the ground. Plus, they were only $1.50/6 plants. Now I'm no avid plant-buyer, but I thought this was an amazing price! I almost felt like I was ripping the guy off that sold them to us, knowing how hard it is and how much attention it takes to grow a quality plant from a tiny little seed. At any rate, I'm thrilled to have gotten a start on my garden and I'm really looking forward to eating from it this summer.
Grass-fed beef was another item we were excited to purchase. We paid $6.49 for a pound of ground chuck. It is definitely more expensive than the slab you can pick up at your local Walmart, but I feel so much better about this beef. No hormones, no pesticides, no herbicides, no antibiotics. Just pure beef from cows raised on grass. I grabbed a pamphlet about their farm while I was there, and I learned quite a bit about the benefits of grass-fed beef from it. Check out their website at www.lickcreekbeef.com or some of their resources from the pamphlet (www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm or www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef/ ). I'm not sure how often we'll be able to afford to eat grass-fed beef, but I would definitely like to eat it more often! Of course, I should probably taste it before I make such a bold statement, but with all of the health benefits from it, I can't imagine it wouldn't be delicious.
So, all in all, my trip to the farmer's market was very good. I do have one rant, though, before I sign off. There was a vendor with beautiful home-baked breads of every variety there. Dill bread, honey wheat bread, oatmeal bread, sourdough bread...you get the point. Thankfully, they also had ingredient lists on all of their products. The ingredients read beautifully until I saw the enemy: margarine. Are you kidding me?! I was both shocked and appalled. Saddened and disappointed. Outraged and infuriated. Ok, maybe the last part is a bit of an exaggeration, but I was indeed very upset. Why in the world would you take the time to bake home-made bread and use margarine of all things?! As badly as I would have liked to have bought some fresh bread from the market this morning, I had to simply walk away. I guess I really am changing, afterall, considering a few weeks ago I was clinging tightly to my own tub of margarine. I'm glad I can look back and see just how far I've come :)
And this was just one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Pancakes, Flapjacks, & Hot Cakes, Oh my!
Just so you know, I do realize that it has been more than 1 week since I posted last, thus not adhering to my previously stated goal of making at least 1 change per week. Guilty as charged. Honestly, I was less than motivated and other (dare I say more important?!) things than unprocessed foods required my attention these past few days. But, you needn't worry...I'm back...and I come bearing pancakes.
For the past couple months or so, my family has gotten into a little routine/tradition of making and eating homemade crepes filled with Nutella on Saturday mornings. Love it! They're so easy to make and they're soooo yummy! This morning when I asked my husband whether he wanted me to make crepes or pancakes for breakfast, though, I was admittedly pretty excited (and a little surprised) when he requested pancakes instead of our usual Saturday morning crepe fest. The strange thing, though, is that I hate pancakes. I find them the least bit exciting and not nearly as fun to make as crepes. The only thing that had me excited about making pancakes this morning was a new recipe that I found in the May issue of Parents magazine for Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes. It was a perfect recipe for this blog, calling for whole wheat flour and honey as a sweetener. "Score!", I thought. So, I made them. Seeing as though I'm not a big pancake lover from the start, it's hard for me to give this recipe a raving review. However, they weren't NOT good, so that's a plus. The whole wheat flour definitely gave them an I'm-definitely-eating-healthy-whole-wheat-pancakes kind of a vibe, but put enough syrup (or peanut butter & syrup, as my husband does) on them and you just may find them delicious and nutritious. For the record, I just asked my husband for his review of the pancakes from this morning. His direct quote is this: "They were kind of whole-wheaty, but just about as good as a pancake can get." And there you have it, folks; straight from the mouth of a (self-proclaimed) pancake conoisseur himself. Try 'em...you might even like 'em!
