SCM Discussion Forum

1. 

   Tristan
   Member

   Hi ladies,

   My husband and I watched Forks Over Knives on Netflix yesterday (Go watch it!!) and have seen Food, Inc, among others. Lots of things are coming together to get us thinking and wanting to make some changes, I'm trying to figure out where we'll start and hope to find others who've been there done that.

   I know every family is different and will have different answers to this question. I'm okay with that. What I want to know is what are some foods your family eats or chooses not to eat and why? For example, I know some people don't eat foods due to an allergy (eggs at our house are completely banned). I know some people don't eat sugar, but may use something in place of it - what and why no sugar? Others skip grains, or meats, or dairy and so on.

   Tell me all about it and how it works for you!

   Does your whole family eat this way (including kids and hubby)?

   Are there specific food/eating guidelines you follow laid out by someone else (like Dr. Sears or the paleofoods eating plan) and what do they entail?

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
2. 

   MamaSnow
   Member

   In our family, we skip refined sugar whenever possible.  We do use natural sweeteners such as honey, real maple syrup, and fruit.  We discovered that my husband is senstive to refined sugars - in that it causes irritablility and dramatic mood swings for him.  The natural sweeteners don't seem to affect him in the same way.  He was tested for hypoglycemia as his symptoms were similar, but the test was negative.   While there are occasions (like when we are out or travelling) that it isn't always possible to avoid all refined sugar, we try to as much as possible in situations that are within our control.  We also try to avoid chemical additives such as MSG where we can.

   We  generally try to eat more whole foods and less processed foods, lots of fruits and veggies, lots of whole grains, and meatless perhaps half the time.   This sort of started out of necessity when we were living overseas as missionaries and didn't have access to a lot of packaged convenience foods (and they were quite expensive when we could), and meat was very expensive, but did have lots of access to cheap, fresh produce grown by the local people.  Over time we've realized the health benefits of eating this way, and find that when we come back to the States we've sort of lost our taste for processed goodies and fast food. 

   We don't follow any particular pre-planned diet, but we do try to use common sense and stay in tune to how different foods seem to effect our bodies and our emotions.  I've done some research into the whole real food/traditional foods thing, but as this is a major transtion year for our family it wasn't the right time to try and make major dietary changes, although I will probably look into it again once we settle down some more (and I have kitchen space to myself again....) I know there are others on here that are even more into the whole real/traditional foods diets, so I'll be interested to see what others say as well.

   HTH some,

   Jen

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
3. 

   momto2blessings
   Member

   Some things I'm particular about are real whole grain breads/cereals (either says 100% whole wheat, or whole wheat/whole grain as first ingredient and at least 2g. fiber per serving, pref. 3+). Would like to grind own wheat, but not there yet!  Also, hormone-free dairy and meats.  100% grass-fed meat from a local farmer.  Chicken without antibiotics, pref. from a local farmer.  Cage-free eggs.  Organic produce as much as possible, and locally as much as possible (CSA's are great sources).  If not org. produce, I will buy non-organic if it's not on the common lists of ones to avoid (will buy bananas, watermelon, mangos and other non-organic when I need to, I don't buy strawberries, grapes, apples, etc. unless organic).  We drink water from a reverse osmosis system...gets everything out, including flouride.  Stevia is a great natural sweetener...but I'm still trying to develop my taste for it:)

   This is for the whole family.  That said, it's often one against three here, so I do compromise:)  If we eat out, I don't sweat it.  I try to make our homemade snacks with wheat flour, but they hate wheat pizza crusts so I do white...still healthier than Papa John's:)  HTH some....Gina

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
4. 

   Jenni
   Member

   We are (trying hard to be) completely plastic-free here and that eliminates so much from our selection. Probably 90% of what is available in a typical grocery store is off-limits to us due to the packaging.

   We get creative with the rest...  I make our breads (whole-grain of course, including tortillas, rolls, muffins, etc) and for protein we eat pretty much only wild game and wild fish. And lots of each. We're big carnivores so cutting out meat isn't an option for us. We haven't had yogurt or cottage cheese in such a long time. I know I could make them, but I haven't tried yet. We stay away from white sugar since dh thinks it should be labeled as a mind-altering drug and I've got diabetes in my family. Fake sugar doesn't fly with us due to the migraines and other side effects (mice with tumors, etc). Honey and fruit are our treats, sometimes breads and cookies made with those as the sweeteners, with lots of peanut or almond butter and veggies in the bread too. I just made a banana-carrot-yellow zucchini-soy quick bread sweetened with applesauce and apple juice concentrate that was pretty good. All dairy is hormone-free, plastic-free and organic, which leaves us just about nothing. But we do drink a lot of milk and I just have to make an exception for the plastic-lined cartons (even though I call the manufacturer - TetraPac) weekly to complain about it).

