Being the wonderful mother that I am, I decided to change my family’s way of eating.
With my oldest son, Brian, being autistic I have read numerous books related to the subject. A few of those books mention the whole foods diet; one that is free of preservatives, additives, artificial flavors, dyes and processed foods. Supposedly without these items in our daily food we feel better, have better digestive health and for autistic children could have less over activity. So, I decided to give it a try.
I went to a couple of different stores and stocked up on tons of all natural products: fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, sauces, pasta, cookies, crackers, etc. When I got home and examined my haul I realized that while they were missing those bad ingredients, I still had bought pre-packaged cookies for the boys as well as pre-made sauces and mixes. Even thought I had the ingredient list I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure of what was all in these items.
The more I thought about it the more I realized I can make these things myself; Spaghetti Sauce, BBQ Sauce, pre-made pastas (think Chef Boyardee but better tasting), even the occasional cookies. Heck I could even make my own breads.
So, after some careful thought and a little more research I have come up with the following tips and tricks:
- Know your ingredients. Really look for recipes that require you to know all ingredients. That way you keep it healthier.
- Prep ahead of time. I normally try to have all my veggies cut up the same day I buy them. This way you save time when assembling the meal, making yourself less likely to use a frozen pre-packaged meal.
- Make extra. I like to prepare double or even triple batches of recipes when I can and freeze them. This is an excellent way to have meals prepared ahead of time so all you need to do is defrost and heat. Also, this is a great way to stock up on sale meats, produce, chicken, etc.
- Buy produce in season. Know what fruits and veggies are available and when. If you keep this in mind you are not only eating healthy, but also saving money.
- Don’t be afraid to try different things. As my mom always said, you never know what you will like something if you don’t try it. For instance celery root is pretty scary looking, but more nutritious than regular celery and I personally think it tastes and holds up better in stews.
- Keep snacks simple. Keep a bowl of fruit on the table for easy access. Same goes for veggies, but keep them in a clear container in the refrigerator. I also like to make my own snacks for my kids. I use lots of nuts, seeds and natural sweeteners to make sure they get plenty of protein and nutrient ion, but still get a sweet snack that satisfies them.
I am not going to lie, I have gotten overwhelmed by it all and have cheated and bought processed meals. Starting any new way of eating can be confusing and scary. Yes, it can even be a little more expensive. But, you also can save a little money and you know your family is eating healthier.
Tags: all natural diet, autism, digestive health, Indianapolis, whole foods
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Thanks for this post. I too wish that I could include more “home made” or “made from scratch” things into my family’s diet. My biggest problem is planning. As a working mom (2 kids ages 3 and 5), I haven’t found the right strategy for planning. How do you plan what you are going to serve?
This is fantastic advice. You can also get locally made sauces and organic produce from places like farmfreshdelivery.com without all that bad stuff in it. You can get locally made whole grain breads too. Look at the farmer’s markets for in season veggies. Get several whole food cookbooks and each week try one new meal. Give yourself time before going to the grocery to plan what meals you want to fix for the week. Make enough for leftovers to either freeze or use the next night and mix up the sides to keep it from being boring. I don’t do leftovers too often or everyone complains! Brown rice is good for a few days in the fridge and is great for stir fries, burritos, etc.
Watch for ingredients in processed foods like high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil(they can put up to 2% in still say they are a non-hydrogenated food but it will be on the ingredient list) and all the various names of sugars and preservatives.
Add beans and legumes to your dinners, this will help fill everyone up!
Ashli,
I totally understand how hard it is to balance working, motherhood and also trying to serve the family healthy meals. For me, my strategy is to one day a week look through my homemade cookbook. Normally this is a Saturday morning while the kids are watching a cartoon and I am drinking my coffee.
I am personally a very visual person so I tend find recipes in magazines, on tv shows, online, etc. Any recipe I have seen is one that I use. I will pull out my binder with the recipes I have saved and see what looks good to me. I try to match up what is on sale and the recipe, but to be honest we eat mostly chicken and ground turkey, so I tend to have a ton of that in the freezer already.
If you get any magazines pull out recipes and plan to use them right away. I just started getting Healthy Eating from Taste of Home and found around 30 recipes right away that I will try.
I find that if I find all of my recipes (normally 4 a week, I plan on leftovers and eating at my parents every Sunday) at one time and then write them down with the assigned night and stick it on the fridge that I am more likely to do them.
Some nights after work I just don’t want to cook so I will grab something that is quick and easy to make or cook something I’ve already frozen. I have go to recipes that are quick and tasty that take me about 5 minutes to get ready and I stick in the oven, no thought needed.
I hope this helps.
Amy,
I have heard of farmfreshdelivery.com and saw them at the Health Expo this year. I haven’t tried them yet, but I really want to. It looks great.
I do plan to hit a lot of local farmers markets this spring and summer for fresh produce and to help support local farmers. I also plan on having my own garden so that I can use what I plant. I am hoping to grow enough veggies that I can use in my homemade sauces and then freeze them to use for the rest of the year.
I love the idea about trying a new recipe a week. Some of the recipes I have tried looked very questionable, but have turned out to be my family’s favorite (tonight was not one of those nights). I also agree with the beans and legumes. Dried beans are inexpensive and healthier than canned beans with all of the added sodium. I love making breakfast burritos with eggs, veggies, turkey bacon and cheese. I will have to add beans to them too.
Great tips, thanks.
I’m very eager for Farmer’s Market season to start up!!
As a working mom, and as someone who is really focused on getting healthy these days, I have found that Sunday is a great day to cook up the veggies I want for the week. While I cook an easy dinner (like baking fish), I also prep a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies. This evening, I put fish in the oven and mini potatoes in the microwave, then broccoli in the microwave. That was the family dinner. While I was doing that, I cut and clean a butternut squash and an acorn squash. I halved a bunch of brussels sprouts. I then baked the squash in the oven when the fish came out. I did the brussels sprouts in a foil packet on the lower rack in the oven with some olive oil and lemon pepper. Now I have veggies i can munch on all week long- and I find they taste good cold as well as hot!
I’m locked up in meetings all week this week and the free time I do have goes to planning my daughter’s 5th birthday party. While in those meetings, I will not have control over the provided food. And my exercise time (lunch hour) is taken away. So I have to plan ahead. I’ve got containers and am heading to the kitchen shortly to make cups of cottage cheese and containers of cut up fruit- strawberries, melon, kiwi.
It’s hard to say what I’ve always heard… but it really is true. Once you make it a priority, it becomes something you aren’t willing to not do!