We all have multiple sides to our personality and I have a laid-back, go-with-the-flow part of me that likes what's easy and status quo. And she - let's call her "Easygo" - sometimes doesn't want to know about documentaries like The Weight of the Nation. About how, for the first time in history, our children are expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. How we are raising a nation of the sickest children in the world who are plagued with diabetes, ADHD, asthma, and food allergies. Easygo would sometimes rather not know. Maybe its a sense of powerlessness, or maybe its simply that she doesn't feel like it will ever affect her. But the reality is, it has affected some of her friends and family. And who is to say it can't affect her in the future too?
If you watch the documentary in its entirety, which I recommend you do, they get into some of the trends of our food industry and how it parallels with the rise in obesity and disease. I won't get into details here, but some of what they touch on includes the mass production of corn, primarily used for corn syrups in our processed foods as well as grains used to bulk feed cattle that are later slaughtered for fast food burgers. The bottom line is that big (and very wealthy) companies have mastered a way to mass produce processed foods bigger, faster, and cheaper. So we grow up finding these foods easily and cheaply, and it becomes a staple in our diets. The issue then becomes some of the supposed harmful ingredients being used to mass produce and how it is negatively impacting our health.
A few months ago a friend of mine introduced me to Lisa. Lisa is a 32 year old mom and wife who read a book called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Just like me, she never cared much about what she used to eat or buy for her family to eat. And just like me, she got to thinking. She decided to institute a 100 day challenge of eating and feeding her family of four only "real" food. They completely eliminated processed foods and she made everything from scratch for 100 days. Her journey is incredible. Here is a snapshot of what she describes as "real" food.
"Real" food is defined as:
1. whole foods that are a product of nature, not industry
2. fruits and veggies
3. dairy products
4. 100% whole-wheat and whole grains
5. seafood
6. locally-raised meats
7. water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, wine, and beer
8. dried fruit, seeds, nuts, popcorn
9. all natural sweeteners like honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates
"Real" food is NOT:
1. refined grains such as white flour or white rice
2. refined sweeteners such as sugar, corn syrup, can juice or artificial sweeteners
3. anything out of a box, can, bag, or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. deep fried foods
5. "fast foods"
Doesn't this seem impossible with the way we live today? We're just not surrounded by real food at every corner as we are processed foods. But just as Easygo would rather not care, my alter ego kicks into full mommy mode and I feel like I need to make some changes. Small at first, but something.
I will be the first to admit, it is not easy. As a full time working wife and mommy of two, I would much rather pick out a can of this or a bag of that, and sometimes I do. But my hope is that I can do that less often than not and will share my recent mini experience with the hope that it gets you thinking too.
Daniel (and mommy) loves mini-muffins. Our favorite were the Entenmann's Little Bites...mmmm. One day I flipped over the box and tried to read the ingredients. Tried. Now your turn. You try to figure it out.
So Easygo went to bed early this day and I went online to find some alternatives to make our own version of mini muffins and Eureka! The kid actually likes them! These are carrot and walnut. You can find this recipe and many more at naturalhomeandgarden.com.
xoxo, MG
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