Eatin' Good In The Neighborhood

In January we decided as a family to start eating healthy! Funny statement cause we always thought we ate fairly healthy. Everyone has a different definition of eating healthy, but we have made some big changes around here.

• With the help of not having a job for the first two months, we stopped eating out. And we've been trying to eat less processed foods like frozen corndogs... (you know all the easy stuff)...
• We've only been eating homemade breads cause we know exactly what's in them (and I can use healthy ingredience).
• We've been eating lesssss sugar, not just sweets, but less sugar in everything. Realizing that sugar is in EVERYTHING!
• No soda pop. That stuff is bad. (okay, if we want one once a month or so we go for it, but I honestly don't even want it cause I know I feel better with out it).
• I've been studying lots of things. The biggest change we've made so far is that the girls (and I) now drink homemade rice milk. Tayvie has had terrible eczima since she started drinking cow's milk, her little cheeks were red and rough like sandpaper and her legs were the same, splotchy spots that would flair up. Nothing seemed to help until she started drinking rice milk, after just ONE day without cow's milk her cheeks were so kissably soft!!! Beautiful! Her legs are clearing more slowly but they look and feel fantastic!
• I've been making and freezing things like waffles and pancakes cause I make them with our homemade rice milk and no sugar... and they are still yummy!
• We've been eating lots and lots of vegetables. mmmm. Meat, we do mainly chicken and turkey, less red meats (those who know me well will laugh cause they know even before this I was always cooking CHICKEN).
• Most recently, I've been limiting cheese. IS THAT THE HARDEST THING EVER??? Yep, it's a tough one! I haven't come up with a good cheese substitute yet- any ideas? I'll take 'em. Cheese is very concentraited with casein (a protien that is found in milk) in fact, cheese IS casein, but it's like the yummiest food ever, it makes anything and everything yummy, and it's easy. If there's nothing else to eat you can always give the kids a cheese stick or throw some cheese on a homemade tortilla! But so far so good, honestly the kids don't miss it- but I do.

Tony mentioned twice last week how good he feels and that he has much more energy especially after lunch. I feel good too. It's interesting how we've started to realize what foods don't make us feel good. For me, my doctor told me in December that I am pre-diabetic and if I would do this it would cure my PCOS (you know, I could have babies with less trouble, cool eh? I'm totally up for that!). Side note: PCOS is caused by the way my body deals with insulin~ completely related to diabetes. So how cool is that to be able to be CURED? Cool. So who knows how long it will take, I know it's a process. We cheat here and there now, but we're getting good at it just being how we eat!

I hope this doesn't come across preachy or know-it-all-ish (I'll be the first to admit I'm not even close to knowing it all... not even close), I've hezitated to mention this for a few months, but I just thought I should share since it's such a big part of what's going on over here. I know this isn't practical for a lot of people, but for us we're loving it. We're learning more and more as we do it. We don't want to focus on the restrictions- we still allow ourselves to eat these things here or there for the most part, especially if we are eating at someone else's house- that's a "treat" and we just eat what they're eating, but for us it's about more consistantly chosing healthy foods. Our definition of health foods will probably evolve the more we learn and the more we do this. It's incredible how much there is to learn about what's in what we eat and how it effects our bodies.

It's been a big lifestyle change for us, but a lot of fun too~ fun cooking and creating healthy foods that make us feel good! It's my newest hobby and the girls love helping me!

I'll tell ya I never would have read this whole thing, I would have clicked on this and thought 'hum, picture of bread...LOTS of words- good bye.' Let me know who made it through this whole thing!

Maybe I should give you a reward or something! :)