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Real Food Face-Off: Passionate Homemaking vs. Naturally Knocked Up

January 26th, 2010 · 27 Comments · Real Food Face-Off

Welcome! It's Sunshine Awareness Week here at Kitchen Stewardship! Be sure to check this week's posts for over $400 in sun protection giveaways plus a major natural sunblock review and sun protective clothing reviews.

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realfoodfaceoffbutton3_thumb15[3]Today I get to spotlight some young moms who are among my favorite people in the blogosphere. These gals’ missions intertwine nicely with that of Kitchen Stewardship, and they’ve both certainly been sources of inspiration and information for me on my journey to understanding traditional foods.

The Big Finishers: Sally Fallon and Nina Planck!

Visit the Real Food Face-Off Introduction page for a full list of all the participants and the complete list of possible questions.  Each week, only a handful of the contenders’ answers will be posted here.

Week Three: Lindsay vs. Donielle

lindsay donielle

Passionate Homemaking is, I believe, the first blog I ever read, way back a year ago when I got into this gig.  Lindsay blogs about all aspects of homemaking, from the kitchen to parenting to housekeeping, from a godly perspective.  You can tell she loves her vocation as wife and mother to two little ones.  Her blog is certainly partially responsible for my journey to traditional foods.  Her motto:  Live simply in order to give generously.
 Donielle blogs at Naturally Knocked Up, which focuses on increasing the odds of conception through natural living and nourishing foods.  She writes in a very real style, opening up the doors of her kitchen and her life to her readers.  Donielle is the first online friend I met in real life, and we are blessed to have connected on so many levels.  She is also a mother to two little ones and follower of God.

real-food-faceoff-banner Below are the answers to some real food questions, in the bloggers’ own words:

How do you describe the way you eat when someone asks you to define your food?

Our family seeks to eat whole foods, the way they are grown naturally in Creation, the way God fashioned them perfect for our health and wholeness. We try to avoid processed foods, preservatives, and the like and buy directly from local farmers as much as possible, so we know where our food is coming from. We love coconut oil, real butter, raw milk, green smoothies, and grass-fed meats! I eat real and unprocessed food. Food that is closest to its God given, natural form as possible. It means I choose to consume animal products from animals that have been feed their natural diets and live a happy and healthy life. It means I prepare my food the way our ancestors long ago prepared our foods, so that we might absorb all of the nutrients our food contains. It also means I support our local farmers, buying as much as I can from those who grow and raise food right in my own town! Basically it means I don’t give much business to the food manufacturers!!

What was/is your major incentive for living a real food lifestyle? (How did you come to eat the way you do?)

I originally became interested in a real food lifestyle when preparing to get married and considering the health of my husband and future children. I grew up eating fairly healthy foods, lots of whole grains and such, but when my brother came down with type 1 diabetes it was taken to a whole new level. When I got married, I also began reading, studying, and watching documentaries on the food industry and was fully persuaded that we wanted to eat food the way God intended as much as our budget would allow. Well, my blog title gives it away just a bit! I suffer from poly cystic ovary syndrome (which makes it rather difficult to get pregnant) and I was looking for ways to conceive naturally. I knew something wasn’t right within my body and I had already tried the Standard American “healthy” Diet with no help or relief of symptoms.

What food was your favorite that you no longer eat (or shouldn’t eat)?

Costco polish dogs! But they have actually totally lost their appeal. Can we say “all sweets”?! Seriously, I’m a recovering sugar addict.

What was the hardest transition to make to real food?

Probably finding good meals that my hubby liked that were both frugal and nutritious.

Katie jumps in – we’re talking feeding husbands this week here at KS!

 Giving up the convenience foods! being a mom of now 2 littles, some days I envy those moms who just pull out a package of (non) fruit snacks or packaged cookies. But now that I have more of a system in place and getting used to making slow food, it’s much easier.

What’s something you remain afraid to try?

Fermenting vegetables and such. I am scared about the time and effort required and lack of taste appeal. ;) Plain ‘ol organ meats. I’ve had them mixed into things, but I don’t know if ready to serve up plain ‘ol liver!

What’s next on your list of changes to make?

I am in the process of beginning to use sprouted flour in all my baking if I cannot soak the grains or am not prepared in advance. This way I can have the benefits of breaking down the phytates taken care of for me. I am buying sprouted grains which I can grind at home. This will definitely help simplify my cooking. Learning how to ferment vegetables! I can’t wait for my fresh garden produce this year so I can experiment and learn how to better preserve my food. I’d really like to get away from heat canning as you lose so many nutrients that way.

List your top 3 baby steps to move from a Standard American Diet to Real Food.

1. Choose real butter instead of margarine or other alternatives.
2. Limit beverage choices to filtered water.
3. Eliminate white flour and white sugar.

