Over the last several months I have been reading up on food. I’ve never been the healthiest eater but I believe that over the last 5 years my eating habits have spiraled a bit out of control. I try to control what I eat in front of the kids because I do not want them to struggle with the same issues I do. However, I am realizing that I am not doing enough. It is time for change in the Brown house. This is the part in my blog where we talk about growing.
I haven’t yet come up with my game plan but I know there are a few areas that I can address.
1. Eliminating artificial sweeteners. CHECK! This one I already did a few months ago. We haven’t been 100% successful because so many products are “sugar-free” and have snuck their way into my mouth – things like pudding and chewing gum. Fortunately, after eliminating artificial sweeteners for a few weeks the chemically taste of them stands out like a sore thumb for me. It doesn’t take more than a bite or two to identify it. When I say artificial sweeteners I mean aspartame, saccharine, and yes, even sucralose (just because it’s “made from sugar” doesn’t mean it’s good for you).
2. Meal planning. I am hit or miss with this. Some weeks I have things planned out and some weeks we fly by the seat of our pants. The weeks that are unplanned are consistently less healthy. If I can become consistent with my meal plans then eventually I can start to substitute in healthier ingredients and recipes.
3. Eliminating soda pop. Yes, I just said soda pop. I wanted to appease all of you. I grew up saying soda. I learned to say pop when I moved to the Midwest. And now I’m going to learn to just say no. Thank you Nancy Reagan.
4. Making my own bread. We love breads in our house – sliced bread, rolls, quick breads, tortillas – if you can spread it with butter or fill it with meat and cheese or put it in the toaster we eat it. I’ve taken to reading the labels on the bread products we buy. It is very difficult to find breads made without High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).
These are just my first three steps. I’ll keep you posted on how well it’s going. We have a long way to go as a family to moving away from the common items that pass as “food” to real nourishing food. But don’t they always say that the first step is admitting you have a problem. Well, dear readers, we have a problem.
If you have the time, this video I found at The Lazy Organizer is extremely eye opening.
What steps are you taking to help keep your family healthy? I’d love to learn from all of you.
Any recipes you love?
Foods you avoid?
Books that have helped you?
Other resources you rely on?