Here is the recipe from the May 2010 issue of Parents Magazine
Mix 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (not sure why they call for "white" whole wheat...I used the non-bleached kind, which is less processed than the white), 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt; set aside. In another bowl, blend 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, and 1 Tbs. each honey and canola oil (I substituted coconut oil). Stir into the dry ingredients. (Makes about 12 1/4 cup pancakes)
Like I wrote within the recipe above, I used regular whole wheat flour instead of the "white" kind that they call for. Also, I added about 1/4 cup of whole milk to the mix at the end, because it was way too thick for my liking without it. I ran out of buttermilk, so whole milk is what I decided to add to thin it out. And, I substituted coconut oil for the canola oil.
Side note: No, I did not use real maple syrup on top of my pancakes drawn straight from the maple tree in our backyard. We don't even have a maple tree in our backyard. Actually, I'm not even sure if I could pick out a maple tree in a lineup of trees. I did use maple syrup straight from our grocery store, though, and the first two ingredients of it are water and high fructose corn syrup...obviously not so unprocessed. However, I have great aspirations to make homemade fruit syrup this summer. I have a friend (we'll call her my 90/10 Friend...she says she strives to make about 90% of her diet unprocessed and about 10% is made up of processed foods...so she will be known here as 90/10 Friend...it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?) who is a great inspiration for eating unprocessed foods (and a great resource too!) who assures me that making my own syrup is easy and fun, so I shall attempt it...at some point...hopefully this summer.
And this was one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
For the past couple months or so, my family has gotten into a little routine/tradition of making and eating homemade crepes filled with Nutella on Saturday mornings. Love it! They're so easy to make and they're soooo yummy! This morning when I asked my husband whether he wanted me to make crepes or pancakes for breakfast, though, I was admittedly pretty excited (and a little surprised) when he requested pancakes instead of our usual Saturday morning crepe fest. The strange thing, though, is that I hate pancakes. I find them the least bit exciting and not nearly as fun to make as crepes. The only thing that had me excited about making pancakes this morning was a new recipe that I found in the May issue of Parents magazine for Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes. It was a perfect recipe for this blog, calling for whole wheat flour and honey as a sweetener. "Score!", I thought. So, I made them. Seeing as though I'm not a big pancake lover from the start, it's hard for me to give this recipe a raving review. However, they weren't NOT good, so that's a plus. The whole wheat flour definitely gave them an I'm-definitely-eating-healthy-whole-wheat-pancakes kind of a vibe, but put enough syrup (or peanut butter & syrup, as my husband does) on them and you just may find them delicious and nutritious. For the record, I just asked my husband for his review of the pancakes from this morning. His direct quote is this: "They were kind of whole-wheaty, but just about as good as a pancake can get." And there you have it, folks; straight from the mouth of a (self-proclaimed) pancake conoisseur himself. Try 'em...you might even like 'em!
Here is the recipe from the May 2010 issue of Parents Magazine
Mix 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (not sure why they call for "white" whole wheat...I used the non-bleached kind, which is less processed than the white), 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, and 1/4 tsp. salt; set aside. In another bowl, blend 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, and 1 Tbs. each honey and canola oil (I substituted coconut oil). Stir into the dry ingredients. (Makes about 12 1/4 cup pancakes)
Like I wrote within the recipe above, I used regular whole wheat flour instead of the "white" kind that they call for. Also, I added about 1/4 cup of whole milk to the mix at the end, because it was way too thick for my liking without it. I ran out of buttermilk, so whole milk is what I decided to add to thin it out. And, I substituted coconut oil for the canola oil.
Side note: No, I did not use real maple syrup on top of my pancakes drawn straight from the maple tree in our backyard. We don't even have a maple tree in our backyard. Actually, I'm not even sure if I could pick out a maple tree in a lineup of trees. I did use maple syrup straight from our grocery store, though, and the first two ingredients of it are water and high fructose corn syrup...obviously not so unprocessed. However, I have great aspirations to make homemade fruit syrup this summer. I have a friend (we'll call her my 90/10 Friend...she says she strives to make about 90% of her diet unprocessed and about 10% is made up of processed foods...so she will be known here as 90/10 Friend...it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?) who is a great inspiration for eating unprocessed foods (and a great resource too!) who assures me that making my own syrup is easy and fun, so I shall attempt it...at some point...hopefully this summer.
