By blog team member, Kiran. To learn more about Kiran, check out our team page!
Before you read this, I’m asking you to do me a favor: Please don’t judge.
I started working with Lisa two years ago, but I actually have known her for years. I watched her start this blog, kept up with the original 100-Day pledge, and prior to working with her, took in little bits and pieces of her input. But to be honest, I thought that I was pretty healthy already, and I thought she may have been taking this a little further than I would (again, I’m being totally honest). Flash forward to 2012 when I started to work with her at 100 Days of Real Food.
Two Years Ago
As I mentioned, I thought my family was already eating healthy. I cooked many nights of the week, and by that I don’t mean I was just opening a bag of chicken nuggets. But like many, I was using some processed foods such as store bought white tortillas, and I certainly wasn’t shredding my own cheese. I even (gasp!) had a can or two of cream of mushroom soup in my pantry.
After getting better acclimated to Lisa’s real food rules, I did decide to start making some changes. This didn’t happen overnight, however. Now, jump back to today, two years after not only being a solid follower but a member of the team.
Where We are Today
I have the most respect for Lisa and her family, and I try my darndest to eat and feed my family as best I can when it comes to following the rules. But we are not 100%. No, in all honesty, I’m going to say that we are probably 85-90%. But that’s just realistic for us. I almost said “unfortunately,” but really, it is what it is. I can’t make it to the farmer’s market each week, and honestly, feeding a family of six, we can’t afford to buy every single thing organic. Everyone’s situation is different and some changes were easier for us to make than others.
Our successes include the following:
- Switching over to whole wheat.
I ditched the white tortillas, the so-called wheat bread (with 15+ processed ingredients), and swapped out my flour to whole-wheat (or white whole-wheat) flour. I went on a huge bread baking kick and honestly didn’t do too badly with it. But time and dishes got the best of me; so these days, I do occasionally bake our whole-wheat bread, but otherwise I get it from Great Harvest.
– - Opting for organic.
I got smarter about where I was buying our food (i.e. ditching one grocery store in favor of another) and aim to buy organic whenever possible, keeping the dirty dozen chart in mind. I also always choose organic milk now, which I was not doing before.
– - Minimizing the meat.
Especially since I am feeding a family of six, I don’t buy all organic/local meats. Instead, I opt to not offer as much meat as we were eating two years ago (which was a lot). This will forever be a challenge for my husband, but eating less meat means that I can fill our plates up with more veggies and/or fruit.
– - Swapping out (and reducing) sugar.
This was actually much easier than I thought, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t had one complaint from my kids on this one. They tend to favor maple syrup over honey, and I also use dates sometimes in baking.
– - Purging the packaged goods.
Personally speaking, this was the most difficult for us. I was a huge Wheat Thin addict. I loved them and had them multiple times each day. I thought I was doing well by switching over to Special K crackers (remember your promise to not judge?). No lie—it took me 12-18 months to get them out of our pantry. But I’m happy to report that I’m a recovering addict. My kids were the same with Goldfish. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for them, I just stopped buying them. And I’m also happy to report that if they are served Goldfish at Girl Scouts (don’t get me started) or elsewhere, they actually say they don’t really like them. Tastebuds do change!
The Other 15%
I mentioned that we eat about 85% real food. So where does that extra 15% lie? Well, remember that I don’t buy everything organic. I don’t make my own tortillas all the time, but I do opt for the ones with the least ingredients. I also have a sweet tooth, and I don’t always (ok, almost never) choose the better dark chocolate. We go out to eat maybe once a week, and I’m the only one in my family who would have any desire whatsoever to find a restaurant that serves local food (I’d love a vegetarian one, at that). No, my family prefers a favorite pizza place that we’ve been frequenting for 10+ years. And no matter how hard I try to convert my kids over to 1-ingredient peanut or almond butter, they just won’t leave their beloved Jif (albeit the “natural” version – though I’m not sure how much better that makes me feel!).
I have to pick my battles, though. And for me, settling for 85% is just the best that I’m going to be able to do at this point in time. Looking back, I realize all the positive changes that Lisa has helped my family make. And I know that there are so many more that we can make in the future.
Positive Changes in Our Health
A lot of times I read a story about someone or some family making changes, and I wonder, did this really change them? Or after hearing their story, even though it sounds like a success story, I wonder, should I try it? And why?
So here is my proof; here are some positive changes that I and/or we have experienced:
- Change in tastebuds/cravings. I now crave raw, cut vegetables instead of my former beloved Wheat Thins.
- Satisfaction. A feeling of satisfaction after meals instead of hunger that used to ensue 20-30 minutes after a meal.
