I’m grateful, Amy, that you’re hanging out here because I can picture your household and busy lives. My food life is simple because I have time and no one to please but myself. You have the challenge of fast and good in a house with two toddlers, two teenagers and two working adults. You are the ultimate test case and you and Matt are heroes in my book. I value every piece of feedback that you give me so that I can figure out how to really help people and not just spout off about how everyone should eat healthy food.
I was thinking of you last night and this came to me . . . instead of big changes, we can make small, gradual changes.
For example, let’s take your basic PB&J sandwich . . .
- Peanut Butter The next time you buy it, don’t buy a common “name brand” that advertises. They can afford advertising because they put cheap junk in their product: hydrogenated oils (very bad for heart health) and sugar. Buy organic peanut butter (peanuts with maybe some salt). Even Costco has an organic Kirkland brand now. Do you have a Costco near you? Organic is really important when it comes to peanuts.
- Jelly Use sliced bananas instead. Delicious. (I think there are also some “fruit only” jams, but I don’t pay attention because I’m not a jam person.)
- The bread Instead of “white bread” buy whole grain. Look at the ingredients and skip the chemicals. A sure bet is to go to the freezer section and get Ezekiel Bread.
I have to stop writing now. I’m crying too hard to go on. Writing this post has helped me see the real reason I’m so passionate about healthy food. I have lost too many important people in my life to heart disease when they were way too young, and I have watched the suffering of other dear ones who are still alive. And the onset was when they were way too young.
Thank you, dear Amy, for wanting to help my beloved Matthew stay healthy and with us for a long, long time . . . at least until after I die . . . and I intend to stick around for another 30 to 50 years . . . at least.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for thinking of us! I am finding a lot of inspiration and ideas from your website and love to come here and browse. I was thinking last night about how I want to try and make changes in our eating habits and how I would go about making those small changes. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to do it in small steps because the thought of overhauling my whole kitchen seems a bit too overwhelming right now. But processed foods are making me fat. And even eating frozen, “diet” foods are making me fat. When I stayed home for a year with the kids I was at an all time low weight, even after being pregnant for basically two years in a row! I was amazed. But when I think back to that year I recall that for breakfast I would eat fresh cut up fruit with some organic yogurt. For lunch it was a salad with some chicken and for dinner it was something relatively healthy that I cooked up in the crock pot or something else from scratch. I didn’t exercise (not in the traditional sense anyway) and I was thin. Now that i’m back to work I eat instant oatmeal for breakfast, something “fast food” or frozen for lunch and lord only knows what we’ll have for dinner. And i’ve gained 10 lbs.
But I want to try to make changes. When we’re in the car and pass a McDonald’s Katie starts yelling “french fries”. There’s just something wrong with that. I want to teach my kids to be healthy and I think starting NOW would be the best idea! I’m looking forward to learning a lot from you. And maybe when the kids are a bit older and can do plane travel a little better we can come for a visit!!
Another challenge I have is budget. When you shop in the health food section, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc… it tends to be a whole lot pricier. Now, I know that health is very important so what’s a few extra bucks, but feeding a large family healthy food on a budget almost seems impossible. Thoughts? Advice?
Great point! I think this is A KEY to making “eating healthy” work for people. I also think that there is a misperception about the price of “real food” versus processed food. That’s why I went to the grocery store and priced SPAM® (I love adding that little registered trade name symbol) and some things at the meat counter the same day. SPAM® was far more expensive than the good cuts of meat on sale, yet their sales are up 10%+ (they don’t reveal the exact figures) during the last fiscal quarter, because of the “recession.” I will address this in posts and I value your insight because of your training.
I suppose there are trade offs and if you shop smart it doesn’t have to be more expensive. Yesterday I went grocery shopping. I bought fresh fruits, veggies, the typical dairy items we get but also added in some organic yogurt and other items from the health food section of the store where I typically don’t shop. And my bill wasn’t any higher than usual. My only issue is the cost of Ezekiel bread vs. the $10/10 Kroger brand wheat we usually buy! Big difference. I guess I just need to pay attention to the sales and plan accordingly. And really, people are buying more Spam because of the recession? EEK!
Yes. That’s what started me on this thread . . . reading an article about what people are buying in this economic climate, and SPAM’s figures are up 10% or more in the last quarter.
great post, made me think