Journey to Real Foods: Plan Something
Last week we changed over our breakfast items to whole food, and I’m wondering……how did you do? Where you able to toss your cereal out and stick with homemade items? I uploaded a few picks from our weeks breakfasts {oatmeal, sourdough bread used to make french toast, scrambled eggs, and sourdough pancakes} to my Flickr photostream and you’re able to add your own as well if you took any.
Because last weeks “challenge” was a bit tougher in the aspect of not only the time it took each day, but also the fact that you had to get over one of America’s love affairs – cereal. This week we’ll do something a bit easier.
I want you to plan just one days food.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
If you already plan your menus, fabulous! Take it one step further and plan one day of completely unprocessed foods.
Don’t do a menu plan yet? Take it easy on yourself and eat what you normally would, just make a plan and stick to it.
Menu planning is one of the only ways I’m able to actually stick to eating whole (and homemade) foods. Otherwise I find myself at 5:00pm wondering what I’m making for dinner! Making your meals like this is just a welcome mat for processed and unwholesome foods to enter your home. It’s also a great way to make sure the food you already have doesn’t go to waste.
Menu Plan Basics
- Take inventory of your fridge and cupboards. Check to see what you have on hand for each meal.
- Make a list of everything you need to buy in order to complete those meals
- Go shopping
- Write a physical list and place it on your fridge
- The night before prep whatever you can
- The day of – stick to your list!
What do you think….can you do it?
** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.Journey to Real Foods: Step One
So, the fun thing about blogging is that I get to let the real me shine through. And part of that real me is being a bossy older sister!
Recently I’ve been contacted by a lot of my readers and they all want to know one thing….
“How/Where do I start?”
Now, I’ve done a few posts about this, giving you some ideas on what to do first, but the problem is, it’s been so vague and I’ve been just giving you ideas. I think some of you are still having a hard time making that first step. So I’m going to start outlining actual steps for you to take each week. I’ll hold your hand as you take these steps into the unknown and if you’re still having problems getting started…..well…..I’ll just push you over the edge! Nothing like diving in head first!
This week we’re going to tackle cereal/breakfast. And I know it can be somewhat of a big step, but you have the weekend to get your marbles together, lest you think you’ll drop them all next week.
And why start with cereal? Well, not only is your first meal of the day an important one, it’s the one that we here in the U.S. fill with sugar and yet strip of all nutrients.
So here’s what you’re going to do: {here’s where the bossy thing comes in}
- Throw away your boxed cereal (or scarf it down and don’t tell me!)
- Go buy eggs (about 8 per person) oatmeal, plain (whole milk) yogurt, milk (coconut milk if you don’t have raw), frozen fruit, and bread (buy the best you can afford, but don’t make yourself go broke either!)
Monday - Make yourself some eggs, scrambled or fried, and include a piece of toast. Drink water or raw milk. You’ll have to set aside a couple extra minutes to prepare breakfast, but it will be worth it!
*If time is a major issue, hard boil the eggs earlier in the week!
Tuesday – Smoothie (blend 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup raw milk {or coconut milk} and frozen fruit) Include a Tbsp of melted coconut oil if you have it on hand as well as a raw egg yolk for added nutrition. These are super easy to make and kids love them too! Include a piece of toast if you must.
*consuming raw foods….yadda, yadda…..illness…yadda, yadda…..at your own risk.*
Wednesday – Omelets and sausage (add plenty of veggies into your omelet!) You can also cook the sausage patties over the weekend and reheat them in a pan on the stove while making the omelet.
Thursday - Soaked Oatmeal (soaking is essential for increased nutrition as well as quicker cooking) This one takes some thought the night before as you’ll take 1 cup of oats and add in 2 Tbsp of yogurt and 1 cup warm water as well as 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour and set the mixture in a warm place overnight. The next morning you can add in more water (I do about 2/3 cup) and simmer until done. To cut back on the ’sour’ taste, I rinse my oats out. Though that practice is currently under debate. Top with butter, milk, and a touch of maple syrup if you need it.
Friday - Eggs and toast *fyi – I won’t get picky on the toast quite yet. That step will come so if you’re just starting your journey, don’t stress about it just yet!
Saturday - Yogurt and fruit with a touch of honey, and a slice of toast (if you have a sourdough starter I would also recommend sourdough pancakes!)
Sunday – Make up some eggs again and pair with a smoothie!
Now that you have your orders for the week, do you think it’s something you can handle? What problems do you foresee?
If you’re a picture taker like I am, I even set up a Flickr group called “Journey to Real Foods” where you can upload your pics to show the cereal you’re getting rid of or the new foods you’re cooking!
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** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.Where to Start on a Real Food Journey
My e-mail has recently been flooded with messages from new readers, and the biggest question is “How do I start changing my diet?”. And you know, it wasn’t to long ago that I had those same questions! When it finally hit me that real, God given nutrition was the base of all health, I couldn’t wait to change. But the changes that needed to take place were overwhelming, and I had to completely rethink how I felt about food.
Some things were easy to change, other things I’m still working on. And the way each of us attack these new issues will be slightly different than the next as our comfort levels are not the same. Or our finances will not support a quick overhaul. Perhaps some of our husbands even balk at the idea.
But again, the question is “Where do you start?”.
Well, last year I did a short series on Small Changes for Better Health that I’ll quickly outline again for you with links to the complete posts.
- Cut out high fructose corn syrup – important not only for getting this out of your diet, but when you do, you’re also cutting out a lot of processed foods!
- Switch to whole wheat bread products – you can tackle the whole ’soaking’ thing later on, but try getting yourself and your family used to the flavor of whole wheat products. Also lower your intake of bread products as well! (as a side note – I know there are many in the real food community that would recommend eating white flour products over unsoaked whole wheat, so use your discretion and choose what is best for you and your family. Personally, I’ve decided that the blood sugar spikes are more of a concern for my own health than the fact that whole wheat products could be potentially causing my body to lose nutrients. I figure this is a short term thing!)
- Don’t eat any food product that contains MSG.
- Stop eating (or buying) and foods that contain trans fats.
- Stop drinking soda! Not only is it all just empty calories that do nothing to nourish your body, it can actually have some drastic and unfortunate changes to your body.
- Skip foods that come in a package!
- Start buying organic produce.
- Eat more raw foods to make sure your body is getting the nutrients that are normally lost while cooking.
- Put your big girl panties on and Try Something New! Your health depends on it so you need to get out of your comfort zone and just do it.
Have you started to change your diet with any of these small steps? I challenge you to begin now! So take some time this next week and really look through your pantry. Take some extra time at the store and read labels before you toss things into your cart.
Next week I’ll have a small nourishing foods challenge for you, as these small steps focus more on cutting things out. Soon we’ll start adding some fabulous nourishing foods back in!
This post is linked to: Fight Back Friday
** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.
