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whole foods – overwhelmed!
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For many health reasons, I see the need to switch to much more of a healthy, whole foods diet…but where to start? I read about so many of you grinding your own wheat and making butter and I just get overwhelmed! Can anyone point me to a do-able start? Maybe a cookbook or a website or just from your own experiences? I grew up on frozen pizza so I have no background to draw from…and I want something better for my family.
Thanks!
Erin
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 completely agree with Robin—- and start with 1 thing.
Like only eating real butter & healthy fats
Then after your family is used to to that— do away with all high fructose corn syrup
Then try making your own bread. And do away with all ‘white’ breads.
This is NOT something you can do all at once.
Go easy on yourself— it will take some time.
But in the end you and your family will feel better– and look better.
HTH
Mic
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.
Yep, I agree, start slow. I had a friend who made the transition over some time, and her method included picking up one new thing to try from the produce section each time she went shopping. She found out she likes starfruit that way! I normally tell people to start shopping the perimeter of the grocery store, and, for the most part, avoiding the aisles. Also, read labels, and if you find an ingredient that you wouldn’t know where to find in the grocery store, put it back. The exception is MSG, which is readily available on the spice aisle-PUT THAT BACK TOO. A good book to go through is Dr.Sear’s Family Nutrition book, which walks you through, in layman’s terms, what different nutrients are, how they work in our bodies, when it’s more important to buy organic, that kind of thing. He’s very down to earth. I don’t agree with the whole book (I have nothing against butter or real coconut oil, for instance), but it’s a very good starting point, and I recommend it often, especially for those who are just starting down this path.
This summer, why not introduce your family to smoothies and homemade popcicles instead of icecream,
Blessings to you, and enjoy eating the real stuff
LillyLou
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.comCongratulations on making an awesome choice for your family! Our family has been on a four-year-long journey toward eating whole foods, so take the others’ advice and mine, and start SLOWLY. I agree with Robin on the fats. If you’re going to change one thing right now that will make a huge difference, look at the fats and oils your family is consuming. The three fats we use in our home are extra virgin olive oil, unrefined coconut oil, and real butter.
You can then try to slowly adjust your budget from buying boxed, processed items to raw and staple items so you can begin cooking from scratch. My shopping cart looks completely differently now than it did four years ago! It used to be full of convenience foods like frozen pizzas and burritos, boxed cake mixes, brownie mixes, and mac-n-cheese, canned soups, and cereal boxes. Now it’s full of all of the ingredients of those items so that I can go home and make them in a much more healthy way for my family.
Something I really had to wrap my mind around was that we DID NOT have to stop eating our favorite foods; I just had to learn to make them in a better way. We still eat pizza every Sunday, but it’s made from scratch instead of pulled out of the freezer.
Just decide what’s most important and start there. I agree with the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Preparing most traditional foods doesn’t take a lot of time; it just takes a lot of planning (as does any healthy menu).
Please let us know if you need additional help. I know this is a subject many of us on this forum are passionate about and are very willing to help!
Blessings,
Lindsey
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.
SarahCPA,
If you avoid buying boxed and processed items you can easily avoid high fructose corn syrup. It’s not like you can buy a bottle of HFCS at the store. LOL We stopped using all refined sugars (white sugar, agave nectar, HFCS, etc. several months ago. It takes some adjustments, both to your budget and for your tastebuds. For drinks like homemade lemonade and iced tea, we like Stevia. You can get it in liquid and powder. We like the liquid best. For baking, raw sugars are lower on the glycemic index and higher in nutrients. We like sucanet and coconut sugar. I do still use some dark brown sugar in my baking, but have found that the sucanet works nicely as a substitute. Just don’t use it for making sweet tea…it’s not good at all. Xylitol and erythritol are zero on the glycemic index, but they don’t substitute cup for cup in baking recipes and they’re really expensive. You just have to find what works for you and stick with that.
We use raw honey instead of regular honey. The flavor is better, and it’s higher in nutrients and anti-allergenic properties. My husband takes a teaspoon or two of raw honey whenever he has heartburn, and it gets rid of it quickly. Sometimes we spread the raw honey on bread, but we don’t ever use it in recipes. It’s too expensive for that. It also works as a great cough medicine.
I, personally, do not think Bisquick is a healthy choice. The flours are not fresh, and they’re bleached too. Bisquick also contains soybean oil and hydrogenated oils. There are lots of sites you can find to make your own Bisquick alternatives. You can even buy the organic version of Bisquick…not exactly what I’d recommend, but definitly better than the real Bisquick.
Sorry I don’t have more time to respond. I’ll check back later!
Lindsey
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
Thank you for your encouragement to start slow! I have been searching on the internet and was encouraged that I do *some* things *right*…I do love to cook, and I think for us it is going to be switching what I cook with – (currently use sugar, white flour, etc.) So…I do use EVOO and real butter, so I think possibly the next step would be to use coconut oil. So, what kind do I buy? Then I was thinking about replacing sugar – where would you start for that? Then maybe baking my own bread – I do have a bread maker so I could make the dough in the breadmaker and cook it in the oven (if I can find the manual for how to use it!). I was looking up bread recipes and noticed that even homemade wheat bread contains white flour (at least the ones I found) – is that right or am I supposed to eliminate white flour completely? Anyone have a good recipe? And I have a little one who can’t have honey yet, so no honey. THANKS for all of your help!!! You ladies are a blessing!
Erin
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?
You can learn a lot about traditional foods, healthy fats, and recipes from The Healthy Home Economist. She has some great video blogs where she teaches how to prepare things like homemade infant formula, healthy fudge, and sprouted grains. Just beware: she can come across as a little aggressive and know-it-all. If you can look past that, you can really learn a lot.
Blessings,
Lindsey
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.
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