Frustrated with trying to shop for healthy foods

[mo2]

All I have is WalMart. :glare: It is SO HARD to know what to buy. I read things like "only buy whole grains," "avoid dried fruit that uses sulfur dioxide," "buy meat and dairy that is free of hormones and antibiotics," "avoid artificial sweeteners," and "use natural sugar". But, come on, people! I take children to the grocery store with me. I don't have time to stand in the aisle for an hour comparing ingredient lists! I really just need someone to put together a list of brands/products that are healthy, whole foods. Can someone please do that for me?

 

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading.

[Mandylubug]

don't shop in the center. Shop on the outsides. The less cans and boxes the better. Fresh meats, fresh veggies, breads and dairy. I only visit the center for flour, corn meal, oils and frozen veggies..

 

but I agree.. it is a headache some days. I just wanted soy free granola bars yesterday.. Do they make soy free granola? No :glare:

[TammyS]

I completely sympathize. My two best pieces of advice are these:

 

1. Don't buy things that come with writing on them. Rather, look for things that "grow in the ground" or "had a mother". Dairy, meat, fruit, vegetables. Most of what you get should be those things. If they are, you are in at least decent shape.

 

2. If just HAVE to buy things with writing on them, figure out the brands that have (or don't) what you want in them, before you go shopping. No sense trying to read all those labels at the store. Just look it all up online and write them on your list before you go. In a very short time, your acceptable brands will be second nature to you (ex, I always buy Hunt's ketchup, because I know it doesn't have HFCS).

 

Of course, this isn't the totality of healthy eathing. You can go as far down that road as you want (I make all our bread and desperately want a grain grinder so that I can grind fresh flour, and meat slicer so I can make our own lunch meat), but all of those things take time and are best added slowly. Hopefully, the above two will give you something you can implement pretty easily and quickly. :grouphug: I know it's tough.

[OrganicAnn]

I think it starts with a different way of cooking. You have to learn to cook thinks from scratch. Once you do that, you shop differently. Also what really helps us, we grow our own vegetables. You can't go wrong with fresh from the garden vegetables. I know everyone can't grow their own, but many places now have farmers markets.

 

I would work on developing menus of healthy meals and the shopping will eventually fall into place.

[mo2]

I think it starts with a different way of cooking. You have to learn to cook thinks from scratch.

 

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

[AdventureMoms]

All I have is WalMart. :glare: It is SO HARD to know what to buy. I read things like "only buy whole grains," "avoid dried fruit that uses sulfur dioxide," "buy meat and dairy that is free of hormones and antibiotics," "avoid artificial sweeteners," and "use natural sugar". But, come on, people! I take children to the grocery store with me. I don't have time to stand in the aisle for an hour comparing ingredient lists! I really just need someone to put together a list of brands/products that are healthy, whole foods. Can someone please do that for me?

 

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading.

 

Yeah, changing diets is especially hard because it takes time in the store. I've been overhauling ours, and I've needed to have DW take the kids so I can deal with stuff myself. Once you get used to it, you can just stick with certain brands.

 

The fastest way for me to get through the store with three little kids is to just not buy anything with an ingredients list. I do buy a couple of products (peanut butter, canned tomatoes, canned tuna), but those I have specific brands. Otherwise I buy meat, fruit (not dried), veggies, eggs, milk, cheese. It speeds things up quite a bit!

[Mandamom]

Yeah, changing diets is especially hard because it takes time in the store. I've been overhauling ours, and I've needed to have DW take the kids so I can deal with stuff myself. Once you get used to it, you can just stick with certain brands.

 

The fastest way for me to get through the store with three little kids is to just not buy anything with an ingredients list. I do buy a couple of products (peanut butter, canned tomatoes, canned tuna), but those I have specific brands. Otherwise I buy meat, fruit (not dried), veggies, eggs, milk, cheese. It speeds things up quite a bit!

 

Yep, this is what I do, too. I shop weekly at Walmart and I pretty much stay on the outside edges.

[Mabelen]

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

 

Buy a pressure cooker and/or a crock pot, they are both great in different ways!

[Walking-Iris]

I feel your pain. I grew up and lived most of my life in bigger cities and always shopped exclusively at Wild Oats and Whole Food sand a large thriving city farmer's market.

 

We live in a small rural area now and there's two groceries in town. WalMart and an IGA that pretty much has nothing but crap. (Oh wait there's a SaveALot too but I've honestly never been in there--no desire for jumbo family sized mac and cheese.)

 

The best thing to do is to look for the few organic brands WalMart does carry---Horizon milk, Stonyfeild Farm, Annies or Amy's etc.

 

If you're one of those who won't eat even organic brands because they're owned by some cooperation blah blah then you'll be out of luck. Seriously I get the idea, but people have got to eat kwim? :tongue_smilie:

 

We also have a small health store that carries some food and vitamins etc. But it's outrageous, the prices, sometimes. And a lot of what they carry is just glorified junk food IMHO. Organic kid's cereal or cookies etc. You have to be on guard for trendy brand loyalties.

 

The best way to shop at WalMart is to stay in the produce section and to get essentials for meals and to stay away from frozen concoctions. Except frozen fruit or veggies. I will use those for quicker meal prep.

 

Try organic milk or rice milk or almond milk or soy milk.

 

Eat grains like rice and quinoa and learn some quick recipes.

 

Try to stay away from too many boxed "snacks." Eat cold cereal from the top of the shelf. They put the cheaper and sugary stuff kid's like right at eye level.

 

Learn to make homemade pizza dough that you can freeze and learn some pizza recipes. So much more fun and yummier than frozen or delivery.

 

Try to stay away from boxed meals. Hamburger Helper etc. are really money wasters imo. You can learn to make a meal from scratch really easy. If you're pressed for time learn to use a crock pot or cook on the weekend some meals you can freeze and then pull out veggies and fruit every day.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Walking-Iris

[Annie G]

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

 

Quick meals from scratch aren't difficult- just different than the way you cook now.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Annie G

[Mergath]

If I only had a Walmart to shop in, I'd try to find a way to buy my meat elsewhere, or go vegetarian. Their meat is not good. Pink slime in all the ground beef, hormones and antibiotics in everything. In a lot of places you can buy half a cow directly from the farmer. That's how my parents get their meat. We'd do it like that, if we had the freezer space.

 

Avoid their fresh corn, too. From what I've been reading, the stuff they're now going to be stocking is heavily genetically-modified and not good, and several of the genetic modifications have never been consumed by humans before, which has some people worried.

