1) I am new to your website, where should I start?
If you’re new here you should definitely check out Start Here, our Recipe Index, and our free Real Food Resources area. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in touch and be informed of new recipes, tips, and resources as they come available.
I’ve also written three best-selling cookbooks that are geared towards typical families trying to get healthy, delicious food on the table, fast. These are available anywhere books are sold and in many libraries.
2) 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.
3) 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.
4) 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.
5) 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.
6) 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. :)
7) I see that your family enjoys foods like cream cheese and boxed whole-wheat pasta, but aren’t those processed?
Actually even cooking is technically a form of “processing” or changing your food. So since we are not on a raw food diet I guess you could say we avoid all “highly processed” foods, which we define as having more than 5 (or any refined) ingredients. Check out our real food rules for the full list.
8) 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.
9) Where else do you shop for food?
I’ve shared my food shopping routine as well as my grocery template here.
10) Are there any “real food” books you recommend?
Well, first of all, I must recommend my first book of course! It’s part cookbook and part guidebook. 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. I also highly recommend watching the documentary Food, Inc.
11) 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 every day. 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)!
12) 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.
13) 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!)
14) 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.”
I have been buying Natures Way childrens probiotics for my kids.
After reading the ingredients, I realized sorbitol and xylitol are in there. What children’s probiotic do you recommend?
I’ve purchased Culturelle brand and while it’s all natural (no artificial dyes/flavors) it also has a few additives in there. I only use it when my kids are on antibiotics – about once every year or two – so I haven’t spent too much time searching for a better alternative. I hope that helps!
Make sauerkraut or other fermented veggies for probiotics.
Hi Amy,
I have been looking around the website and got the book. I really feel this is the right thing to do but
I am overwhelmed at where to start with my kids 8 and 6. I have been AWFUL in what I feed them and we don’t even sit together for family meals. I have tried in the past to make home made food and am rejected. It came to the point that my daughter (8) told me that she hated having a mom who wants to make home made and organic food. She just wants the store bought stuff and who cares if it’s organic. I gave up at that point. That was a few months ago. I recently came across this website and food babe and my eyes are wide open now. I know I have to do it but am so scared of the rejection, the wasted food and money if they refuse to eat and frankly the energy it will take. Any words of advice? Thanks
Hi Nancy,
I realize this may be too late but our family recently totally overhauled our eating habits. We have 3 girls, 6 and 9. I should say that it seems like my kids were probably more receptive than yours would be initially since we were likely eating healthier than most, but I found a few tricks to help them give up their beloved Goldfish, Cheez-its and mac n cheese.
First, I explained why we needed to change what we were eating, how much better our bodies would feel, and how important it was to give our bodies good fuel. I talked about food companies using sugar, salt and chemicals to trick our brains to want more junk, which played right into my daughter’s indignation at being tricked by anyone (she’s smarter than us all, lol). I did a few different exercises to show them-I showed them how much sugar was in the crackers they like and the tomato sauce they ate, and explained that all this sugar was hiding in foods that weren’t even sweet. I took them to the store and challenged them to find a food they were used to eating that didn’t have any added sugar or chemicals. I talked about this a lot for the weeks leading up to the 10 day challenge. Then, I used the 10 day challenge as an incentive. I made a chart for each of us for each day, and at the end of each day they got to check if the made a good effort. We also all agreed on the rules we would follow:
1) No foods that aren’t allowed
2) No complaining
3) Three bite rule-they agree to try a new food with 3 bites
At the end, they could celebrate with a non-food treat. To get ready, I had them as a game go through all the food in our house and put in boxes anything that broke the rules. They LOVED this part. Then we put it all in the basement. They got very serious about the challenge, even getting stressed when they ate a snack with sugar by accident at a friend’s house.
Next, I showed them all the lunches on this web site and told them to choose what they wanted for lunches and snacks each day. They liked getting to choose. Dinner is not our issue so I didn’t do that with them but you could.
I think the success was getting them into the “challenge” aspect of it. The 6 year old was less successful, as I expected, but overall it went great and we kept a lot of the changes.
I should add that it took a LOT of time. I made everything from scratch, including mayonaise (it has added sugar). I made crackers (not a success), whole wheat pancakes (tastes fine with enough maple syrup) and muffins. I made homemade ranch dressing, homemade taco seasoning, and homemade salad dressing I baked a lot.I drew the line at making my own ketchup and settled for an organic one. But, I have to say that in the end, I found the time and now bake all treats-no more store bought cookies or brownies. I am getting faster at it, sort of.
