More than ever before, I hear about diet trends. It seems that everyone is trying something new. The past 10 years alone has shown a rise in health concerns when it comes to what we eat and products that we use, and the biggest question out there being "What is the safest." Interesting, as before, it was more around the lines of…"Which one will make me lose weight the fastest." Although that question is still very much so linked with diet trends, I believe the new thing I am hearing more about is healthy. When I say that word, healthy, I think of specific terms flying around. Organic. Clean eating. Paleo. GMO free. Gluten free.
Sound familiar? I assume so. Being on instagram alone will make you aware of these terms. #cleaneating #glutenfree #paleo.
I think about what we were told back then versus now and am astounded to hear about how different the trends are. For instance, remember when everyone was on the "artificial sweetener" kick, because you know no caolories=good for you. Don't drink regular pop, but fill yourself with all the diet in the world. Righhht...
For my family, key word here, my, we do not follow a specific trend. Although I hate to call it a trend, because I think finally we are figuring out what is and what isn't healthy. Finally. But who knows what we will be told 10 years from now? Will all the experts still agree in the future? Do some of them even agree now? I have to think not every, but lets just talk about what my family does or doesn't do when it comes to our diets.
For us, we do a mix of everything. We try to do what we feel best for our family. Making decisions based on research we have done, as well as the lifestyle that we live. If I had it my way? I'd have a backyard full of chickens, cows, and a garden of produce that takes up an acre of land. And someone to take care of all that as well.
Because that is not possible, we make do with what we have available to us. I would never tell someone that we are 100% anything; paleo, all organic, gluten free family. We have cheats and we live life. Wondering what kind of diet we follow? The gist of it....
"We make the healthiest decisions for our family when we possibly can."
"We make the healthiest decisions for our family when we possibly can."
WATER WATER WATER
We, including the children, only drink water. Andrew will drink orange juice on weekends sometimes, and Elliana will randomly have a glass of milk. Otherwise, water water water. She does not know any different and has never asked for anything else. She has had apple juice about 5 times in her life, and every time it is a "treat for her." Honestly though, she can down water like it is her job.
Our cheat: Once a month {lately every other month} we will buy a 12 pack to share over the weekend with our bad food that we eat too. It's our "cheat weekend" we call it.
VEGETABLES ONLY WITH DINNER
We cannot say we are 100% gluten free, in fact, not even close. I do not study every little thing to see if it has gluten in it, but I will tell you this… we have cut out a lot of pasta and wheat products in comparison to this time last year. Our dinners just look completely different these days. Before? We had pasta, rice, or potatoes with every meal as a side. Now? Our sides contain only vegetables. We try to spice it up by changing out the vegetables, however, we have not missed pasta.
Our cheat: Once a week we will have pasta, or I make a homemade pizza. We rarely eat rice {except when I make my Mexican dish}, and it has been about 6 months since we have had potatoes. I don't miss them at all. Sweet potatoes are usually our substitute.
ORGANIC WHEN AVAILABLE
We try to shop only organic, except when we cannot find products in organic. This is pretty rare as every year more and more products are becoming available in organic option. Have you heard of the list of 15 products that you may buy not organic? Read the list here.
Our cheat: Well of course on our cheat weekends, or once a week we eat out, it's obviously very rare that those products are organic. I would never tell someone we are 100% organic simply for this matter alone. I don't know many restaurants that are "all organic." And us? We like to eat out once in a while.
NO NITRATES OR NITRITES
What foods have those? Most commonly, deli meat. Ahem, subway. I know, I know, I used to be a big deli meat sandwich lover myself, but after reading about the risks involved with nitrites, we decided that we would try to steer clear from these foods as much as possible. Other foods include bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and so forth.
Our Cheat: We will grill hot dogs in the summer {a couple times a year}.
No ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER, ASPARTAME, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
If I cannot find a product that is all organic, and even if I can, if it is something new, I check the label. If it has any of these products it is a no go for me. Now? I'll dump 7 packets of sugar {pure cane} in my coffee if that means that I stay away from artificial sweetener.
Our Cheat: No cheat really, except when we are out at restaurants and may not know what is in the products.
Our Cheat: No cheat really, except when we are out at restaurants and may not know what is in the products.
