Simple.

If you’re interested in eating in a healthier, more real way but are afraid or unable to do it full-out, here is a list of some ways you can change your eating. You can just do one or try them all.

Simple Changes:

–       Do not underestimate fruits and veggies. They can be main parts of a meal too, you know! It’s also helpful to try to think of them as snacks as well. Apples with peanut butter, grapes and cheese, or carrots and hummus are all yummy snacks.

–       Go with baked instead of fried.

–       Give honey a try (or pure maple syrup).

–       Go for whole wheat and grains. In your bread, in your pasta, and in your flour.

–       Less. I’m not talking about less food but less stuff in your food (like chemicals, preservatives, dyes, etc.). There’s almost always a less messed-with version of whatever it is you’re eating, you just need to take the time to look. And remember, all you lazy or time-crunched people out there, you really only need to spend extra time searching once and then you’ll know where and what to look for next time!

–       Eat out less. It’s harder (sometimes impossible) to eat “real food” when you eat out.

–       Start buying some (or all) organic fruits and vegetables.

–       Start small. Pick a day of the week where you follow the rules or maybe even just one meal once a week. As you find more recipes or build up leftovers, you can start adding more days and meals.

–       Freeze stuff. Make a big batch of soup, freeze it and now you have multiple real food meals!

Also as a little side note, today was my first post-challenge day and I decided to get one of my much-loved frappeccinos from Starbucks. I’ll tell you what, although it still tasted yummy, the sweetness was a bit overpowering! It was almost like a shock. I’m not sure if it was totally in my head (very well may have been) but I swear I could taste the artificialness. Not sure how else to describe it but there was a distinct taste or feel that I had never noticed before. Interesting.

I’m sticking with you.

So with only one day left of the challenge (scratch that, more like 5 hours left), I thought I’d share what I plan to continue with when the challenge is over. I just want to say that this challenge was much easier than I anticipated!
Aside from that restaurant-made lasagna (oh and I was corrected, it was baked ziti, my bad) craving, I have literally not had any issues following this challenge.
I think the two biggest benefits of doing this were a) it proved that I can eat this way and b) it really challenged me to actually think about the food that I eat and what it really is. I would highly recommend this challenge to anyone!

So here are the things I plan to stick with after today:
1. The bread. I loved the bread I used for the challenge! It is organic whole wheat bread made locally by Slow Rise Bakery. The challenge is going to be getting my hands on it as needed since it is only available at Central Market and Stauffers (local grocery store) and on top of that, it is only delivered once a week and goes fast! It’s also more expensive than your typically sandwich bread.
2. Whole grain pasta. This is sort of cheating since I mostly bought whole grain pasta in the past anyway but I am going to keep it up.
3. Baked Tostidos instead of fried and Triscut crackers as snacks.
4. Homemade flavored yogurt. I actually liked this better for breakfast than the Gogurt I had been eating before.
5. Organic, no preservatives/dyes/etc. cheese. Again with the just as good but better for you (although sometimes a little more expensive).
6. Looking at ingredients in prepackaged food and thinking. Pretty self explanatory. I plan to eat as little of this kind of stuff as possible but the reality of college living is that I can’t make these items regularly and I need a little more variety so I am going to try to find real or at least almost totally real versions of these foods.
7. Buying the organic/natural version whenever possible.
8. Cooking more instead of just buying boxed/premade stuff.
9. Less sugar. I am going to bring sugar back but consider using honey or maple syrup when possible.
10. Using whole wheat flour when possible.

Things I am not going to stick with:
1. The five ingredients or less rule. This was the one rule that I didn’t like because it removed totally natural store bought food items that I had found such as pesto and tomato sauces.
2. Not really being able to eat out. I have decided that I am not going to limit myself when eating out. Of course, I will be much more conscientious now when selecting meals and restaurants but I plan to let myself eat things when I’m eating out that don’t follow the rules.
3. No sugar rule. Sort of explained that above but I am going to allow myself to have some sugar but use honey or maple syrup whenever possible.

 

Stay tuned tomorrow for some tips on how to implement real food eating into your life!

My bad…

Beginning a blog around the same time as the beginning of a new semester in college = very little blog action

Don’t you worry, I haven’t given up on the real food challenge (it’s actually going VERY well, more on that below) or this blog. To be completely honest I’ve been so distracted with school, apartment, work, and food that I haven’t really given this poor blog much thought the past week or two.

My last real semester of college is off to a good start (the semester after this is student teaching, hence not a “real” semester)! Long days but the classes have been interesting so far.

I am also loving this new apartment! I haven’t been able to take full advantage of city living since I can’t really eat out without a bunch of research/planning and I’ve been a little distracted with school stuff but once I am able to, I look forward to walking downtown more often for dinner/lunch/snacks/shopping!

