I am not on a diet.

D.I.E.T.

Oh that dirty four letter word.

And, yet its original meaning has nothing to do with trying to lose weight or some temporary fix.

Someone asked my husband yesterday if I was still "on that weird diet." And I don't know why, but I instantly got mad. I think it is because of the meaning of the word diet used here. Yes, my diet, or the foods that I eat, may be different than other people's choices. I choose not to eat things out of boxes or cans. I don't need frankenfoods with chemicals and other things that I don't want to put in my body. I enjoy making my own foods, even if it takes longer or makes a mess. I even like growing my own foods. I still eat pretty normal things, they just tend to be prepared differently. I eat pizza, tacos, cookies. I don't eat them all the time, but they are still eaten in my house. I also like lots and lots of veggies and I like choosing what ingredients are used in my recipes.

I don't go into people's houses and ask them when they are going to stop eating their typical foods. I don't force my food upon anyone that comes to my home either. That is their choice and this is mine. And I have no plans of stopping. I am not on a diet. And this is not temporary. I am choosing to eat healthy. I will always eat real food. Get over it.

Eating real food is something you can always do. It doesn't have to be a temporary change until you lose weight or run that race or fit in that dress. Real food brings health and it tastes way better too. Why would I ever want to go back to feeling awful or eating something that tastes bad?

There was a point about three years ago where I started to feel my worst. My fingers were so swollen my hubby had to cut my wedding rings off my fingers. That was a sad day. And from then on I have been trying to figure out how to naturally feel better.

I don't want to live with
                         being swollen
                         migraines and headaches
                         not sleeping well
                         feeling depressed
                         foggy brain
                         constantly feeling like I look pregnant because my stomach is so swollen
                         being grumpy
                         fluctuations between constipation and diarrhea
                         dizzy spells that can last for days 
                         or the countless other symptoms

And these all happen when I don't eat real food, or when I go to someone's house for dinner and try not to be rude by eating the food, or meet everyone at a restaurant for food that doesn't agree with me.

People take food so personally. If I was allergic to something, they would have no problem with me passing on eating something, but the pure fact that I am making a choice not to eat it makes it somehow different. It doesn't seem to matter to some that eating certain foods make people sick. You might not be able to see the sick right away or on the outside, but the other person can feel it. And sometimes it can last a long time. I would not want to do that to someone I care about.

So, instead I choose to eat real food. This may offend you. And I am sorry. I am not willing to feel bad from food anymore. I am not on a diet. I am living my life to the fullest and this is what I eat. It helps me feel my best so that I can keep having fun.

Two Little Steps to Eating Healthier

 

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There are so many different diets and set of "rules" out there for what is healthy. I think it is overwhelming and can be stressful when trying to choose what is the most healthy for you and your family. Healthy foods can be different for different families, just like healthy is different for various cultures.

When I first started transforming what my family had been eating, I thought I had to pick one group or camp and be perfect. And you know what? It was awful! My family hated me for trying to change EVERYTHING they were eating all at once and it was a ton of work for me to try and redo everything all at once. Most of my family does not have food allergies. I think I might be the only one, so far for sure. So we didn't have to drop anything right away for those reasons. So once I got over trying to be the perfect paleo person, I took a step back to figure out what would work for my family and what was important to me. I want them to be healthy, but I knew had to take some baby steps towards changing what they were expecting for dinner.

Here are two steps that anyone can do:

#1: Add more veggies!
If you have been eating most of your food from a can, box, or some other package, you most likely are not getting enough veggies. And my family wasn't either. So I have been working hard to include (and sometimes sneak) more veggies at all meals. I was caught the other day putting spinach and kale in a smoothie, but when the kids tried it, they could not taste it. And I convinced them that the little bits of green in the smoothie were cool. So now I don't have to sneak it anymore.

We had a big veggie garden before we started moving a lot. Hopefully we will get back to that soon. The kids loved to pick the veggies and eat them fresh. And there is just nothing like home grown veggies. The flavor, the smells... oh I love it.

#2: Make your own food. 
It is a lot easier to eat healthy if you are making it yourself. Do your kids like cookies or mac 'n' cheese? Mine do too. And when I tried to take that away, they revolted! But what I can do instead is limit how often they have these things and also make them myself so I know exactly what is in it. It does take a little bit longer, but with creative planning and help, you can keep this to a minimum. And it tastes so much better. I will write more on how I save time in the kitchen when possible, but one idea I do want to share is that you don't have to plan something extensive every night. Some nights we have really simple dinners. If I have meetings or tutoring or big projects we eat something simple or eat leftovers. On the other nights, I make something that takes more time. Again, it is all in the planning. And if you are not used to cooking your own items, you will want to find some great recipes that are tasty and will help you get comfortable in the kitchen. One of my favorite family friendly and delicious websites would be Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

 

Every single thing I have tried off her site has been amazingly delicious. I will switch out some ingredients to make it even healthier, but her recipes are just fantastic. The comments on each recipe really help as well. Just tonight we made homemade pizza using her simple dough recipe. I just switched the flour for Einkorn and then chose our own toppings. It was fantastic. We added some veggies on the side to munch on as well. It is a much better choice than ordering out or a frozen pizza. And it was super easy and quick. Now, I am not trying to say that pizza is the healthiest food ever, but it is a simple switch that makes pizza night a better choice and keeps the kids from feeling deprived.

How do you keep your family eating healthy? Are you trying to make healthier choices for your family?