Baby food and Baby steps

Baby food...

Feeling good about Aivry's food. So far I've fixed her avocados, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Next up is green beans. I don't recognize myself... I'm ENJOYING cooking her food and preparing it and knowing that everything that goes into her mouth is wholesome and natural with nothing at all added. So far.. her food is perfect... nothing has entered her mouth since the day she was born that wasn't good for her. :-) Knowing that for the first few years of her life she'll never eat processed sugar, dyes, whatever!... I LOVE it! 

Baby steps...

*Slowly switching foods to natural or organic as we run out (stuff like peanut butter etc)
*I've been cooking every night. WOW! I'm not a cook. For years I protested and said that I loved cooking, wanted to be a great cook but just never did it ... blah blah blah... and then one day I told the truth. I can cook... yes. It runs in my genes apparently. I don't like cooking. THERE. SAID IT. I'm from a traditional southern family and I don't LIKE cooking. I've always viewed cooking as a chore. So, this is a MAJOR thing for me.
*Concentrating on cooking double recipes and freezing one for another day to save money and time so I don't get cooking burn out.
*Portion sizes have been severely reduced. SEVERELY! My Mother thinks I'm starving her. LOL

Things to note...

*I've discovered things... like when you haven't eaten anything but REAL food for three days and then treat yourself to a sweet tea from McDonald's... the tea makes you feel ILL... makes you feel blah and cranky and tired. Huh. They actually are telling the truth when they say it makes you "sluggish."
*REAL food is very very FILLING. The first few times when I filled up quickly (like at a 4th of what I'd usually eat) I assumed it was a placebo effect... that I felt full because I was told that I was supposed to fill full easier. Yeah no. I really get full quickly.
*I apparently can like healthy food. When we make salads we always make it with romaine lettuce with some baby spinach thrown in. Well, I didn't want what we had for dinner tonight so I scrounged around in the fridge. I wanted a salad. We only had baby spinach. So I went for it. Baby spinach + blue cheese crumbles + sun dried tomato dressing =  YUMMY! The only thing I need to add is dried cranberries and a glazed nut and I think I just discovered a new FAVORITE lunch.

(pause here to insanely laugh)

ME? eating a bowl of spinach leaves? A year ago I would have made a face and rolled my eyes at the suggestion.

Holy Moly Whole Foods

We finally shopped in Whole Foods. I felt like I entered another country. I know Food Lion, Walmart, Kroger and when I'm feeling rich... Publix. Wow!  A whole store entirely made up of those items found on that one shelf at Food Lion that I always swerve around! (At this point that shelf was more of a nuisance because at my Food Lion it hides the bread. It was always in my way. )

So, because I'm a bit of a froot loop I had an anxiety attack. 

After all my careful researching... it turns out my knowledge is still severely lacking.

I thought I knew what kind of flour I needed. Until I saw that there were 12 kinds to choose from!

I thought I knew about cheeses and beans and lentils and that and this and yes that too. Until I walked into Whole Foods and learned that I didn't.

I don't know ANYTHING and I don't recognize much!

John was awesome and took me by the shoulders. "We'll learn one recipe at a time. All we can do is take it slowly and learn as we go."

OK

Yes

That's what I needed to hear. 

So we left with barely anything because really we went just to look but I can officially say I shopped there.

LOL 

Oh, and we stopped at GREAT HARVEST and bought two loaves of the Whole Wheat Honey Bread. I sampled it with my lunch and really enjoyed it.

Yes, I realize how silly I sound... but this is a new world for us.

Especially me.

I'm 5 ft 1 inches and weigh 200lbs... you don't get that way by being a healthy eater.

Not even close

Feeling discouraged here and we haven't even started. 

We're not rolling in it in our house so this healthier eating must be done on a budget.

Today I did a test.

