The Daniel Plan
Recently, my church offered an evening class based on The Daniel Plan, written by Pastor Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, M.D., and Mark Hyman, M.D. As someone who is a proponent of integrating all parts of life so we can live more holistically, I was thrilled to see a class about the connection between health and faith being offered… and I was not the only one! At the first meeting, there were over 60 people in attendance, eager to learn more about the 5 Essentials of the Daniel Plan: Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus, and Friends.
The first meeting talked about the Faith component. Everybody was on board.
The next meeting was focused on the Food component. We watched the video about healthy eating and all around me were heads nodding in agreement – yes, we really should be eating better. People shared their struggles with junk food and eating healthy. Our pastor and his wife announced that they would be following the 40 Day eating plan outlined in the book and invited everyone to join them. The mood was optimistic and energized.
I, on the other hand, was nervous. Many of these people were eagerly jumping into this plan full force, with little idea of how difficult it is to completely change your diet. This approach might work for some personality types, but most folks fair better with a “baby steps” approach. Our family has been gradually transitioning from a SAD (Standard American Diet, a.k.a. “junk food/processed food diet”) way of eating to a real foods diet over the course of 6-7 years and even at that slow pace, it’s been tricky. I feared most people were in for a huge reality check.
The following week, I noticed there were only about 20 people at the meeting. Our pastor asked for people to share how their week had gone. The sense of despair, frustration and defeat in the air was palpable.
“This is just isn’t realistic!” an exasperated woman said. “If I ate according to the book, I would be cooking all day!”
“I had to cook three times in one day. I don’t have time for that!” complained another woman.
“It took me three hours to shop for the foods on the menu list. And I spent over twice what I normally spend on groceries! We can’t afford to eat this way.”
“Ridiculous! They expect normal people to make all these foods from scratch? No one can do this. NO ONE. Stop stressing out and just buy it all pre-made from the store.”
“My family refused to eat everything I made.”
My heart sank. My fears were confirmed.
In just one week, people had been turned off by “real food” and declared it to be impossible, unrealistic and unattainable.
And I begin to think… what if they are right? Is “real food” unrealistic?
Our Transformation to Real Food
Before we began our food transformation years ago, I didn’t think much about food. It was simply something to shove in my mouth to make my stomach stop growling.
I was in charge of all the grocery shopping and “cooking.” Thinking back, I don’t know if I EVER bought any fresh produce. Everything I bought came in a box, bag, or package (if you need to make the break from processed foods, too, check out Katie’s e-Book Better Than a Box). “Cooking from scratch” meant a pound of beef and a box of Hamburger Helper.
My husband and I were both working full-time jobs and neither one of us had to the energy nor desire to cook. Cooking was a low priority in our life. If I’m being honest, it wasn’t even ON the priority list!
One day, someone suggested my husband and I watch the documentary Food, Inc. Our minds were completely blown, as we realized how woefully disconnected we were from our food. I began to take an interest in food, how it was grown and where it came from.
Shortly after that, a friend recommended the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Right on the cover, it said, “This book will change your life…” and truer words have never been spoken.
Reading that book was the turning point in my life.
I began to see that FOOD IS LIFE. Everything revolves around it. Food and cooking affects every single part of our life… and I had been missing out of the joy, beauty and wonder that food and cooking could offer.
I began to garden. I began learning to cook. I began viewing grocery shopping as an adventure. I started devouring every book I could find about food, cooking and gardening. I fell head over heels in love with real food. Life began to revolve around food – growing it with thankfulness, cooking it with joy, eating it with pleasure.
The Importance of Food and Culture
In my readings and research, I also came to see that historically speaking, life has always revolved around food. From the dawn of time to the Industrial Revolution, the average person spent most of their waking hours focused on food – hunting it, growing it, tending it, preserving it, cooking it, processing it, selling it.
As my hero, farmer Joel Salatin, says in his fantastic book Folks, This Ain’t Normal:
“…remember that the first occupation of humanity was to be a gardener.”
Humans were created to live in communion and close proximity to their food, to have an intimate relationship with it.
After the Industrial Revolution, we were “freed” from a constant focus on food production and found time and energy to focus on other aspects of life… but we paid a terrible price by “outsourcing” food production and cooking to large corporations that have profits, not our best interests, in mind. Since we stopped being in control of our own food, obesity, disease and cultural disintegration have wreaked havoc on the American lifestyle. We have lost our precious culture, which is heavily based on traditional foods and customs.
