From contributing writer, Jenni
Although I have always considered myself a bit of a health nut, I still see myself as a newbie when it comes to real food and traditional cooking. It was only recently that I realized a low-fat diet did not necessarily equal a healthy diet.
As a new mom that is often short on time and sleep, I am currently taking a “baby steps” approach to this new lifestyle.
The following list contains the top ten ways we are transitioning to a real foods diet in our home, which include five things we have purged and five things we have added or buy more of now!
What We DON’T Buy
:: Chips and cookies: This has been a “rule” in our house since we got married. With the exception of buying tortilla chips for nachos and crackers for my husband’s lunch, I avoid even going down this aisle at the grocery store!
Not buying these items keeps us (okay, mainly me!) from snacking on processed food. If I want something sweet to eat, I have to make it. Sometimes I feel it’s worth the time and effort, sometimes I just go without. We often make homemade trail mix for those moments we are a bit peckish and want something to munch.
:: Frozen dinners: Not even frozen pizza. (Yes, we make our own pizza too!) Along with this, we avoid boxed meals, such as Hamburger Helper. Unfortunately, we do still buy boxed Mac ‘n’ Cheese for one of my husband’s favorite quick meals. One of my goals this year is to find a way to make it from scratch and still make my hubby happy! 
:: Unhealthy fats: We purged our pantry of vegetable and Canola oils/shortenings. This was a difficult move for us, because we were so used to using them in many of our favorite recipes. We have learned to use only three fats for just about everything, which I will discuss in the section about what we do buy.
:: Canned vegetables: Instead of canned veggies, we buy the frozen ones. These have much more nutritional value and just taste better, in my opinion. One exception to this is tomato items, such as tomato paste and sauce. I haven’t found them sold in glass jars at the places I grocery shop.
:: Canned soups: Nor broth or bullion for that matter! I make homemade stock from our beef and chicken in the slow cooker. I also will use homemade condensed cream soups if a recipe calls for them. (This cream of chicken soup recipe is delicious in my mom’s Chicken Enchiladas, one of my childhood favorites.)
What We DO Buy
:: Natural sweeteners: When baking, I now try to use sucanat, honey or pure maple syrup as a substitute for sugar. Although we still buy sugar for some uses, I am using it much less than I used to. (By the way, pure maple syrup drizzled over soaked oatmeal is delicious!)
:: Healthy fats: We now use olive oil, coconut oil and butter for all of our recipes, frying and greasing needs. I even found an olive oil cooking spray, which is been very handy. My husband discovered that coconut oil makes the best homemade popcorn for a healthy snack when we watch a movie. And just about everything is better with butter!
:: Whole Wheat Flour: I am gradually using more wheat flour in many of my baked goods. It has been fun experimenting with my favorite recipes to make them a little healthier. We will probably never completely phase out bleached white flour, but are definitely learning to use it less.
:: Dry beans: With a little planning ahead and prep time, this is one of the easier transitions I’ve undertaken in the kitchen. (Thank you, slow cooker!) It also saves quite a bit of money, making it a frugal change as well.
:: Organic fruit and vegetables: As much as I would like to, I can’t say all the produce I buy is organic. However, I use a produce guide to help me decide what I will spend the extra money on to get organic. This has been especially helpful when purchasing fruits and vegetables to make homemade baby food.
So, there you have it! Those are some of the simple ways I am getting started with real food in my kitchen.
What steps are you taking toward healthier eating? I would love to read some of your ideas in a comment below!
Additional posts on how we are keeping it real in the kitchen:
Real Food Changes I have made and what I am sticking to
About Jenni Mullinix
I’m fairly new to converting my kitchen to real, whole foods. It’s sounds like you and i are in a similar spot in our journeys.
I feel a lot better about the food I’m preparing for my family. One thing that I’m going to be trying soon is brewing my own kombucha, so we will see how that goes. I do have one suggestion, if you haven’t tried cooking with ghee yet, I highly reccommend! It is delicious, works great at high temperatures, and super flexible in recipes. I love melting it and pouring it over popcorn among other things.
That sounds a lot what we do. One of my goals is to start buying meat and eggs (organic, free range, grass fed, etc) direct from a farmer. I heard Jordan Rubin (author of The Maker’s Diet) say that spending money on high quality meat and eggs was even more important than organic produce. Though, that one’s been really challenging, since in most cases you can’t just “Google” something like that to find it. Anyway, I’ve ventured into the land of homemade granola bars and graham crackers for the kiddos, and so far, so good. They love it, it’s easy and way less expensive (and scary) than the supermarket versions. I think I probably make a special treat for them about once a week or so.
