I hope your summer has been going well! Ours has been full of activity, and we have taken every possible opportunity to be outside as much as possible!
We have not done any large trips this year, due to the age of the girls, but we have enjoyed doing a lot of local activities around town each weekend (we go to the Farmers Market almost every Saturday), and we have enjoyed lots of time with friends and family.
Austin and I did make time for a quick little getaway to KC last weekend. It was a much needed R&R for us as a couple without the kids. We enjoyed, eating, shopping, and having uninterrupted conversation (which is a rarity in our house!). We checked out quite a few restaurants, the coolest being Oklahoma Joe's which is one of the most famous BBQ Restaurants in the world, featured on all sorts of shows. It was delish...and did I mention its in a gas station??? The picture below shows the line wrapping around the outside of the gas station. We waited for almost an hour just to get in the door! We also checked out their farmers market....called the City Market. We went about 2:00 in the afternoon, so the morning rush was over, and we were able to get some good deals. We got some homemade bread from Amish women (50% off by that time of the day), and then just walked around taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and food samples. There are over 140 vendors, and in some spots in felt like you were in a foreign country. I thought the spices sitting out in the open were one of the most unique things I had seen. You could go up, take a bag and fill it from the spice boxes, and then pay per pound. It was all just sitting out in the open market. So cool, it reminded me alot of the markets we went when we were in Paris a couple of years ago.
We (or rather I) have also become more aware this summer of how unhealthy some of the processed/ convenience foods that we were eating are for us. I by no means have ever felt like I was a health nut, nor would I liked to be called one still...but we have taken some steps to try and eat healthier.
I think you can overboard with healthy eating (like anything else), and an important thing to keep in mind is that our end goal here is not to live forever...but rather to have an ETERNAL perspective, as that is what last forever and really matters. "Our lives are but a vapor..." However, with that being said, I do feel we should take the best care of our bodies that we reasonably can, and that includes eating healthy foods that are not filled with ingredients that I can't even pronounce. :)
You can do all sorts of things when trying to eat healthy, but it can definitely get overwhelming and EXPENSIVE quickly. So- we have not gone to all organic foods (although I don't necessarily think that is bad, just expensive!). Listed below are some pictures of my latest round of freezer cooking:
What we have done is this to become healthier:
1) Cut out all processed/ boxed foods.
2) Switch to all unbleached, whole grain flour
3) Cut out pop, except for special treats, and even then....no Mt. Dew, that stuff can kill you in a day. ;)
4) Buy alot of produce at the farmers market
5) Avoid BHT, BHA, and high fructose corn syrup
To give you a realistic viewpoint on how this has changed our habits:
Before: We were what I would call a fairly healthy family. We ate most meals at home (went out maybe 1-2x per week), and we usually had some sort of casserole, vegetable, and fruit. We did not eat a ton of dessert or drink alot of soda. However, most of the casseroles would have some sort of boxed potato, rice, cream soups, etc in them. Typically vegetables and fruits would be canned (especially in the winter). We would do frozen pizzas or other quick foods alot on evenings I had worked all day.
For snacks the kids typically had fruit snacks, cereal, or a cookie. The girls drank a lot of juice.
Now: We still probably eat out 1-2x per week (those are our cheat days....as I said, live a balanced lifestyle!) ;) Now for dinner we typically have a freezer meal (a meal that I have put together with fresh ingredients ahead of time, and it has cooked in the crockpot during the day), or we grill meat. We typically have a side of FRESH veggies (either from farmers market or Fareway), and FRESH fruit. (typically from Fareway).
I wash the fruit and veggies in a wash to take pesticides and such off. You can buy it in the produce section, or make some similar to this: (http://chicnsavvyreviews.net/vinegar-fruit-wash-keeps-fruit-fresher-and-stays-fresh-longer/20130405).
If you are interested in some of the freezer recipes I have done, alot are listed on my pinterest page under "Freezer Meals". I have found that the "dump recipes" where you take all raw ingredients and put them in a ziploc bag seem to be the easiest and best tasting as well.
For bread: I have started buying bread without high fructose corn syrup in it (that is like the second ingredient in most breads. This bread you can buy for $1.99 at Fareway. Sometimes I will buy bread at the Farmers Market, but that is a bit more expensive.
For yogurt: I use to buy normal yogurt, on sale for about .33 a can. I now buy greek yogurt (alot more protein and nutrients...the other stuff is mainly just sugar). I also typically only buy chobani brand greek yogurt. It is the only one that I have found that does not add any sugar (just fruit), and that does not put corn syrup in it. All other greek yogurts that I have seen do add sugar and corn syrup. Chobani is a bit more expensive (normal price is about $1.25 per 6 oz container. On sale, I can get it for .80-.90 usually every other week). I know you can make yogurt, however for me, since I work I do not currently have the time for it...so this has been a good solution to finding a healthy yogurt. :)
For snacks: We do Cheerios (one of the few cereals that does not have BHT), we do fruit, cheese, clif bars, veggie straws (you can buy these at Walmart even...in lots of flavors!), or sandwiches.
For waffles/cookies: I make from scratch, it doesn't take much longer, I can use healthy flour and they taste way better!
I have found a few things that I love at Trader Joe's....alot of things I don't think are awesome from there, however I do love to get their natural "doritos". They are made with cheddar cheese, organic products, and ingredients I can pronounce the name of. They taste awesome, and are only $2.00 a bag...which is typically cheaper than Doritos! http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=655
Doing this I have not increased our grocery budget (in fact...I may have cut it slightly). I buy a TON of produce each week (approximately 15 lbs of fruit) for our family of four. However, I buy what is on sale for fruit and veggies, so it has not been too expensive. :) I love Fareway as they have great produce (in addition to meat!).
So- I am interested, what do you do to keep your family eating healthy? What tricks do you have?? :)
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