I’m super excited to be rolling out another “100 Days of Real Food” series! Over the past year or so I’ve blogged about quite a few topics:
- Our family’s original 100-day pledge where we avoided all processed food and refined ingredients
- Our family’s second 100-day pledge where we did it again on less than a “food-stamp” budget
- A series of “real food” mini-pledges that challenged readers to cut out processed food one week at a time
- A slew of many other “real food” topics including everything from school lunches to food shopping to health benefits as well as a very long list of recipes!
I never know what I’m going to do next until it happens, and just the other day a new idea popped into my head. I’d written up a themed list of “quick real food tips” and then I immediately thought of another and another. Before I knew it I had lists coming out the wazoo, and I had to figure out some way to organize it all. So that brings me to the introduction of…
“100 Days of Real Food” Tips!
There will be enough handy tips to cover the next 100 days and then some. Each tip for a given day will be compiled into one weekly blog post. We will tackle everything from meal planning to buying “real food” at mainstream grocery stores to dealing with picky eaters. The lists will be a “quick hit” on the highlights and also welcome readers to add their own advice in the comments. I already have a bunch of ideas I plan to tackle, but if you have any suggestions that you’d like to see please let me know at the bottom of this post.
I look forward to continuing on this real food journey with all of you…who ever knew blogging could be so much fun!
PS – I am a finalist in the Today Show’s “Home Chef” Challenge, and I am currently losing so I really need your votes! Apparently some people can vote once a day and some can vote as many times as they want. All you have to do is “like” the Today Food page and vote for Lisa Leake’s “Zucchini Chips!” I truly appreciate the support: http://www.facebook.com/todayfood?sk=app_203215029715450
I am so glad you did this budget friendly challenge. We are lucky if we get to spent $130 every 2 weeks on grocery items (and also including household items), and when I saw you say that people with a full food stamp budget can spend nearly $170 a WEEK.. I just about vomited.
This is for a four person household, with young children… one shouldn’t judge the help people need, as someone who understands because of the chosen career choice and group of people that I am going to be blessed to work with that comment was very rude and hurtful for those who aren’t so lucky in the finance area.
Now do a 100-day pledge where you show how people on special diets can do this with a food stamp budget: no gluten, casein, sugar, eggs, corn, apples, or peanuts.
I would love some tips on yogurt. The back wall of the grocery store is overwhelming with all the different yogurts!
I recommend yogurt that is organic and made with whole milk…that is plain of course (no sweeteners or added flavoring!). You can flavor it yourself.
I’m really glad that I found your site, and I’m looking forward to starting the challenge soon. Right now I’m trying to use up all of the ingredients that I have in my fridge & pantry so that I don’t have any temptations (plus we really can’t afford to just waste the food we already have). My biggest issue is getting my husband on board, much more of a challenge than our two young children will be. He grew up in a fast food restaurant…literally…his parents owned a fast food restaurant, so he thinks there’s nothing really wrong with it. He’s very physically healthy and always has been, even with the awful diet. He’s agreed not to eat any fast food or non-“real” food at home or around the kids, and I’ve been working on recipes that will replace his favorite “fast” foods. However, the one I’m struggling most with is sweet tea. He use to buy the jugs of premade tea from the grocery store, the ones containing at least 10 ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. A this point, I’ve been making him homemade sweet tea using tea bags and simple syrup (equal parts sugar & water). What is an equivalent to the simple syrup that I can use to replace sugar? He can tell the difference between simple syrup and just sugar, so I’m having trouble finding something that pleases his taste buds. He has agreed to stop drinking coke for the 100 days, but he “needs” his sweet tea.
Kay – Just a suggestion…if you are on a budget (I know you said you couldn’t afford to waste food) why don’t you add up how much you normally spend on sweet tea (and soda for that matter) and share the figure with your husband? I bet he could buy a nice “toy” with the money he normally spends on sugary beverages. Also, in regards to making your own tea to be honest sugar is sugar no matter what type you use. Even if you made the tea with hone or maple syrup it might have a few more nutrients than the other options, but it is still sugar and should be consumed in moderation (which is why drinking it down daily is not a good thing!). I hear you though that your husband doesn’t agree and who could blame him if he was raised on fast food and feels fairly healthy. I was also raised on processed food (and felt healthy), which is why I was shocked when my blood test showed that my good cholesterol (my HDL) went up by 50% after we cut out processed food…which for me was mainly white flour and sugar. Not sure if you’ve seen this post yet, but thought it might help…unfortunately though some adults just need their own “ah-ha” moment to fully make the switch: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/07/convincing-a-reluctant-spouse-to-eat-real-food/
Good luck!
