Planning A More Healthy Menu

As I told you before, I am on a quest to find a more healthy way to feed my family. But what exactly IS 'healthy'?



I've been watching a new show on TLC called 'Honey We're Killing The Kids' and it has been a real wake up call for me. Since I was already on this path to finding a more healthy way of eating, seeing this show really gave me the kick I needed to move forward. On this show, they take the family's children and do an age progression of them based on continuing to eat the way the are eating right now. Talk about a scary sight! Then, after 3 weeks of intense changes, they do another age progression based on if they continue living this new healthy lifestyle. The difference is AMAZING! Their skin and hair are so pretty. Their weight is normal. Their teeth are such a beautiful pearly white!



But the route they make these families take is an extreme one. They have to throw out ALL canned or boxed processed food and EVERYTHING with sugar in it. That wouldn't go around here, I can just tell you that. I want my man to be healthy, but I also want him to come home every night! LOL! And besides, what are the chances that these families are really going to stick with this drastic change over the long-run?



So again, I'm back to my original question. What exactly IS 'healthy'? Well, there are some things I know it is NOT, despite what we we're told. Low-fat and fat-free foods scare me now. What exactly do they DO to these foods to make them low-or-no fat but still taste good? Hmmm... makes you wonder, huh? Added artificial colors and flavoring? I don't think so. Just WHERE do those 'added' things come from?



So, in looking over all the different thoughts on the subject and considering the particular needs and temperments of my family, I have decided to just simply do the very best I can and leave the rest up to the Lord. What a concept, huh?



I have been very intrigued by the Feingold program for several years and have obtained one of their 2003 food guides to look over. The quick, basic explanation of foods that are 'Feingold approved' is that they are free of added 'junk'. For example, instead of buying Wal-Mart orange juice we will be drinking Tropicana Pure Premium O.J. and for snacks we will be munching on Cracker Jacks, Stauffer's animal crackers, or Del Monte fruit cups, along with a whole list of other 'healthier' snacks that are free of added flavors and colors. Obviously there's a lot more to Feingold than just this, and I HIGHLY recommend you at least look over the website no matter if you are attempting to feed your family healthier or not. It's important information for EVERYONE. But I am simply going to use the Feingold program as a guide for how I shop and cook from now on.



I will be buying organic as much as I possibly can, and for those things that aren't available organically, I will go by the Feingold foodlist to choose those items that are free of added colors and flavoring. This will allow me to still provide a much healthier menu for my family while not being too overwhelming of a change.



For you see, as a homeschooling mother of 4 children, I don't have the time to spend hours upon hours in the kitchen preparing every single thing we eat from scratch. Sometimes we have to head out quickly and I need to grab some snacks to take for the kids. I don't have time to stop and toast pumpkin seeds or bake homemade oatmeal raisin cookies or any number of other totally-made-from-scratch healthy snacks.



So, as for me and my house, we will eat organic/Feingold style.



Here is a helpful website to help you plan some healthier meals...



*Discovery Health/Food Fit.com



And from this site you can download this free unit study (Know Your Gene- they offer a new free one each week, I think) and you will be given a $5.00 credit. With my $5.00 I purchased this All Natural Cook Book, which has a lot of helpful tips and advice, along with lots of recipes!



So, here's to a whole new path on the journey of life! May it be a healthy and happy one!