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[personal profile] kajel
I have been working on changing the diet in my household. Last fall I saw a post on the Yahoo front page about a family here in Charlotte that had pledged to eat non-processed or refined foods for 100 days. (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/original-100-day-pledge/) Reading her blog started me on a journey in trying to make changes for the sake of our health and I hoped also to lose weight in the process.

Sadly, eating as non-processed as possible means a lot more time in the kitchen. I can cook, but I don't really love to. I have the wonderful option of being a stay at home mom. I have a lot of time to spend making these changes. In 8-10 months we have been anywhere from 60% to 75% real food. I have not been able to push it that last bit to really make the change completely. Health benefits...ehh. Weight benefits...zip. After a good long reassessment of my household, I realized I haven't really tried all that hard.

I have incorporated some really great things, cooking with whole wheat flours, cutting out the use of refined sugars (in my own cooking, not some of the processed crap I still bought), etc. When Ned and I were shopping one day a couple of weeks ago, he said something about finding s healthier option for breakfast. He has been taking low sugar Quaker Oat fruit and cream instant oatmeal to work. That seemed to be my wake-up call. He was starting to finally get on board with what I had been talking about for months.

I have spent the last week scouring the internet for oatmeal recipes. On Sunday night I found a website with directions for making your own instant oatmeal packets. (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/05/09/making-your-own-homemade-oatmeal-packets-a-visual-guide-and-cost-analysis/) I made cinnamon raisin as that is what I had on hand. I doubled the recipe in the packets since I know Ned uses three of the instant packets at work. Ned is not that fond of the cinnamon flavor. He would also like the oatmeal to be a bit thicker. She does say to grind some oats to flour and add a tablespoon, so I will try that if I make the packets again.

Today I was so excited to find this site (http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal). I made a variation a few minutes ago of the Peach Melba oatmeal. (http://www.theyummylife.com/recipes/260/Peach+Melba+Refrigerator+Oatmeal) I used strawberry preserves and some fresh peaches that I bought at the farmers market Tuesday. I can't wait to try these tomorrow morning. I even had the mason jars. I am hoping that Ned likes these. She has around 16 flavors on her site. I am bound to find a couple that are fabulous.

I intend to do a 10-day pledge in the next couple of weeks. I am going to prepare with meal planning and such. I will try to start of the 16th of August as that gives me time to do some shopping first if needed. We shall see how this goes.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-03 07:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dabhug.livejournal.com
Best of luck to you!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-08 05:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kajel.livejournal.com
Thanks! I was talking about your VW Bug the other day. How is that going? I don't know a lot about cars, but the idea of rebuilding/fixing up an old one I loved appeals to me. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-08 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dabhug.livejournal.com
Ha! Thanks! Right now, we are a bit stalled with other projects going on for the house, but I hope to get back to it within the next year or two.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-04 12:09 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
This is awesome!

John and I had been doing really well for awhile with meal-planning and eating 'real' food but lately we have fallen off the wagon. I was just telling him earlier that it is time to get back to it.

Have you noticed any changes in how you feel over all? Or how your kids are sleeping/behaving/etc?

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-04 12:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] geekjul.livejournal.com
Doh, I just left you an anonymous screened comment... Sorry I didn't realize I wasn't logged in!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-08-08 05:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kajel.livejournal.com
lol When I am really good about the food we eat for a few days I do notice a big difference in my mood and energy levels. The kids have actually been eating better than us from the beginning. They have the same dinners as us, but lunches and breakfast were much healthier than what I was having! One of the other wake up calls I had was realizing that the kids food had been slipping badly lately.
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