- Regularity. Not one of my kids has any issue with this, which I attribute to the natural fibers they consume on a daily basis.
- Regularity of a different form. I had irregular menstrual periods for years. They are now like clockwork.
- Decreased sickness.
- Increased energy.
So now that I’ve shared my realistic journey, please share some of your successes and potential goals for the future with me. How has Lisa helped you change? Are you 100%? 90%? 50%? No matter where you are on this journey, let this serve as a reminder that when it comes to cutting out highly processed foods, any small changes are encouraging and far better than none!
Deviled Eggs
We’ve been following 100 Days for about a year. I would say we average about 75%. Sometimes we do much better and sometimes, well, not so much. The biggest help has been the recipes here; we haven’t found one we don’t like. Even more so, we haven’t found one we don’t love. That helps a lot. When I’m struggling what to cook I know I can come here to find a good recipe. I would say we struggle in 3 areas 1. Organic – we don’t have a good source for organic produce in our area. When I buy organic I end up throwing about half of it away. We just don’t have the market for it in our area, so the supply is not good. So, I opt for local as a secondary choice. 2. Snacks – we are evening snackers. And, we like it. While we don’t crave them like we used to, sometimes it is just nice to have a snack. I haven’t successfully found a good set of replacements. We do popcorn, larabars, fruit, greek yogurt, homemade granola. When I just want some chips I almost always resort to plain. If I really feel a craving for another flavor all I have to do is compare the ingredient list and know that I can’t bring myself to eat any of those ‘yummy’ flavors. And since plain are kind of boring I don’t eat that many. BTW – Lisa’s brownie recipe is to die for! 3. Eating out – we do enjoy dining out with friends. It’s a very social part of our life. So, we don’t beat ourselves up about it. We do the best we can when dining out. But, we enjoy our sushi night and pizza night and eat well when we are at home. I would say one of the other struggles has been the ‘inconvenience’ of cooking for yourself. Processed food has been made so convenient that home cooking has been made to feel inconvenient. It is definitely a change in mindset. But, it is worth it. If it were convenient and easy we would eat ‘real’ all the time. So, we continue to work on changing our habits and get better.
Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job. You are so right; no need to beat yourself up. Do the best that you can, but don’t forget to enjoy.
~Kiran;)
I think everyone does their best. When l first started eating the way we do now, it was definitely baby steps. l never imagined we would be where we are now. I follow a lot of what the 100 Days of real food ways are along with some others. We use stuff like sourdough bread since it is easier digestible ( l get the WholeFoods brand since it is soy free). I never planned to go gluten free, just sort of happened and helped out a lot of my digestion problems. As for peanut butter, try the Wholefoods 365 creamy sugar free but with salt. I have tried many and it’s the only one I have found that is like the peanut butter we are all use too. My mom also prefers their brand of almond butter over all the ones she has tried. Good luck, sounds like you are doing great.
Kiran, thank you so much for this article! Your honesty is greatly appreciated. It’s so nice to know that I’m not failing if I can’t be 100% with this lifestyle and it’s okay to keep taking it one day at a time. :)
I’m glad that you found it helpful! Baby steps lead to great success:).
~Kiran
We’re definitely not 100%! But we’re at least 70%. Crackers are whole grain and with few ingredients (kids lunch carb of choice is SunRice brown rice thins), lots of fruit and vegetables, home cooked meals with mostly natural ingredients (not organic) and takeaways are vegetable-full thai, indian or our amazing local pizza chain which make vegetable heavy delights! The biggest thing holding me back is IBS as I can’t do whole grains. Low-fibre plain white bread is the best I can do, along with white rice and regular pasta as the effects of whole grain are too painful! But I figure if we’re doing our best with fruit, vegetables and not using highly processed foods in other areas, that it’s better than nothing :) I also can’t eat dark chocolate (sob! I love dark chocolate, but IBS…) so it’s milk chocolate at our house. Another local company makes the most amazing, not too sweet, milk chocolate, so I try to keep myself to a few small squares a day :) Loved reading your thoughts, and I love this website in general!
Thanks so much, Clare. Sounds like you are doing a great job, even with your limitations. Do they ever anticipate you being able to eat some of the foods that you currently cannot? Regardless – keep up the great work! :)
As a college student, all I can say is that I do my best! I eat a lot of plain Greek yogurt, almond butter sandwiches on whole-wheat bread, and raw fruits and veggies. When I am home for the night and can cook dinner for myself, I always make a real food meal, usually using lentils, beans, chicken, chickpeas, and/or farro. When I have to grab dinner out, I try and stick to as many real food rules as I can!