[mo2]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I grew up with 2 working parents so we did a lot of frozen pizza/Hamburger Helper, boxed mac and cheese type meals. I'm trying to get away from that.

 

Quick meals from scratch aren't difficult- just different than the way you cook now.

 

Any tips on learning how to cook that way for a beginner?

 

If I only had a Walmart to shop in, I'd try to find a way to buy my meat elsewhere, or go vegetarian. Their meat is not good. Pink slime in all the ground beef, hormones and antibiotics in everything. In a lot of places you can buy half a cow directly from the farmer. That's how my parents get their meat. We'd do it like that, if we had the freezer space.

 

Avoid their fresh corn, too. From what I've been reading, the stuff they're now going to be stocking is heavily genetically-modified and not good, and several of the genetic modifications have never been consumed by humans before, which has some people worried.

 

I have plans to buy beef from a local farmer next time he butchers. It will be pasture-raised, so no worries about hormones or antibiotics.

 

I read about them agreeing to sell GMO corn this year, and I have every intention of staying away from it. :ack2:

[LibraryLover]

Look on line for non-GMO, non- HFC brands. There are many sites with good lists. I will check my bookmarks for you. You can also Google-- type in 'your hometown/Farmers Markets/organic". Something might come up. It might be a nice family outing for a weekend afternoon you're not working. There are usually baked goods and other fun items. Sometimes there are local crafts. Often there is music.

 

Try to keep meals simple. Grilled or broiled fish, chicken, rice or millet, a veggie, and a salad. Millet cooks in minutes. You really have to stand there so it doesn't burn. A quick steam of veggies, and a couple of flips of fish, or a few minutes in the broiler, and you're done. Wash lettuces in bulk and keep in baggies with a few sprinkles of water. It keeps for days. Think fruit, carrot sticks,hardboiled eggs, nuts, plain yougurt with fruit, Bearitos Blue Corn Chips (treat, but a guilt-free one for us) with mashed avo for snacks, water to drink etc. I try to keep it as simple as possible so I don't go crazy. The more simple the meal, the less I have to consider package ingredients.

 

Most foods from western European countires are not GMO, so if you eat pasta, for instance, look for Italian brands. Kerry Gold (Ireland) products (butter and cheeses) are BGH- free. Cabot is as well. I know there is another popular brand- Tillmark? We don't have that brand where I live, but maybe you do. If you live in an area without certain foods, you can't always eat locally. It's a dance. We all do the best we can.

 

Muir Glenn and Woodstock are good brands for sauces, nuts & seeds, veggies. Lundberg rices, and anything from Amy's is GMO-free etc., and are American products. Kate's butter is made from milk not treated with BGH. It's not all organic, but it's a huge improvement.

 

Breakfast here is eggs (we have chickens), leftover dinner, oatmeal, toasted bread (Matthew's is decent brand, but there are others) with a nut butter, etc. I do buy Cascadian Farm cereals at times. Technically, I am not a huge fan, as they are now owned by a conglomerate. Woodstock, Amy's, Lundberg, Annies, and some others are not.

 

Check out the dirty dozen list for fruits and veggies. It doesn't all have to be organic.

 

If you have a sunny porch or driveway, plant some lettuce seeds in pots. If you have more room, add a tomato patio plant. Checking Craigslit might find a few families selling pastured eggs. We can only do what we can do.

Edited June 27, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Walking-Iris]

Also know your produce numbers. Starting with 4 means it was grown conventionally, (which is teh majority of your produce) starting with 9 means organic and starting with an 8 means GMO.

 

I don't eat corn, but if that were a big part of anyone's diets I'd try to get corn from a local farmer or farmer's market. Be sure to ask. Don't assume everyone who grows food is doing right. I was shocked a several years ago to get some plums from a local guy whose family runs the health food store and sells a lot of what he calls CSA type produce and to find out he had dusted his trees and fruit with Sevin-Dust. Unfortunately I live in a rural area that locals still see no problem with stuff like that.

 

Cabot is great for cheese. They don't add rennet to their cheese. For a fun experiment buy some Cabot cheddar and some Kraft cheddar and leave it out for the afternoon. The kraft will start to get oily and slimy with the fat from the rennet seeping out but the Cabot will just get pleasantly dry and crumbly. After an afternoon you'll find one still looks a lot more edible than the other. ;) Rennet is an animal byproduct. A non too pleasant animal byproduct.

 

Also try to shop in season. Which would mean mor eroots in colder seasons and more berries and tomatoes etc in warmer. Nothing is mor eunnatural to me than eating a tomato in the winter. Unless it was grown in someone's greenhouse. Buying a tomato in the store in winter is just ewww for me personally. Same with berries. We're not perfect about it---but whether we buy at the store or local I try to eat things when they would naturally be fruiting or harvested in nature.

 

Try to stay away from white empty carbs too. I'm not anti carbs but there's a big difference between a dessert baked at home from scratch with good flour and a Poptart kwim? Same with biscuits,pancakes, muffins etc. Just take a few months to practice and then you'll find you can whip up those treats pretty quickly. And committing yourself to that usually means you don't eat them that often. Also stay away from white anything---bread, rice, flour, pasta etc.

 

I agree with pp. Do what you can. Don't stress it too much. Don't be too rigid and strict about it. I think about it like this. In an overwhelmingly healthy diet an occasional frozen pizza won't hurt. But if you learn the tools to cook and eat differently then you won't rely on those quick convenience type foods. After awhile certain things won't even resemble real food to you anymore and you won't even think about it. There's a few aisles in the WalMart that I never go down.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Walking-Iris

[SebastianCat]

Cooking from scratch can be pretty simple. We do a lot of crock pot meals with meat and marinade. Throw some frozen pieces of chicken in the crock pot with some marinade and let it sit all day. Then shred and serve over rice (or quinoa, which we just bought to try for the first time).

 

Focus on taking baby steps. My first baby step was learning to grind my own wheat and make our bread from scratch, but I realize that's not a realialistic "baby step" for everyone. I had several friends already doing it so I had access to help.

 

Decide what your first "baby step" should be, then focus on that until it's easy before trying to make another change. Maybe the first step for you should be shopping around the edges of the store and avoiding processed foods. Or maybe the first step should be adding more fresh produce instead of convenience snack foods. Or maybe it should be replacing juice or soda with water. Just do one change at a time, so you have some success.

[acurtis75]

Check out the blog 100 Days of Real Food. In addition to lots of tips on cooking and selecting real foods there are articles on lots of the topics you mentioned in your post like whole grains, hormones in meat, etc.

