What if in stead of dieting we thought more and leaned more towards lifestyle changes in both our diets and how we live? Educate yourself on what things are okay to eliminate from your diet permanently. Everyone is different and will have their own things that they need to change. For us it was eliminating the majority of convenient foods (because of MSG and the preservatives), most dairy, wheat and pork. There are a few other things we needed to get rid of, but I will go into all of that later. The point is look at your family's needs, not wants, but needs and take the steps towards a better lifestyle.
I'm a believer in occasionally eating something that's not in our norm. When we go home to Utah we have to stop and get a shake from The Iceburg. Since its only once maybe twice a year its not something that sets us back drastically. We love getting to stay with family and eat out occasionally, but once we get home our bodies are craving our regular diet of healthier more nutritious food. Doesn't that seem better than being on a severe diet for 30 days that makes us hate the look of healthy foods? Little changes at a time add up to huge progress in the end. Our family's diet didn't change over night, or even in a month or two. I am still learning new ways to progress and make our lives healthier. If I tried to implement all of the changes we made in the matter of a few months we couldn't have financially afforded it, we also would have most likely given up because of the sheer stress of it! Don't be afraid to take things slow and to change one thing at a time.
I started by clearing my home of the things that had MSG. Then realizing my pantry was almost bare I started looking for healthier things to put in there. Eating healthy is sometimes hard enough, but add that to being on an A1C's budget and its a joke. We were a family of 4 with a drastic need to eat healthier. This is about the time I became a HUGE fan of Costco. I went into my local Costco store one day and found that they sold their canned diced tomatoes in only Organic, not only that it was a good amount cheaper to buy a pack of 8 and use that over the month than buying what I needed one at a time. When you buy one can of diced organic tomatoes at the store its anywhere from .99 a can to close to $2, but at Costco its around .75 a can. For the tomato sauce its even cheaper. I use diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce in a lot of different recipes. We make our own pizza and spaghetti sauce too so it gets used up quick. It took me months if not longer to realize all of the organic things they sold at Costco, and all much cheaper!
This is what I picked up today. The avocado oil isn't organic, but its non GMO! I spent 53.74 on just this, but when you look at it individually they are an awesome deal! At a health food store I was at today as well, they were selling avocado oil in something 1/3 of the size for the same price. I spent 10.49 on this oil and it will last us a good long while. The same goes for the rice. I dont even know how long it takes us to go through a big bag like this, a couple months or so, but it cost me 13.99. Buying organic brown rice elsewhere can be pretty pricey!
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I have come to terms with the price of our healthy foods. There has been a couple times where I honestly didn't know how we were going to afford it, but then something always happened and it we were able to make it through. I know that this lifestyle is meant for us! So many times have I felt blessed that we don't smoke or drink, because then there would have been no way we could have afforded it. My health feels drastically different when I eat organic foods, and when I take the time to make things from scratch. In our premade foods we have no idea what all is going into them. Take take the 15-30 min longer to whip up a sauce or pizza crust on your own. You will feel a difference.
When you take things slowly and really start looking into what is going into your body you start realizing how important diet is. Then when you find yummy healthy meals it's like winning the healthy food lottery! Being healthy can be stressful especially when you feel like you don't have any clue what you can or can't eat. I still feel that way sometimes, but let me tell you that when I see friends of mine taking interests in healthy foods and recipes I am all over that! I love getting new ideas to add to our recipe book!
If I could suggest one thing to change now, it would be to implement more homemade over store made. The more you do it the more you enjoy it, and the easier it gets. I have a few recipes I will share with you. One is my no fail yummy pizza crust, and the other is a cream of anything substitute that I use in my recipes that call for a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. When you take these steps you will realize you sometimes feel full faster and you don't feel weighed down like you do with some foods using these things.
When you start making these steps towards a healthier lifestyle you will notice changes in yourself. Weight starts coming off and staying off, no more yoyoing, and you start to crave these healthy foods. Did you know it takes 30 days or so to change your taste buds? Well its true! I don't even crave oreos or fast food anymore. Big steps in small changes!
I found this cream of anything substitute, but DO NOT use bullion with MSG. Just dont! You can buy a jar of chicken bullion that is a paste form Costco (you can find it in other stores) that doesn't have MSG. Its called Better Than Bullion. When making enough for one can use 1 tsp of the Better Than Bullion, and just mix it in when you add the water. If you cannot eat dairy I have used the recipe below as well.
Cream of anything substitute
1 cup cold milk (we used unsweetened almond or coconut milk)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp better than bullion chicken flavor
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash of pepper
dash of Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder & paprika to taste.
You can also add any dried herbs
In a small saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch until blended. Stir in bouillon and seasonings. Heat to boil, stirring frequently. Simmer on low one minute more to thicken.
If you are doing mushroom soup you can finely chop up mushrooms and add it to the soup mix when its done.
Pizza crust
1 cup warm water
3 Tbsp avocado oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp minced garlic
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil leaves
Add yeast honey and water to a large bowl and let bud for 10 min. Then add avocado oil, 1 cup of flour, and the herbs then stir. Add second cup of flour with the salt. Let dough sit covered for 15-30 min. Heat oven to 475. Flour a clean surface and knead. Spray a large pizza pan with cooking oil (see healthy oils post) place dough on pan and add your toppings. Bake 12-15 min. We like to use a pizza stone and cook just the crust for 3 or 4 min then top with our toppings and cook 11 min more.
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