Diet Changes & What We're Eating

I recently wrote about some diet changes needed. These weren't doctor ordered changes, but instead changes that I felt were necessary for a healthy family. As a mom it is my job to feed my family foods that are full of nutrients. Sometimes this is an easier task than others. Money can be tight, availability of real food may be scarce. Nevertheless, it is still my job to do the best I can with what I have.

 

As a mom, it's also my job to take care of myself by making sure I eat nutrient rich foods. I won't be a good mom or wife if I neglect MY health!

 

For MY health, I am currently eating little to no dairy or gluten
For a little treat though, I can enjoy some coconut ice cream and bits of Enjoy Life chocolate bar

I've been making a bigger effort to include more protein and veggies in our meals. I've also been working on cutting out refined sugars from our diet and drastically cutting back on the grains and even gluten free flours. Not really a Paleo Diet, but close. Close to a Real Food diet! The differences between Paleo and what we're doing is that in Paleo you aren't allowed salt or dairy, but I believe dairy (especially raw) is healthy for you and sea salt has a lot of health benefits as well. The reason I say this isn't a complete Real Food diet, though, is because we do add some gluten-free products that don't quite fit that bill. I'm hoping, though, that over time we will all have a healthier gut and will be able to eat real, healthy, nutrient-rich foods!

 

Trying to add MORE of these NATURALLY gluten free foods into our diets!
NATURALLY refined sugar free, too! FULL of nutrients!
No processed dressing either- little olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper!

Here's a peak into some upcoming meals.

 

BREAKFAST: 

Eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage
Smoothies (Healthy Smoothies Pinterest Board)
Homemade Yogurt using raw milk (Nourished Kitchen)
Blueberry Muffins for a Sunday morning treat (Elana's Pantry) *will use honey instead of agave nectar and coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil*

All of these breakfasts will give us exactly what we need to begin each day. Our smoothies will include raw egg yolks and  coconut oil which will help give us protein and prevent our blood sugar from spiking too much from just the fruit. I'm looking forward to trying some green smoothies, too! Any way to get more veggies in!!!

LUNCH:
Hotdogs, Mac-n-Cheese, and Carrots
Chicken Nuggets and French Fries
Sunbutter & Jelly Sandwiches with Ants On A Log *using Sunbutter*
Lunchmeat, sliced cheese, rice chips, hummus, salsa, carrots

Not all of these are the healthiest meals, but they use things that I already have in my freezer. The hotdogs are turkey and I have some gluten-free chicken nuggets for Faith to eat. Due to nut allergies, we have the Sunbutter and Faith will eat her gluten free bread with it. Some of these are definitely baby steps and not the best, but we are slowly getting there.

DINNER:
Flank steaks and veggies
Chicken, brown rice, veggies
Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Cakes (Live Right Be Healthy)Taco/Taco Salad  (using ground venison)

With the few exceptions of pre-packaged lunches, most of these foods are in their simplest forms. Proteins and veggies. Dairy of raw milk. Dairy-free alternatives of unsweetened coconut or rice milk. Fruit. No refined sugar. Relatively low-grain. And for those who need it- gluten-free. (Are you gluten or dairy free? Check out my Gluten/Dairy Free Pinterest Board)

What We've Been Testing

Life Made Whole: Chocolate Syrup - Sweetened with maple syrup this chocolate syrup has NO refined sugars! WOOHOO!!! Could add it to rice milk to keep the whole thing dairy free, OR fresh raw cow's milk! Keeping it real here.... I'm on a journey and it involves baby steps!

 

Raw milk has SO many more nutrients for you than store bought milk!

 

 

For a special treat, we had waffles the other day. I made 100 Days Of Real food: Whole Wheat Waffles for Mistic, Aspen, Isaiah, and Daddy. For Faith and me I made Cook IT Allergy Friendly: GF, DF Chocolate Dessert Waffles. I used 1 cup all purpose gf flour, 1/4 cup rice flour, and honey- and did not top it the way they did. I opted for Sunbutter and maple syrup, Faith chose maple syrup with some chocolate shavings!

 

We also ate spaghetti one day- with Faith and me eating rice pasta. I made Gluten Free Diva's: Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Breadsticks. They were pretty good.

 

And one night I wanted something sweet and chocolate so I made Recipes To Nourish: Honey-Sweetened Hot Chocolate. Again- refined sugar FREE!

 

Yeah, we have a long ways to go. Sugar is sugar- natural or not. It's definitely a process and baby steps are needed

 

After a week of eating mostly gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar free I am seeing a big difference in both Faith and myself. My sinuses are more clear, the painful congestion is gone, and I am not nearly so tired. Faith seems more focused. We both still have a long ways to go though.

 

We'll continue to cut out the refined sugars, reducing the sugars, reduce our grains, and keep adding the REAL stuff!