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I am new to your website, where should I start?
Since launching “100 Days of Real Food” in 2010 I’ve blogged about a couple different “real food” pledges as well as recipes, resources, and tips. Here’s a breakdown and some links:
- May 2010: Day 1 of our original “100 Days of Real Food” pledge
- October 2010: Budget Day 1 of our “100 Days of Real Food on a Budget” pledge
- March 2011: A full list of our “100 Days of Real Food Mini-Pledges” where we challenge readers to cut out processed food one week at a time
- Listing of recipes, meal ideas, and other resources
- Alphabetical recipe index
- More about us and why we are doing this
- If you’re interested in joining our mission by taking the “10 Days of Real Food” pledge then go here
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Why don’t you consider sugar to be a “real food”…isn’t it natural?
Sugar comes from a plant so it is definitely a “natural” food. Some other “natural” foods that we like to avoid are high-fructose corn syrup (from corn) and white flour (from wheat). What all of these have in common is that, aside from being natural, they are so highly refined and processed that the good stuff is stripped away leaving mostly empty calories. Here’s a little more about our decision to avoid sugar and other refined sweeteners – Mini-Pledge Week 9: No Refined Sweeteners.
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What does your family eat now that your strict “100 Days of Real Food” pledge is over?
When we are at home I estimate that we eat 95%+ real food. Since our pledge ended we’ve incorporated a once-a-week “special treat.” This could be anything from a homemade chocolate cake to a donut from Krispy Kreme, although I do try hard to steer my family away from artificial ingredients and food dyes no matter what. With that being said, we do believe moderation is key so we most certainly let our daughters participate in school celebrations, birthday parties, and other events that often involve junk food.
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Have you noticed any health-related changes since your switch to real food?
Yes! We switched to real food because we thought it was the right thing to do. What we did not expect was for our youngest daughter’s constipation and asthma to completely disappear. We were equally surprised by how much my HDL level increased (a.k.a. the “good” cholesterol that should be a high number), which jumped up by 50%! I also feel like I have more energy (no more afternoon slumps), and my husband and I both lost a couple of pounds without even trying. For more details check out this link: Our personal changes in health.
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What kind of milk does your family drink?
We’ve switched both our type of milk and source for our milk a couple of times over the last year. We currently drink the least processed type of milk available in North Carolina (where raw milk is illegal). We buy Homestead Creamery’s non-homogenized whole milk in half gallon glass bottles from Earth Fare. Since switching to whole milk we’ve also been working to reduce our consumption.
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What kind of cheese do you buy that is “real food” approved?
When it comes to cheese we go for blocks of cheese that are organic and preferably from grass-fed cows (if we can find it). The pre-shredded stuff contains an anti-caking agent (to prevent it from sticking together) which is a little too powdery for our taste. Also, most cheese is actually supposed to be white so even though the orange coloring is natural and probably a harmless additive I like to stick with white cheese just to make a point. 
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Do you get any kickbacks from Earth Fare? You sure do talk about them a lot!
None. Nada. Zilch. I honestly just love shopping there! They have the freshest selection of organic produce (aside from the Farmer’s Market), but they also offer a lot of products I would label as “organic junk food” that I would never buy. As much as I love Earth Fare you still have to scrutinize the ingredient labels on their products, but they do have a great selection of “real food” choices as well.
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Is there anywhere that you can shop without having to read labels and scrutinize the ingredients?
Unfortunately, no. But the closest you can get is a growers only Farmer’s Market. At a growers only market all of the produce and meat will be locally grown/raised. There are a surprising number of farmer’s markets out there that allow third party vendors to sell you anything from Chilean blueberries to Florida oranges (which is of course okay if you actually live in Florida!). But even growers only markets have local “bakers” that use their fair share of white flour and sugar so you still have to ask questions. We also like to ask our local farmers if they use any chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers on their offerings because we prefer to eat foods that are as organic as possible, even if they are not USDA certified organic.
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Where else do you shop for food?
I’ve made a list of some of my favorite places. Most are in Charlotte, but some have other locations as well – Where to buy real food.
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Are you still on a budget now that your “100 Days of Real Food on a Budget” pledge is over?
Umm, for the most part, yes. I try my best to track our spending, but I am not nearly as meticulous as I was when I knew I had to report out my spending to all the blog readers! At the moment our weekly food budget is about $150 for the four of us (including entertaining and eating out).
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How do you deal with eating at someone else’s house when they don’t exactly follow a “real food” diet?