And this was one more step in my process of going unprocessed.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tortilla! Tortilla! Yum Yum Tortilla!
If you know the tune of the title for this post and now have the song stuck in your head, you are a dork just like me and watch too much Barney, just like me. If you don't know the song, turn on PBS Kids and I'm sure eventually you'll see Barney and friends singing about various bread products, tortillas being one of them. Which brings me to my point: Tortillas.
I wanted to make tacos for dinner about a week or so ago, and so I set out to find some natural, whole-wheat tortillas at my local grocery store. At first glance, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many different choices for whole-wheat tortillas. As I flipped over the first package that I grabbed to read the ingredients, I couldn't believe what I saw was in fact an ingredient list and not a complete written account of the history of the tortilla. There were so many ingredients (and not good ones, either)! I quickly ditched those tortillas and moved on to the next brand. Same thing. Next one. Same thing. Next one. Same thing. Are you kidding me?! I must have read over ingredient lists on about 6 different packages of whole-wheat tortillas before I found one that didn't take 10 minutes to read through. The best choice that I could find for unprocessed (well, least-processed) whole-wheat tortillas was the brand Ole Xtreme Wellness Whole Wheat Tortillas. While these tortillas do still contain bleached flour and other things that I cannot pronounce (or spell), the ingredient list was by far the smallest, and the processed ingredients in the list are apparently less than 2% of the product, so I figured they weren't all that bad. This was the best choice that I could find, but if you have discovered a better product, please let me know!
And that is just 1 more step in my process of going unprocessed.
I wanted to make tacos for dinner about a week or so ago, and so I set out to find some natural, whole-wheat tortillas at my local grocery store. At first glance, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many different choices for whole-wheat tortillas. As I flipped over the first package that I grabbed to read the ingredients, I couldn't believe what I saw was in fact an ingredient list and not a complete written account of the history of the tortilla. There were so many ingredients (and not good ones, either)! I quickly ditched those tortillas and moved on to the next brand. Same thing. Next one. Same thing. Next one. Same thing. Are you kidding me?! I must have read over ingredient lists on about 6 different packages of whole-wheat tortillas before I found one that didn't take 10 minutes to read through. The best choice that I could find for unprocessed (well, least-processed) whole-wheat tortillas was the brand Ole Xtreme Wellness Whole Wheat Tortillas. While these tortillas do still contain bleached flour and other things that I cannot pronounce (or spell), the ingredient list was by far the smallest, and the processed ingredients in the list are apparently less than 2% of the product, so I figured they weren't all that bad. This was the best choice that I could find, but if you have discovered a better product, please let me know!
And that is just 1 more step in my process of going unprocessed.
Snack Attack
In a previous post, I wrote about not knowing what kinds of natural snacks I could give my kids. My 2 year old was quickly getting bored with cheese and assorted fruits and/or veggies. My sister suggested we try Pirate's Booty. It was a bit more expensive than what I would have liked to pay (a running trend in unprocessed foods, I've found), but I think it's going to be one of those snacks we're just going to have to pay more for. I thought it was really good, and my daughter ate almost the whole bag by herself in one sitting! I kid you not...she was going bonkers for Booty! She even asks for it by name now, saying "Boo-ee" when she wants some (which is pretty much non-stop!). It's all-natural, contains no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, and it's good so hopefully we'll find a coupon for it at some point because I don't think I will ever be able to leave the grocery store again without buying it because of you-know-who (giving the shifty-eye to 2 year old in the room).
The other snack we tried was Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. They also are all-natural, no artificial ingredients, and all that jazz. The box looks small for the price, but there is actually quite a bit in the box. Think Goldfish crackers au naturale style. My daughter gobbled these up too, and they kept her quiet in the grocery store which was a plus too!
