The Big Switch to Organic Foods

It has almost been a full year since we started eating organic/natural food! I feel like I am finally eating food I was meant to be eating. All my life I have had a love for food and after having kids I couldn’t seem to keep the weight off. I was never the dieting type. I just liked to eat all foods and didn’t want to eliminate certain ones. Well now I can and I feel good about it! I have lost weight and feel so much healthier.

We grew up eating all the typical American foods. After having kids, both of us working and my husband going to school, we had a lot on our plate so our health took the back-burner. Everything we bought was out of convenience to make our lives easier and to spend less. We ate cheap meat in family packs, boxed sides like rice-a-roni, macaroni and cheese, potato buds, etc. I bought margarine by the tub, thinking it was better for us! We did eat fruits and veggies quite frequently, but they weren’t organic. I didn’t have a clue what organic was and hadn’t even really heard about it much. We ate out a lot too. Fast food a couple times a week for dinner and then for lunch sometimes too. Now we very rarely eat out. And I was drinking diet soda thinking it would help me lose weight.  We had watched the documentary Food Inc. and realized what is really happening in the food industry.  Even then, we didn’t make any big changes to the way we were eating because life kind-of took over.  But after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and seeing even more documentaries on food and information going around on Facebook, I decided it was time to take action.

Our first shopping trip for organic food was in February 2013.  I got everything you see in this picture for $150. (Sorry the picture isn’t good quality. I didn’t even have a blog then.) A lot has changed since then and there is actually a wider selection and lower costs. These items are not all organic. Some are just a better, natural version of what we used to buy. That was all I was trying to do at first, and then I learned along the way. When first starting out, that’s what I suggest doing. It can be very overwhelming at first but just try to find a better version of what you were eating. Then you can make small changes along the way and try new things. Your taste buds will change too and you will probably like things you never thought you would! I love avocados now and never liked them before. Below are some tips I have posted before, if you can’t go full-blown organic.

If you can’t afford to eat organic (I know it can be expensive), these are small changes you can make to be healthier:

1. Say NO to margarine. Just buy real butter. It is actually better for you, even with the cholesterol and fat. There is good fat and good cholesterol.
2. Don’t drink diet soda! If you must have a soda, just buy regular. Diet sodas have additives in them that make them taste good but are bad for you and addicting. This can cause so many problems in the long run.
3. Make as much as you can from scratch and not from a box. It really doesn’t take that much more time to make it and you can make it how you want. I love to add in a bunch of different herbs and seasonings to make it really yummy!
4. Don’t buy products that say Low Fat, reduced fat, diet or lite. They contain additives in them to make them taste good but they are really bad for you.
5. Say NO to anything with Aspartame!!! This chemical is added as a sweetener to things like diet soda, iced teas or lemonades, mints/gum, and even yogurt.
6. Read ingredients on what you buy. If there are multiple choices for an item, buy the one with less ingredients. Chances are if you don’t know what an ingredient is, it probably isn’t good for you.

Here’s a video about a family that buys all the typical American foods and they come to the realization of what’s really in these foods. Food Babe explains these ingredients and why they should switch. http://foodbabe.com/2013/10/29/why-this-family-will-never-make-this-popular-staple-ever-again/.

I hope this helps you make better choices for your family. I am so glad we made the switch and I will never look back. We are much healthier and happier because of it.