As Barbara Kingsolver says in Chapter 9 of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:
“When my generation of women walked away from the kitchen we were escorted down that path by a profiteering industry that knew a tired, vulnerable marketing target when they say it. “Hey, ladies,” it said to us, “go ahead and get liberated. We’ll take care of dinner. ” They threw open the door and we walked into a nutritional crisis and genuinely toxic food supply. If you think toxic is an exaggeration, read the package directions for handling raw chicken from a CAFO [Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation or “Factory Farm”]. We came a long way, baby, into bad eating habits and collaterally impaired family dynamics. No matter what else we do or believe, food remains the center of every culture. Ours now runs on empty calories.
When we traded homemaking for careers, we were implicitly promised economic independence and worldly influence. But a devil of a bargain it has turned out to be in terms of daily life. We gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families’ tastes and zest for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable. (Or worse, convenience-mart hog dogs and latchkey kids.) I consider it the greatest hoodwink of my generation…
Eating preprocessed or fast food can look like salvation in the short run, until we start losing what real mealtimes give to a family: civility, economy and health….
If grabbing fast food is the only way to get the kids to their healthy fresh-air soccer practice on time, that’s an interesting call. Arterial-plaque specials that save minutes now can cost years, later on…”
Baby Steps to Avoid Burnout
When my family began to eat real food, Kitchen Stewardship® was the place I turned for guidance. I loved the idea of “baby steps” – that I could just choose one area of our eating habits and focus on making changes there. It kept me from being overwhelmed and filled me with confidence as I met each new goal.
I’m convinced it was this “baby steps” approach that kept our family on track and always moving in a better direction. Slow and steady was the right approach for us. To this day, we still stick to the “80/20 Principle” – that is, we strive for real food 80% of the time, and don’t sweat the other 20%. It’s a good balance for us.
Eventually, the change to real food completely transformed every part of our life. We even felt called to leave our neighborhood and buy a small farm so we could regain some control over our food supply.
Food production, cooking and eating now dominate our life… and it is a joyful, life-giving existence. There is something about it that just feels right, like we’re tapping into these ancient instincts, embracing that first occupation of humankind.
I have the privilege of being a homemaker and homesteader, which means I spend the majority of my time and energy trying to create a more sustainable home and food supply for our family. My husband and I felt it was very important to have one of us at home, and we made some huge lifestyle changes to make sure that could happen.
I know this is simply not possible for many families and I’m grateful we have found a way to make it work. It required us to turn our back on the American Dream of “bigger, better and more”, and trade it for our dream of “smaller, good-enough and less”.
We made some hard choices, saying “no” to lots of seemingly good things so that we could say “yes” to a real food lifestyle that embraces food, cooking, health and eating together. We carefully and consciously weigh the pros and cons of each new activity/opportunity before embracing or rejecting it.
Real Food Requires Real Commitment
I don’t know your particular circumstances and challenges, and I certainly cannot promote one way of eating or living to be “right”… but I do believe that embracing real food requires certain types of lifestyle changes and commitments. It requires a shift in priorities, a change of values.
It means that we recognize food as the center of life (as it always has been!), around which all other activities rotate.
When I say that food dominates our life, some people are horrified. I don’t take it personally – I certainly don’t expect everyone to dedicate their lives to food! However, I DO feel that cooking and food deserve a little more of our attention and respect.
I realize that not everyone enjoys food or cooking, but our very lives depend on it and it’s simply not something we can ignore!
Overcoming Obstacles to a Real Food Lifestyle
That said, there are many legitimate obstacles keeping people from embracing real food. Here are a few suggestions to help you overcome them:
Time:
- We only have so many hours in the day and the struggle is real for overworked, harried families. Yet, I keep reading studies that the average American watches 5 hours of TV a day. If we have 5 hours to veg out in front of a screen, then surely we can manage to find 20 minutes to prepare a meal that will nourish our body, mind and soul. Maybe you could multitask and watch your shows while you cook!
- Use a crock pot or Instant Pot. These handy devices can practically cook dinner themselves! There are loads of great recipes on the Kitchen Stewardship® website. Check out a few of Katie’s Instant Pot recipes.
