I have been contemplating writing this post since last fall when it was clear to me that our eating habits had changed for good. It wasn’t a conscious decision by either of us but a happy by-product of my recipe challenge from last year. Suddenly, packaged foods, foods with cream of whatever soups, anything that came out of a can, now tasted bland or extra salty. I was searching for recipes that didn’t have any of those ingredients and was excited to see new recipes for “whole foods”. We began eating many veggies and loving them. I used to despise carrots and cauliflower, but as it turns out, I just don’t like them raw or steamed. Roasted is the way to go for those vegetables! I have learned new cooking techniques that intimidated me before and now are just a quick step I don’t even think about when preparing a meal. Roux no longer frightens me.
We have also discovered that, with the exception of Chinese food, we don’t enjoy going out to eat as much because we feel like we could make it at home for a better price and it would be better for us. Really, I am paying for someone to do the dishes and I am too cheap to do that. We haven’t gone so far as to eliminate white sugar or white flour from our diets, in fact, I am of the opinion that sugar is not bad for our bodies if consumed in moderation, but we have begun eating more fresh foods, no convenience foods and foods that have more value to them. When choosing veggies in the store I used to reach for the basics-lettuce, bananas, apples, potatoes and the occasional onion. Now we eat an enormous variety. I have learned so many things from this venture that I want to share with you.
1. You may dislike a vegetable because of the way it has always been served to you. Like I said, I used to despise cauliflower and carrots because they were ALWAYS served raw or steamed. Carrots were often cooked with roast making them bland and mushy. I learned to roast them and now we all get very excited when I am making them. Broccoli was one I would only eat smothered in cheese but now we roast it quite often. Asparagus, green beans, peppers, onions, brussel sprouts, leeks and sweet potatoes are some of the many other veggies that we have learned a lot about and now actually enjoy. I still don’t like zucchini.
2. There is a good chance your food is under-flavored. This was an eye opener for us! We started using fresh herbs and more onion in our cooking and we discovered that many dishes we hadn’t liked before(stroganoff, chicken stew, potato soup) was just lacking in flavor. Once we learned how to layer our flavors it gave eating a new joy. We actually enjoy eating in a completely different way than we used to. We don’t eat to fill up, we eat to enjoy. Going out to eat can be a huge let down now as we have gotten so used to eating full flavored food.
3. Butter. It really is better. I can honestly say that I still prefer margarine to top my toast. I don’t like the flavor of uncooked butter. But cooking with it transformed my food! We even use it sometimes when the recipe calls for olive oil. The flavor that it gives our food is absolutely unbeatable. And if you haven’t tried browning butter yet, you are missing out! Wowza! I realize that some people are under the impression that butter is unhealthy but I firmly believe in eating foods that have been processed as little as possible. Butter is as natural as it gets and the fats in butter are actually , mostly, good fats.
4. Onions are so under rated! I didn’t used to like onions. I’m still not a fan of raw ones but adding a good, sweet onion to a meal can enhance the flavors to make even the blandest of meals into something amazing. We have gotten back to a much simpler way of eating with more meat and veggie style meals and nearly all of them require a healthy dose of onion. We used to eat one a month but now we are eating a dozen or more each month. Just this past Friday evening I realized that we were completely out and kind of freaked because my entire menu required onions. On top of being absolutely delicious, onions are sooo good for you. They even help you fight off germs by giving your immune system a boost. Which brings me to my next point;
5. No more sluggishness. We used to experience severe sluggishness after dinner and now we feel refreshed after eating fresher foods with no preservatives. Now that summer is here, we have noticed that the sluggishness returns on nights we have chips with burgers or bratwurst. But we love brats and chips and once in a while it’s a nice treat.
6. Weightloss. For Jared. I have not achieved that particular happy side effect. I think one of the main reasons for this is because our meals stick with us longer. There is less snacking after dinner because meat and veggies last longer than highly processed foods.
7. Attitude changes. My kids were always pretty good about eating what they were served and even ate veggies pretty well. Now they get excited for them! We don’t cook a separate meal for them so they have tried, and mostly liked, everything we have tried over the last year+. Just tonight we had roasted cauliflower and green beans(from our garden) baked with chopped up chicken breast and topped with bacon and cheese. Everything we ate was healthy and “real” food but it was still a kid friendly, delicious meal that we all loved.
8. Budget. I am not going to lie, our food budget had to stretch a bit to compensate for the healthy foods that we were adding. I would say it is a 10-20% increase depending on the menu. We do eat less than we used to though, and veggies are actually incredibly cheap.
9. Shopping. The way I grocery shop has changed a lot. We can’t use many coupons anymore because they just don’t make them for the foods we eat. I get really excited when I find them for dairy products or condiments that we actually use. Same goes for price matching, when your diet is mostly veggies and meats, price matching is rarely an option.
10. It is worth the effort. We feel better, fuller, more content and we really enjoy food.
Of course, we break the rules and it will probably seem a bit hypocritical of me to post this the same day that I posted a photo of the baby eating cheetos. We are working on it. It will be an ever evolving lifestyle for us. I don’t buy cheetos often and it was a real treat for the girls. Plus, I hate cheetos so there is no temptation for me. I still drink soda occasionally and Jared is a big fan of potato chips. I feel like deprivation is not the way to go. If I ever find a way to make potato chips at home that are healthier and still taste good, I may do that. For now, we are working on it a little bit at a time. My cupboards are becoming more bare as time goes on and we eliminate more and more processed foods. At first, you miss it, but after a while, it doesn’t even occur to me to grab a can of condensed soup anymore. Little changes over time have a great impact. So if you see me in the grocery store with a cart full of chocolate, don’t hold it against me, I am a work in progress. Also, I am a Mom and chocolate is food group.