COCONUT OIL
Definitely a new thing for us here. We usually cook with organic extra virgin olive oil {and still do}, but we are using coconut oil with some recipes and I have to say it is not bad. You can definitely taste the coconut, but it's not as bad as one may think.
GROW OUR OWN
This is the first year that we are testing out our own vegetable garden. Although we are already buying all organic fruits and vegetables, how awesome would it be to just grow your own? We have a small one right now, but we have plans to really expand next year. I am really excited about this and am learning more and more about it. No expert here, definitely beginner {that sort of failed... eh}, but a new little passion of mine, that's for sure. I'm sure it will takes years {and lots of learning} before we master it, but that is our goal.
At the end of the day... we love food. We love to try new things and we love to indulge in sweets and other food choices out there that may not be the "healthiest." Most of the time? We are strict and want what is best for our family. But? Sometimes? It's okay to just live a little, and we know that our kids will have the opportunities to experience all of the above that we mentioned that we may try to avoid. We have no desire to force them to follow certain diets, however, we do hope to steer them towards healthier options available in hopes of leading a healthy lifestyle.
My mom had our family eating clean before eating clean was cool. She taught us about what she called "plastic food" when she tried without success to recognize ingredients in packaged foods. I am so thankful that she did!
ReplyDeleteNow my little family is a clean eating family (paleo when cooking at home). The way my husband and I feel when we have non-clean ("dirty" as we call it!) food helps us to keep it clean. It is not a trend or a diet or a fad for us. It is simply a way of life. At this point it is so much a part of our lives that we don't even make it a "thing" anymore. It just is part of who we are.
Occasional trip to the ice cream parlor? Dinner at friends house who aren't clean-eaters? Night out to our local Mexican restaurant? SURE! We still live our lives and enjoy and indulge. But when we are in control of what we are preparing and eating, we keep it clean.
PS - You can buy Refined Coconut Oil (vs UnRefined) and you won't taste a hint of coconut! Try it as a butter or sweetener substitute - on sweet potatoes, winter squash, in oatmeal - anywhere where you would have used butter or a sweetener before. Trust me!!
Thank you for the tip on coconut oil! I had no idea {this is our first time using it}, so I am very excited to learn that we can buy one that doesn't taste coconut. This will help with the transition from the oil and butter.
DeleteSounds like your mama taught you well :)
Not sure why it popped up uknown--- that was from Me {Becky}
DeleteI need to be much better about things like drinking water. Growing up I was only allowed water and milk but now I have a hard time saying no to a glass of wine or beer with my dinner. And my mornings always include tea or coffee. Thankfully all other beverages don't even enter the house!
ReplyDeleteOh no, we certainly enjoy a beer {or two} or wine here and there... that's not something we can completely cut out I don't think :)
DeleteOur dinner table looks pretty much like your own... it's scary to think how many years I ate crap food, not knowing how horrible it was for us.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter only drinks water too... I think this is huge! I don't want her having cavities at 6 years old.
Definitely did NOT know there were nitrates in bacon. Whoops!
We follow the same rules! Though we've cut out nearly all grains for good. We feel so much healthier. Oh, we do drink juice, but the kind that we make ourselves in our juicer!
ReplyDeleteHave not gotten into juicing, but would love to try it out!
DeleteGreat post! I would love to know some of your veggie sides recipes!!
ReplyDeleteWe are gluten free just because I have IBS and its a trigger. Besides that we do our own version of clean eating. We only eat high protien starches like quinoa and the occasional potato. WHen I make taco bowls or an asian dish as a splurge we eat rice. We go out once every other week for dinner and then we cheat ( minus the gluten for me cause it kills my stomach). We eat tons of veggies and buy them from the farmers market cause I believe local is better than organic. We cut artificial sugars and sweetners and soda and only drink whole juices no concentrates. Nothing processed. My husband calls it the Tucker Read Every Label Diet. He hates shopping with me cause I analyze products so much!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have a good balance of healthy eating and being human and enjoying treats once in awhile. Helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this! We eat very similarly. We follow the "rules" from 100 Days of Real Food. Nothing processed, or pre-made. If I do buy something pre-made, it has to have 5 ingredients or less. Almost everything organic. Less meat and milk. Lots of fruits, veggies and water. We have weeks where we are less strict, and we definitely have cheat meals, but overall, we follow those rules for everything. I feel so much better feeding my kids food that I know is truly good for them!