It can be tricky to try to eat a certain way without offending your host. For us, taking our “100 Days of Real Food” pledge was a great conversation starter as to what we were doing and why. I am not saying everyone around us fully understood or agreed, but at least they knew about it. During our pledge we did not have any flexibility at all so for the most part we either brought our own food wherever we went (and people were thankful because it meant they didn’t have to figure out what feed us) or we ate beforehand. Now that our pledge is over we have more flexibility so we pretty much just eat what is offered especially since it doesn’t happen everyday. We might still sometimes eat a little beforehand or bring a few key food items with us when we travel (like good whole-wheat bread, granola, and tortillas), but for the most part we just go with the flow. But I will say that after watching us complete our real food pledge, it’s no surprise to our friends and family if we suddenly decide to bring something special along to the next BBQ (like our own organic, grass-fed, nitrite-free, dye-free beef hot dogs)!
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What kind of oils do you use for cooking and baking?
For baking we mainly use butter and unrefined coconut oil. For stove-top cooking we either use olive oil (cold pressed if I can find it), organic butter (preferably from grass-fed cows), ghee (a.k.a. clarified butter because it does well at higher temps), or yes, we occasionally use lard (from pastured animals) as well. People tend to look shocked when I tell them we use lard and I admit it isn’t exactly an appetizing word, but it is a traditional food that our ancestors survived on for centuries. Here’s more info on using unrefined oils – Mini-Pledge Week 10: No Refined Oils.
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I am completely on-board with cutting out processed food, but how can I get my reluctant spouse and picky kids to join me?
No fear…because you are not alone! Here are a few posts on this very topic:
- Picky Eaters: 12 ways to deal with a picky eater and Winning over your picky eater
- Reluctant Spouses: Convincing a reluctant spouse (to eat real food!)
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Where do you and your family live?
People are sometimes pleasantly surprised to learn that we do not live in a “real food” mecca like New York or California. Yep, we are just a regular ol’ suburban family living in Matthews, N.C., which is a suburb of Charlotte. You can find out more about our family on the “About Page.”
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Are there any “real food” books you recommend?
The book that originally inspired us to switch to “real food” is In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Two other books I highly recommend are Food Rules also by Michael Pollan and Food Matters by Mark Bittman. Quite a few people have recommended that I also read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, but I have not read it yet (just ordered it on amazon!). I also highly recommend watching the documentary Food, Inc. Please feel free share any “real food” books or movies that you recommend in the comments below.
I love the “gogurt” like containers that you use in your children’s lunch boxes. I’ve look all over online but haven’t found anything like that. Where did you find them? By the way I LOVE YOUR BLOGS!
Hi there – Here’s the link to the freezie pop holders! http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-431-4-Piece-Silicone-Maker/dp/B0036B9KHO?tag=knowledgepdco-20
How does this recipe look? I’m not sure what the rules are on milk.
3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better!)
1 cup vanilla Almond milk (you could use skim but you may want to add a little sweetener)
2 eggs
1 tbsp Baking powder
3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
I would use either whole milk or unsweetened almond milk.
hi, i read in one of your older posts about you doing a triatholan. I am wondering if therenare any foods/drinks you recommend for distance trainings such as marathons.
Yes, I did a sprint triathlon (two of them actually), but to be honest I haven’t really done a lot of research in regard to food/drinks that are good for workouts and training. I do know protein powder is processed and should be avoided. I recommend things like nut butters in fruit/veggie smoothies as an alternative.
Hi Karen.
I am a USAT Certified coach. I’d be happy to answer some questions on how to fuel for a marathon using “real” food!
You can email me: desert-endurace [at] hotmail [dot] com
Thanks.
Jen
I just made my own greek yogurt and looking for something to do with the whey, does anyone have any suggestions?
I love your recipes! Do you have a cookbook for sale or are there any cookbooks you recommend?
I don’t have a cookbook for sale…but Deliciously Organic has a great one! And also Ancient Grains: Modern Meals.
Good luck!
Lisa
I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORT SO MUCH! I am the mother of 6 kids under the age of 7 (no – No multiples!) So it is SOOOO great to be able to have sucha thorough reference! I DON’T have the TIME to figure all of this out! May I be SO BOLD as to ask for ONE MORE thing to be included?!?!? It would be really helpful to know how long things last ie: wheat tortillas – what is the “shelf life” of those if refrigerated/or stored in a container? I REALY need to plan ahead and make big batches of things when I have the time so to know how long something keeps would be helpful! Thanks Again for all your help! You are a wealth of knowledge!