See my complete 12 steps to a real food diet, in order of my preference.

 Step one: cut out preservatives, additives, colors and flavors.

Step two: cut out high fructose corn syrup.

Step three: Start cooking! Just pick one thing and learn how to make it from scratch.

What does “eating healthy” mean to you?

Eating healthy means that we strive to eat a good balance of vegetables, fruits, meats, raw dairy, and whole grains. Eating healthy means getting back to the pure and unadultered food that God has given us. He wasn’t stupid when he created saturated fats and cholesterol. Unfortunately most Americans now trust our FDA and doctors – which leave us thinking that our perfect creation is NOT perfect. That we can do better than God.

Name the top food scoring highest on both the nutritional and budget scale? (i.e., best health benefits for the lowest cost)

I would say coconut oil! Our bodies cannot survive without good quality fats. Michael Pollan in his book, In Defense of Food, describes the story of being stranded on an island. If you could take one food item to survive, what would it be? Chocolate was the correct answer because of the fat content. This convinced me that quality fat is worth it. Bone broth! Dinner scraps + water + ACV = nutrient dense! Next up would be organ meats, but that’s harder to swallow. Literally.

How important is organic food?

When I look at our grocery list, I honestly buy very few items that are labeled “organic”. I choose grass-fed local meats, raw local dairy and local pastured eggs. None of these items are certified organic in any way. I know the farmers and know their practices. Many farms cannot afford the organic certification but are practicing organic methods in every way possible. I also look for produce that is free from sprays, pesticides, chemicals, etc. Again, rarely organic. The only things I buy that is labeled “organic” are a few pantry items (ketchup, grains, etc) because that is what my sources offer at the best price. You can eat whole foods without the organic label. I honestly try to avoid the “organic” craze because it often just means significant increase in cost for little benefit. Knowing the farms where the food is coming from is far more reassuring. Personally I think it’s really important. Pesticides do one of two things; kill the bug right away or effect it’s reproductive system so it can’t reproduce. Just what I don’t want to put into my body – something that makes a living being NOT reproduce! That being said I can rarely (if ever) afford all organic produce, so I stick to the dirty dozen and make peace with the rest.

When eating out, how do make your menu decision (fav “out” food, anything you avoid)?

Eating out for us is a special occasion (‘date nights’ with the hubby), so we just have fun and don’t worry about what we’re eating too much. Life’s too short not to have a little fun every once in a while. We do strive to select restaurants that are purposing to be sustainable and offering local ingredients. I do try and stay away from breads and stick to meat and veggies. Though I don’t always stick to my guns when I get out there! So we try and keep eating out to maybe once or twice a month and then I don’t feel as guilty since the other 28 meals were nourishing meals made at home.

Number one tip you tell your blog readers about eating healthy foods:

Enjoy the ride! If you are stressing over it, step back and recheck your priorities.

See Lindsay’s post from last week Can Natural Living Become an Idol?

 Start slow! It’s overwhelming when you look at all the changes that need to be made in our diet and if you jump in head first you’ll go crazy trying to do it all at once. Try one new thing and once you’ve mastered it, move on to the next!

Follow Lindsay on Twitter @passionatehome.         Follow Donielle @donielle.

Now it’s your turn! I’d highly recommend honoring my real food guests with a visit over to their blogs, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking and Donielle at Naturally Knocked Up.  If you have any questions or thoughts about their answers here, get a little discussion going by leaving a comment.

Be sure to come back on Thursday for the next installment of the Real Food Face-Off,  Ann Marie at Cheeseslave vs. Sarah at Sarah’s Musings. See it here!  It’s my favorite so far!  These women are serious about food, and both come by the real food movement as an extension of their finesse in the kitchen.  Sign up for a free email subscription or grab my reader feed to make sure you catch them all.  You can also follow me on Twitter.

Special thanks to Jo-Lynne from DCR Design for the fabulous Face-Off logos.  Please visit her if you are a blogger looking for design improvements!

**While you’re here, check out today’s other post: Reverse Food Engineering 101 – Seeking Real Food Solutions to Packaged Recipes.  I’ll be hosting a link-up of faux hamburger helper recipes (any real food one skillet meal) this Thursday, and another for homemade salad dressings next Tuesday.  Mark your calendars!

And don’t forget to hop in the Charlie’s Soap Giveaway, open until Thursday night.

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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

Any links to Amazon are affiliate links, which means I get a small kickback if you purchase by starting here.  I appreciate you doing so if you’re buying online anyway, but I’d also recommend trying your local library first!  Of course, if you’re going to shop at Amazon, you may as well try Swagbucks.  I’m liking the gift cards to Amazon that are rolling in!

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