Hello all! It’s so good to have you come back to visit again. I have been blogging for a year and a half now and during this time, I have come to find out that people can be quite touchy about food. We all want to think that we are doing the best that we can for our families. It turns out………….there are lots of different opinions on what the “best” really is…………..even among those of us who choose to eat real food.
Why is that?
Real Food is a term that we all toss around, but it has different definitions depending on who you talk to. For the most part, real food is wholesome and nutritious. It is simple. It is unprocessed. It is whole food. It is prepared in traditional ways using the recipes our great – grandmothers used.
In the years since, whole real foods have been replaced with highly processed food-like substances. Most of the food in the grocery store has been invented. (Yes, I said invented) in the last 50 years. To quote Captain Hook in one of my favorite TV shows Once Upon A Time, “They served me something barbaric, something called bologna.” Think about it……..do you eat the same now as you did when you were a kid? How often do you eat outside the home in comparison to when you were a kid?
Simple, pure, and whole is at the core of real food. It has been further complicated by industrialized farming which includes chemicals and GMO foods and GMO feed which is given to the animals we eat. Real food enthusiasts talk about eating seasonally, eating sustainable foods, eating locally, eating humanely, and eating in an ecologically sound way. How on Earth are we supposed to do all of that with our busy schedules?
We make choices for our families.
We choose what we want to feed our families. Some want to eat Paleo, some Vegetarian, some Flexitarian, and some choose options without fancy titles. We all consider ourselves Real Food eaters. One of my family’s goals is to reduce our overall sugar consumption. One of the ways we do this is by choosing to use honey and maple syrup as our sweeteners. It is very difficult to find processed food with these ingredients so it forces me to cook our sweets and treats. Do we eat white sugar on occasion? Sure we do, but it is rare. At the holidays I made sugar cookies……..with sugar. How else can you make them? We enjoyed them fully, but we don’t make it a habit to eat like this on a regular basis. We save sugar for special times and then we enjoy every bite. As a result, treats are back to being treats in my family. Treats are no longer every day foods.
So……….you want to make the switch to Real Food?
Keep it simple. Whole Foods. Simple Foods. Pure Foods. Foods rich with nutrition. You can figure out all of the other stuff later. For more on the food rules my family has chosen, you can take a look at this post.
Have you tried to eat real foods? Do you have any food rules for your family? Have you given any thought to what makes your family feel healthy and focused? Are there any foods that you try to avoid?
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I actually ate far more processed food growing up than I do now. I grew up back in the day when processed food was big — it was so convenient. Now we know better, and while we do still eat processed food, my kids do understand the difference and don't eat a ton of it.
Knowing the difference is half the battle. My frustration comes when I think I am eating something healthy only to find out it is filled with lots of chemicals. There is something to be said for convenience, but I've come to realize that some of these convenience foods take as much time to cook as cooking from scratch. You are doing a great job with your family.
I am the same as Michelle. I ate a lot of processed food growing up. I guess it depends on the generations and different families. I think my mom and her family ate a lot more whole foods than I did when I was younger but they prepared it horribly because the way they cooked has gotten most people in my family diabetes or high blood pressure as they have gotten older. Some have changed how they eat and others…well, they just take their medication. Keeping it simple is definitely how to start. I so agree with you! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Countdown in Style! Don't forget to stop by Friday to see if you are featured 🙂
You are right Brittnei…………it does kind of depend on what generation you are. That's how we can see that things have changed over the years. I'm older than you, so my perspective is different. It also depends on where you live. My two grandmothers cooked very different. Medications serve a purpose, but it sure would be easier if folks didn't need to take medications. Many times……diet is the answer.
I try to eat whole food and often I try to make substitutions. My family ate a lot of processed food and still does. I can't convince them that what they're eating isn't healthy for them, even though they are very large people. On a side note, I kinda hate you right now (j/k)… I took on your challenge of only eating snacks that I make, and for the last two days, the snacks I made came out horribly and thus NO snacks. I'm not particularly hungry… but I'm so used to stuffing my face, that I'm mentally trying to fix that I'm able to get through the day without all the "snacks". Being home has worn on me over the last few weeks.