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HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ HOME/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

What I Buy and Why-Bread

I always find it fascinating to peek into other peoples grocery carts, while waiting in line at the grocery store, to see what they are buying.  So often I have wanted to strike up a conversation and ask about a product I see, and ask why they like it and why they choose it over another.  I get the same feeling when I open up other people’s refrigerators, I love seeing what brands of foods they buy, and often get inspired to try something new.

I have learned so much about food by asking my friends what they buy, where they buy it, and why they like it.  These conversations inspired me to start writing some posts on the food items I buy and why.  Not only do I want to share with you what is working for us, but my hope is, that in the comments section, I will get to hear from you and what is working for you!

Bread
Our Everyday, Whole Wheat Bread (either of the 2 below:)
If I Want To Treat My Kids To “White” Bread:
When I Want To Splurge:
*Disclaimer-I was not paid or compensated in anyway to promote these products.
It is important to me that our bread does not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. (Read why here and here)  I also think fiber is very important, so I try not to buy bread that contains less then 3 grams/slice.  The “Oatnut” bread is what my girls call “the yummy white bread.”  It is really good, but I do not buy it as often because it has less fiber in it and uses enriched flour (although unbleached:)) where as the 100% whole wheat breads uses whole wheat flour, which does not have to be enriched, because nothing was ever removed in the first place.  I like that!
 You can go here to read more of my thoughts on making grains count.
What brands of bread work for you?  Have you switched to 100% whole wheat bread?  If so, was it hard on your kids?
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HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos

What Will Kill Our Children

This post is linked to 30-Minute Blog Challenge @ Steady Mom.

It is estimated that one out of every three children in the United States is obese.  It is an epidemic.

This video is one of the absolute best I have seen in making this real.  Please, please watch even just a few minutes.  Jamie Oliver is now on my list of favorite people.  I love his message, I love his delivery (he is funny!) and I hope as many people as possible can view this video.  Please share this with those you love.  Share it on facebook, email it, tweet it-get the word out and save our children!

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FUN/DIY/ HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES/ Valentine's Day

Fun For Kids Food!

Thinking outside the lunchbox.

What little one would not want to eat this? Read more here.

Something that surprised me when I started blogging was COMMUNITY.  I had no idea I would ‘meet’ such great people.  There are many amazing mom bloggers that I have learned so much from, and have had a great time commenting back and forth with.  I’d like to introduce you to one of them.  Her name is Sarah, from For The Love Of Naps.  Isn’t that a great title?  She is a “Lover Of Naptime,” the mom of two young boys, and she “takes each day, starts fresh, and tries to learn moment to moment.” Her perspective on life and parenting is one to be admired. This quote is under her header on her blog:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”
-Anna Quindlen(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)

Yep, she ‘gets it,’ and I love reading and learning from someone who does! She has a great way of seeing things through the eyes of children and instinctively knows what would delight them. Here are a few fun food posts of that in action, shared with her permission.  Read on, then take some time to go visit her, here.

Just in time for Valentines Day, a healthy- for- your- heart breakfast.

See how she did it here.

She created some love at lunchtime, read about it here.

If she lived closer, I’d invite myself over and just hope she would serve food

on a toothpick! She even suggested making little mini pea kabobs, so cute.

How blessed are her boys?  Brings this verse to mind:

 “Her children get up and give her honour, and her husband gives her praise…Proverbs 31:28

Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Real Food Challenge-Update

For those of you who signed up for the 28 day Nourishing Traditions Challenge, I wanted to let you know where I am at with it.  I said in the post “It will be interesting where this challenge takes us, and if there will be a point I draw a line and say, “nope, not ready for that.””  Well, that point hit at day 3! LOL.
 
I’ve read much on this movement and really do believe that it is important to try and eat foods in the most minimally processed state–but–I am only willing to go so far and spend so much of my life’s time doing it.   Day 3 talked about soaking grains–have not done it and not sure if I ever will, and I am willing to read on and continue to learn, but I know for me and my family, this level is just a bit too much. There are others that have been on this Real Foods journey much longer, so maybe for them that next step is not overwhelming.

I am all about baby steps, so the emails I am receiving from the challenge are throwing me.  The same email they tell you to change white grains to brown grains, they tell you that is not enough and that you need to start soaking your grains and making everything from scratch.  Sorry, but THAT overwhelms me!  It is a huge step for some people to just go from white bread to 100% wheat, or to change white pasta to whole grain pasta, so to expect people to be ok with “trade the white to wheat, grind your own wheat, soak your grains, make your bread homemade”…that is enough to make anyone give up and go buy a box of Twinkies, in my opinion!!

