Growing up in the 70s we were fed lies.
Literally.
Food companies preyed on the mothers of that time, telling them that they, the food companies, knew food.
They had scientists, and nutritionists, and were making food not only convenient for mothers who didn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all day, but that it was good for us too.
In our home we had four basic food groups: Canned. Frozen. Processed/Enriched. Fast. The tip of the pyramid was “real” food. We rarely ate it as it had been labeled difficult and time consuming.
So, our pineapples were packed in syrup and not all that good. Green beans were more “greenish” than green. Our fish came in sticks, and we could go out to eat without ever getting out of the car.
This was a revolution.
It also led to the decline in life expectancy. We are raising a generation that will die sooner than their parents.
Until earlier this year, I was fine spending the bulk of our food budget on crap. It was easy, the kids didn’t complain.
I felt horrible, but hey, I’m old.
But I wasn’t old. I just felt that way.
I began the process of converting our whole diet to whole foods. We are far from perfect, but every meal I prepare, fills me up in ways that just food cannot.
When I prepare a meal that is to be shared with loved ones and am mindful about the process, it is the best thing in the world. I have eaten things this year that I “hated” all my life. Turns out the processing killed a lot of what I loved about food.
When it comes to real food. The color of real food is amazing. The aroma is amazing. The taste is divine.
What changes have you made in your cooking/diet since you were a child?
How do you incorporate whole foods into your diet?
About the Author: Annie lives on the third coast, in south Texas with her ever patient husband and many small children who are all finally in school. She writes the blog annieology which is the 16th funniest blog on the planet, (results based on a contest that was in no way, shape or form “scientific”). Annie recently finished her first half marathon and is addicted. When she grows up she wants to live on a farm and eat dirty carrots.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE real food. I started switching over to the real stuff after I had my first baby…and started reading labels. EEEW! Did some research on GMOs and now cannot in good conscience buy junk for our family. Not perfect, but definitely more aware.
We do our best. Unfortunately, we live in a 4 season climate, where most of our food is only ‘whole and fresh’ in the summer, and even then the growing season is very short. We try and do some farmers market and hope to get a garden in this year. We had some cherry tomatoes, and got some jam from my mom from strawberries from her garden. I try and incorporate fresh whole veggies like carrots and potatoes into our meals. My daughter never ate ‘baby food’. She lived on bananas and sweet potatoes for a few months until I figured out what else to give her. I grate carrots into spaghetti sauce and we’ve never eaten ‘potato buds’. Shudder. However, most of the time we must eat canned or frozen vegetables. There just isn’t a choice. We don’t eat hamburger helper, fast food is usually a LAST resort when we don’t have any choice at all, and we try and eat healthier options like ‘subway’ and choose lower fat/calorie options from them. Every once in a while oreos get in the house, but my daughter is just as happy with a small bowl of barely thawed frozen red raspberries as a cookie.
We switched to real food about a year ago and LOVE it! It’s amazing how much influence the food industry has on us. I read somewhere that the FDA tried to ban sodium nitrite (found in bacon and deli meats, because they said its not fit for human consumption…ever) and the food industry prevented it…
Basically if its processed in a factory, you probably don’t want to eat it.
Now that my son is eating what we are eating I have really been watching what I cook. I completely quit eating fast food about a month ago and am so happy about it. Like some of the other ladies said we don’t have the option for fresh fruit and veggies due to seasons, but when we do have the option I go for fresh.