   Initially, we made the switch away from plastics after reading the book Death by Rubber Duck (I would NOT recommend it since you can't un-know the info after you read it...), mainly beacuse of the health risks to children. Then we also got sick of throwing most of the one-time-use plastics in the trash (our small town can only recycle 1 and 2 plastics, and they have to be barged out at great expense, so usually recyclables just get buried with the other trash and non-recyclable plastics where they then break down and leach into the ocean, where we catch the fish, crabs, shrimp and clams that we eat. Yuck.).

   We stopped buying new plastic in October of last year and one benefit we didn't foresee was that our food tastes better. We didn't realize this until we went to a cookout with friends recently and they brought the big sausage-type hot dogs for the grill. We were kind of excited to eat some since we hadn't had any in so long. One bite and we had to throw them away....They tasted like we were actually eating plastic. My DH even told the guy manning the grill that he had left the plastic on the dogs. But no, he didn't. The plastic taste (and we're assuming toxins as well) leached very heavily into the food from the packaging. We didn't expect that at all, but now at least dh doesn't think I'm being irrational.

   Generally speaking, we know we are over the top on our food issues, but it works for us. I'd think striving for whole, organic foods as much as possible (and I don't mean the Whole Foods store since my one visit highlighted the huge amount of plastics they use), and eating fresh, unprocessed, organic produce would be the logical place to start. Don't get too concerned about my crazy plastic ravings. Start simple. Make small easy changes at first and see where that leads. Here's a great website that I check in on occassionally: http://myplasticfreelife.com/about-me/ The author is Beth Terry. She had a cameo appearance in the film Bag It which was a great documentary. FYI, there are a few iffy parts for kiddos (language mostly and some innuendo).

   One last thing, it's amazing to me how much begging and whining our new life-style eliminates. When my girls ask for anything in the store and I reply that it's in plastic and we don't buy plastics, they are fine with that. I make sure to get treats or special things every one in a while, but it's not the norm and I am thrilled with how much we don't miss the junk. Plus, fruit tastes so much better when your system isn't polluted with sugar.

   HTH!

   Jenni

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
5. 

   LindseyD.
   Member

   We started changing our foods 4-5 years ago. It was baby steps at first. Our first big change was going from white bread to wheat, then from wheat w/ HFCS to wheat w/o HFCS, then to Ezekiel Bread, now to me grinding my own wheat, soaking it, and baking it myself. That process alone has taken 4 years!

   Non-negotiables:

   • I will not buy food with nitrates/nitrites, artificial colors or flavors, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or MSG.
   • Produce purchased is 95% organic. The only fruit I will buy non-organic are bananas. The only vegetable I buy non-organic is asparagus, and that's only because we love it so much and organic asparagus can be close to $8/lb where I live!
   • Refined sugar is out. I only use unbleached, organic sugar for one thing: kombucha. And only because the sugar is completely used up during the fermenting process. We use whole sweeteners like sucanet, coconut sugar, raw honey, and pure maple syrup. Stevia is also found in abundance in our home, but for sweetening things like lemonade or tea.
   • We buy our eggs from a local farmer. Grass-fed, hormone-free beef also comes from a local rancher.
   • Raw milk is a must. If I am ever unable to procure raw milk, we will just do without. I won't even buy organic milk because I know it is an empty food.
   • The only foods I buy in a can are tomato products, like crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste. 

   Things I'm Learning:

   • How to cook traditionally from Nourishing Traditions.
   • Yogurt-making from raw milk.
   • Learning to enjoy lacto-fermented veggies.

   The whole family eats this way. The kids don't particularly care for the lacto-fermented stuff yet, but we're making progress. Before we jumped on the Traditional Cooking Bandwagon, my husband prayed and fasted about it for a week. We knew that was going to be one of our biggest changes, and we couldn't do it lightly. It's so much fun though. At this moment, I have yogurt culturing, milk clabbering, and two quarts of homemade ginger ale fermenting on my kitchen counter. In my fridge, I have some fermented bean paste (basically just bean dip and very yummy!), liquid whey, lacto-fermented salsa, and raw cream cheese. Before I go to bed tonight, I will soak oatmeal in purified water and whey for breakfast in the morning.