And those are 2 more steps in my process of going unprocessed.
The other snack we tried was Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. They also are all-natural, no artificial ingredients, and all that jazz. The box looks small for the price, but there is actually quite a bit in the box. Think Goldfish crackers au naturale style. My daughter gobbled these up too, and they kept her quiet in the grocery store which was a plus too!
And those are 2 more steps in my process of going unprocessed.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Quinoa and Cake
This week I tried a few new things. The first thing we tried was something called quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). I've heard of this grain before, as it has been recommended to me by friends and even doctors, but I have resisted it for quite some time now. Honestly, it never sounded very appetizing and I assumed that it would require a lot of effort to make it. I was wrong! It was actually very easy to make, as the cooking instructions for it are very similar to that of rice. I wasn't quite sure how to eat it, though, and I am going to continue to experiment with it. From what I've heard, it's a very versatile food and it goes well with many different things. I added black beans and a can of tomatoes & green chiles to my pot of quinoa. We also added a little bit of guacamole to the top of it, and it was actually pretty delicious. I think quinoa will be a really good addition to our diet, as it's supposed to be really healthy. In fact, it is high in amino acids and is considered a complete protein. Don't ask me what that means, but it sounds important and like it's probably pretty good for me ;)
This week, I also made home-made chocolate cake. Last weekend I invited some friends over at the last minute, so I had to use what we had on hand to make something to eat. I managed to scrounge together the ingredients to make chocolate cake...and not from the box, either! It was sooo good! This was the first time I've ever deviated from the box cake mix stuff, and it was so much better. However, I did make this cake using my bleached granulated sugar, bleached white flour, and canola oil...all things processed. Well worth it as it was delicious, but also something I wanted to compare by making it with unprocessed ingredients. This weekend we have friends staying with us, so I decided to experiment on them. I used raw sugar, coconut oil in place of the canola oil, and a mix of unbleached all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The rest of the ingredients were unprocessed, except for the powdered sugar that I needed for the frosting. The cake turned out very good, but honestly not quite as good as the processed version. However, the difference between the two cakes was nothing huge, so I will definitely keep making the unprocessed version, as I know it is much better for me and my family.
And those are two steps in my process of going unprocessed.
This week, I also made home-made chocolate cake. Last weekend I invited some friends over at the last minute, so I had to use what we had on hand to make something to eat. I managed to scrounge together the ingredients to make chocolate cake...and not from the box, either! It was sooo good! This was the first time I've ever deviated from the box cake mix stuff, and it was so much better. However, I did make this cake using my bleached granulated sugar, bleached white flour, and canola oil...all things processed. Well worth it as it was delicious, but also something I wanted to compare by making it with unprocessed ingredients. This weekend we have friends staying with us, so I decided to experiment on them. I used raw sugar, coconut oil in place of the canola oil, and a mix of unbleached all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The rest of the ingredients were unprocessed, except for the powdered sugar that I needed for the frosting. The cake turned out very good, but honestly not quite as good as the processed version. However, the difference between the two cakes was nothing huge, so I will definitely keep making the unprocessed version, as I know it is much better for me and my family.
And those are two steps in my process of going unprocessed.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
I've been doing some thinking...
Dangerous...I know! Mix that with a little bit of reading, as well, and watch out! Seriously, though, I think the name of this blog is actually a big misrepresentation of what I am doing. I am trying to eat more unprocessed foods, that is true. However, mostly what I am doing is cutting out unnecessary chemicals and additives from my daily diet. The way I see it, pretty much anything aside from fresh meat or produce is processed in some way or another. Even if it is just plain whole wheat flour, that wheat still went through the process of being ground into flour. See what I'm saying? The true unprocessed foodies in the world would scoff at this blog as they ate their whole, unprocessed, virtually untouched foods. Sounds great, but not so much for me and my family. Like I said, my goal is to try to cut back on all of the unnecessary ingredients found in so many of our foods today. Just wanted to clear that up...
