If we look at life about two and a half years ago, meal planning consisted of thinking it'd be good to have fish once a week and trying not to have the same type of meat twice in a row-in other words beef, pork, chicken, lather, rinse, repeat. We ate out several nights a week, as well as every Sunday after church. Fast food was a regular part of our diet. I tried to make sure we got a variety of foods but that was about the extent of making healthy choices.
Had you told me then that just about everything we eat would be made from scratch-by me-I would have laughed literally out loud. Yeah, I enjoyed cooking and baking, but not to the point of making bread on a regular basis or homemade crackers. I baked cookies when we were in the mood, not because it was a better choice health wise. Probably the biggest reason for my disbelief would have been that I just don't have the energy to do all that cooking and baking.
In January of 2009 my chiropractor suggested that I have adrenal fatigue. I'd never heard of it, but a bit of research lined everything up. A bit more research and we started applying a few changes:
- Bought baby chicks so we could have farm fresh eggs (then added two adults because we didn't want to wait!)
- Discovered how expensive raw milk is and decided to buy a couple of goats to have our own fresh, raw, milk.
- Learned to make yogurt and chevre with the raw milk.
- Eliminated HFCS and hydrogenated fats.
- Added coconut oil.
- Reduced sugar intake (refined white).
- Cut back on fast food consumption.
- Started trying to buy non factory farmed meat.
- Learned to milk a cow that didn't want to be milked.
- Began following the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 system for buying produce.
- Began trying to avoid GMO's.
- Discovered son was sensitive to food chemicals and started avoiding them.
- Learned that I'd have to make a lot of things from scratch to keep from eating foods with chemicals.
- Cookies
- Ice cream
- Crackers (wheat thin style)
- Bread
- Sour Cream
- Buttermilk
- Graham Crackers
- Granola type bars
- Marshmallows (who can give up s'mores??)
- Meatballs
- Bread crumbs
- Mayo
- Ketchup
- Tomato sauce
- Granola
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash
- Laundry soap
- Deodorant
- Dishwashing soap
- Insect repellent
- Household cleaners
- Stopped enjoying eating out-the flavor just isn't there when you no longer eat processed foods all the time.
- Realized that I've come a long way when I cringe at nearly everything available away from home and when others point out how much I do.
Look how far you have come! I wish I could do a lot of those things, like chickens and a milk cow, but we do what we can. Every once in a while I just get tired of making everything from scratch, so we lapse a bit.
ReplyDeleteYep, same here. We end up doing something spur of the moment and eat out-and that just makes it easier to do it again soon after. Then my energy level is even lower and I'm less likely to get back on track just for that reason! It's a battle I'm still fighting!
ReplyDeleteKelly - what an accomplishment! I hope you look at that list and feel so proud of how far you have come; it's very inspiring. I think I'll make a list of the changes I've made and pull it out every time I feel discouraged. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou've come a long way, baby! What has happened with your stubborn cow? Is she being used for breeding or did you sell her? Are you about ready to try with another one? One that has already been proven to be a cooperative cow?
ReplyDeleteHi Connie-there's a bull on the pasture with her right now. For one reason or another, this is the first time we've managed to get her with a bull. I haven't tried anything else yet, mostly because we've seriously been trying to move and decided not to add more animals until that happens. Maybe by the time she calves again we'll be settled and I can try again.
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