- Cook double batches. Any time you make a meal, cook twice as much as you need. Freeze the extra batch or eat off it later in the week. For example, whenever I cook beans or rice, I always make double and store the leftover in the fridge. Then I can easily whip up a quick lunch or dinner of “Burrito Bowls” – beans, rice, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, avocado, etc. Ta-da! It’s a great back-up plan.
- Lower your standards. You don’t need a 3 course meal. Grilled cheese made with real cheese, real whole wheat bread and real butter is REAL food! Dinner does not have to be extravagant. Add some pickles and cut up veggies, and you have the makings of a legit real food dinner.
- Meal planning can make the difference between a home cooked meal and a desperate 6:00pm call for take-out. It saves you time and worry. Having a plan is power. It can be as complex as using a Meal Planning app/program or just some chicken scratch in pencil on a piece of scrap paper. Your Meal Plan does not have to be exciting. It’s totally fine to repeat meals over and over, of that is what you are capable of right now. We have the same meal every Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Boring? Maybe. But I know they are meals everyone will eat without complaining and they are meals I can handle even when I’m running low on time and energy.
Cost:
- Beans are your best friend. They are inexpensive (dried or canned), easy to cook and can be used in almost every meal or dish – even appetizers and desserts! Check out Katie’s e-book The Everything Beans Book.
- Buy fruits and veggies in season and preserve them.
- It’s helpful for me to remember that food is medicine. Since we have switched to a real food diet, our medical bills are nearly non-existent. My husband’s asthma and seasonal allergies flare up occasionally, but he rarely has to take medications anymore. I would much rather spend our hard earned money on healthy food that will strengthen and build up our bodies, instead of shelling out money for medications needed as a result of poor diet. We think of food as preventative medicine. We get to choose where we spend the money – preventing sickness or trying to manage sickness. We choose prevention.
- Reduce meat consumption. I believe that meat can be part of a healthy real food diet, but most Americans are eating excessive amounts of meat. To save money, we completely changed our idea of what a meal should look like. Instead of a large piece of meat on each plate with vegetable and grain side dishes, we now use meat almost exclusively as a garnish or condiment – something to add a little flavor and kick to a main dish. For example, I often cook a whole chicken, pick the meat off the bones (and make a few gallons of stock with the bones!) and divide up the meat. That one chicken can be featured in 4-5 meals for the week for our family of four – Chicken Tacos (black beans are the main filling ingredient), Chicken Salad, Chicken Soup, Chicken Pasta with Veggies, Chicken Stir Fry, etc.
- Buy in bulk whenever possible. Staples like dry beans, grains and nuts can be stored in the freezer, so you always have some on hand.
Motivation:
- Even if cooking is something you hate, could you still make it a priority for the sake of your loved ones? What a privilege it is to give your family the gift of health and good eating habits!
- Cook with your kids. Families are under enormous pressure these days and many people complain that lack of quality time together is a real issue. Why not invite your children into the kitchen so you can spend time together, teach them valuable skills AND get a healthy meal on the table?!? And as an added bonus – kids are more likely to eat meals that they helped prepare. Lucky for you, Katie even has created a Kids Cook Real Food eCourse, to help you out along the way!
- Real food and cooking act as preventative medicine, as I said before. You WILL be healthier on so many levels (physically and mentally), if you fill your body with nourishing food. That old saying “You are what you eat” is so true – junk food makes us feel, look and act junky! Staying healthy so I can play with my kids is a huge motivator for me.
- Behavioral issues in children (and adults!) can be caused by processed/junk foods. If you or someone you love is exhibiting behaviors that don’t seem normal, it’s certainly worth examining exactly what is going into the body. We found out the hard way that artificial colors turned my son into a monster. That was motivation enough to start weaning ourselves from processed foods.
- Real food promotes health and healthy brain function. Junk food decreases health and inhibits brain function. Enough said.
“Cooked” for Inspiration
If you need more convincing that cooking and real food are worth your time and effort, read the book Cooked by Michael Pollan or watch the series on Netflix. Both the book and the documentary series are lovely and thought provoking. As this review for the series, written by Michelle Stark, says:
“We don’t allow enough time for cooking, particularly Americans, who spend less time cooking than anyone anywhere else in the world. The journey into how and why this happened over the last century — TV dinners, “hyper-processed foods,” the addictive nature of food created by corporations — is fascinating and upsetting. The show asks: How can we possibly maintain a diet that nourishes and enriches our lives when we’re not the ones cooking our food?
