"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."
So, after returning from shopping, I was washing our produce and was struck by how pretty it looked. What beautiful fruits and veggies our God has given us. Thank-you, Father God, for such an abundance of good things to eat!
We are really enjoying our new healthy eating habits. Shopping is so much simpler. I don't even buy anything in a box, and only organic tomatoes in a can....we just circle the store and hit the produce, meats & dairy, then dart in to the paper goods, cleaners, grains & baking supplies, simple! I highly recommend reading about how to make the most of the grocery store on http://www.keeperofthehome.org/nutritional-foundations/
One of our favorite things to have is a Super Smoothie. We make them every morning and sometimes again for an afternoon snack. What a great way to get spinach into us without the usual hairy eyeballs from the kids. ;-) This is why I want to try making my own kefir. The health benefits of the live cultured milk are amazing and it makes the smoothies so yummy. Now, if I could just keep strawberries in the house we would be all set. Do you have any idea how many strawberries 3 kids can put away? It's mind boggling.
That looks awesome! I used to have a raspberry and yogurt smoothie every morning. But after about a year I got tired of them. I think I'm ready to start that up again! They are so good!
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiration you are! It makes me want to do the same myself. =)
ReplyDeleteMay I ask a couple of questions (hopefully I'm not asking any you've already answered, as I've only just started perusing your blog)
Firstly, since you have started cooking healthier with organic food, from scratch, have you noticed it's more expensive? And if so, how much more expensive?
Did you start doing this cold turkey or gradually introduce it?
I would love to see a general weekly menu and shopping list so I could see how we could fit this kind of thing into our lives.
I went to the farmer's market today and think we're going to take a leap of faith and actually join a CSA. We can only afford a half-share this year, but if it works out really well we may go for the full share next year, depending on if I can save enough for it.
Anyway, thanks for the information and inspirational blog! =)
Hi Keeley!
ReplyDeleteNow that I have been doing this for a while, I can honestly say, no, its not more expensive. In the beginning, I tended to get carried away, wanting to try all the fancy-schmancy stuff in the organic section. That did get expensive. And it is so unnecessary and not truly healthy. When I finally realized that processed & packaged ANYTHING is sub par to simple whole foods I was able to get my grocery expense back in line. I am actually beginning to save more and more money each week.
I have been chewing on a blog post about this, and you have given me the push I need to get it done, thanks! I will include a shopping list and mealplan. Until then, a few good tips are:
1) Use what you have! Slowly add healthier foods to the ones you already have on hand and simply don't replace the ones that aren't part of your new healthy eating habits.
2) Read this:
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/07/12-tips-for-squeezing-most-nutrient.html
3) Go completely basic on all of your cleaners, toiletries, air-fresheners, etc. I am thrilled with the results I have gotten from making my own and it really helps off-set the higher cost of some of the higher priced grocery items.
4) Yes! Join a CSA!! I am like you, still saving for it. Hubby is becoming more and more sold on this whole healthy eating kick of mine...(at 1st he was indulging me) since he is really enjoying everything we are eating and we've dropped a few pounds to boot. Once he is fully on board, we will join.
Thanks so much for your interest and kind words. Please know, I am no expert, just a mom & wife trying to do the best for my family. I will continue to blog as I learn and I would be honored if you would continue to read and comment!
God bless!
Thank you for the link and the advice. Working into it slowly sounds like great advice; line upon line... =)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more posts. =)