My Diet: Natural, Low-Carb, Dairy Free...

"So What DO You Eat?"

I'm a busy mom and I'll try to prove it to you what I actually eat and what my kids eat.

The truth is that we're all over the map. I consider us to be informed by nutrient dense nutritional advice. I try to keep us to this at home, but when we go out we choose the "lesser of two evils" or the "better choice." Sure, I want to be raw, grain free and traditional diet, BUT here is where the rubber meets the road.

Me (not my husband or children):
I probably eat the highest organic and natural and certainly the best diet out of the four of us. This is just discipline, my palate is easier to please, etc. I am now Dairy Free (pretty strict) and
Gluten Free. I am mostly Grain free and low sugar due to going Low Carb. I eat less sugar than average American and for sure I use the better forms of sugar whenever possible.
AT HOME I try to keep us "Natural" (as low processed as possible, free of preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, MSG and all hiding MSG).
The things I say "No" to most often to the kids are artificial colors or "too much sugar" because I want them to learn this. They also hear me say, "Eat a grow food first," or "Choose a protein food first."
Nutrient Dense as I am able to work it in, usually in the form of supplements and locally farmed chicken eggs.
All of us eat some fast food like Wendy's (I shoot for less than once per week) or maybe a dinner out. My husband and I love eating out Lebanese, Greek, Indian, Thai and Sushi.
We do not have any boxed cereals in the house. We do compromise with some crackers. I read all labels looking at the oils and types of grains and flours used as well as things hidden in "natural flavors" etc.
Stay away from unsoaked grains, but the kids do get some white breads, usually because of eating out of the house.

Fats: This is the most important thing. In the house, we have no trans fats, and I focus on lots of saturated fat. I mostly use butter, coconut oil and grapeseed oil. If it's not being cooked I use EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).

Next moves:
- brew more teas to keep in the fridge for on-the-go
- Stick to a budget. Plan is to have a lump of cash to use for groceries, co-op, fast food and supplements. This will encourage me to stay away from fast food so I can get the things I really want.
- We'll be packing our lunches more and drinking more tea.
- Continue to discover how I can cook or prepare foods less and less. Trying to find the quickest ways to eat whole foods.
-Current challenge for me: Lose Weight on Low Carb.

So, now you want to know what I DO eat!?

Monday Nov 9, 2009

Me: My Raw Protein Shake, few bites of Not Green Stuff (recipe just posted)
Kids 5yo and 3yo: Thomas Original English muffins with Philly cream cheese
3yo: being a "school lunch day" and since I pack her a lunch too even though she's not in school, she didn't finish her english muffin and chose to eat her Annie's chocolate bunny graham's but she ate more of the english muffin later. I will probably spare you a lot of the details for her in the future.
I volunteered in son's classroom and went home for lunch
me: More Not Green Stuff with some soaked pecans, 4 raw almonds, 2 small hamburger patties with yellow mustard (grass fed beef this time)
Cold coffee drink: almond milk and water with decaf instant coffee
3yo: grass-fed hamburger with a white processed bun, slider size with organic ketchup
I drove to food co-op and then to pick up son from school.
me: 2 dried sweetened mango slices
3yo: banana
5yo school lunch today (he ate it all): 4 oz. V-8 juice, drink box of Almond Milk, 3 slices of Hormel Natural turkey lunch meat, Cream Top Brown Cow yogurt 8oz size flavored, snack bag of Annie's bunny grahams, banana.
3yo: Clif Nectar bar and 2 Fruitabu grape fruit strips, then 1/2 cup Lifeway strawberry Kefir
5yo: one fruit strip and 2 cups of same Kefir

Me dinner: sauteed mushrooms in butter w/ sea salt, half pound wild-caught whitefish broiled with lemon and butter, sea salt, pepper and dried dill. I also added too many carbs finishing up some Fruits of the World juice mixed with grape juice. I will probably have some tea tonight and who knows. Day 1 going low carb, getting into ketosis MAYBE so I'll try to resist any more carbs tonight.