Wednesday, August 20, 2008

nutritional analysis

I mentioned a while back that we were making some changes as far as our family's diet. The metamorphosis is not yet complete, but we've made some good progress, I think.

We've switched the boys to hormone-free, organic milk, and natural peanut butter. Jeff and I are eating raw almond butter instead of peanut butter. We've been buying organic produce as much as possible, and hormone-free (preferably grass-fed) beef, also. Sprouted bread and tortillas. Honey as a sweetener (and occasionally stevia) instead of sugar or a sugar substitute. And the other night, we had buffalo steaks for dinner. This is definitely an adventure!

I don't have the heart to just chuck stuff out (although a lot of it, I should...but I hate to think of the money we've spent on it) so we are working on finishing off a lot of the stuff I had in the house: frozen chicken nuggets & pretzels, as well as snacks with artificial colors, for example, and the soy ice cream I've been eating since I went off dairy foods.

Some of the things we've been learning is about how fat is not the enemy. Jeff & I have known for a long time that there are "good fats," such as extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and avocados. But there a lot of fats that are more than simply not bad (which, I confess, is how I used to think of the "good fats"), but are actually very nutritious. A new favorite? Extra virgin coconut oil. It's great to cook with, and truly doesn't flavor everything like coconut.

I am doing what I can to cut white sugar and white flour out of our diet. It won't be easy, but I believe it is important. We're trying to get down to the basics here. And we're not totally there yet, but we're closer. The refining of our nutrition continues. Eating food closer to the way God made it, the way our bodies were built to use what we consume!

4 comments:

Deb said...

Good for you! How did you come to this realization any how? I don't know if I have it in me but it sure sounds good!

Mindy said...

Deb,

I stumbled across a book by a guy named Jordan Rubin, called "The Maker's Diet." It's really amazing! It's not so much a weight-loss book (although I have easily dropped 3 lbs or so since our dietary changes) as "diet" in the sense of it being a way to eat. I highly recommend it! He's a Christian, a Messianic Jew, actually. Very cool stuff!

Carolyn said...

so has the change in diet helped?

Mindy said...

I don't know that it's helped Owen's issues, but I definitely feel better for it. We have just made a few changes so far...Jeff and I are planning to start the 40-day "experience" next week. We really need to detox off sugary stuff! I think the first 2 weeks will be hard; I am so addicted to sugar. :(