I guess what I am trying to say is if you signed up and are reading the emails, don’t freak out and give up on the idea of eating real foods.  It can look many different ways for many different people.   There are lots of people out there like me, who have made small steps to becoming more healthful and have had great success, without taking it to a level many of us won’t ever be.

I, personally, read the challenge and appreciate learning what others are doing and why, but I am careful.  I do not want to become consumed with feeling like I have to do everything they say in order to measure up and make a difference for my family.  I refuse to become a perfectionist about it all, and I rest in knowing that small changes here and there are enough.  If I allowed myself to become consumed, it could do my family more harm than good, by taking away from other, just as important, areas of nourishment for them–like emotional nourishment, for one.

Anyway, I had to communicate with you, my readers.  So many of you have sent such wonderful emails communicating your desire to eat healthier foods.  You have expressed excitement as you have tried new things, and you have expressed frustration when it seems overwhelming.  I hate to think that a link I shared would add to that frustration, especially when it seems to be going against what I am always saying…”one step at a time!”:)  So, if one of those steps involve removing yourself from the Nourishing Traditions Challenge email list, so you won’t get overwhelmed, by all means do what you need to do!!  If instead, it is intriguing to learn what the process is for some people, stay signed up and read on!

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Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Coconut Oil

I’ve been wanting to write about Coconut Oil -how and why I use it, but instead  I am going to send you over to Sorta Crunchy.  Meghan wrote a great post on it–very informative. She gives the how and why, and also some great links to order some online, which is what I will be doing the next time we run out.

When I first started reading about different health foods, coconut oil was intimidating because I didn’t know how to use it, what to use it for, and if it would have an weird taste.  Now, I am so glad I just bought some and tried it.  Because of coconut oil, I no longer need to keep vegetable oils and canola oil in the house.  The fats I have in my kitchen are butter, olive oil, and coconut oil.  It is all I have needed, and I feel great serving my family these types of fats.

Here is more information on cooking with healthy fats:

From The Nourishing Gourmet–
benefits of using Coconut Oil

 From Lindsey @ Passionate Homemaking-
Part 1 & Part 2 – detailing the best oil choices being coconut oil & olive oil

From Kitchen Stewardship-
A great post about the controversy surrounding coconut oil

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Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Real Food Challenge

There is a Real Food movement going on and I’m happy to be moving with it.  My movement has been gradual, but I can’t tell you how great it has been to feel like the foods I have chosen to feed my family have been doing wonders for their health.

We have always been a family who were known for being sick…ALL THE TIME!  It felt like we lived at the dr.’s office (every two-three weeks at least, for years- no joke!)  Since deciding to eat Real Foods, that is no longer the case.  We have not been to the doctor since LAST MAY!!  We have had a cold here and stomach flu there, but usually only one of us gets it now(instead of the usual domino effect of illness that would happen when one would get sick–we’d all get it!) and it is over quickly.  I was the mom that got letters from the principal every year for each girl, telling me they had missed too much school.  Now the only school they have missed is when mommy falls for brilliant acting on my girls part:) That has happened twice recently, but momma’s not gonna fall for it again!  If they perk up after keeping them home a few hours, off to school they are gonna go!

A few months ago, I visited my pediatrician for a referral to an allergist to get my daughter checked for a suspected corn allergy.(never went to the allergist, symptoms disappeared when we stopped eating processed foods regularly)  When she saw us, she couldn’t believe how long it had been since we had been in, and was really surprised my daughter was off all inhalers for her asthma.  I loved it.  I feel like God has been so faithful in guiding me to some answers to my family’s health issues.

All that to say, I truly believe our eating habits are the reason why we are healthier.  I believe our immune systems are working as they should be, and our bodies are getting what they need through our foods.  We are by no means doing everything we could be doing, and I am at peace with that.  We are doing enough to make a difference in our health, so pressure is off to follow the movement perfectly.  I’ll be interested to see where this challenge takes us, and if there will be a point I draw a line and say, “nope  not ready for that.”

If all this healthy food talk is getting to you, just keep scrolling down and enjoy my posts on beauty or crafts or God🙂  If instead, it sparks some interest, click on the image above and sign up.  All you have to do is enter your name and email, and you will get posts sent to your email the next 28 days.