Cooked somewhat chillingly warns that processed foods and the corporations that cook for us are eroding the food traditions humans have built up over centuries. In its telling, these corporations are insidious, working hard to make their food as appealing as possible to a rushed, overworked world that has convinced itself it has no time for dicing, baking, simmering.
“For the food industry, people cooking traditional foods at home is an obstacle,” Pollan says. “They have a vested interest in destroying food culture and food traditions.”
The questions Cooked tackles are startling, things we all should be thinking about but rarely want to.”
Can I get an “Amen”?!?
Real Food IS Realistic
So, to get back to the question – “Is real food realistic?”
In my opinion, YES.
We MUST make it realistic. Is it always easy? No, but then again, there are lots of thing in this world that are necessary but not easy.
I will always remember my dad telling me as a kid, “If something is important to you, you WILL make it happen.” I’m sure I rolled my eyes and grumbled at him… but he was absolutely right.
Surely, pursuing a real food lifestyle is worthwhile, since our very lives depend on it. Real food is important, and we have to make it happen as often as we can.
whisperingsage says
I grew up with a single mom, who knew how to cook, sew, garden, teach, allowed us to have chickens for eggs, let me grow a garden. She grew up on a farm in WY that had a Jersey cow, Marino sheep, chickens, and I don’t know what else, but I know she learned to butcher, and how to scratch out a living on the sagebrush land of WY, and deal with rattlesnakes. She’s the reason I don’t have fear of basic snakes as she carried a big gopher snake by the tail around the house and put it down a gopher hole. it was fully as long as she was tall. (5’1″). I never remember a day when my mother shrunk from the womanly and motherly duty of cooking. And she never whined about it. I bet she didn’t always feel like it, but she was determined to raise 2 kids and have them as healthy as she could. I am shocked at the whining at the beginning of the article of adult Christians that could not possibly manage to learn how to prepare real food. No wonder we are losing our country. This is a basic God given requirement for life. There is not a person mentioned in the Bible that wasn’t intimately involved with the preparation or growing of their own food.
Ioanna says
It was strange for me to read this. What you describe as “real Food” is what we, in Europe, call “Food”. There’s no other way to do things, at least where I come from! Your text gave me some insight into a different world. I will cherish my vegetables in my tiny garden even more now 🙂 All the best with your growing and cooking Food!
Sabrina says
Absolutely. It is realistic and way more effective when ya start out small. We’ve been on this journey for about 4 years now. We’ve lost weight and become much more healthy. Getting sick way less than ever before. No flu shot needed here!
Shauna says
Jennifer, I feel your frustration! I’ve been there myself. I am the only one in my household who packs a lunch and it is one of my most hated tasks. It bothers me that they’re not eating as healthfully as they could be, but just as much that we’re blowing so much money on lunches. But as you say, it’s not worth trying to battle your spouse. If it helps, my husband is now 52 and is still healthy enough not to be on any meds. It could be genetic, but I prefer to think that he is getting enough of a “dose” of my scratch cooking at home to keep him on track. It’s not because he works out! My son is now 15 and there are still many vegetables he won’t eat, but I keep putting them on the table. He will eat a few, including soups made “creamy” by pureeing cauliflower and okra. I never would have thought he’d like that in a million years. When he visits friends where junk food is the norm, he enjoys it at first, but after he spent a weekend with one friend, he told me it all tasted the same and he was glad to get back to real food. So what I’m trying to say is, hang in there! The progress may be tiny, but do what you can make work for you.
