No I'm not talking about biting into a piece of plastic fruit (Joey from Friends anyone?).
Photo for January 18th
Most of what Americans consume on a daily basis is not actually food at all.
We are eating processed versions of who knows what chemically treated to make your tastebuds squeal with delight. "Diet food" or just plain ol bad for you processed junk chalking up bogus health claims. If it's created in a lab it's not food, it's science.
Nutritional science. It's a blessing and a curse, which is why I've dropped out of the dietitian race. While we are learning so much about how our bodies function, that glorious fact is also being taken advantage of. The food industry is largely corrupt. I stopped delving deeper into the facts because it's scary. You find out that most of what you're eating is actually killing you. Your tastebuds might be screaming with delight, but your body is screaming for nourishment.
Back to the drawing board.
Let's get back to what is real. Real food. Wholesome goodness. I'm trying to ditch all that lab created junk and go back to whole grains, organic fruits veggies and dairy, wild caught fish, and antibiotic hormone free unprocessed meat.
I do know that eating organic is perceived to be pricier, but what is more important, more cash in your pocket or a happy healthy probably longer life for you and your family? I know what I choose.
I haven't read this book in over a year, but there are wonderful guidelines in Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. If you want to start to get creeped out check out The Omnivore's Dilemma. I loved it, but it starts to open your eyes to a very corrupt food system. Michael wrote In Defense of Food following The Omnivore's Dilemma because of the fear it put into everyone who read it wondering what they were supposed to eat. You should read In Defense of Food if you do read The Omnivore's Dilemma.
Here are some guidelines I'm following:
If it has more than 5 ingredients, or the ingredients are unpronounceable, or it was born in a lab, dont eat it.
If your food came from the ground, eat it.
Try to eat as many raw whole fruits and vegetables as possible.
If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry.
If you want to eat french fries everyday do it, but make them homemade (I bet if you have to put in the effort every single day to make them, you wont. Although I could eat baked sweet potato fries everyday, YUM!)
Oh yeah drink lots and lots and lots of water and get up and move!
Changes sometimes seem mountainous at first. So make small ones. Change whatever you think you can handle and push yourself a little further the next week. Bring an apple to work instead of grabbing cheetos out of the vending machine, or make homemade goulash instead of hamburger helper. Small changes can make big differences.
Introduce your kids to new foods each week. I can't remember the average number of times (for some reason I think it's 16, I know it's ridiculous) you must put a new food (fruit or vegetable) on your child's plate before they will be willing to try it. Getting your kids to eat healthy starts with you. If your kids see you eating and enjoying vegetables, they are more likely to pick up the fork and try it!
Here's a great website on ditching processed foods.
What I'm proposing may seem like you have to cut A LOT out of your diet (STEP AWAY FROM THE DIET COKE!), but I can't stress enough that you do have to eat! Making this life change you will probably find that you are eating more than what you were in the past, but by overindulging in carrots and hummus rather than potato chips and dip you'll feel a lot less guilty and your body will love you a little more. I still believe in everything in moderation. There is no falling off the bandwagon. If your work orders pizza for lunch and you've been CRAVING pizza for a week. Eat it. Then have a salad jam packed with veggies for supper. Focus on nutrition!
Oh I could go on forever and ever about this..... Make this change for you, you'll be glad you did.