 

We have started down the road of changing the way we eat and cook and if is definately a process. The best advice I've received is eat lots of whoe foods like veggies & fruit is to start slowly and work on replacing one or two things at a time. I now have a few "go to" quick meals that have replaced our old staples of pizza, hamburgers or fast food.

[mo2]

Look on line for non-GMO, non- HFC brands. There are many sites with good lists. I will check my bookmarks for you. You can also Google-- type in 'your hometown/Farmers Markets/organic". Something might come up. It might be a nice family outing for a weekend afternoon you're not working. There are usually baked goods and other fun items. Sometimes there are local crafts. Often there is music.

 

Try to keep meals simple. Grilled or broiled fish, chicken, rice or millet, a veggie, and a salad. Millet cooks in minutes. You really have to stand there so it doesn't burn. A quick steam of veggies, and a couple of flips of fish, or a few minutes in the broiler, and you're done. Wash lettuces in bulk and keep in baggies with a few sprinkles of water. It keeps for days. Think fruit, carrot sticks,hardboiled eggs, nuts, plain yougurt with fruit, Bearitos Blue Corn Chips (treat, but a guilt-free one for us) with mashed avo for snacks, water to drink etc. I try to keep it as simple as possible so I don't go crazy. The more simple the meal, the less I have to consider package ingredients.

 

Most foods from western European countires are not GMO, so if you eat pasta, for instance, look for Italian brands. Kerry Gold (Ireland) products (butter and cheeses) are BGH- free. Cabot is as well. I know there is another popular brand- Tillmark? We don't have that brand where I live, but maybe you do. If you live in an area without certain foods, you can't always eat locally. It's a dance. We all do the best we can.

 

Muir Glenn and Woodstock are good brands for sauces, nuts & seeds, veggies. Lundberg rices, and anything from Amy's is GMO-free etc., and are American products. Kate's butter is made from milk not treated with BGH. It's not all organic, but it's a huge improvement.

 

Breakfast here is eggs (we have chickens), leftover dinner, oatmeal, toasted bread (Matthew's is decent brand, but there are others) with a nut butter, etc. I do buy Cascadian Farm cereals at times. Technically, I am not a huge fan, as they are now owned by a conglomerate. Woodstock, Amy's, Lundberg, Annies, and some others are not.

 

Check out the dirty dozen list for fruits and veggies. It doesn't all have to be organic.

 

If you have a sunny porch or driveway, plant some lettuce seeds in pots. If you have more room, add a tomato patio plant. Checking Craigslit might find a few families selling pastured eggs. We can only do what we can do.

 

Also know your produce numbers. Starting with 4 means it was grown conventionally, (which is teh majority of your produce) starting with 9 means organic and starting with an 8 means GMO.

 

I don't eat corn, but if that were a big part of anyone's diets I'd try to get corn from a local farmer or farmer's market. Be sure to ask. Don't assume everyone who grows food is doing right. I was shocked a several years ago to get some plums from a local guy whose family runs the health food store and sells a lot of what he calls CSA type produce and to find out he had dusted his trees and fruit with Sevin-Dust. Unfortunately I live in a rural area that locals still see no problem with stuff like that.

 

Cabot is great for cheese. They don't add rennet to their cheese. For a fun experiment buy some Cabot cheddar and some Kraft cheddar and leave it out for the afternoon. The kraft will start to get oily and slimy with the fat from the rennet seeping out but the Cabot will just get pleasantly dry and crumbly. After an afternoon you'll find one still looks a lot more edible than the other. ;) Rennet is an animal byproduct. A non too pleasant animal byproduct.

 

Also try to shop in season. Which would mean mor eroots in colder seasons and more berries and tomatoes etc in warmer. Nothing is mor eunnatural to me than eating a tomato in the winter. Unless it was grown in someone's greenhouse. Buying a tomato in the store in winter is just ewww for me personally. Same with berries. We're not perfect about it---but whether we buy at the store or local I try to eat things when they would naturally be fruiting or harvested in nature.

 

Try to stay away from white empty carbs too. I'm not anti carbs but there's a big difference between a dessert baked at home from scratch with good flour and a Poptart kwim? Same with biscuits,pancakes, muffins etc. Just take a few months to practice and then you'll find you can whip up those treats pretty quickly. And committing yourself to that usually means you don't eat them that often. Also stay away from white anything---bread, rice, flour, pasta etc.

 

I agree with pp. Do what you can. Don't stress it too much. Don't be too rigid and strict about it. I think about it like this. In an overwhelmingly healthy diet an occasional frozen pizza won't hurt. But if you learn the tools to cook and eat differently then you won't rely on those quick convenience type foods. After awhile certain things won't even resemble real food to you anymore and you won't even think about it. There's a few aisles in the WalMart that I never go down.

 

Thank you both for taking the time to write out such lengthy responses. They are very helpful. I know that changing our diet isn't going to happen overnight, but it just seems so overwhelming. For example, we eat a lot of cold cereal for breakfast because we all wake at different times and get hungry at different times (one of my kids isn't hungry for about 2 hours after he wakes). But I don't even know which of the traditional brands of cereal are the best choice. I buy Cheerios a lot...they're whole grain, at least.

 

For starters, I am going to have to learn how to cook differently, so maybe I need to ask for cookbook recommendations. I would love to find a bunch of crockpot recipes.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

PS. I had to google rennet. Ew.

[Barbara H]

http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793

 

This is a helpful book on learning "cooking from scratch" without a recipe. Remember the goal is progress not perfection - just cooking more and avoiding processed foods is a good start. If you don't already know it learning some basic stuff like stir fry, omelets, etc. is is a great start.

[TravelingChris]

Wow. I am sorry for all of you without adequate grocery choices. Never lived in a place like that except for camping trips. We have normal grocery stores here- PUblix, Krogers, Fresh Foods, Star,a military commissary and also some of the big box groceries- Walmart and Target. I haven't shopped ever in the grocery of Walmart so I can't talk about that. But I do know that the Target has meat we can't use since it has preservatives- my dd is allergic to citric acid, sodium citrate, potassium citrate. Anyway, no regular grocery has all their meat with preservatives. I have found that I can stop off at Target and get something like sugar or eggs but can never get our dinner. I would do as a previous person suggested and see if you can get meat from a different source. (Even though the rest of us could eat meat with preservatives, I wouldn't anyway. I feel meat should be fresh unless it is specially prepared like smoked or cured).

