Saturday, May 8, 2010

health(ier) eating

Well there's always a lot to learn, and lately we've decided to become more informed about the foods we're eating. We really didn't realize all that we were embarking upon... and probably still don't as it's all very new to us and we're amateurs for sure! We've both been relatively healthy eaters over-all, I liked to cook full meals mostly homemade, we didn't eat boxed meals, we enjoy fruits and vegetables, we didn't eat too many sweets (well Matt didn't, I indulged more so), etc. If it was only that simple! We began to realize that the foods we were buying for economic benefits (they were cheap) were really packed full of additives, preservatives, etc. and that there were certainly better options.
Our baby steps towards healthier foods have included...
~ joining a CSA as explained via this web-site, our first produce should begin to arrive within the next couple of weeks! We've joined with this particular farm, Misty Meadows and really look forward to the new venture
~ evaluating our produce based upon the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" guides... knowing that some foods are more "worthwhile" to buy organically while others aren't as urgent - this also helps with our budget since last week I went over-board with our first attempt and spent more than we could frequently afford to buying organic produce while still not being able to eat the quantity we'd been used to
~ looking thoroughly at labels on breads to choose the healthiest option for us, still not doing sprouted grains, etc. (I don't know enough yet!), but a baby step to find something that avoids high fructose corn syrup, etc. while still being able to buy it which saves time
~ enjoying organic Greek yogurt as a parfait which is great for protein in pregnancy and better for us anyway :)

This week I was thankful to find a better balance for us as I went back to ALDI for basics that we're not doing organically (some of the produce, milk, eggs, cheese, plain oatmeal that we seem to devour) and then went to Kroger and found the organics we wanted while also making some generally healthier choices than ALDI allowed me in breads, spaghetti sauce, etc.

We hope to explore more as we invest more time and thought into learning about things like...
~ farm fresh eggs
~ local meats (maybe chicken?!)
~ making more breads in our bread maker, if time allows while working and soon adding a baby to our world!
~ soaking beans (should be easy I think, and better for you?!)
~ canning (so I can keep this wonderful produce we're getting all summer stored for the winter when we can't eat it all quickly enough)

Last Friday while on our Barnes & Noble date night I discovered a helpful magazine with great sounding recipes along these lines, and articles which spelled things out clearly while staying simple enough for me... I plan to look into it more too:
Clean Eating


We'll trust the Lord in this area of life as in all others, as He knows what we need, what He provides for us, and how we desire to serve Him as good stewards. So thankful to trust in Him with all things!

2 comments:

Victoria Osborn said...

Laura, I found your blog while looking at some friends' blogs. Have you visited the blog Passionate Homemaking?
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/
There are a lot of great tools and resources there. I am also a fan of Sara Snow's book Fresh Living
www.sarasnow.com.
About a year ago I have started switching over to more organic produce and dairy. While at first it seemed like a huge expense, through meal planning and thinking about what I buy our grocery bill has actually started to shrink. It can be overwhelming at first, but it is worth it.

Jenny Free Style said...

Hey Laura,
This is the same route Brian and I started a few months ago after watching Food Inc.! I highly recommend looking into getting local/organic dairy and meat as well as the Dirty Dozen as they have the biggest health impacts. www.eatwild.org can show you local farms in your area that offer meat/dairy/CSAs or whatever you need!
It can be costly but Brian and I are learning to cut down our portions to normal sizes (gasp!). I've found our Farmers Market to actually be cheaper than the grocery store for produce!
Good luck with this new challenge! I truly think its important and I know it will be even more important for you with a little one! Good luck! Sounds like you are doing great with it!