On another note, tonight I ditched the packet of Taco Bell taco seasoning that I usually use to make tacos, and instead I made my own seasoning mixture. I found a great recipe for it at allrecipes.com. It was super easy to put together, all of the ingredients were things that I already had on hand, and best of all, there were no chemicals or additives needed! Yay!
One small step in the world of making tacos, but one large step in the world of unprocessed eating.
On another note, tonight I ditched the packet of Taco Bell taco seasoning that I usually use to make tacos, and instead I made my own seasoning mixture. I found a great recipe for it at allrecipes.com. It was super easy to put together, all of the ingredients were things that I already had on hand, and best of all, there were no chemicals or additives needed! Yay!
One small step in the world of making tacos, but one large step in the world of unprocessed eating.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Baby Step #2: Grocery shopping, au naturale style
My second step in this process was to do my grocery shopping a little bit differently (ok, a lot differently!). First off, I left the kids at home. Grocery shopping with a 2 year old and a 6 month old is already stressful enough with my usual shopping list. I knew this trip was going to take me longer (having no idea what I was going to buy), so I went on a solo mission. Whew! Thank God for hubbies at home on the weekends!
My plan of attack was to read every label on every food item that went into my cart. First stop was the produce section....easy! Then again, fresh fruits and veggies don't have labels. Alright, moving on...the healthy food section. Our local grocery store actually has a pretty good and diversified section of organic cereals, snacks, yogurts, soups, etc. The only problem with this section of the store, though, is that it's super expensive! Multiple times, I had to put things back on the shelf when I remembered to look at the price. Four dollars for a bag of chips? Eight dollars for cereal? Yeah, not on my budget! I decided this section of healthy foods was definitely not economical and not even practical for my family. After picking up only a box of quinoa (which I've heard amazing things about) and 3 boxes of organic popcorn (buttered, of course, but it's organic and the ingredients are all real! Plus, it was on closeout, so I decided to stock up seeing as though it was only a fraction of the usual price...ok enough justifying my buying 3 boxes of buttered popcorn!), I moved on to the rest of the grocery store.
As I continued throughout the rest of the grocery store, I was quite happy to see that some (not many, but some) things I had previously been buying were actually unprocessed. I picked up some new things like whole wheat tortillas for tacos. (Side note: I learned that just because a package says "Whole Wheat" does not mean that it is only made up of whole wheat. I read ingredient lists on literally 6 different packages of whole wheat tortillas before I found one that didn't have a hundred different ingredients in them!) I was super excited to get some pure cane sugar in the baking section for a really good price, as it was also on closeout. Cha-ching! I was pumped! I also grabbed some whole wheat flour and unbleached all-purpose flour, both of which I am still trying to figure out the uses for ;) I ended getting ingredients to make three different dinners for my family this week (if you're interested in what those dinners will be: tacos, quinoa with black beans and chicken, and salmon with roasted vegetables). The other nights we will eat leftovers or eat more of the "bad" stuff we still have at home.
The total amount of money that I spent on groceries was a little bit more than I usually spend, but only by about $35. I felt ok about this, though, because I bought quite a few things (like flours, sugar, coconut oil, etc.) that I won't have to buy everytime I go to the store. The whole trip did take about a half hour longer than it usually takes me, but it was well worth it! I feel really good about doing something good like this for my family and I'm excited to try out old recipes with new ingredients and new foods altogether. The only thing I am realizing I didn't really buy was snacks. My 2 year old has been asking me for snacks during the past 2 days, and besides fresh fruit & veggies I'm not sure what else to give her. I did pick up some cheese and some unprocessed crackers, but she's already getting sick of that. If anyone knows of any good snacks, please let me know! All in all, I think the shopping trip was a success and I'm looking forward to my next baby step already!
And that is one step in my process of going unprocessed.