Lisa
I’m doing the 10 day challenge now! I start tomorrow but I’m premaking a few things, and I’m attempting to make sweet tea with honey just so when I’m just not in the mood for water or milk I have something that’s not water… as for taste I don’t know but I’ll figure it out… I have my own blog about my health journey about the taste and how things are going…
Where can I find those glass jars for the soup?
I’ve seen them for sale at both grocery stores and Wal-Mart.
Hi I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon your blog. I am about 7 months pregnant and have really wanted to go more natural in my life. I plan on breastfeeding and when my child is old enough making his own baby food. This greatly helps in the next stages of life where he would be bombarded with “fruit snacks” and other highly processed food. I want to thank you for putting all this information up.
Congratulations on making the switch and thank you for presenting your information in a readible, organized manner! Please know, if you don’t already, that there are many families striving for the same goals that do so within a much more limited budget. We are a family of 5 on $250-300 a month. Also, great recipes. I do modify for our budget, but they work really well!
Your “food challenge” is great. I applaud you in your decision to become healthier and more educated about what you consume.
As a healthy food advocate for my own family I also deal with a number of limiting factors. I’m curious if you would be up to the challenge of healthy foods, with the twist of gluten (for my family it is wheat, barley and rye), dairy (all lactose) and nut free requirements thrown in.
Unless of course you are cooking holiday dinner for everyone in which case we throw in, shellfish allergies, egg allergies, and vegetarian diets as well. Happy Cooking!
I am new to your website and have been reading thru your past blogs. I am a mom of two who works part time. I try ro feed my family as much real food as possible, however I have not been able to come close to what you do. I don’t know how you have time to do anything except cook?! Do you always cook in bulk? Really, how do you have time AND energy for so much cooking? You feedback is greatly appreciated ;)
Voting for you!
One idea that I’m always searching for are kids lunch ideas that are NUT-free. My kids go to a “nut free” school, and finding non-lunchmeat, non-nut ideas can be challenging!
My daughter’s school is nut-free as well…check out some of my old lunch posts from last year (scroll down to the posts entitled “Real Food School Lunches” on this link): https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/children-adapting/school-lunches/
Hi Ingrid! I plan on posting a “Top 10 Nut-Free Lunch Idea” list on my blog over the next week or two! I would love for you to join our community and follow along!
Voted for your Zucchini Chips recipe. It looked and sounded much better than the other two offerings. I copied the recipe after I voted and intend on making them one day this week. They look delicious. Love your blog too.
I love your idea to put “real food tips” on your blog! I have been trying to eat more “real food” and am really appreaciating what I’ve learned from your blog and the recipes you have! But I would love a tip or two on meal preparation. I feel like I’m having to spend more time in the kitchen than I did previously. I like to cook, so on one hand it’s ok. But life has a way of getting really busy really fast, and then what?
I’ve got that one on the list…meal planning suggestions coming soon!
just wanted to say thank you for the shopping list but was also wondering if organic frozen meals like “amys” was considered ok or is these frozen dinners off limits and not considered real food?
Hi. Love the site! I am a newbie and for some reason when I click the link to the school lunches it says the info isn’t there anymore…would love to read it as I have 2 kids in elementary school. Good luck with the contest!
Voted!
Voted for you and do want to make the chips, saw them before when you posted ’em. YUM! THANK YOU for the site, I sure do enjoy the posts.
Thank you for the support!
I’m so excited for the tips!
I voted for you on the Today Show FB page. I wish I could vote more than once! Good luck. Even if you don’t win, I hope the competition brings you the much deserved attention your blog should be getting. It is definitely a real food blog that meets you right where you are. It’s inspiring. And supportive. And entertaining. And REAL.
Thank you Tracy!! You made me smile with that :)