   My pantry has changed too. Now, instead of boxes of breakfast cereal, flavored instant oatmeal, Kraft mac-n-cheese, and Hamburger Helper, I have glass canisters of wheat berries, sorghum, and whole corn.

   As we have changed our eating, we have filled our kids in on the "why's". They understand that HFCS, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, and refined sugars are bad for them. They have experienced fatigue and sickness from eating bad foods after being in this lifestyle for a while. We don't miss the junk either. Every once in a while, I'll get a craving for some Oreos or a fun-size bag of peanut M&Ms. For those occasions, I keep what I want in the house. We do allow treats every once in a while, but I try very hard to make treats that are tasty and healthy. We still eat cookies, quickbreads, muffins, and stuff like that, but when made by me, I don't worry about anyone eating them. I know exactly what goes into them, and that they're full of good, nutritious things, not junk.

   What kinds of changes are you considering for your family, Tristan?

   Blessings,

   Lindsey

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
6. 

   crazy4boys
   Member

   Hey Tristan - without writing a whole book, here's what we do (and it's an ongoing process as I learn)...and the whole family eats the same way.  We try to eat well as much as possible, but they sometimes have pizza parties or candy at a friend's.  Sometimes I'm super tired or sick and hubby makes or buys some things that aren't the greatest.  I want the kids to have a healthy attitude about food though and not feel like they need to sneak stuff or criticize friends.

   • Whole/natural foods - brown rice instead of white, grind our own wheat, cook beans from dried, etc.  I'm trying to learn to make sourdough or naturally leavened bread instead of yeast bread.  I'm also working on learning to soak grains/beans/nuts before using them.
   • Organic fruits and veggies as much as possible - ideally I'd like to buy all organic but in our area not everything is available organic, sometimes organic is horrible quality and the cost is sometimes too high (I'm feeding 4 growing boys who eat A LOT).  We eat fruits and veggies for snacks so we go through lots during the week (5 or 6 bunches of bananas, 4 to 5 pounds of apples, 4 pounds of carrots, and so on...and that's not even what I cook with).  I dry some but most are eaten fresh.
   • Salad - I try for every dinner as a side, and we often have main dish salad too.  I'm trying recipes to make my own salad dressing.
   • Grass-fed/pastured meat when possible, but often I can't get it without ordering online and the cost can get too high.  We also try to eat meat sparingly.  I make lots of broth for soups (we eat a LOT of soup) from bones as well.
   • Limited dairy - we have some sensitivities to dairy so we try for 1 to 2 gallons per week, with cheese maybe once a week.  Homemade yogurt for some kids, others don't like it and sometimes in our smoothies.
   • No refined sugars.  We use honey or dried fruit like dates/prunes to sweeten.  We might use real maple syrup again, but I'm not sure yet.  I don't freak out about this though - if they are invited to a friend's birthday party I let them have the cake and ice cream.  I DON'T let them eat all their Halloween candy though.
   • Healthy fats.  Butter, coconut oil, tallow, avocados, olive oil.  I put coconut oil in the smoothies!
   • Naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, cortido, etc. (for the good probiotics) at lunch and dinner, usually.
   • No artificial colors, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or nitrates.  I'm pretty hard core about this one because one of my sons is very sensitive (behavior problems) but again, if it happens a few times a year at a party or something I don't stress.

   We eat this way to help with ADHD and behavior problems, migraines, eczema and my special stomach problems.  It's helping, but we're not totally healed yet.  We have to strike a balance in our home with economics vs. health and my husband is not totally sold on 'all of this'.  He thinks a lot of the organic, raw milk, grass fed beef stuff is hype/propaganda and the bottom-line is that it is expensive so we work together to find a place we are both more or less comfortable with.

   Heather

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
7. 

   Gem
   Member

   Wow!  I am so amazed and impressed by some of the lifestyle choices and commitments described here. No wonder I like you guys so much!  I wish you were my neighbors!

   Well, in the first place, I have been hearing a lot about that Food to Fork movie - I saw that it was on Netflix so I guess I will have to watch it, although I am under the impression that it is an anti-meat movie, and that made me not-so-enthusiastic, because as a homesteader, I know the role of animals on a farm and therefore in my family's diet.  I have seen and loved Food Inc, and I loved Barbara Kingsolver's book about eating locally for a year, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."

   OK so I am not nearly so hard core as the ladies above in regards to our diet.  I do live on a small farm and I operate a seasonal CSA.  We have a big garden, chickens, pigs, sometimes rabbits, etc.  We eat all that stuff, they are not pets.  