Sounds very similar to what we do….although I offer myself grace for those days when I feel like crap and can’t cook.
Been having a lot of those lately.
You made me want some nachos.
I think we all have those days, Stacy, and we definitely must give ourselves grace. My view is that any step I’m taking toward healthier eating is better than nothing at all. I hope you start feeling better soon. And enjoy some nachos! lol
I have been transitioning our family for several years now. My husband was eating sugared cereals, pop-tarts, take out pizza, and other take out before we got married. It has been a HUGE adjustment for him, but he’s trying! I used Kitchen Stewardship’s recipe for a chicken rice-a-roni type of dish. It was great. She may have a mac and cheese. I know Wardeh on GNOWGFLINS did a recent post on homemade mac and cheese: http://gnowfglins.com/2012/01/31/homemade-real-food-macaroni-and-cheese/
Maybe you could make it and freeze it in servings for your hubby!
Yes, it’s been a difficult adjustment as my husband is not entirely on board with everything quite yet. He still buys some things on my “off limits” list for his lunch, but at least he isn’t eating out!
I just noticed that recipe the other day! I will have to try it and see how he likes it. Thanks for sharing the link.
Sounds very much like us! I’ve actually read in some places that a blend of whole wheat and white flours is actually more traditional (similar to old-fashioned milling techniques) than straight whole wheat, and easier on your gut. I’m not sure if that’s true or not – haven’t researched it – but it makes me feel better when I bake with half of each:)
I haven’t heard that! Definitely worth researching… Thanks for your comment!
That’s great, Jenna! I haven’t taken either of those steps yet… Hopefully soon.
Awesome post, Jenni! Sounds a lot like us, too. It really keeps costs down to eat whole foods instead of processed and lets me buy some things organic (although, like you, I wish I could buy more!). I find that the more organized I am, the easier it is to eat whole foods. We try to make a lot of things on the weekends together and then freeze them for quick and healthy dinners throughout the week. Last night we made whole wheat, low fat calzones with whole ingredients and freezed them so my husband can have a healthy dinner while I am at Parent-Teacher conferences this week. Thanks for all of your great tips! How do you like sucanat? Is it a 1:1 substitute in recipes that call for sugar? Or is it more of a personal sweetener?
Freeze them? Froze them? You’d think a teacher would get it right. You get the point! =)
These are great tips. I avoid anything with wheat, rye or barley in it, because I’m gluten intolerant…but otherwise, whatever I make at home, is made from scratch!!! I find that automatically ups the “healthy” factor of my food. I’m all about the fat…good fats…and lots of it
I’m interested in the homemade trail mix recipe…I’m going to check that out!!! Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 
Sounds like EXACTLY what I am trying to do! And I am with you on he tomato thing. Tropical traditions does have one in a jar, but it is $2 as opposed to 50 cents in the tin at the regular store. I am hoping a lot of companies switch over to glass, maybe there will even be some deposit program out of this – ya right!
This sounds very similar to us, too. It’s been a slow process for sure! I also still buy canned tomato products, and I’m okay with that for now. We do still buy some no-nos, too. Hopefully that will continue to change with time!
Sounds great! I’m a baby-stepper myself and am somewhere in the middle. We buy far less boxed/processed/canned foods than we used to and also use butter/coconut oil/organic olive oil. We use organic milk (not ultra-pasteurized) and free range eggs. Sometimes I use white whole-wheat flour and sometimes just the white, but I get unbleached. Our latest step is that we buy a share of a local grass-fed cow for our beef. There is so much more that I could do and we slip up often but I figure that we’ve already made progress and every little bit can only help us!
I love your blog posts about healthy eating. We’re doing everything we can to increase our natural and healthy living BUT we’re also wheat intolerant. You might want to post something about those of us who are trying to deal with it. With the GMO grains growing the number of people allergic or intolerant to them is also growing.
You go girl!
Ok, I’m a beginner in many ways, and a little better in others… Can you help me out – why is Canola oil bad? Vegetable oil might be just a cheap blend of something, I guess, or what’s wrong with that?
On the other hand, I’ve heard bad stuff about coconut oil – as in, That’s junk and not fit for human consumption. *???* Same thing, really, about soy – some swear by everything soy, others say not to touch it (other than in candles). Sometimes I think the truth is NOT out there… just ideas.