whole foods – overwhelmed!

Erin,

I would check out a website called GNOWFGLINS, an acronym for “God’s Natural Organic Whole Foods Grown Locally in Season.”      http://www.gnowfglins.com.  There is a wealth of information on there.  She also has ecourses that you can sign up for that will show you, with recipes and videos, how to cook real, whole foods.  Currently there are three completed ecourses:  Fundamentals, Sourdough, and Cultured Dairy.  She’s also just started a new one called Lacto-Fermentation. 

When I first started looking into real foods (past salads!!) I started with milling my own grains.  It was easy and great for getting my family on board.  They couldn’t resist my cinnamon rolls.  Now I recommend that people begin with their fats.  Every cell in your body depends on healthy fats such as…prepare yourself…real butter, lard (not the hydrogenated stuff in the store,) tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.  Eating unhealthy fats is a tragic mistake.  When I began learning about all that was affected by eating these fats, I was blown away. 

The most important thing is to start small.  Don’t try to make all the changes at one time.  Get a good cookbook such as Nourishing Traditions, choose one thing and begin.  The GNOWFLGINS site is great because she encourages you to do one new thing each week or so, or whenever you’re ready.

You’ll get lots more encouragement on here.  It can be overwhelming at first.  Ask any questions you like.

I love the “whole food for the whole family” cookbook, it is one of the La Leche League cookbook, you can probably find it on their website if you can’t find it on Amazon. The recipes are healthy,tasty and easy to make.

I love healthy food and like to cook but do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen!

We manage to eat whole foods w/out doing all that much baking. I do buy the Ezekiel bread (which we could probably not afford w/out trader Joe’s). We do not eat so much bread, mostly brown rice. Some quinoa and other grains.

We also eat a lot of Asian food here, all kind of seaweeds, they are so good for you and my kids love them. It is easy once you know how to use them.

You may be farther along than me, but I had to start from scratch-scratch because we ate a lot of prepared foods. I had great difficulty even fixing dinner for my family each night. But this is my starting point. I ordered a kit to help me prepare healthier meals and I’m doing it!

My focus for health is the “lean and green” as my husband is on Medifast. We have eaten more veggies in the past 2 months than in the past 20 years!!! The kit helped me focus on just MAKING SOMETHING. I don’t have to like it, just get something on the table that isn’t mac & cheese!

We told the kids that whatever I made for dinner was what’s for dinner. If they didn’t like it, they could fix a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We fought some battles for quite awhile but now we are moving forward. I can see as this becomes more natural for us, I’ll be able to springboard into more healthy cooking and will probably make my own bread next.

Hope it helps inspire you!
http://my-cooking-journal.blogspot.com

I am joining Tukata on this new journey.

I know we need to eat better, too.  I would be embarrassed for anyone to look in the cabinets.  dh likes chips and soda pop.  Kids do not get soda pop, but have now gotten accustomed to eating chips several days per week.  I prefer crackers myself.  What are some good substitutes here?

We already use real butter and olive oil, so could you help with HOW to change sugars:”Then after your family is used to to that— do away with all high fructose corn syrup” – mic

I don’t want to use any Splenda or Sweet and Low, etc.

I know honey is better for you, but you can’t always substitute with honey.  I did splurge and buy 100% maple syrup at the store last week to use with pancakes.  That is another question: how healthy is using the Bisquick mix for pancakes?  There must be a healthier version out there.  I just need more specific changes to make here.  Thanks.

HFCS is now in almost everything. Ketchup , salad dressing, cereals , yogurt, — you have to get into a habit of reading labels.

Hunts now is HFCS free. I only mention this as another thing to look for– I know you could make your own ketchup and salad dressings– but when are just starting out doing this— it’s easier to take baby steps. Look for a healthier alternative as a starting place.

Then maybe down the road– you can make it from scratch.

Mic

Preparing most traditional foods doesn’t take a lot of time; it just takes a lot of planning (as does any healthy menu)

This is what I struggle with the most – meal planning! I gave up on it awhile back and just made a 2 week summer meal plan to rotate thru continually, but it’s getting a little bit boring at times. i don’t mind cooking, my problem is deciding WHAT to cook. And somehow I seem to not plan ahead with thawing or how long something might take etc.

Also, why coconut oil? I already use olive oil and butter, but didn’t know coconut oil is a healthy fat. Where can I read more about it?

My family and I have been on this journey as well.  I am looking into more “raw” foods lately.  Not to go completely raw, but mainly to find more ways to fix veggies as sides and such in a nutritious way.  Going slow is best, I agree with another on the forum here.  Start with your oils and change those to olive, coconut, and butter.  Nothing     hydo-anything for example.  Next I tackled my flours and mill my own.  I do use some unbleached flour for certain breads and waffles from time to time.  You could check out Sue Gregg’s website, she has whole-food cookbooks.  Also, there was a book I borrowed from the library about making your own “convenience” packages.  I am sorry, but I don’t remember the name.  I copied down some of the recipes though, and now I make my own cream of “whatever” soups from scratch and other mixes that have come in handy and I know what is in them.  I fear I sound a little disjointed here, but I hope this helps.