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HEALTH/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Ways We Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup



If you have read this post on “Foods To Avoid” you will know that I work very hard to keep High Fructose Corn Syrup out of our home. Here are a couple of the reasons why:

 Dr. Mehmet Oz, author of You: The Owner’s Manual, made big news when he appeared on Oprah and told audiences that they should stop consuming HCFS. Dr. Oz says that the higher fructose content means that our bodies process HFCS differently than other sugars:
One of the biggest evil influences on our diet is the presence of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sugar substitute that itself is a sugar found in soft drinks and many other sweet, processed foods. The problem is that HCFS inhibits leptin secretion, so you never get the message that you’re full. And it never shuts off gherin, so, even though you have food in your stomach, you constantly get the message that you’re hungry.
Lots of folks, from the Weston A. Price Society to the AARP have said similar things, noting the very strong correlation between HFCS and obesity. Here’s Nina Planck’s take:
Intake of high fructose corn syrup grew by more than 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding changes in consumption of any other food. The rise of corn syrup mirrors the increase in obesity. Fructose also raises insulin, blood pressure, and triglycerides…stop eating all forms of industrial corn.
For more reading on HFCS:Very thorough post on HFCS
Trying to avoid it can be disheartening, so I thought 
I would share some products we buy:

Breads/Cereals 
 (MOST breads have HFCS.  There is more of a demand for HFCS-free bread, so I have been seeing bread companies respond to that demand, slowly but surely!

  • Natures Own 100% Whole Wheat bread (note, their other varieties do contain HFCS, but not this one)*
  • Rudi’s Organic 100% Whole Wheat bread
  • Sara Lee Hearty and Delicious 100% Wheat With Honey Bread*
  • Sara Lee Hearty and Delicious 100% Whole Wheat Bread*
  • Pepperidge Farms Whole Grain Wheat Bread
  • Pepperidge Farms 100% Whole Wheat Bagels*
  • Kashi Cereals*
  • Cheerios*
  • Total
  • Total Cinnamon Crunch
  • Post Grape-Nuts
  • Life Cereal
  • Quaker Oatmeal*
  • (or make homemade granola)

          Condiments

          • Annie’s Naturals Organic Ketchup
          • Annie’s Naturals Organic Honey Mustard
          • Annie’s Naturals Smokey Maple BBQ Sauce
          • Annie’s Naturals Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (great used as a grilled chicken marinade!)
          • Bull’s-Eye Original Barbeque Sauce
          • Cascadian Farms Sweet Pickle Relish
          • Frenchs Honey Dijon Mustard (Most regular mustard contains hfcs, but a lot of the “honey” mustard’s do)
          • Heinz Organic Ketchup*
          • Hellman’s Mayonnaise
          • Wishbone Bountiful’s Salad Dressing
          • Natural Jif Peanut Butter*
          • Polaner All Fruit Spread(*we use jelly all the time on pb & j sandwiches and toast, so finding on w/o HFCS was exciting!)
          • Welches 100% Fruit Spreads

                Ice Creams

                • Nature’s Promise Organic Ice Creams
                • Breyer’s All Natural Ice Cream*
                • Breyers Pure Fruit Strawberry Fruit Bars*
                • Luigi Italian Ice
                • Dreyers/Edy’s Strawberry Fruit Ice Cream Bars
                • Some Ben & Jerry’s (ones with bits of candy and cookies usually do have HFCS

                      Crackers

                      • Nabisco Original Triscuits*
                      • Some Pepperidge Farm Crackers and Cookies

                            Chocolate:

                            • Cadbury-most
                            • Hershey’s Skor
                            • Hershey’s Special Dark Candy Bar
                            • Dove-most *

                                  Maple syrup:



                                  Granola Bars

                                  • Kashi*
                                  • Nature Valley Oats and Honey Granola Bars*

                                        Waffles (*I usually make homemade, recipe here, homemade pancake recipe here)

                                        • Kashi Go Lean

                                        Yogurt

                                        • Breyer’s
                                        • Brown Cow*
                                        • Dannon Activa
                                        • Stoneyfield Farm*
                                        • Wallaby Organic*

                                              Applesauce


                                              • Mott’s Natural Apple Sauce (add honey to sweeten, I use this in place of oil in many baking recipes)*


                                              Orange Juice

                                              • Simply Orange Juice Products*
                                              • Simply Lemonaide

                                                    Soda

                                                    • China Cola
                                                    • Archer Farms Brand Natural Italian Soda
                                                    • Blue Sky Soft Drinks
                                                    • Jones Pure Cane Soda

                                                          Pasta Sauce (I usually made homemade, recipe here)

                                                          • Ragu Organic Pasta Sauce
                                                          • Classico (most )

                                                              Think of it as an ‘exchange” — HFCS food for non-HFCS.  It seems less restricting, it is not that you have to go without, but be aware of the ingredients in certain products, and exchange the products you have been using, for more healthful ones.
                                                                                                                             I am fairly sure these products do not contain Non-hydrogenated Oils, which is another BIG thing to avoid. 


                                                              *the products I use most often
                                                              **excuse the crazy sized font and spaces on this post.  After trying for 45 minutes to fix it, I gave up!

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