As for the article, this food/time relationship is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I have reentered the work world after being a stay at home mom for many years. I have been absolutely shocked at how no. one. cooks! It’s a foreign idea, a complete waste of time, and unknown skill. They look at the food I bring and shake their heads like there’s just no way they could ever manage that, and who would want to eat spaghetti squash or jicama anyway? That’s just weird. It’s been a real revelation. Another revelation since I work in a medical office is just how many people are on meds for cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes. Everyone! It’s nuts. We really need to readjust our thinking on the calling of food preparation. It’s worthy of our time because it has such far reaching effects on our bodies and even our relationships. A family is much more likely to sit down to a meal that someone has spent time and effort preparing than one where chicken nuggets were merely thrown in the oven for a few minutes.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Amen and bravo, Shauna, I couldn’t have said it better myself!! Thank you for your encouragement for all of us!!! 🙂 Katie
Jennifer says
I have been trying to transition to a more real food diet for 3 going on 4 years now and it has not gotten any easier, baby steps or not, and is a constant source of frustration for me. I am a stay at home mom and have the time, knowledge and resources to do it. I personally eat a mostly real food diet, but it has been nearly impossible to get my family to change. My husband eats what I cook for dinner when he’s home, but he eats McDonalds every day for lunch when at work and travels a lot and eats total crap when he’s traveling. There are almost always left overs he could take for lunch but he won’t make any effort to do it even though he knows about processed food and the food industry and how it affects your health. He personally sees and feels the effects of what he eats, but he is a grown up and I can’t baby sit him so I’ve given up on that front. My two kids are elementary school age. One is an extremely picky eater and I suspect has some sensory issues. I have tried every picky eater trick (including the “bridging” tips here on KS) and nothing has had any real effect. He just won’t eat if he doesn’t like it. Meal times had become such a battle ground that I’ve backed off a little. I am also being undermined at every step. If I let them play at a friend’s house, they cram in as many junky snacks as they can before they come home. If they stay with my parents, it’s like it’s my mom’s personal mission to see how much sugar she can cram in them in as short a period of time as possible. I make their lunch for school every day only to hear complaints and reports about how their friends think they have the weirdest, meanest mom ever. While I don’t care what a bunch of third graders think about me, I’m just tired. Tired of putting in a lot of effort to cook real meals that no one wants to eat. Tired of not having any help in the kitchen, or any support for trying to cook and eat this way. I don’t want to be that military mom that forbids her kids from eating anywhere else and ruins all the fun for my kids at family gatherings. So while I understand the importance of real food, I have to say that it has been very difficult and is becoming more and more unrealistic for my family as my kids get older. I only hope that when they are adults and are in charge of their own food choices, they will come around and realize the importance of food to their health.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Oh man, Jennifer, my heart goes out to you! You’re definitely not alone and would have tons of KSers rooting for you, but that doesn’t do much good when you’re a one-woman stand in your real life. 🙁 🙁 Of course you are tired of fighting everyone, all the time! I was going to tell you that hopefully your husband will begin to feel icky from icky food, but then you said he already does…and doesn’t care. That’s really tough.
This is a baby step question for sure, but do you think you can get your children’s friends’ parents on board, not with healthy eating but just with “let’s all feed our own kids?” I’m really saddened that your kiddos are cramming in junky snacks at friends’ houses, not as much for their health as for the disrespect it shows you and an undercurrent of sneakiness. Of course none of you want them to have to be at home all the time and not be allowed to play elsewhere, but if they can’t be trusted to follow rules, that’s a really tricky conundrum!! I’m so sorry you’re between so very many rocks and hard places. 🙁 I say if you’re getting some fruits and veggies in them at breakfast and dinner, at least, you’re winning some battles and must concede on others for family unity. I wish I could come over with a big bar of dark chocolate and have a pity party with you! I hope you can see a sliver of hope somewhere, sometime soon, to give you the motivation to keep going, even if just tiny baby steps. Hugs, Katie
Nikki says
I think the above point about lowering your standards is crucial for so many people!! The times in my life when I’ve been crazy stressed (new baby, cross country move, sick child, etc) have been made worse by the guilt I placed on myself for not giving my family “real” food. I’m so glad that you added that point! I also really appreciate the point about it being ok to repeat meals…who cares if you had the same meal 2 days ago or the same meal plan week after week??If your family eats it, and it is nutritious then count it a win!!
Brittany says
Small changes always stick better than sudden, drastic ones. And that’s true in anything, not just food choices. Which is one of the things I’ve always loved about KS!
At first switching to real food felt overwhelming, but I’ve come to love the traditions and rhythms it brings to our family. We prepare many meals together and sit down together to eat them too. We have special foods like Sourdough Pancakes on Saturdays or baked oatmeal for birthday breakfasts. Every holiday has its own celebration foods that we make. My boys love helping in the garden and seeing the things we grow come back around to their plates. It does often feel like a lot of our life revolves around food (especially with 7 big eaters in our family), but this post was a good reminder that that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Lori Hernandez (Contributing Writer) says
I love this! Traditions and rhythms are very important to me too… they help me feel grounded and whole. Glad to hear others love that too!