I bought the small amount of things I needed... switched everything to organic if I could... and paid $60 for ONE meal and the salad for another meal!  Because it is so much more expensive I had to put some organic stuff back for the other kind. I tried to get "good cheese" but it was $8 for less than a lb. Totally wasn't in my budget! Instead I bought the cheap supermarket brand.

Good Grief! 

How am I to plan a whole WEEK on our budget???

OK... some truth here...

I bought a few extras...

Milk,

Bread,

Raisin Bran (I thought I was buying healthy cereal whooops)

Oh, and toaster pastries... hehe.. John is addicted to them for breakfast and I saw a new lemon meringue.. and although I don't normally eat Pop Tarts etc... I'm a sucker for lemon.

But they were on sale!

My heart felt heavy after paying. My normal stores are not going to work and I'm going to have to drive 30 mins to go to Whole Foods (the only "health food" store nearby)

blah blah blah

Did I think this would be easy? 

No, but still.

Also, John cooked the other night... a "John special" as we call it. He doesn't read recipes usually and just throws things together that sounds good to him. Because he is on board with healthy eating... he bought 100%  whole grain rice, fire roasted tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans and asparagus. So, a rice casserole kindof thing. 

No one liked it. It needed salt and pepper etc and just tasted bland  (remember my fear?) Basically it wasn't a very good introduction to the kids for healthier eating.

So... just feeling discouraged. 

Sigh

How we are starting

I like blogs.

I've kept a few myself... off and on.

I have many bookmarked... most that I forget to read but blogs are awesome for ideas.

As for the REAL food... I love 100 Days of Real Food! I've literally read through the entire blog and her recipes are the first I've printed. 

So, to start out with our journey... we're doing her 10 day challenge. 

But

I'm OCD

and 10 days is an incomplete week...

So, we're doing it for 14 days.

For 14 days we're eating 100% REAL food and following her rules... nothing with more than 5 ingredients... 

Etc.

I figure after struggling for 2 weeks we'll get a good idea of what to continue with and what not to and start adjusting from there. 

A NEW BEGINNING

So...

My family and I are making changes.

For months I've been researching REAL food, processed food, fast food, GMO's, fats, yadda yadda. I've read so much information that the only thing I'm truly sure about is that there is a lot of conflicting information and I sometimes feel so overwhelmed with it all I want to bang my head on the desk.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! But didn't I just read that blank is bad for you?"

Where is the step by step guide for dummies?

BUT

I'm excited as well. John, the husband, is on board and my girls, 7 yrs, 6 yrs, and 4 months shouldn't care too much. Although I imagine the girls would hate for our diet to become bland and yucky... they are used to eating what I give them. "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" is one of our family mottos. I think we're ready. For one thing, once you truly start learning about everything in your food.. you do start having a distasteful feeling when you order it and lift it to your mouth. At this very moment I'm eating a pack of peanut butter crackers and without thinking I started reading it.
Ooooh look at those ingredients!

*note its not stopping me from eating them... I love Lance crackers and I'm hungry  ;-) *

I've already started making small changes to our way of life just because the knowledge is in my head.

What I've started...

1)  I make sure I budget extra for fresh veggies and fruits. No more canned stuff unless in a pinch.

2)  Started going to the Farmer's Market... yay! local!

3)  Buying organic when they are available... even the ketchup... even though my Mother raises her eyebrows at the extra expense.

4)  Choosing healthier fast food instead of Mcdonalds  

5) Seriously reduced meat and portion sizes.

 I know I know! It's just small things and the attempt so far is pathetic 

but we're not technically starting until August 11th.

Why August 11th?

My Mother lives with me and her birthday is the second week of August. She asked if I'd please starve her AFTER her birthday.

LOL

So... right now I'm putting my recipe binder together and finding

 all the information I can about local meats, dairy, produce etc and learning all that I can.

And... of course....

holding my breathe that the food CAN be as tasty as others who have gone before me claim. 

Did you notice my earlier comment about feeding my girls "bland and yucky" food?

Yeah, that's a worry.  Can't help it.