[EducationX2]

Thanks to both the OP for starting the thread and those who have taken the time to respond with advice. I get so frustrated with the whole thing sometimes. Growing up, a hormonally charged steak, kraft mac and cheese, and canned corn was considered a healthy dinner. Oh, and don't forget the glass of soda to drink. :tongue_smilie:Add to that, I'm *not* a cook, and I have some major texture issues, and let's just say that this whole shopping/eating healthily does not come naturally to me. The information out there can be so confusing sometimes, I really enjoy when these type of threads come up with specific information and links.

 

I wish I could hire someone to come in twice a month who would take a list of the food that I like, go shopping for healthy food, and leave me with a meal plan. :lol:

[elfgivas]

breakfast is a good place to start. work on creating healthy, yummy, fast breakfasts.

 

maybe start with what people drink: go on line and see what milk varieties your walmart carries. figure out which ones are hormone and antibiotic free. (most walmarts have one). it will be more expensive. it will be worth it.

 

look at what orange juice they carry. choose the one that is actually real juice.

 

ditto coffee, tea, cream...

 

next would be breakfast foods. fwiw, with all four of our dc, when its breakfast time, its breakfast time. we all eat together. if you decide to not eat then, you still come to the table, you still sit there, and the next time you have a food option is snack time at 10am, and what you have are snack options (usually fresh fruit and cheese and crackers and veggies). i do our read aloud during breakfast, so most days they all want to be there, too.

 

this opens up options. come up with five breakfasts that are healthy that you think they will like.

 

eg. monday mornings i bake healthy muffins (lots of fruit, yoghurt, oats). one is a zucchini chocolate chip muffin (no one would ever know it has grated zucchini it it). another is a carrot cake muffin. everyone has some form of fresh fruit and then a muffin. (calorie count on the muffins is at 300, with a reasonable amount of fat.... under 30%).

 

then there are french toast sticks (which you can make ahead on the weekend and freeze), omelets, toast with peanut butter or cheese, hot instant oatmeal..... we do better when we have protein for breakfast, so we try to make sure that is there. on the weekends, we do bagels and cream cheese with lox, and oatmeal waffles, with enough made to freeze another breakfast's worth.

 

we love yoghurt parfaits like mcdonald's makes, but we make them at home using granola, non-fat vanilla yoghurt and frozen berries. there aren't that many cold cereals that walmart carries that are even almost healthy.

 

what works would be rice crispies, puffed rice, cheerios, mini wheats.

 

walmart does carry some of the "annie" brand things which are all pretty healthy, including gummy snacks and snacking cheese bunnies, and i think some of her boxed macaroni and cheese. it all tastes better than the non-real kind.

 

walmart's gogo squeez applesauce is healthy. and there are other things, there, too.

 

because you are shopping with kids, it may be easier to go thru the brands you already have in your fridge and pantry, and read the ingredients, and decide whether it is good, okay for now but you want to switch it out for something better, and is awful and you must find a replacement. then each week you could check one or two items right at the beginning of your shop and choose something different. this week for us it was ketchup, as i discovered that i'd accidentally bought a ketchup that had high fructose corn syrup in it. that is one ingredient i get rid of every time. i didn't check the age of your kids, but if they can read they can help choose a ketchup without high fructose corn syrup in it. they can learn the "choose the one with the fewest ingredients" rule. if each week you only look closely at two new items, then at the end of a month you will have traded out eight unhealthy things for eight healthy things.

 

i'm swimming upstream on this one, but we don't worry about genetically modified food. most of our food is genetically modified, either thru selective breeding or thru adding in genes that make it have more nutrients and be less susceptible to pests, reducing the amount of pesticide required, which is actually a good thing.

 

this is getting really long, so i'll stop there.... but we did it just one meal at a time over a long period, and it worked. i typed some of the steps out in a recent post somewhere, but it really was just step by step as we could manage it. its overwhelming otherwise....

:grouphug:

its worth the journey.

ann

[mo2]

 

Focus on taking baby steps. My first baby step was learning to grind my own wheat and make our bread from scratch, but I realize that's not a realialistic "baby step" for everyone. I had several friends already doing it so I had access to help.

 

I have baked my own bread before and enjoyed doing it, but it just turned out to not be practical for us. We can easily eat a loaf of bread in a day, between toast for breakfast, sandwiches Hubby takes to work, etc. I would like to eventually give it another try. Maybe get in a groove of baking on one day each weekend and freezing a few loaves for use later in the week. And where the heck do you buy wheat to grind? Can you buy it online? Because the local WalMart sure isn't going to have it. :lol:

 

Check out the blog 100 Days of Real Food. In addition to lots of tips on cooking and selecting real foods there are articles on lots of the topics you mentioned in your post like whole grains, hormones in meat, etc.

 

We have started down the road of changing the way we eat and cook and if is definately a process. The best advice I've received is eat lots of whoe foods like veggies & fruit is to start slowly and work on replacing one or two things at a time. I now have a few "go to" quick meals that have replaced our old staples of pizza, hamburgers or fast food.

 

I will check out the blog. You've stated exactly what I need to do: Find some go-to meals for the days when work runs late, the kids have activities, toddlers are whiny, and mommy is stressed. :)

 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793

 

This is a helpful book on learning "cooking from scratch" without a recipe. Remember the goal is progress not perfection - just cooking more and avoiding processed foods is a good start. If you don't already know it learning some basic stuff like stir fry, omelets, etc. is is a great start.

 

This looks great. Thank you.

 

 

. Growing up, a hormonally charged steak, kraft mac and cheese, and canned corn was considered a healthy dinner. Oh, and don't forget the glass of soda to drink.

 

Me too. Actually, I remember us eating a lot more home-cooked meals (even from our own garden) until my mom had to get a job outside of the home when I was in 3rd grade or so. Then it all went downhill.

 

breakfast is a good place to start. work on creating healthy, yummy, fast breakfasts.

 

maybe start with what people drink: go on line and see what milk varieties your walmart carries. figure out which ones are hormone and antibiotic free. (most walmarts have one). it will be more expensive. it will be worth it.

 

look at what orange juice they carry. choose the one that is actually real juice.

 

ditto coffee, tea, cream...

 

next would be breakfast foods. fwiw, with all four of our dc, when its breakfast time, its breakfast time. we all eat together. if you decide to not eat then, you still come to the table, you still sit there, and the next time you have a food option is snack time at 10am, and what you have are snack options (usually fresh fruit and cheese and crackers and veggies). i do our read aloud during breakfast, so most days they all want to be there, too.

 

this opens up options. come up with five breakfasts that are healthy that you think they will like.