ReplyDeleteThe 5 ingredient rule is SO great. I can't say that I am always able to reach that, but i'm going to have to try harder. Thanks for the tips!
DeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteLiving alone I have been trying to really change my eating/grocery habits.
Lately I have been buying frozen edamame--boil for a few minutes and sprinkle with sea salt and its a perfect side or snack! Trick your mind into thinking its popcorn.
I'll have to try that!
DeleteWe eat a lot like you guys. However, I do still have a potato or rice side, and I do cook pasta a good bit (only cause I never mess it up). However lately I'm preferring just the veggies for sides verses the potatoes and so on. I'm currently dairy free for breastfeeding purposes and that limits -- everything! I try to buy what I can organic and now that I go to Whole Foods for nondairy items, I tend to get more organic stuff. I'd LOVE to have a garden :)Yay for healthy eating!
ReplyDeleteJust curious, why do you choose to eat organic?
ReplyDeleteI know your question is mostly for her, but I thought I would let you know why we do it as well. Organic food is grown with out harsh chemicals and pesticides so you are consuming less toxins when you eat organic. There are plenty of foods that are still processed, but the ingredients that are processed were organically grown. In our house we avoid most things with a shelf-life (processed), and try to stick to whole foods with minimal or no processing involved. When you process foods you are altering them from their orignal state which sometimes means removing nutrients (which then leads to adding them back in artificially). In the case of things that have vegetable or canola oil in them or cooking with those oils, high heats cause oils to go rancid which introduces a whole other issues. I think I have rambled enought though :)
Deletewww.breezyinbloom.com
Val, great question, and so many ways I can answer that, but the main reason is that it's what I feel is best for my family. I know that there will never be definite answers as to what is truly "best" or not, what will or will not cause harm to us, and what route is better than the other. There are contradictions to everything around us. However, based on what I have read and knowing what I know today, I choose to buy organic as I know that it's a decision that will certainly not harm my family. If I buy non-organic, will that harm my family? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. But do I want to take that risk with chemicals, pesticides, and processed food? If I can avoid it, that's what I try to do.
DeleteHere is a great more in depth article that certainly explains the "details" of why I choose organic: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organlink.cfm
I was wondering the same thing, Val, but I do have to say in response to Bre that organic does not equal pesticide/herbicide free. They use their own pesticides and sometimes require up to double the amount that conventional farmers do. We have to do what's best for our own families (which I absolutely respect Becky for doing, this post was very well-written and not trying to sway at all) and realize the truth that no food is 100% safe (think of the people that have died from eating organic spinach, sprouts, and most recently pomegranate seeds). I buy conventional food as organic is too expensive for our budget and it isn't any healthier, but if you can buy it - all the power to you!
DeleteAs far as the coconut oil goes, are you using extra virgin? That tends to have a stronger coconut flavor and I use it in my smoothies or when I want the flavor. The expeller-pressed coconut oil is what I use for cooking when I don't want to taste the coconut. Hopefully that helps! We are pretty much the same in our household. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! I'm going to have to pick some of that up!
DeleteI always like these food posts. So interesting to see what everyone does!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that 5 years from now, all these "diets" won't be so prominent. I'm not one to hop on any bandwagon. I still eat whatever I want, but I make smarter decisions. I don't believe in "cheat meals," and think if you have enough self-control, you can enjoy "bad" food in moderation. I also don't like to refer to any food as "good" or "bad," because it means different things to different people. For example, some people cut out meat and carbs (even though people still it. carbs gives you energy), but I will never cut out those things. Since I am gaining size (bodybuilding), I need about 130g of protein per day.
Love this post! Can you give us a "sample" menu for a day? We're slowly changing things here and I would love some other ideas especially for the kids who tend to be picky!
ReplyDeleteLove this post! Can you give us a "sample" menu for a day? We're slowly changing things here and I would love some other ideas especially for the kids who tend to be picky!
ReplyDelete