So more on the real food challenge. As I said before, it has been going really well. My only craving so far was for some lasagna that my boyfriend brought over to eat (he’s not so into the real food thing, we will see if I can change that). It smelled so good and I was so tempted to have a bite but a) it wasn’t made with whole grain pasta, b)The sauce and cheese were probably full of preservatives, etc.. The cool thing about this challenge though is that I totally could have made myself some equally yummy lasagna but I didn’t because I was too lazy to make my own tomato sauce (hehe).  Aside from that almost moment of weakness, I have literally had no cravings or even become bored with the food I have to eat.

My packed lunches have been going well as well as my breakfasts (I talked about those in another post). The only negative I have about the breakfast is that my waffles are a little smooshy, I probably should have cooked them a little longer when I made them (I made a batch and froze them). I have a thing for bready things needing to be crispy/crunchy. Dinners have consisted of things like nachos (baked Tostidos, cheese, jalapeños, and sour cream), grilled cheese and veggies, pasta with butter and peppers, homemade garlic bread (toasted bread, butter, garlic, and melted mozzarella cheese), and my favorite which is sort of a mini buffet of veggies, fruit, cheese, and crackers.

I also made a really yummy smoothie the other day. It was really simple (as all smoothies are) and I just made it up as I went along. I just blended some frozen strawberries, milk, a bit of my frozen flavored yogurt, non-frozen strawberries, mango, and a few nuts (for some added protein).

So far, the main change I have noticed the past 5 ½  days (oh yeah, that’s how many days I have been doing the challenge, forgot to mention that) are that I feel better. I know everyone says that and it’s really vague but I just honestly just feel better overall. I don’t feel bogged down or groggy or blah and I have yet to feel overly full or anything like that after eating. One thing that everyone says is that they have increased energy. I don’t know that I totally feel that one. I haven’t felt any more tired that usual or anything like that, but I wouldn’t say I’m like extra energetic or that I don’t need some caffeine every once and a while. It’s a little hard to compare though since my schedule (adding classes and such) changed at the same time as I started the challenge.

Well this post basically sums up the past week of the challenge. I have sort of done a simple version since I haven’t done a ton of cooking and preparing lavish meals like my mom has, but I have been eating healthy, real food and really enjoying it.

 

P.S.

Sorry about all the words and no pictures. I’m normally a picture person but my camera memory card is full and I haven’t managed to remember to get a new one yet. Hopefully that will change soon!

Real Food Challenge Countdown: 1 day

So tomorrow is the day! I’ve made waffles, cheese crackers (seriously taste exactly like cheese-its, yum!), flavored yogurt (bought plain yogurt and added the flavor), and got some homemade granola from my mom. I would have posted pictures but my camera’s memory card is full and I didn’t think ahead to buy a new one. I’m sure I’ll get some pictures on here of at least some of the food.  The recipes for everything I named can be found on the 100 Days of Real Food website.

I purchased the rest of my food from the grocery store yesterday (with the exception of bread which was purchased at our local farmers market). Parts of that trip were fun and parts were not. For starters, the grocery store didn’t have everything that I was looking for which was pretty frustrating. Second, I felt like it was so expensive (big shocker, I know). Especially considering almost none of it was actually any type of meal or anything yet which sort of annoyed me a little. However, it was sort of fun to look around at what fit the rules and what didn’t and it made me feel all nice and healthy to look into my cart and see all those fruits, vegetables, and other natural foods. It was pretty eye opening to realize how almost all the food available to us has a bunch of chemicals, preservatives, dyes, and other artificial things in them. Especially the things that really don’t need them like pickles. Why do pickles have a bunch of artificial stuff in them?? Seems unnecessary to me.

The rule that bugs me the most so far is the “less than five ingredients” rule. It made shopping harder and has limited what I can eat without having to make it. I understand that with some things this rule would help you to eliminate pre-made foods with a bunch of unnecessary ingredients in them but for items like breads or sauces, the rule basically forces you to have to make things that could be purchased at the store naturally and even organically. For example, there was a pesto sauce that was completely natural and organic but it had somewhere around eight ingredients (mostly different herbs) so it didn’t fit the rules.

I realize this post has been a bit of a rant about things I am not happy with so far but I am excited to start, don’t let this make me look like I’m down about it. For example, I already packed my lunch and snacks for tomorrow 🙂 which consists of :

–       grapes

–       a peanut butter sandwich (I lied, I didn’t make that yet)

–       salad with walnuts and raspberry vinegar dressing

–       and some granola and cheese crackers for snacks (I have class from 9:30 until 2-something and just lunch wouldn’t cut it for me).