Kimberly White says
I’m to the point in my food journey where I feel that the student has become the master…and I’m developing a curriculum designed to teach people how to make the transition from a SAD to a healthy diet. And pretty much every single thing you have in this blog post is in my class literature. It’s the beginning few lessons, so I’ve had it written out for MONTHS…but now it’s gonna look like I designed the class from your blog! lol It’s all mostly common sense things you realize as you make the transition though and things I’ve read elsewhere as well. It was just funny to me how closely it follows, like our brains were connected.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
I’m sure it’s a smart plan Kimberly! Common sense prevails. 🙂 No worries.
Jamie says
I have found that food isn’t just about environmental and social responsibility, it’s a spiritual thing as well! God has so much to say about food in the Bible, he gave certain meals as reminders of spiritual matters, and one of the very first things we’re told we’ll all do in heaven is sit down to the marriage supper of the lamb and have a great feast. You’re right that culture has always evolved around food, and I believe that the spiritual culture from the absolute beginning has been centered around food in some way. Adam was put in the garden, and the first sin wasn’t killing, or adultery, but the choice to eat a certain fruit. It really changed the entire way I thought about what I ate once I realized it was such a spiritual thing!
Lori Hernandez (Contributing Writer) says
Yes, yes, yes!!!! I have such a hard time explaining this concept to others – you did it beautifully. Learning to love, appreciate, grow and cook food has deepened and strengthened my spiritual life in profound ways. Thank you so much for your comment.
Becca says
I agree that an attempt to change eating habits suddenly can backfire because it feels too difficult! How did the Daniel Plan work out for your church group?
My family has NOT made the choice to have one adult working on home stuff full-time, but we do manage to eat real food a lot of the time by having two adults who can cook plus an older kid who sometimes cooks, and by using a lot of the time-saving tips you listed. I especially like your first tip–we hardly ever watch TV!
Being inundated with fresh, local, organic produce by our CSA farm share helps keep us eating healthfully through the summer and fall–if we don’t eat the veggies, they’ll go bad! We take a moderate approach in which we do get to eat pizza, ramen noodles, fast food, etc., once in a while when we crave them. Here is a real-life menu from 5 weeks last year and I’m planning to post an “even realer” one–from a very stressful season–soon!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
“Even realer” – yep, love it Becca! 🙂 Katie
Lori Hernandez (Contributing Writer) says
Becca,
I feel like I kind of threw the Daniel Plan program under the bus! I should have mentioned that I really loved the whole program… I simply felt the way they introduced healthy eating made it feel really overwhelming and unattainable for busy people who are used to eating the Standard American Diet. I think some people made lasting changes, but most people gave up out of frustration… and stopped coming to the class.
I love how your family makes food a priority, even with your busy schedules! We do our best too, but every Sunday we order pizza, we still go out for ice cream way too much and we occasionally junk food – we’re not perfect! Like I said – 80/20 rule. Try to eat well 80% of the time and don’t worry about the other 20%!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
We should meet at Hman’s for ice cream as families sometime, Lori! (Ha!) Not exactly the point of this post…but your comment made me think that would be a very fun idea. 🙂 Katie
Becca @ The Earthling's Handbook says
A few years ago, one of my co-workers did the Daniel Plan with his church for Lent, and he said that although he wasn’t doing it perfectly, he felt he was learning a lot from trying–both learning about food, which he’d been too careless about for too long, and learning about God’s grace and forgiveness for our imperfections.
Here’s my really real-life meal plan–7 weeks of eating realer food than we would have if we hadn’t been trying, anyway!
Caryn says
What a true and insightful post! It’s also incredibly encouraging that it took you 7 years (or so) to transition to “real food” because it is SO hard in a world that lives out of boxes. Thanks for sharing!
MD Kennedy says
Once you’ve started to get rid of the “edible non-food products” from your life, it is amazing how wonderful the “real” stuff tastes. Get some Garden Gem tomato seeds and grow just one plant – even an apartment dweller can do this. And then savor the flavor of your crop!
Anyway, I found that moving away from processed & industrialized food was much like financial budgeting: we started with tracking for one month exactly what our family was eating, and even the kids were astounded at the crap in the list when we reviewed it. We made just a few tweaks each month and even though it took a while, we are well on the way to a realistic real food lifestyle. We’re not perfect, but we enjoy food so much more, spend less, and all feel so much better!
Lori Hernandez (Contributing Writer) says
Yes! That is how we started – just making a few changes here and there. Those changes really do add up!