Theresa, I am also a mom of 6. My oldest is 7.:D
If you make them using real butter then you need to keep them in the fridge or they will be rancid in about 2 days. It has something to do with butter and whole wheat. They will last a couple weeks in the fridge. The best thing is that they are freezeable!
I moved from TX to IN and started making my own tortillas out of sheer desperation.
I put parchment paper between each one, including top and bottom. I do stacks of 24 and put them in a freezer bag.
The thing I have found is that using coconut oil makes the best tortillas. Those can sit out for a little over a week on the counter. They are also so quick that I rarely need to make enough to keep for longer than a week. Hope this helps, Andie
Love your blog! You would totally love the Holistic Health Counselor program through Institute for Integrative Nutrition! A lot of the Authors you mentioned were speakers for many of my lectures. I just graduated and I can’t recommend it enough. It was truly an amazing experience! I can’t wait to dig into your blog when I’m in front of a computer!!!
Hello…I may have just made a gaffe! I “pinned” your refried bean recipe. I gave you full credit, but as soon as I pinned it, I thought, “I wonder if I had to ask first?” if I did, I’m sorry…I’m new to this!!! if you want me to unpin it…let me know! but I love your stuff and want to share with the world!
Thank you for introducing me to Ak-Mak crackers. I had not heard of them before and they are delicious. Great alternative to Triscuits.
I just found your site through pinterest this morning. If I have the ingredients I am going to make your cin-raisin bread today! I follow a few blogs and some have their recipes linked to ZIPLIST. I have that app on my phone and want to add your yummy looking, non-processed food to my menus there. Let me know if you get hooked up with them too. Thanks. Can’t wait to start pledging.
Also, how did you decide to spend $125.00 for your family of 4? I have not read all of the blogs on this, and we need a budget in this house! We are a family of 5: me, hubby, 10yo daughter on swim team, 8yo son on baseball team, and 5 yo daughter dancer! All growing and starving most of the time! Thanks again. I am excite that I found this site.
I’ve actually been in contact with ziplist and might do that in the future. Also, my readers voted on the $125 number…I was hoping for $150!
What do you do about stocking your pantry for emergency preparedness? Most foods that are recommended to keep on hand as they are shelf-stable and easy to eat if you are without power are extremely processed. Any good suggestions for alternatives?
Now that is a thought! We actually prepared an emergency kit in our crawlspace before our switch to real food and you are right…it’s all junk. I suppose I would eat it if I had no other choice! At least we could buy some organic junk for that type of situation now (or “can” our own goods for long-term storage)!
Hi!
I have always bought only organic when possible and try to feed my family only the healthiest food(organic chicken, deer meat, and no beef along with organic fruits and veggies). However, I was wondering how to do this with my son who is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts and fish? I buy the Earth Balance butter because it doesn’t contain dairy and then soy cheese.I know all of this stuff is processed but I don’t know how to get around it.
Also, I have noticed whole wheat does not agree with my body..at all. I’ve been baking and cooking with organic brown rice flour. Is that highly refined or ok?
I want to get started on this and want to do it the right way! Thank you so much for the amazing wealth of information on your site!
Wow, sounds like you have a lot of barriers to work around! Brown rice flour is okay and also consider ghee (butter w/o the milk fats) and coconut oil instead of Earth Balance. Good luck!
Hi, we are getting ready to start the 10 day challenge. Is unsweetened almond milk allowed?
Yes, as long as it has 5 or less ingredients!
I have a question. What is the difference between 100% Whole Wheat flour and 100% White Whole Wheat flour? King Arthur makes both brands and I notice you use the White version. Gold Medal makes 100% Whole Wheat and it is quite a bit cheaper. Just making sure that as long as it says 100%, it really is, whether or not it says “white.”
It’s just made from different varieties of wheat and the “white” version is a little lighter in taste and better for those transitioning from white flour…both are 100% whole-wheat though.
Hello,
I came across your website on Pinterest and absolutely love it! I was raised eating chips and white bread and whatever, not knowing about all the bad additives. I have been slowly trying to convert and your site has been so helpful! Is Whole Foods on your list of acceptable grocery stores? I have also been learning about the harmful cleaning products. I was wondering what household cleaning products you use? Dishwashing detergent, laundry products, counter top cleaners etc.
Lisa,
Can you send me a link or more of a detailed explanation on the lunch boxes you use for your girls. I’ve been searching for the rectangular ones that the ziploc containers will fit in and I wasn’t exactly sure which lunch boxes you specifically use. I’m doing it all online because we don’t have any of those stores near us. Thanks so much. LOVE your website!
Yes, of course…pin away!!