   The funny thing is, as a result of growing so much of our own perishables, most of what I buy is processed foods and grains, like flour and rice.  I don't need to buy much of anything else.  I buy peanut butter and cheese and ketchup and cereal and stuff like that.  My cart does not look very good if you ran into me at the store LOL.  I do buy 100% ww bread, but I buy some white pasta and tortillas. Since we raise and butcher our own, we buy very little meat, usually only beef and we get that at a local store with a butcher or from a local grass fed rancher.  I almost never buy chicken - maybe once a year, or less. We also eat very seasonally - not just what food is ripe, but also in terms of the kind of food we prepare.  I don't bake in the summer, for instance, so we might buy more baked goods in the summer.

   I do allow some food coloring - as in, we eat birthday cake, and occaisional candy, etc.  We have got into a Gatorade habit this summer, that we have started to break.  We drink very little soda, only when we are out (the fizzy settles their stomachs in the car). We eat ice cream a lot LOL (Blue Bell:) - just tried their new flavor 'Tiramisu' - yummy) and some cookies every now and then if it is not baking season.  There have been a few bags of chips come through our door...

   I am happy with where we are right now - I think I treat the grocery store as a tool, not as a trap.  I am aware of many ways to cook and bake, use sweetners, make yogurt and cheese, pickle vegetables, and I can do these things or not as I choose, depending on circumstances.  I am thankful for the freedom to buy readymade and processed food if I need to.  I just keep trying to learn from everytime that I need to, and planning ahead to avoid or mitigate whatever the situation is in the future.

   All that said, I do not have any family members with food allergies or issues.  I know how fortunate we are in that regard, and I have learned a lot from reading about the need of others that do have these issues to contend with, so thank you to you all for sharing.

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
8. 

   Tristan
   Member

   Thanks everyone, I'm thrilled to read such a variety of eating plans!  It is nice to know that people do choose to eat 'differently' and not only survive but thrive. 

    

   Lindsey - The changes we're considering/working on are:

   • meat very sparingly if at all
   • no dairy products/animal products (we're already egg free, so just dairy left here)
   • no refined sugar (we already avoid HFCS, but do use white sugar in our baking)
   • whole grains (we already grind our wheat and bake bread, but still use white rice, quick oats instead of whole, etc)
   • no nitrates/nitrites (we've been working pretty hard on this one, and if we get rid of meat it's a non-issue...LOL)

   The fascinating thing with Forks Over Knives was the very real results of the research that eliminating animal products reverses many major diseases including heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, as well as drastically dropping the risk of many different cancers.  We've got lots of all those in our families in abundance.  It also showed the major increase in all of those in areas where the diet changed drastically to a animal product laden diet.  Again, it was a fascinating documentary.  Several parts of the research focused on using cows milk, not even meat, and the cancer results were dramatic. 

   The things we do want to be sure we're including in our daily diet are lots of homemade grains, beans, veggies, fruits.  I do know that for lasting change we've got to make it doable, not drastic change overnight.  Baby steps.

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
9. 

   chocodog
   Member

   Tristan,

      We are eating a whole lot different than we did 4 yrs ago. We noticed so many different behavioral problems with my son. He was fine in the morning until breakfast. I tried elimanating things but it seemed everything bothered him. It wasn't until he broke out in Preschool that we had a breakthrough. It was Crystal Lite they put in the snowtable. He was allergic to it. Red Dye 40. This started my research into food. I asked myself ... What is Red Dye 40? After looking it up I found out it is Coal Tar. WoW! It is a carcinagenic (causes cancer) Then, He was still having problems. The doctor finally gave him a blood test. He was deathly allergic to Mold. This is in all kinds of foods. I went on another research. Found out Milk, eggs,ect can have mold. The cows eat moldy grain and it passes through into their milk. Chickens pass it to their eggs. Red Dye 40 and other dyes are made with milk. Oil and water don't mix. We raise our own chickens and it seems to be fine. Milk is out. It also has casinate which coats your intestines like glue. It is hard to get the nutrients you need so we switched to Almond, Soy, and Hemp Milk. I love to make this. We also switched our sweeteners. Most sweeteners have mold. Maple surup, Molassas ect.. So we do Honey sparingly. I also grow Stevia. I make it like a tea and it taste better than the stuff in the store. I also use Agave Nectar. This we have no problem with.  No Yeast, Vinegar, or fermented foods. They contain mold. My son eats spegetti sauce instead of Ketchup. Mostly we noticed that Chicken, Rice, and a veggie is our best type of meals. Pasta's, and taco's with MSG free seasonings and as everyone else said try to eat organic as much as possiable, Garden fresh foods and our Deer, pheasant, goose, ducks, chickens we shoot ourselves. It is a learning process. We started small and keep adding to it each time we learn something new. Food Inc. is a good video and I am going to look into some of the ones above. Thanks everyone! Sorry this is so long but I think we all learn from others. HOpe this helps someone. :)