My plan of attack was to read every label on every food item that went into my cart. First stop was the produce section....easy! Then again, fresh fruits and veggies don't have labels. Alright, moving on...the healthy food section. Our local grocery store actually has a pretty good and diversified section of organic cereals, snacks, yogurts, soups, etc. The only problem with this section of the store, though, is that it's super expensive! Multiple times, I had to put things back on the shelf when I remembered to look at the price. Four dollars for a bag of chips? Eight dollars for cereal? Yeah, not on my budget! I decided this section of healthy foods was definitely not economical and not even practical for my family. After picking up only a box of quinoa (which I've heard amazing things about) and 3 boxes of organic popcorn (buttered, of course, but it's organic and the ingredients are all real! Plus, it was on closeout, so I decided to stock up seeing as though it was only a fraction of the usual price...ok enough justifying my buying 3 boxes of buttered popcorn!), I moved on to the rest of the grocery store.
As I continued throughout the rest of the grocery store, I was quite happy to see that some (not many, but some) things I had previously been buying were actually unprocessed. I picked up some new things like whole wheat tortillas for tacos. (Side note: I learned that just because a package says "Whole Wheat" does not mean that it is only made up of whole wheat. I read ingredient lists on literally 6 different packages of whole wheat tortillas before I found one that didn't have a hundred different ingredients in them!) I was super excited to get some pure cane sugar in the baking section for a really good price, as it was also on closeout. Cha-ching! I was pumped! I also grabbed some whole wheat flour and unbleached all-purpose flour, both of which I am still trying to figure out the uses for ;) I ended getting ingredients to make three different dinners for my family this week (if you're interested in what those dinners will be: tacos, quinoa with black beans and chicken, and salmon with roasted vegetables). The other nights we will eat leftovers or eat more of the "bad" stuff we still have at home.
The total amount of money that I spent on groceries was a little bit more than I usually spend, but only by about $35. I felt ok about this, though, because I bought quite a few things (like flours, sugar, coconut oil, etc.) that I won't have to buy everytime I go to the store. The whole trip did take about a half hour longer than it usually takes me, but it was well worth it! I feel really good about doing something good like this for my family and I'm excited to try out old recipes with new ingredients and new foods altogether. The only thing I am realizing I didn't really buy was snacks. My 2 year old has been asking me for snacks during the past 2 days, and besides fresh fruit & veggies I'm not sure what else to give her. I did pick up some cheese and some unprocessed crackers, but she's already getting sick of that. If anyone knows of any good snacks, please let me know! All in all, I think the shopping trip was a success and I'm looking forward to my next baby step already!
And that is one step in my process of going unprocessed.
Follow-Through: Getting rid of processed foods
When I first set out on the "challenge" of eating our way to the end of our processed foods, I was very excited. Afterall, I always love a good excuse to eat! Our cabinets and freezer have a lot more space now, but I gotta say...this challenge was not as much fun as I thought it would be. I ended up feeling really gross as I was eating my way through boxes of Nilla Wafers, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and a bag of white Wonder bread. I read many of the ingredient lists on the foods I was eating and that alone made me feel a little queasy. Why are these chemicals and additives in our food anyway? What is the point?! From what I've been reading, many of the added ingredients in our food are there to increase the shelf life of products. Do we really need a box of cereal to last 2 years or a granola bar to stay "fresh" for 6 months? I expected to feel a little sad at the end of this challenge, having to say goodbye to all of my favorite foods. In the end, though, I became even more motivated to start eating more natural, unprocessed foods and I was more than happy to say goodbye to the others. Good riddance, I say!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Baby Step #1: Rid the house of processed foods
The first baby step that I will take in this process is to purge my refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets of processed foods. When I say purge, what I really mean is to binge on exactly those foods that I want to get rid of. Yes, you read that right. I'm not into throwing away perfectly fine food (even if it is not exactly "fine" due to being completely processed). You see, I decided to actually start making these changes just one day after I had gone grocery shopping with my usual list of what to buy for the week. Included on said list were things like frozen beef stir-fry, alfredo sauce, and a bag of some kind of Jimmy Dean skillet thing (which really doesn't sound appealing but anything that contains the words Jimmy Dean in the name is probably going to be pretty delicious...just sayin'). I also considered not starting this process until I went on my next grocery shopping trip, but I didn't want to be one of those people that says "Oh, I'll start next week," because I usually am one of those people that says that and then I never actually do it. So I am starting today with this very step and I am going to enjoy every moment of every bite of the highly-processed foods that are currently infesting my food storage space.
