Eating and what we eat is a hot topic in our house. I won't go as far to say that we are foodies but Dearest Husband and I have in common the hatred of plastic food. I don't mean that the food is actually plastic, but that it is messed with. Low-fat, fat free, sugar free, cornified, modified, processed....fake. Also, don't kid yourself, processed food has an acceptable level of rodent feces and insect waste. Sorry to put that out there, but who really knows what's in Twinkies? The FDA- they set the levels. (shudder) Not to mention the chemicals used in preserving food for shelf life.
What got me thinking about this today was a conversation I had with one of my favorite aunts: she has struggled with her weight and blood sugar for as long as I can remember. She's going to try Weight Watchers but doesn't have time for the meetings. My understanding is that it's all about portion control. This is good, but misses something in order to sell their product. That missing element is food quality. It is still processed convenience food that disconnects the eater from the food ingested. There is no personal accountability for the ingredients (AND doesn't support local economies). I think that the connection is a vital ingredient to a healthier lifestyle.
Anyway, we like whole foods. We found that by using whole milk, butter, farm fresh eggs, and the like that we eat smaller portions and are more satisfied by the meal.
There are a couple things to note about this. Smaller portions means less food, means less purchased. We also buy our meat directly from farms so our overall yearly meat bill is about $1,200. That's right. $100 a month AND we are eating Black Angus steaks, roasts, and burgers AND holiday hams, Iowa chops, and pork roasts, etc. Oh and the bacon! Divine. We grow a lot of tomatoes and peppers so that helps too. We spend more than average on milk and dairy because I insist on hormone free products. (When we have our own cow, I expect the initial cost to be the same since we'll have care and feeding costs of an animal. Maybe not? Maybe just to begin with?) Our monthly grocery bill is averaging $400 (including the meat, but also non-food items like shampoo, cleaning products, paper, etc). That's pretty good (I think) for as well as we eat.
Last month I tried real from the farm organic hormone free butter. Sounds fancy and was a luxury purchase. I admit that I didn't expect it to taste much different, after all butter is butter- right? Oh......my.....was I wrong. It is luscious, just enough salty, and melted dreamily. I ate it on toast but now I must set out to make those hot crusty rolls this week. It is prioritized!
Back to what I was saying. Food matters. It is the fuel we run on, mind and body. We don't spend more just because we are picky because the other costs balance it out.
We eat well, we spend less, and our doctors say we are pretty darn healthy (which also means we visit them less and save medical expenses). Can't beat that.
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We spend about the same amount per month on food. I try to buy organic when I can, especially dairy. We're food lovers, too and if you're not careful it can lead to a really high bill. But like you said, shrinking the portion size makes such a difference. Now if could just get my husband to quit inhaling his food when we sit down to eat we'd be doing much better! Giving your body the time to recognize when it's full is just as important as portion control.
ReplyDeleteYour description of that butter is prompting me to go get one of the cheddar garlic biscuits I made this morning, pop it into the oven and then slather some delicious butter on it. Thanks a lot! LOL
I agree how important good ingredients are and how much better they taste! I couldn't believe the difference between eggs, but we did a taste test and there was a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, my struggle is in allowing my kids (&Dh) to choose their own foods as well. Dh likes ramen & processed mac & cheese. One son loves cereal. The other loves fruit snacks. I don't want to buy those things, but then I'm controlling their food choices based on my beliefs, which doesn't jive with our lifestyle of letting them make their own choices. So its a compromise too.
You have me intrigued about farm butter. Mmm..
I struggle with that too BUT there are options for even those foods. I've been making mac and cheese from ingredients and freezing lunch portions. To reheat, add a bit of water and stir a lot. Motts has an au natural applesauce fruit snack that my DD adores. Cereal is a tough one. We just get cheerios BUT I sure do love to make oatmeal with raisens, apple bits, and maple syrup- my Lil'Bug's favorite.
ReplyDeleteRamen? I grew up on that. We made it in a coffee pot (dripped the water to boil it) when I was a pre teen. There are still better options for Ramen if you have an Asian grocery store. Pad Thai usually satisfies my cravings.....
Food is tricky in our house. We are foodies. Our kids are foodies. My kids love crab legs and shrimp scampi. They love a good filet or ribye. We don't eat like that all the time, but enough that they know what good food is. I try to keep food real for them. I have one that likes fruit snacks, so we made our own. I'll have to find my recipe. I grew up with real food, grown in Grandma and Grandpa's garden. I want my kids to have that, but it helps to have a chef around to make all that organic food into creative interesting dishes. I'm okay with them all having their own tastes because I know that I have taught them all about nutrition, including Chef Daddy. It must be working because we haven't been to the doctor with a sick child in over a year. It's all about balance.
ReplyDelete"plastic food" - Good description!
ReplyDelete