Nancy, I hope you haven’t given up!
These changes can seem scary and overwhelming to grown-ups, much less to children who feel like they don’t have any voice in making the changes. That could be where your daughter was coming from. I love Jhana’s suggestions for getting your kids involved.
We have eaten this way pretty much for the last 54-5 years and my daughter is 7. Every now and then, she still complains that she gets homemade cookies and snacks rather than things out of a package. It bugs me, but it doesn’t change how we eat. I ask her to read the ingredients and tell me what things in that item she actually wants to eat. (We can find ingredient lists for most things inline.)
Good luck. It’s a journey and it will be difficult sometimes, but hopefully, you will find it’s worthwhile.
Do you have any information on websites I can use for ordering non perishable staples, my grocery store does not have a big Organic section for items like maple syrup, canned tomatoes, pastas, beans etc.
Thank you
Sally
Hi Sally. Amazon has a good selection and several readers use Azure Standard.
I (and my family!) have been on a real food journey for the past 2 1/2 years, after reading Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food and being directed to Lisa’s awesome website! I recently read the book Wheat Belly, and wondered what Lisa thinks about the whole “avoid grains and especially wheat” thing. It makes sense to me that the wheat that we have now is drastically different than the wheat from ancient times, or even 50-100 years ago. And that it’s in so much of our foods, especially highly processed foods, so we should be eating much less of it. There’s so much contradictory and confusing food advice out there!
Hi Donna. Lisa and her family enjoy eating whole wheat and have not shown any kind of sensitivity to it. If you have concerns, I would look for ancient forms of wheat and other grains. So much is available to us now that avoiding modern wheat is not a huge challenge as long a you are willing to cook/bake things yourself. :) I personally feel far better without wheat and gluten but every body and digestive system is different.
Hi –
I have a whole wheat bread recipe I love, but it has a little molasses in it, and a couple tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. Are these considered real foods, or not?
Thanks for your help! (=
Hi. Under the rules, we would use honey or maple syrup rather than molasses and we would not add the vital wheat gluten. However, that sounds like a pretty clean recipe if you use organic ingredients.
I put a link to your book on my website, and mentioned how awesome it is. I am just getting started with being a personal chef, but have followed your site for a while (inspired me, and my husband is slowly warming up to healthy food), thank you so much for sharing your families journey. I plan on consulting your book often. Judith
hi,
I have a question and its about lentils & beans various! I can’t seem to find wether they r ok or not on ure website? Myself my husband and 2 children r trying to follow this oledge as closely as possible but I’m unsure as to these foods!! ?
Hi Lucy. Lentils and beans are great! :)
I am fairly familiar with the site and real food in general. However, I am wondering what the opinion is on almond flour and coconut flour? I noticed Lisa seems to only use whole wheat. Also, what is a good mild flavor whole wheat?
Hi Amanda. Almond flour and coconut flour are great gluten free flour options but can’t be exchanged one to one in Lisa’s recipes. You would need to do a good bit of experimenting. :) Lisa sometimes uses white whole wheat which is still 100% whole wheat but lighter in color and texture.
I have not gotten to read through everything on this site, but I was wondering about stevia and other supposedly “natural” alternative sweeteners like xylitol and erythritol? Are those recommended or should they be avoided. Thank you!
Hi Jill. Those are not sweeteners that we use but we know that the rules have to be adapted for certain medical conditions. Here is a post on stevia: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/25/stevia-food-babe-investigates/.
I’m looking for standard “boxed” snacks that my kids would recognize and that also constitute “real food” or something close to it. For example, I looked at Triscuits, which seemed to me pretty benign. Are they? Do you have a list of mass market snacks that are acceptable, or relatively so?
Hi Nicole. Triscuits have refined oil but are among the crackers Lisa used when she first started the pledge. She now uses Ak Mak, whole wheat matzo, or occasionally buys Crunch Master brand. Here are a few packaged snacks in addition: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/07/04/for-convenience-the-best-store-bought-snacks/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/21/for-convenience-the-best-store-bought-snacks-ii/. Also, Prevention.com does a list of the cleanest packaged foods every year. :)
Hi all, I love to share my Indiegogo campaign with all of you because I know we all have the same interests. better and healthy food for all, please visit and support this great campaign.https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/urban-farm-cafe-and-permaculture-farm/x/8853944
Hi, do you have any mail order sites you can reccommend for buying food. Our grocery store does not have a very big organic section. I’ve been looking on Amazon and they seem to have a lot?