 

eg. monday mornings i bake healthy muffins (lots of fruit, yoghurt, oats). one is a zucchini chocolate chip muffin (no one would ever know it has grated zucchini it it). another is a carrot cake muffin. everyone has some form of fresh fruit and then a muffin. (calorie count on the muffins is at 300, with a reasonable amount of fat.... under 30%).

 

then there are french toast sticks (which you can make ahead on the weekend and freeze), omelets, toast with peanut butter or cheese, hot instant oatmeal..... we do better when we have protein for breakfast, so we try to make sure that is there. on the weekends, we do bagels and cream cheese with lox, and oatmeal waffles, with enough made to freeze another breakfast's worth.

 

we love yoghurt parfaits like mcdonald's makes, but we make them at home using granola, non-fat vanilla yoghurt and frozen berries. there aren't that many cold cereals that walmart carries that are even almost healthy.

 

what works would be rice crispies, puffed rice, cheerios, mini wheats.

 

walmart does carry some of the "annie" brand things which are all pretty healthy, including gummy snacks and snacking cheese bunnies, and i think some of her boxed macaroni and cheese. it all tastes better than the non-real kind.

 

walmart's gogo squeez applesauce is healthy. and there are other things, there, too.

 

because you are shopping with kids, it may be easier to go thru the brands you already have in your fridge and pantry, and read the ingredients, and decide whether it is good, okay for now but you want to switch it out for something better, and is awful and you must find a replacement. then each week you could check one or two items right at the beginning of your shop and choose something different. this week for us it was ketchup, as i discovered that i'd accidentally bought a ketchup that had high fructose corn syrup in it. that is one ingredient i get rid of every time. i didn't check the age of your kids, but if they can read they can help choose a ketchup without high fructose corn syrup in it. they can learn the "choose the one with the fewest ingredients" rule. if each week you only look closely at two new items, then at the end of a month you will have traded out eight unhealthy things for eight healthy things.

 

i'm swimming upstream on this one, but we don't worry about genetically modified food. most of our food is genetically modified, either thru selective breeding or thru adding in genes that make it have more nutrients and be less susceptible to pests, reducing the amount of pesticide required, which is actually a good thing.

 

this is getting really long, so i'll stop there.... but we did it just one meal at a time over a long period, and it worked. i typed some of the steps out in a recent post somewhere, but it really was just step by step as we could manage it. its overwhelming otherwise....

:grouphug:

its worth the journey.

ann

 

 

This is a great post, thank you. I would like to see your recipe for zucchini chocolate chip muffins if you don't mind sharing. And I should probably just make one breakfast and make all the kids come to the table. I realize this is not a good excuse, but you know how some moms really treasure that quiet time after the kids go to bed at night? Well, we are on a different schedule. Mine are all night owls, and my quiet time is in the morning. It's peaceful then.

[BlsdMama]

All I have is WalMart. :glare: It is SO HARD to know what to buy. I read things like "only buy whole grains," "avoid dried fruit that uses sulfur dioxide," "buy meat and dairy that is free of hormones and antibiotics," "avoid artificial sweeteners," and "use natural sugar". But, come on, people! I take children to the grocery store with me. I don't have time to stand in the aisle for an hour comparing ingredient lists! I really just need someone to put together a list of brands/products that are healthy, whole foods. Can someone please do that for me?

 

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading.

 

 

I can simplify:

 

If it has an ingredient label, don't buy it.

 

Meat

Veg

Fruit

 

You're good to go! ;)

[fraidycat]

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

 

I don't work, but I'm not a big fan of cooking every.single.day either.

 

I am trying to re-create the "quick frozen foods" that my family enjoys that I can make and freeze. The other night I did a trial run on "caesar chicken bakes" that we like from Costco. The verdict - everybody loved them, even my picky 6 year old told me they were better than the store ones. DH took one to work for lunch and guy that he works with who is a graduate from Cordon Bleu chef school informed him that there is no way *I* made them because it was too good :confused:. It's not completely whole and healthy (I used bottled salad dressing for the filling), but it is a step in the right direction. I also plan to make different fillings for the bread bakes. Pizza, BBQ, etc. for variety.

 

Next up on my "to learn" schedule: The El Monterey Chicken burritos. I have, in the past, done up a huge batch of breakfast burritos and froze them for quick, easy, breakfasts.

 

On my list to buy: A good waffle iron. I can make better waffles than Eggo and toss them in the freezer, too. I have some soured Raw milk languishing in the freezer, waiting for this purpose.

 

I am also planning to bulk cook meal components. Pre-cooked, then frozen chicken breasts, rice, mashed potatoes, etc. that I can just defrost and heat and spice up, and toss some fresh veggies on the plate to make a meal.

[mo2]

I don't work, but I'm not a big fan of cooking every.single.day either.

 

I am trying to re-create the "quick frozen foods" that my family enjoys that I can make and freeze. The other night I did a trial run on "caesar chicken bakes" that we like from Costco. The verdict - everybody loved them, even my picky 6 year old told me they were better than the store ones. DH took one to work for lunch and guy that he works with who is a graduate from Cordon Bleu chef school informed him that there is no way *I* made them because it was too good :confused:. It's not completely whole and healthy (I used bottled salad dressing for the filling), but it is a step in the right direction. I also plan to make different fillings for the bread bakes. Pizza, BBQ, etc. for variety.

 

Next up on my "to learn" schedule: The El Monterey Chicken burritos. I have, in the past, done up a huge batch of breakfast burritos and froze them for quick, easy, breakfasts.

 

On my list to buy: A good waffle iron. I can make better waffles than Eggo and toss them in the freezer, too. I have some soured Raw milk languishing in the freezer, waiting for this purpose.

 

I am also planning to bulk cook meal components. Pre-cooked, then frozen chicken breasts, rice, mashed potatoes, etc. that I can just defrost and heat and spice up, and toss some fresh veggies on the plate to make a meal.

 

 

Can you share the recipe for the caesar chicken bake? That sounds yummy. And yes, cooking and freezing is a good idea. I sometimes do this with things like pancakes and waffles, but I'm sure I could do it with lots of other things.

[elfgivas]

chocolate zucchini muffins: modified from the cookbook "crazy plates". all of their cookbooks are really good, and fun, and full of interesting ideas and info.

 

grate one medium zucchini or as much as you need to to get 2 cups. i do this whenever i have time and freeze to use later.

 

in a blender, toss:

one ripe piece of fruit (peach, apple, plum, pear.... with skin, without pits/core, etc. - you can also just use one of the small apple sauce cups. 1/2 cup). blend.

add 1/3 cup olive oil

3 large eggs (or six egg whites)

2tsp vanilla

 

in a bowl,

 

place 1 and a half cups sugar

2 and a half cups flour (start with all purpose, then switch out a bit of it for whole wheat flour until you get to at least 50/50).