Wish me luck! I’m really hoping I can do this without any serious cravings (Frappucinos, I’m talking to you!)!

Preparations Part 2: Shopping List

Today I am going to share the rough draft of my shopping list. These are the things I am planning to need for the Real Food Challenge. The challenge is perfectly timed to be a few days after I begin living full-time at my new apartment. This means that the shopping list is basically going to be all the food I will have in the house (which will hopefully keep some temptations at bay).

This is also food for a single person who happens to be a vegetarian so if you’re cooking for more people or eat meat your list would probably look a lot different. I also didn’t break it down into completely logical shopping categories but went more with types of food since that’s what makes the most sense to me. Also, some of the things seem very specific but it’s because they are ingredients for particular recipes.

 

Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs

–       Bag of frozen berries

–       Grapefruit (3)

–       Apples (3)

–       No sugar added organic applesauce (if I can find it and it’s not insanely over-priced)

–       Strawberries

–       Grapes

–       Maybe a mango or some clementines

–       Lettuce

–       Spinach

–       Cucumber

–       Pepper

–       Carrots

–       Maybe some celery

–       2 minced scallions (Do they sell them minced? If not, just 2 scallions)

–       Minced garlic

–       Dill

–       Chives

–       1 or 2 russet potatoes

–       1 onion

–       28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes

–       ½ lb of Yukon Gold potatoes (may or may not do this recipe)

–       Vegetable broth

 

Dairy and Eggs

–       Large container of plain Stonyfield Yogurt

–       Dozen eggs

–       Organic milk

–       Organic cream cheese

–       Mozzarella cheese

–       Other organic cheeses for sandwiches and snacks

–       Ricotta cheese

–       Cream

–       Sour cream

–       Butter

–        Buttermilk

 

Grains and Nuts

–       Whole wheat pasta

–       Special bread my mom found that they sell at market

–       Pita bread (have to be careful, not sure I will find any that will actually follow the rules)

–       Popcorn kernels

–       Triscuits

–       Other safe crackers to look for: Wasa Rye Crispbread, Ryvita Rye, and Finn Crisp

–       Rice cakes that are safe: Lundberg, Koyo, Real Foods Corn Thins

–       Organic peanut butter

–       Steel cut rolled oats

–       Raw sliced almonds

–       Raw cashew pieces

–       Raw sunflower seeds

–       Raw sesame seeds (can you tell I’m making granola bars?)

 

Baking and Toppings

–       Honey

–       Canola oil

–       Whole wheat flour

–       Baking powder

–       Rasberry vinegar

–       Walnut oil

–       Almond extract

–       Balsamic vinegar

–       Oil

–       Hummus

–       Sea salt

Preparations Part 1: Meal Ideas

So following the 10 Days of Real Food challenge is going to require some preparation (big surprise, huh?)

First off, I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to eat. The website offers a lot of ideas with full instructions on making things that need to be made like crackers or granola bars or even full meals. I also found some ideas on other blogs and am also planning to just tweak some of the things I already eat. I would imagine that is a key to succeeding in this challenge, you don’t need to completely change your diet, just start by adjusting some of the things you already eat (like switching to whole-wheat flour and whole-grain pasta).

Anyway, after planning out food options I made a list of all of the things I would need in order to make these things as well as what will need to be made before the challenge starts.

Today I’m just going to share my meal ideas list but if you’re interested in the shopping list or schedule, be sure to check back.

Breakfast:

–       Homemade whole-wheat waffles with strawberries (I plan on making a batch and then freezing them so I don’t       have to make them in the morning before my 8am class)

–       Organic yogurt with homemade fruit syrup (for flavor) frozen (because I love it frozen)

–       Grapefruit

Packed Lunch Ideas (I’m sure there will be many more variations):

–       Hummus, pita (or crackers), veggie pieces (cucumber, pepper, carrots), and grapes

–       Soup with a piece of toast or crackers and fruit

–       Cheese, crackers, apple slices and celery with peanut butter

–       Peanut butter sandwich, homemade potato sticks, salad (with homemade dressing), and fruit

–       Pasta salad, nuts and fruit

–       Salad, fruit, and cheese

–       Salad, fruit, and a hard boiled egg

At Home Meal Ideas:

*add a veggie and a fruit as sides to the ones that need it

–       Homemade soup with grilled cheese

–       Toasted bread with hummus and cheese

–       Veggie cream cheese (may have to make this) on bread or crackers

–       Pesto grilled cheese

–       Pasta salad (some yummy ones: cucumber dill and caprese)

–       Pasta with pesto

–       Pasta with homemade alfredo sauce

–       Pasta with butter and garlic

–       Homemade quiche

–       My mom’s mac and cheese

–       Tortellini (Buitoni has one that fits the criteria) with pesto or alfredo (Ooo or maybe even pesto alfredo?)