And that is one step in my process of going unprocessed.
And that is one step in my process of going unprocessed.
What This Is All About
A few days ago, I attended a meeting of the mom's group at my church. The topic of discussion on that day was gardening with a huge dose of what-you're-feeding-your-family-is-killing-them thrown in. What I thought was going to be a relaxing morning of Veggie Gardens for Dummies turned out to be an assault on bleached flour, canola oil, and pesticide-laden produce. Now don't misunderstand me here, the ladies in charge had very good intentions, very good hearts, and very good information. When it was all said and done, though, I couldn't help but feeling completely overwhelmed with information. I'm slowly killing my family with what I am feeding them: got it. We shouldn't be eating highly-processed foods because they are in reality very dangerous: got it. These highly-processed foods are making my family sick and I should make some changes: got it! BUT HOW?!?!
That's where this blog comes in to play...
After I got home from that mom's group meeting and had some time to process (no pun intended) the information I had received earlier, I decided that maybe I should try to change a thing or two. Afterall, I want what is best for my family and if that means making the switch from my beloved Country Crock to real butter, well, I suppose I can make that sacrifice. And, my hope is that along the way, I will begin to see the benefit of the changes we are making and will continue to make even more changes for the better. For now, though, my goal is to make one change in our eating/food buying habits per week. If I end up being a little more motivated one week, well then maybe I'll initiate two changes. However, I don't want this to be too stressful, too expensive, or too time-consuming. I am just going to take one little baby step at a time in the direction of eating more nature-intended food.
I must admit, the motivation behind this blog is quite selfish. It most likely will not be the go-to blog for directions for home-made yogurt-making, completely organic grocery lists, or even recipes for all-natural cleaners. I am hoping that this blog will serve as something to hold me accountable to my goals: making small changes on a regular basis that will lead myself and my family into a more natural way of eating. Hopefully along the way, though, I might inspire someone else to make 1 change in their eating habits, enlighten someone's way of thinking about the foods they eat, or maybe even evoke a chuckle now again while watching an ordinary gal like me try to pry my grips from the Country Crock container.
And that is the beginning of my process of going unprocessed.
That's where this blog comes in to play...
After I got home from that mom's group meeting and had some time to process (no pun intended) the information I had received earlier, I decided that maybe I should try to change a thing or two. Afterall, I want what is best for my family and if that means making the switch from my beloved Country Crock to real butter, well, I suppose I can make that sacrifice. And, my hope is that along the way, I will begin to see the benefit of the changes we are making and will continue to make even more changes for the better. For now, though, my goal is to make one change in our eating/food buying habits per week. If I end up being a little more motivated one week, well then maybe I'll initiate two changes. However, I don't want this to be too stressful, too expensive, or too time-consuming. I am just going to take one little baby step at a time in the direction of eating more nature-intended food.
I must admit, the motivation behind this blog is quite selfish. It most likely will not be the go-to blog for directions for home-made yogurt-making, completely organic grocery lists, or even recipes for all-natural cleaners. I am hoping that this blog will serve as something to hold me accountable to my goals: making small changes on a regular basis that will lead myself and my family into a more natural way of eating. Hopefully along the way, though, I might inspire someone else to make 1 change in their eating habits, enlighten someone's way of thinking about the foods they eat, or maybe even evoke a chuckle now again while watching an ordinary gal like me try to pry my grips from the Country Crock container.
And that is the beginning of my process of going unprocessed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