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp cinnamon

(opt. 3/4 tsp salt - i don't)

 

preheat oven to 350F

use olive oil spray on mini muffin pans, or muffin pans or two loaf pans.

 

add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

add zucchini

fold in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (my crew likes one cup regular size chips instead. not as healthy, but yummy ; )

 

bake:

12 minutes for minis, 22 minutes for regular muffins, 50 minutes for loaf pans.

 

one twentieth of the recipe has:

184 calories

5.3 g fat

3.2 grams protein

32.1 gram carbohydrate

1.4 grams of fiber

25% calories from fat

 

the protein and fiber gets better the more whole wheat flour you use. and 3 cups of zucchini works just fine, too..... which reduces the calorie count per serving and adds more veggies : ).

[unfrumpable.]

Can you share the recipe for the caesar chicken bake? That sounds yummy. And yes, cooking and freezing is a good idea. I sometimes do this with things like pancakes and waffles, but I'm sure I could do it with lots of other things.

 

I was wondering the same thing. :bigear:

[ElizaG]

They don't add rennet to their cheese. For a fun experiment buy some Cabot cheddar and some Kraft cheddar and leave it out for the afternoon. The kraft will start to get oily and slimy with the fat from the rennet seeping out but the Cabot will just get pleasantly dry and crumbly. After an afternoon you'll find one still looks a lot more edible than the other. ;) Rennet is an animal byproduct. A non too pleasant animal byproduct.

People can make up their own minds about what kind of cheese (if any) to buy, but here's my two cents worth:

 

1) Rennet is the lining of the calf's stomach. It's a natural byproduct of the dairy industry (because you don't get milk without calves, and what else would they do with all the male calves?).

 

2) Cheese has always been made with rennet, from before recorded history until the 1980's. Then -- mostly because rennet was getting more expensive and harder to obtain -- some manufacturers, especially in the USA, started using various types of bioengineered fungus and other microbial products. YMMV, but I don't find that too pleasant to think about either. And I'd question the assumption that it's healthier.

 

3) Some cheeses are oilier than others at room temperature, but it isn't the "fat from the rennet seeping out." Rennet is an enzyme, not a fat, and it's only used in very tiny amounts -- a couple of drops per gallon of milk. The surface oil is coming from the butterfat in the cheese itself.

[cjzimmer1]

When I decided to clean up our diet, I too found it overwhelming. So I picked one thing/ingredient and worked on that. Once I got a routine I worked on something else.

 

For instance, I learned to make my own salad dressings, cheaper healthier and definitely more yummy. After I mastered a few of these to my satisfaction, I learned how to make homemade yogurt. Then how to make bread (I bought a Bosch mixer and a Nutrimill grain mill. I can turn out 5 loaves in 2 hours). Then I worked on sourcing grassfed beef. I buy 1.2 every year with some extra hamburger (we have a big family so we go through it fast).

 

Then I worked on sourcing and processing veggies/fruit myself. So I pick my own strawberries and make homemade strawberry jam and freeze others whole. I buy peaches and blueberries in bulk (they don't grow where I live) and freeze them myself - much cheaper and they are picked much closer to the ripe stage than even the frozen stuff in the store (for instance, have you have bought frozen strawberries, every brand I've ever tried is still white inside, mine are red through and through)

 

Then I worked on sauces so I could replace Hamburger helper and those packaged noodle mixes. I've done other things but you get the idea. It took me close to 3 years to get to this level and I still have areas I would like to do better in.

 

So pick something and work on that. Yes there still be junk in other areas but you are making progress even if it's only one small thing at a time.

[Rebel Yell]

....

2. If just HAVE to buy things with writing on them, figure out the brands that have (or don't) what you want in them, before you go shopping. No sense trying to read all those labels at the store. Just look it all up online and write them on your list before you go. In a very short time, your acceptable brands will be second nature to you (ex, I always buy Hunt's ketchup, because I know it doesn't have HFCS)....

Just an FYI: Heinz has "simply Heinz" which has no HFCS. But I hate ketchup. But here is Heinz country, you can't be caught with Hunts on your table. :lol:

 

I can simplify:

 

If it has an ingredient label, don't buy it.

 

Meat

Veg

Fruit

 

You're good to go! ;)

 

:iagree:

 

I have a child who can't have food dye. That makes it really easy to eliminate a LOT of foods. But you can't always go by brands. For example, Minute Maid lemonade in the paper carton in the refrigerator does not have dye. In the 2l plastic bottle, it does. Of course, we could squeeze our own lemons and all that, but sometimes we pick up a drink to take to a potluck.

 

Also, work on just one thing at a time. Don't try to change everything in one day. It can be overwhelming. Maybe try eating more green salads. Use bottled dressing- Newman's Own is pretty good. Not perfect, but good enough.

 

Next work on what you drink. Drink more water. If you have a soda chugger, get 100% fruit juice concentrate, and mix it with Seltzer water. Fizzy, but much better.

 

If your kids (or DH :lol: ) can't be without sugary cereals, try mixing it with rice crispies or puffed wheat.

 

Shred your own cheese. I don't trust the extra ingredients (mold inhibitors?) in pre-shredded. I hate to grate cheese, so I give that job to a child, who is crowned "Chief Mouse" and gets the privilege of eating that chunk of cheese that's leftover when you can't safely shred anymore. :D

 

later, look for better substitutes for favorite foods. Homemade mac-n-cheese isn;t too hard! Cook the entire box of macaroni at once, divide the noodles and freeze the extra portions. Cooking/draining the pasta is the biggest pain for me.

 

Keep fruit out on the counter/table. Kids will eat so much more if they see it.

[LibraryLover]

Some cheeses are without rennet so they are kosher or vegetarian. Rennet is 'natural'. You might decide you won't have it in your food, but it is a traditional ingredient in cheese. it's not Frankenfood.

 

For the record I don't buy Kraft products because they use almost all GM foods, and milk with BGH. It's a personal choice, of course, but I wanted to put that out there.

 

The oil from the cheese left out is because it is a product made with fat. That's it. I personally prefer cheese at room temperature. The flavor is more intense.

Edited June 27, 2012 by LibraryLover

[ElizaG]

Some cheeses are without rennet so they are kosher or vegetarian. Rennet is 'natural'. You might decide you won't have it in your food, but it is a traditional ingredient in cheese. it's not Frankenfood.

