A Real Food Diet

So...I've been thinking of embarking on a "Real Food" diet.  It's not something new, I've been reading Dr. Weil's books since college.  I consider him the first real "real food" guru.  He didn't put it that way, per se but he promoted and continues to promote Optimum Health.

There have been several reasons to spur this thought in my head.  One is I don't like the lunches we eat during the weekends.  They often consist of processed foods such as Macaroni, pizzas, etc.  I do consider our dinners to be pretty healthy.  I also don't like how picky Wolfie is.  He is the worst eater in our house.  Maddie and JoJo have no problem devouring what we serve.  Wolfie literally gags it down. I'm just tired of that.  Though, I'm sure making him eat fruits and vegetables might pose a few problems.

Another reason, is that we are spending so much money on groceries.  I'm not kidding you.  We are spending roughly $800 a month.  The kids are garbage disposals.  I can't help but think that we can force them guide them to make healthier choices with fresh fruits and vegetables.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are much cheaper in the long run than processed snacks.

As a result of this, I spent a good part of the weekend researching real food diets.  The most helpful site I found was the 100 Days of Real Food website.  Lisa Leake provides a wealth of information from meal plans to recipes, and kid's school lunches.  She makes the kid's lunches very appealing and fun for children.  I actually showed the website to my children and they seem very interested in the school lunches.

After researching, I've decided and learned several things.  One, the change is going to be somewhat hard, and I may never actually give up my Oreos.  I'm going to have to really decide if I want to give up sugar in my coffee.  I'm going to try honey...I'm going to try.  Making this change, will be somewhat expensive in the long run.  I plan on doing a lot of Smoothies for breakfast.  I found this great page 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge.  I say expensive, because I may have to purchase a new blender...My 12 year old $20 blender might not cut it.  I might be drinking Chunkies...instead of smoothies.  So, we're looking into blender options.  My friend, Pam, recommended the Vitamix Blender.  She swears by it.  It's a super hefty investment, but I like the potential it has, such as making nut butters, soups, flours, doughs, juices, ice cream and sorbets, and tons of other stuff.  Before I invest, I want to make sure it's going to be worth it and that I'm going to stick to this new way of living.   Also, Erik and I decided we want to replace our plastic tupperware with glass tupperware.  We will also be purchasing the Ziploc Divided Lunch Containers for the kid's lunches.  The other items we will purchase are glass jars and containers for food storage.

The other thing I am concerned about is time.  This is going to take a lot of time and organization.  Erik and I discussed this.  Since he does most of the shopping now, he's worried about shopping on his own.    It's going to take me a good chunk of time to plan our menu.  It's also going to be trial and error to find out the cheapest way to buy foods.  I'm going to have to make a lot of food and snacks during the weekend. I actually think it won't be that big of a problem because the kids enjoy helping me in the kitchen.

My last big concern is food allergies.  I have a lot of allergies to fruits and vegetables in raw form.  I mean I might actually die if I were to have an avocado.  They cause my throat to swell shut.  I saw a Smoothie recipe on the Smoothie Challenge website where you had to use one.  Don't worry, I'll be avoiding it.  Almost all fruits and vegetables make my ears itch...Cantaloupe, honey dew, watermelon, carrots, spinach, cucumbers, brocollie, cauliflower and the list goes on and on.  So, I'm anxious to see if eating solely or mostly organic foods helps with this.  

Sorry for the lengthy post...with no pictures...again.  I'll keep you updated on our progress.