Thanks,
Sally
Hi Sally. Amazon is a good option. Some readers also use and swear by Azure Standard. ~Amy
Hi! We have been making the switch to no processed food! We have been doing the 80/20 rule for a little while now but I did have a few questions. My 16 month old soon is a real food eater but he absolutely loves animal crackers, pretzel sticks, and crackers in general. We did not offer these to him but they did at nursery. I looked at the ingredient labels of even the organic kind and there are so many ingredients in the crackers and animal crackers. Do you have any alternatives that are just as tasty for him? And the organic pretzel sticks that I have found have soybean oil and wheat flour, are those ingredients ok? Thanks so much. We are still new on this journey and still learning!
Hi. Here are some simple recipes as well as better store bought options: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/21/for-convenience-the-best-store-bought-snacks-ii/,https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/03/23/recipe-easy-cheesy-crackers/and http://weelicious.com/2012/03/07/whole-wheat-cheddar-crackers-video/. ~Amy
Hi!
I love your website! I am looking to buy a new set of pots and pans. What do you recommend?
Thanks, April
Hi April. You can find all of Lisa’s favorites here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/.
There are a lot of websites that suggest drinking almond or rice milk instead of cows milk. What do you think of these options?
Hi Niki. If you are looking for a milk alternative, be sure to look for those that have the fewest ingredients. Milk alternatives are good for those who need to avoid dairy especially. ~Amy
I agree with your philosophy for eating healthy but I am wondering how the average family could ever possibly afford to purchase an organic turkey. I looked at them with every intention of buying one this Thanksgiving but the prices were outrageous! The small turkeys were $50 while the larger ones for a family gathering were as much as $75. Most families can’t afford this price. Where did you buy your turkey and did you pay these prices?
Thank you!
Elizabeth
Hi
Total newbie here from the UK, I follow are very restricted low fat diet after years with a eating disorder, and I am fascinated with basic/natural/healthy, although apprehensive with starting your plan. Image started to incorporate various aspects.
After years on low fat expensive cereal bars which I realise are full of sweetners etc I am looking to make the switch, I have located your recipes for larabars, however I was looking for a alternative shop bought item for ease. We have Nakd bars in the uk, what is your view on them?
Do you brine your turkey for Thanksgiving. If so how do you do it? Thanks!!!
Hi Carol. This might help: http://www.marthastewart.com/274271/how-to-brine-a-turkey/@center/276949/everything-thanksgiving. ~Amy
What is the best way to store butter so it doesn’t tear holes in my bread?
Hi there. This might help: http://www.chow.com/food-news/138086/is-it-ok-to-leave-butter-on-the-kitchen-counter/. ~Amy
Hi Sandy. This will help explain the process and how easy it is to make your own: http://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/cooking-questions/substitute-evaporated-milk. ~Amy
I have a question, and I’m not on facebook or any social media, what is your opinion of evaporated milk… I know it’s processed, but how much compared to other processed food. I don’t use it much except for a couple recipes for eggs or cheese.
Hi Michelle. These should help in your quest: http://thesfile.com/healthier-wines/ and http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/entertaining/best-organic-wines#slide-1. :)
Hi There!
I love your website and facebook page. I’ve been following you for about two years now. I also bought your cook book!
I am looking on Amazon to buy organic items that I can’t buy here. Also looking into seasonings – what organic seasonings do you buy or does it even matter when it comes to that?
Thank you for all that you do!!!
Michelle
Hi there, Michelle. I’ve just begun to replace most of my conventional spices with organic ones. This is a good blog post from another blogger on this subject: http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2012/10/pumpkin-week-organic-vs-non-organic-spices-and-making-them-ourselves/. ~Amy
Hi! I first want to thank you for sharing all your hard work with us! I’ve had numerous health problems and have been on the track to eating cleaner. I just have a quick question. What is the average calorie intake for your meal plans? Thanks!