To complicate matters further, I think the term "rennet" on the label (without any qualifiers) can refer either to the animal kind or the microbial kind. So even if someone has a preference, the labels aren't much help. But the vast majority of cheese made in the USA uses the GMO microbial stuff. European cheeses are more likely to use animal rennet.

 

There's also an actual "vegetable rennet" that's made from thistles or other plants. It never really caught on in the mainstream, because the flavor and texture of the cheese isn't quite the same, but a few brands of cheese sold in our health food store use it.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Eleanor

[LibraryLover]

To complicate matters further, I think the term "rennet" on the label (without any qualifiers) can refer either to the animal kind or the microbial kind. So even if someone has a preference, the labels aren't much help. But the vast majority of cheese made in the USA uses the GMO microbial stuff. European cheeses are more likely to use animal rennet.

 

There's also an actual "vegetable rennet" that's made from thistles or other plants. It never really caught on in the mainstream, because the flavor and texture of the cheese isn't quite the same, but a few brands of cheese sold in our health food store use it.

 

Absolutely so. Much better explanation than I offered.

[skimerinkydo]

I have a busy family and limited time and energy to cook. There are a few things I buy at Walmart:

 

--Birdseye 3.5 pound bag frozen Stir-fry or Thai Stir-fry vegetables. I THROW away the sauce packet that comes with it. (who knows what is in that!) For one meal I use half the bag of vegetables, 6-8 frozen chicken tenders, make my own Thai curry sauce and serve it over rice (brown or half brown/half white) -- This saves me the energy of having to chop up that many vegetables but it is enough food to make an easy/healthy meal for my family of six.

 

--TortillaLand tortillas in the refrigerator section near the cheese -- You have to cook them yourself but they don't have shortening.

[Liz CA]

You may want to check out the Azure Buying Club. They have routes in many places (don't know if if they have one near you) but you can order online and they have some good things.

 

http://www.azurestandard.com/

[Slartibartfast]

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

 

You might try the freezer meals thing. There are a lot of websites for tips.

[hsmamainva]

don't shop in the center. Shop on the outsides. The less cans and boxes the better. Fresh meats, fresh veggies, breads and dairy. I only visit the center for flour, corn meal, oils and frozen veggies..

 

but I agree.. it is a headache some days. I just wanted soy free granola bars yesterday.. Do they make soy free granola? No :glare:

 

That's what I do.

 

We only have a Super Walmart, too. We do have a Wegmans about 40 minutes away and a Whole Foods an hour away, but we only go there every other month or so.

 

We hit the farmer's market every weekend during the summer for fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, and organic beef & chicken.

[Mom-ninja.]

All I have is WalMart. :glare: It is SO HARD to know what to buy. I read things like "only buy whole grains," "avoid dried fruit that uses sulfur dioxide," "buy meat and dairy that is free of hormones and antibiotics," "avoid artificial sweeteners," and "use natural sugar". But, come on, people! I take children to the grocery store with me. I don't have time to stand in the aisle for an hour comparing ingredient lists! I really just need someone to put together a list of brands/products that are healthy, whole foods. Can someone please do that for me?

 

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading.

 

 

Try grocery shopping with kids and having to read the ingredients in search for gluten on every single package item you buy. Lots of names for gluten.

 

Buy less packaged food and more fresh. That's the easiest and healthiest.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Any tips on learning how to cook that way for a beginner?

 

 

 

 

 

I keep mentioning this book here over and over because it's so good. Saving Dinner is the best cookbook for those learning to cook from scratch. There are several options to choose from.

[Laura Corin]

I may be in trouble, then. :lol: We have to do a lot of quick meals due to my work schedule and my husband's work schedule.

 

For busy days, I put things in the slow cooker the night before, or chop everything ready the night before and put them in the pot in the morning.

 

Quick meals:

 

Whole grain pasta (if available) with veggie pasta sauce (home made and frozen) or bought (check the label once - it should give just recognisable ingredients, not strange extras), a little grated cheese and steamed veg (just takes a few minutes).

 

Pasta with smoked mackerel or tinned mackerel (spicy if you like) mixed in after cooking, served with a steamed veg.

 

Sliced tomato and thin slices of cheese on whole grain toast, served with carrot sticks.

 

Fish sticks (if you can get them which are just fish, breadcrumbs and natural colouring) with frozen peas and corn.

 

It doesn't have to be complicated, just made with real ingredients.

 

As far as brands are concerned: I would take a one-time trip to the shop on your own with a notebook. Leave the kids at home and do some research. Don't shop, just research.

 

Laura

[AdventureMoms]

There is a lot of conflicting information in this thread.

 

Just sayin...

 

No kidding. I'm sure that helps the op's frustration! I agree with just pick one thing. For breakfasts at different times, try crockpot oatmeal (google it, there are lots of recipes) or make-your-own breakfast burritos (scramble a big pile of eggs, have tortillas, salsa etc on hand.)

 

Definitely focus on one thing. Don't get panicked about every single thing - meat sourcing, cheese rennet types, grinding your own flour, etc are a lot to deal with at once. So just pick one thing, and continue as usual for everything else. You could switch your breakfasts, or try to cut out sugar, or find a good source of quality meat, but don't do them all at once.

 

Based on your posts, I'd start with finding a handful of easy, quick (but healthy) dinners that you can learn to cook up fast when you are short on time.

Edited June 28, 2012 by AdventureMoms

[ravinlunachick]

The Fooducate app is very handy for research at home, or quickly in the store, if you have portable Internet access.

[Devan]

It can be easy to get overwhelmed with all the different ads and articles about this or that being healthy or horrible!

I try to stick to a few rules:

Fresh fruit and veggies, organic if affordable

Fresh lean, meat, hormone/antibiotic/free range if possible AND affordable

No HFCS, or artificial sweeteners

I try to stick with whole wheat flour & pasta, brown rice, quinoa, barely, etc

[angela in ohio]

I agree with a pp to start with one category and change it, then move on to another. This is a great book based on that concept: Refined to Real Food: Moving Your Family Toward Healthier, Wholesome Eating.

 

My one tip: What I found easiest in the beginning was to avoid a lot of recipes and complicated cooking. I just made a commitment to put a meat, a whole grain, two veggies, and a fruit on the table. Some nights it was a piece of chicken, a pile of brown rice, two steamed veggies, and an apple. But it was better than what we had been eating. Dinner got better when I learned to saute garlic and onion in butter before adding the meat and/or veggies. :D

 

That gave us a good start while I did my research.

[Parrothead]

I don't cook meat anymore so the only advice I can give you there is buy locally and buy big from the person who grew the animal. That way you can see the farm. You can see the beef out in the pasture. You can see the pig in the pen. You can see the chickens roaming their pen and eating bugs.