–       Ricotta mashed potatos (more of a side but they sound yummy!)

–       Potato skins

–       Peanut butter sandwich

Packed Snack Ideas (to bring to class since I generally can’t make it more than an hour or so without getting hungry):

–       homemade granola bars

–       crackers

–       cheese

–       popcorn

–       fruit

–       homemade potato sticks

–       nuts

Not-necessarily-packed Snack Ideas:

–       smoothies

–       crackers and cheese

–       fruits and veggies with hummus or peanut butter

–       popcorn

–       homemade breads

–       potato sticks

–       nuts and seeds

–       hummus and crackers

–       toast

–       hard boiled egg

So there you have it, what I will be eating for ten days. Doesn’t look so bad to me!

Think of something I missed? I would love to hear if you have any other “real food”, vegetarian meal or snack ideas!

No sugar, no white flour, and lots of time in the kitchen!

So as I stated in my introduction post, although I have been throwing around the idea of making a blog to document my crafting and travels and what-not, there is something in particular that has made me finally decide to start one.

That something is the real food challenge.

The “10 Days of Real Food Pledge” to be exact.

You can check out the website here: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/take-the-10-day-pledge/
This family did it for 100 days so I’m thinking I can manage ten (Maybe I should change “thinking” to hoping and praying? We shall see.)
Basically there are nine rules/tips to follow for what you CAN eat:

1. You must eat whole foods that are products of nature.
2. Eat lots of fruits and veggies (Yay for being a vegetarian!)
3. Eat dairy products like milk, cheese, eggs, and unsweetened yogurt (there will be more on how making homemade flavoring for the yogurt goes in the near future).
4. Eating only 100% whole-wheat and whole-grains. This means I basically can’t eat any of the bread sold in grocery stores, must use whole-wheat flour when cooking or baking, and must use whole-grain pasta (which I actually sometimes do anyway).
5. You can eat seafood. Doesn’t apply to me!
6. Only locally raised meats. Also doesn’t apply!
7. You can drink water, milk, all natural juices, and naturally sweetened tea and coffee. This means no sodas and some creativity when making my much-loved frappucinos (which is made even more interesting when you check out rule #9)!
8. Some suggested snacks are dried fruit (not a huge fan, may avoid this), seeds, nuts and popcorn.
9. Use honey, maple syrup, and fruit juices instead of sugar (because our sugar is highly refined and bleached and all that good stuff).

And what you CAN’T eat:
– No refined grains.
– No refined sweeteners.
– Nothing prepackaged with more than five ingredients.
– No deep-fried foods.
– No “fast foods”

Why am I doing this you ask? Well aside from the fact that I’ve been reading up on and interested in eating in a more natural way (I’ve never been a fan of all that stupid “low fat” stuff but french fries and chips are another story) I am doing this challenge because of my mother (who may or may not also be blogging about her experience). She found the website and is having the rest of the family try it out as well. They will be doing it at home while I’m doing it at my apartment. This may be a test of those “you do better when you have support” theories (although my roommate has said she may try it out a little, maybe). Each group, meaning my family and myself has their own pros and cons.

My pros are that I’m a vegetarian, I only have to cook for myself, and most of my meals (breakfast and lunch) will transition over to “real food” very smoothly. For example, for breakfast I eat waffles with strawberries (just make them with whole-wheat) and yogurt (remember how I said to stay tuned for homemade flavoring?) and for lunch I will frequently be packing so a whole-grain sandwich or some hummus and challenge-approved crackers with some fruits and veggies are basically what I already pack anyway.
The family’s pros are that they are cooking for a group (I realize I put the opposite as a plus for me, I feel it could easily be a plus and a minus), their budget is much higher, and again they are all doing it together.

In an attempt to be a more optimistic person, I have decided not to list my cons (cough, no money, lazy, cough). Anyway, I hope to blog my daily (or maybe weekly, we will see how it goes) meals in an attempt to keep myself on track as well as document the challenges and rewards of eating a natural, “real” food diet.
I may be setting my self up for failure with this but I may try to also set a goal to start doing yoga regularly again during this challenge since it has been something I’ve wanted to get back into or maybe that should be my next challenge. Hmm I’ll have to think about that one.

P.S.
Looking for some reasons (or maybe just one) to try the 10 Days of Real Food challenge yourself? Read this article from the 100 Days of Real Food website about why we should stop eating processed foods. Or you can just watch one of those eye-opening/inspiring/gross food documentaries like Food Inc. …
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/