Hi Amber. We aren’t calorie counters. These posts will help explain: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/. You can always use an online tool like My Fitness Pal to figure out those details. ~Amy
We have greatly enjoyed following your journey on facebook in cutting out processed food, as our family has began our own gluten free journey four months ago. We were devasted (I know it’s a strong word, but that’s how I felt!) to find out the Ziplock containers were discontinued, and so we purchased the yumboxes last week. Our whole family LOVES them – they make it so easy to pack our lunches, it’s unreal. What we do have a question about, however, is how you keep the food inside cold? I have tried putting a few ice packs in my daughter’s lunch bag next to the yumbox, but she says her food just isn’t cold by lunchtime (less than 4 hours later) – I guess the cold just doesn’t permeate through the plastic yumbox? Any suggestions on how you do that?
Thanks for any help you can offer :)
Hi Jamie. Have you tried ice packs on the bottom and the top?
Hi, I bought your book a couple of weeks ago and first let me say I love it. I’m in the process of converting our kitchen to “real” foods. Over the past year I have removed almost all processed foods and we’ve been making our own 5 ingredient whole wheat bread. I’m still working on the pasta, not a fan of whole wheat so we’ve cut consumption of it way down to once or twice a month, when my supply is gone I will convert to all whole wheat and just learn to like it. My question is, what do I do about dried spices, are they allowed on the whole foods lifestyle?
Thank you,
Sally
Hi Sally. Dried spices are absolutely fine. Just pay attention to ingredient labels to be sure there is nothing in the spices that you aren’t expecting. ;)
Hi there. I bought the book when it first came out.
I noticed that you say you buy 100% pure maple syrup grade B.
Why grade B? At Costco I have only found 100% pure maple syrup grade A. I was just wondering why you use A instead of B so that I can begin to look for it.
Hi Sandra. Grade B syrup is darker, richer, with a more concentrated maple flavor- “harvested” late in the season. Grade A is fine to use, too. It is just less intense flavor-wise. There is no difference in the processing. ~Amy
Could you please tell me why you use honey and 100% syrup instead of stevia? I have always read that stevia is much better for you and now I’m very confused.
Tks for all your help on the website. I have enjoyed learning new ways to be healthy.
Hi Teresa. Lisa prefers to use honey and maple syrup because they are minimally processed. Much of the stevia you can buy is highly processed and can even be mixed with artificial sweeteners but there are more pure forms. Here’s a post Food Babe did that will be helpful: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/25/stevia-food-babe-investigates/. ~Amy
I am just beginning this program and I really need some help. I have read all the rules and all the lunch box blogs, but i haven’t found any realistic options for my 12 year old daughter that will only eat chicken nuggets, applesauce, and bananas. She will “try” a bite of the grown up dinner, but she is incredibly picky. Help!!! She is willing to try this but I need realistic lunch options for her school lunches. She won’t eat soup, she usually only eats turkey and crackers with applesauce and cheese flavored crackers. She is having headaches and we all really want this program to work for us. Please help me with suggestions. Thank you in advance!!!
Hi Denise. Have you read through the picky eater posts? Here are a few: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/09/09/real-food-tips-12-ways-to-deal-with-a-picky-eater/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/picky-eater-program/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/07/08/top-10-feeding-mistakes-parents-make/. You can also make your way through the recipe index and pick out the ones you think your daughter might be willing to try: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/recipe-index/. ~Amy
I have been eating this way for over a month now and I really love it for so many reasons. However, I’ve noticed that I am constipated and feel bloated, tired, and sick quite often. Has anyone else had this complaint? I wonder if it’s just my body adjusting to an entirely new way of eating. I did not make the changes slowly, but rather all at once.
Hi Dawn. It is normal for your body to have an adjustment period when completely overhauling how you eat. Can I ask what has been the biggest changes for you regarding what you ate before and what you are eating now? ~Amy
I have a request. Could you make a 1 page printable with all of the most important suggestions needed while grocery shopping? It would be a huge help when I can’t remember all the details. Thank you.
Hi there. That’s good idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Lisa
I totally love your website and your cookbook. I have very recently starting switching my family over to real food and trying our best to cut out processed foods. It has been a process but we are working very hard at it. I have been trying to find a brand of Almond Milk that is of the non-processed type, is there a brand you can recommend or is there is a list ingredients that you would recommend I look for. I am in Canada so our brands may be different then yours. Thanks for you help!