 

Then make sure he butcher does not add anything to the end product. Also specify (more than once if you have to) that you want the soup bones.

 

Veggies and grains can be pre-prepared. Peel and chop veggies for the week and store prepped. Cook large batches of rice, pasta or other grains. Divide into meal size and freeze. Pull out your own convenience foods that you know without a doubt what is in there.

 

Fruit is eaten out of hand and does not need prep beyond peeling the banana or orange.

 

Do checks online for dairy ingredients. (You can check online for other brands too. That will save entertaining kids while trying to read labels.) See if you can get eggs locally. Once you know which brands to buy stick with them. Cabot, Stonybrook, etc.

 

One thing that is kind of a point with me (along with not buying GMO products) is not buying products with bromide. For us that means King Arthur Flour, Barilla Pasta and Pepperidge Farm Breads. And I stay away from in store bakery products.

 

Menus are very helpful. Everyone should have at least 14 meals they can put together from what they normally eat. It can be rotated every two weeks. The more you can cook the bigger variety. I store monthly menus on the computer so I can just print them out as needed. Once you have the menu you can prep the ingredients for the week.

 

Oh, breakfast foods: Van's waffles are good for convenience foods. Kashi cereals and Cascadia Farms cereals too.

[tearose]

If you must buy packaged food to save time, I found the Eat This, Not That book series helpful; there is one dedicated to supermarket shopping.

 

I personally avoid Walmart for produce because it's often cheap but not very good, plus it frequently spoils quickly. This was confirmed for me after reading The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebees, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. The produce often isn't very fresh (i.e. limp greens that have been rehydrated to look fresh).

[Slipper]

I live in a small area with a wal-mart, discount food store and piggly wiggly. Typically, the produce rots in 3 days, meat in 2 days (regardless of the expiration date). I go each week to a larger city with a few ice chests and buy food for the week. Right now, I go alone and DH watches the kids so I have time to read labels and such. I plan my menu the night before and post it on the refrigerator.

 

When I first started shopping gluten free, it was confusing and I had a sickly middle child (who was very emotional every time I had to put something back on the shelf because it had gluten), a 2 yr old and my oldest daughter with autism. Shopping was as exhausting as cooking. I started writing down brand names so I would remember which taco seasoning was gluten free and which one wasn't. Once you find a brand name that works for you, write it down.

 

Currently, if something works great, my daughter places the packaging of the item on my desk (that prompts me to move it quickly so I write down the information). If it's a dry packaged good, I look online (amazon) to see if I can buy it in bulk.

 

Also, while in the store, if I didn't have a lot of time, I would write down the brand names that I knew the store carried so I can look them up later.

 

Good luck :)

[AdventureMoms]

I agree with a pp to start with one category and change it, then move on to another. This is a great book based on that concept: Refined to Real Food: Moving Your Family Toward Healthier, Wholesome Eating.

 

My one tip: What I found easiest in the beginning was to avoid a lot of recipes and complicated cooking. I just made a commitment to put a meat, a whole grain, two veggies, and a fruit on the table. Some nights it was a piece of chicken, a pile of brown rice, two steamed veggies, and an apple. But it was better than what we had been eating. Dinner got better when I learned to saute garlic and onion in butter before adding the meat and/or veggies. :D

 

That gave us a good start while I did my research.

 

:iagree: having a simple meal "formula" can really help me mentally. Mine is salad + veggie + meat.

 

Salad is almost always just greens with a few nuts or tomatoes. Veggie can be a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave. I batch cook meat in the crockpot so there's always *something* in a pinch. Earlier this week I cooked 10lbs of chicken breasts in the crockpot. Tonight things will be hectic (swim lessons and farmer's market), so we will have chicken, peas (bag of frozen that I have in the fridge), and salad. I expect it will take me less than 10 minutes from entering the kitchen to sitting down to eat .

 

Also, lunch is dinner leftovers, almost always.

 

Dessert is usually fruit. I might make a grain like toast for breakfast or give the kids crackers with lunch (DW and I are grain-free).

[LibraryLover]

It's less conflicting for me when I keep it simple. I avoid processed stuff as much as I can. (Although some things feel ok to me. Amy's Veggie Burgers, for instance, and Amy's frozen burritos for in-a-pinch times. I am also ok with Annie's Shells. here and there. :) ) I stick to simple and quick cooking items like brown or basmati rice, quiona, rice, millet, lentils (which dissapear in soups if cooked long enough lol), various potatoes (if you do potatoes), veggies, greens. My kids like carrot sticks, so I always buy carrots. It one can get an apple into a kid with some nut butter on it, go for it. Some of us are lucky to be near folks who raise animals sanely, so that does help, although it's more expensive, no doubt. THose who are vegetarians don't even have to worry about that expense.

 

If you do dairy and/or fats buy the basic stuff. I try to buy real butter (my fall- back is Kate's), cheese with cheese ingrediets and not fillers. Plain yougurt to mix with frozen or fresh fruit, with a little maple syrup or honey. (I'm never going to be at the No Sugar, Ever point, I don't think. If not perfect, at least we don't get the 18 grams of sugar that one tiny container in YoBaby. (One of my personal frustrations. It doesn't take that much sugar to make strawberry yogurt taste good! ) I use tried and true oils, mostly cold pressed olive oil. I try to avoid miixed corn -and- whatever mazola stuff. Other staples; our own filtered water, or sparkling water, eggs, avocados, if they are on sale.

 

I buy herbs, dry or fresh. I don't buy packages of seasonings. Why does taco seasoning need HFC? When did that happen? When did we forget about salt, pepper, cumin, cayene, cilantro etc? I don't buy jarred sauce, except rarely. (Love Lydia's Eggplant and Garlic, but it's really salty and very $$$). Chopped or crushed cooked tomatoes, or even a can or box of plain sauce, w/ olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic , a dab of cinnamon, all cooked together in a saute pan makes tomato pasta sauce! I guess I just got tired of reading labels. I'm also older, and more experienced in the kitchen, so these things are very quick to prepare for me. There is a learning curve, and I guess threads like these are good to help us all think about how we can feed our kids good food that doesn't take hours to prepare.

 

We can help each other figure it out, and I like to remember that different people with thrive on foods that make others ill. If the food is simple, it's a lot easier to figure out what might be causing problems, I think.

 

Keeping the ingredient basic keeps me sane, and for me, makes cooking more pleasurable and easier.

Edited June 28, 2012 by LibraryLover