Titus 2:11-13

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."

Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Pressure is ON!

The month is over, payroll has been deposited, the cupboards are getting bare.... It's time to go grocery shopping, and I still don't know what I'm doing! :-) This transition to a healthier diet isn't going to be easy, is it! Thankfully, I'm in good company. Many of you who have "gone before" me have offered help and encouragement as I learn the ropes of a whole foods diet, and I'm betting I'm going to need it!

As I've been reading through Nourishing Traditions, I've realized a couple things: that modern conveniences have taken us a LONG ways from the culinary skills and habits of our ancestors; that pretty much every thing we eat--even that of the "healthy" variety--is JUNK; and that never before have I been concerned with what ingredients are in the foods I buy (Why would I be? I didn't know what all that stuff is, anyway.). As a little girl I used to say, "Technology will be the downfall of us (i.e. humans)." I'm pretty sure I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about at the time (Ha!), but perhaps I was on to something. It seems that the conveniences modern technology has offered us--including convenience foods and convenient food preparation--have certainly come at a price.

Something else I'm fairly certain of is that I'll need to take this transition to healthier eating one purposeful step at a time. To help myself be less overwhelmed, I've been trying to develop some objectives for this first month. Here's what I've come up with so far.... (You experts, please feel free to weigh in on this!)
  • Go ahead and use up foods that I have on hand, unhealthy as they may be; and as they run out, don't replace the things that shouldn't be a part of our diet. For example, I finished the last of my ice cream yesterday and don't plan on buying anymore (Did I just say that?!); our high fructose corn syrup-full ketchup is running low and will be replaced either by some from the health food store or by some homemade(!) ketchup; etc.
  • Replace sugar with natural sweeteners such as raw honey and pure maple syrup. (I bought a 1 quart jug of 100% pure maple syrup last night, and it cost $12.99. Yikes!)
  • Attempt to make my own butter, ketchup (if cost effective--Amariah likes her ketchup!), and breads.
  • Continue to learn!
For right now, I think that instead of learning new recipes I'm going to try to make appropriate adjustments/substitutions to the recipes I am familiar with. (Has anybody taken this route? Does it work?) My thinking is that as we gradually cut more and more refined/processed foods from our diet and as I become more familiar with various whole foods ingredients, it will become more feasible at that point to start trying new recipes.

It was only recently that I learned of the addicting nature of sugar--and even more recently of its destructive nature. Part of me wants to say that ignorance was bliss, mostly because the knowing has presented me with a lot of work! :-) But seriously, I've come to a point where I am actually excited about admitting my addiction to sugar and doing something about it. I'm excited about doing a better job of nourishing not only my own body and my husband's but also the four little bodies that God has entrusted to our care.

So... back to that grocery list.... Let's see how well I can work under pressure! :-)

8 comments:

Jessica Pennings said...

Angela, you can do this! One thing I use to tell my personal training clients was that this is going to be something that you have to make a decision about everyday. It will get easier to live in this new way you are working towards, but everyday it is a choice you have to make to keep going. So many of my clients never got that and that is why so many Americans give up with leading a healthy lifestyle. They think it should come naturally and just happen without any thought, I want to encourage you that just in your spiritual walk with God takes work and thought everyday so does living a healthy lifestyle...even as someone who has been in the health field for over 9 years it is still a daily decision I make & I still have so much to learn! Now if we lived in the garden of Eden it would be a different story, but this is America :).

It is completely possible to take the meals that you make and substitute for healthier ingredients. It may just take you awhile to figure out all the many different substitutions that are possible. And you don't have to give up your ice cream, if you have the time there are many ways to make fruit sorbets and ice creams without all the junk in them. I also recommend if you don't already make a meal plan weekly, you may one to make a couple and rotate between them, it will really help keep your budget down and save you time!

If someone hasn't told you about this yet you should check out Azure Standard. It is a co-op that makes a drop here in Ankeny once a month. www.azurestandard.com. It is basically an online organic grocery store, and the prices I think are much lower than Hy-vee & Campbell's. While I like to support locally I have a budget that their prices don't work with!

I am on this with you, I am a sugar addict too. My daughters face right now is unfortunately a victim of my addiction. If your whole family is on board it will be that much easier for you! But like I said it's a daily choice you make. One thing that will make it easier for you to avoid sugar is make sure you are eating frequently, never going more than 3, especially 4 hours without a small meal. You can do this, I am proud of you for taking this step with your family!

Melissa said...

Funny that you are doing this, because just last week, I decided to start another blog on food for people that are just getting started. It's so overwhelming at first, and I made so many mistakes that I don't want others to have to make!

I can so relate with the point you are at right now! The burn-out point is probably coming in the next few weeks, so don't get discouraged when it comes. :) After you get through it and figure out your plan, it will only get easier. :)

Melissa said...

Oh and yes, I think adjusting current recipes is a GREAT way to start. Obviously there will be some that won't work well (such as those with cream of mushroom soup - unless you want to make it homeade!), but you can at least start figuring out how to make healthy substitutions.

FYI...Hy-Vee Health Market is 10% off on Wednesdays, and the next Azure order deadline is November 12th with delivery the following Wednesday. If you ever need me to pick up your order, I usually can.

Amy S. said...

I think its great that you are doing this! Not sure that I could ever tackle it though! The closest I've came to eating better was by joining Weight Watchers. It really was eye opening to see which foods were good for me and what portions I should be eating. My biggest downfall is getting "off track" and never getting back on! Good luck to you!

Linda said...

Angela,...you are on the right track! And you can succeed girl. I am rooting for ya. You have those precious children to inspire you!

Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

Linda said...

oh, and here is a young Christian homemaker that might inspire you too.

http://ablogbycandy.blogspot.com/2009/10/gods-guidelines-for-our-health-and-body.html

GiGi said...

your blog is beautiful and your words have touched more lives than you will ever know
XoxoGapGirl

busymomof10 said...

Cool -- I see from this post that we are on the same track! I have learned about NT from some wonderful bloggers out there, and I'm doing my homework now and trying to make changes. You are blessed to be doing this now while your children are so young, so you can help them develop the right appetites. It is harder to make changes with teens and young adults in the home!

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