Hi Stephanie. It is really quite easy to make yourself if you are interested: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/31/food-allergies-dairy/. As far as brands go Whole Foods 365 is better than most and Silk also has a better ingredient list than other common brands. ~Amy
I am trying to gather myself and family to start this journey. The one item I cannot seem to find is what yogurt do you deem acceptable? Is it only plain, organic and we add our own fresh fruit? I have looked at all the different yogurts in the store and they all have more than 5 ingrediants and for sure some I cannot pronounce.
I appreciate your help!
Kim
Hi Kim. Look for organic plain full fat yogurt. Lisa often uses her berry sauce to sweeten: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/03/recipe-berry-sauce/. Adding a little pure vanilla and honey is another yummy option. ~Amy
I’ve heard and read a lot about wheat being bad for you (for example, the books _Wheat Belly_ and _Grain Brain_). But I notice you still use whole wheat products. What is your opinion regarding this?
Hi Jody. The Leakes have no sensitivities to gluten, wheat, or other grains and believe whole grains to be a healthy part of their diets. ~Amy
Where did she buy the drawstring little bags that she puts the thermos’ in for snack? I don’t see them listed under lunch time supplies (which is impossible to find on it’s own – website needs an overhaul!).
Hi Emily. Lisa is crafty/multi-talented. ;) She made those herself.
I have read a number of your articles and we have made a number of changes, though we have some more to make. However, I read the article about the oatmeal in a jar for snack. And it said that you added homemade vanilla extract to it. Then I read the article about how to make it. But what I wasn’t clear on is, does the alcohol dissipate in the extraction process? As my son has enough health issues, I am concerned about pouring the equivalent of vanilla vodka in his food that is not being cooked. Right now I buy organic vanilla, but I have never used it in anything that is not cooked. Thanks!
Hi Kendra. The alcohol remains. If you need an alcohol-free version, I suggest a pure vanilla powder:http://www.nielsenmassey.com/culinary/products-madagascar-bourbon-pure-vanilla-powder.php. You do not want to go the route of other chemically extracted vanillas. Alcohol is far safer than propylene glycol. ~Amy
For years we had a normal sized fridge and a chest freezer and I was home most days. I’d buy in bulk, shop healthy, cook and store extras in the freezer. Fast forward to now: poverty level budget, full time work and school, very small fridge and no extra freezer, and almost no place to store things so buying in bulk is limited to very few things.
1. What are some tips for cutting down cooking time without requiring extra cold storage? (I can spend about 30 minutes a day cooking and otherwise it’s a major project for a weekend.) Limitations: cannot store much in the fridge so preparing food for more than one day at a time isn’t an option. I don’t want to sink to the level of keeping convenience (non) foods on hand but some nights I’m so tired I grab a peanut butter sandwich and call it dinner. (Adams peanut butter, Dave’s Killer Bread… )
I needed to replace my Ziploc containers from last year. I got them at Target, so went there and there wasn’t even a place on the shelf. Instead of searching all around town, decided to use Amazon, but they are unavailable. Argh! I searched for similar ones, but was not happy with the style and reviews. Some that were very similar said they were not leak proof. Have you found another source for them?
Hi Jennifer. Yes, it seems they have been discontinued. We are looking into it. In the meantime, here are some other options: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/09/product-review-lunchboxes/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/08/19/think-outside-sandwich-school-lunches/. ~Amy
I’m so happy with the cook book and even bought the smoothie pops you suggested! I made the chicken soup Saturday and tried to freeze half of it for anther dinner and the mason jar cracked :( I even left space for expanding.. Do you have any suggestions for this?? Thanks!!!
Hi Kayla. Sorry that happened. Be sure you are using freezer safe jars. Also, jars with rounded shoulders won’t allow for expansion of the food. You should use wide-mouth jars that are wider at the top than at the bottom with tapered sides. This shape will allow food to expand upward as it freezes. ~Amy
Make sure you don’t put the cap on tightly during the freezing or thawing. I can use the narrow mouth jars without incident as long as I remember not to over fill or over tighten.
I have just started buying blocks of cheese from Trader Joes and love doing it. My question is how do you store the cheese after it has been opened and how long does cheese usually last?
I love your website and your book.
Hi Emily. I keep it wrapped tightly in plastic. This is a handy website for shelf life: http://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16743. :)