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
10. 

    crazy4boys
    Member

    It can be so confusing sometimes.  I really enjoyed the book The China Study which shows that eating meat can cause cancer and in laboratory settings they can turn cancer on and off by feeding the animals meat or not.  But then you read Nourishing Traditions or GAPS and they talk about how vital meat is to health and healing.  I grew up on a farm, and like Gem, see how animals (meat and dairy) have their role in functioning well.  Same with milk, butter and even grains.  There are whole legions of people who say that eating grains is destroying our health (even if you soak it) and others who claim it is the best thing for us.  There are the raw food people who claim eating anything heated is only dead food and those that claim you can't get the full nutrition from food unless it has been heated.  

    I try to learn and read and study and then figure out what I feel comfortable with (even praying about it) and what I can actually make/handle with time constraints and what we can afford.  Some things make us feel sick and others make us feel 'well'.  I'll have to check out the videos suggested above.  And I have LISTS of books to read and study.  It's a process!

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
11. 

    crazy4boys
    Member

    I know several ladies have said this, but wanted to give a real life example.  A few years ago we decided to 'go vegetarian' for a few months (just to try it).  So I instantly switched to all vegetarian meals, which meant I was trying a new recipe every night.  Well, a whole lot of them were bombs.  Pretty darn gross.  Which was frustrating for me because I'd spent time and money on the ingredients and then had hungry, whiny kids (and sometimes husbands).  It also got really discouraging because everyone was complaining at every meal about how the food was so yucky...every meal...every time...for weeks on end.  We found a few we liked but a whole lot we didn't.  I learned (after much pain) to go slowly.  Add in a new recipe once or twice a week until you have a repertoire to last a few weeks or a month or so...then make the "big switch".  It takes time to change your eating AND cooking habits.  It also really helped me to have fast, easy meals in the pantry or freezer that I could throw together quickly if the meal turned out inedible (and some do).  

    We're going through the process again and I just want to jump right in and start with all my new plans, but I know it will be better in the long run to gradually ease into it and find recipes we like slowly.

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
12. 

    LindseyD.
    Member

    Those changes are all great! It is hard to make food changes, which is why, I think, it takes so long and is such a process. I have not seen the documentary you're talking about, but will watch it this week. My hubby and I love food documentaries. We've seen just about all of them! One thing we cannot do is give up meat totally. As much research as I've done on fats and animal products, I see how important animals are in our diet. The tough part is getting hormone-free, vaccine-free, grass-fed animal products. When animal products are part of a well-rounded diet that is also full of good fats, properly prepared grains, nuts, and legumes, raw and cooked veggies and fruits, fermented foods, and raw, cultured dairy, one can be sure they are getting all the nutrients out of their food and their money's worth out of their grocery budget. I also love that eating the way we do supports local business. I have nothing against vegetarians, but I know that our family feels much better when we have all different types of foods incorporated into our diets. 

    This is a great topic! I love talking food!

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
13. 

    ibkim2
    Member

     

    I have not had time to read all the posts....but we had watch Food, Inc. last year and Forks over Knives on netflix the other night..........great insights from these films.  We have slowly changed the way we eat over the past 2 years and are so glad we have.  I would say we used to eat 80% SAD (standard american diet) foods, and now we eat 20% SAD foods...so that's a big improvement from a couple who grew up on kool-aid, soda, vienna sausage, and little debbie snack cakes, LOL.......dh isn't supposed to eat wheat, so he eats a millet/brown rice bread, dc eat Ezekiel or low preservative breads from Trader Joe's.  I make green smoothies (fruit and greens blended in a blender) almost every day, we started eating salad or spinach leaves every day.........last week ds (age 5) asked when we "get to have" quinoa again since I hadn't fixed it for awhile.  Our kids get offered candy and junk food ALL the time outside the house, as long as their time outside the house is limited we let them have it and then I "shove" health food done their mouths in a positive way when we're home, LOL.  And I lightly lecture my kids often on why the nutritious food is so good for and why the candy and junk food should be eaten not at all or rarely.  Their brains seem to "get it" and ds age5 brags about the "nutrition food" he eats. 

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post

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