My Real Food Revelation
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I’ve briefly touched on a topic known as “real food” here on my blog, but I’ve never really gone into depth about it. Just a year ago, I didn’t even know that a real food movement existed. It’s quite funny how I learned about it.
I was brainstorming names for my blog. Every time I chose a name that I liked, I would google it. Well, I really liked the name, Keeper of the Home. When I googled it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was already a blog with that name. Not only did this blog exist, but I really liked it. I was pulled in, and quickly learned about real food and a radical new-to-me way of eating.
At the time, I wasn’t easily converted. I since went on to find other blogs with these same ideas. Some I found through the Keeper of the Home site, and some I found completely on accident. The more I read about real food, the more I’m convinced to slowly change my diet, and my family’s diet.
Eating real food is not a fad diet, and it’s not something totally new. People who eat real food eat the good stuff. Real butter, fresh (raw) cow’s milk, grassfed and pastured meats, healthy and fresh grains, and many other delicious foods that people have been eating since the beginning of time. Real foodies are all about embracing the foods that God made for us, and shunning foods that are made in factories.
I keep digging and digging. As the mama, wife, and homemaker around here it is my responsibility to feed my family. Do I want to feed my family food that could be detrimental to their health? No, I want to feed my family food that will nourish their bodies. I learn literally learn something new about food every day. It has been fascinating.
One of the most eye opening things I have done recently is watch Food, Inc. on Netflix. This documentary showed me the world in which the meat I buy at the grocery store is raised and slaughtered. I learned why processed food is cheaper than real food. I was appalled and even enlightened.
You see, we got some new chicks last spring. We ended up with six run-of-the-mill yellow chicks. We didn’t know any better, honestly. In the documentary a chicken farmer talked about how these factory chickens were engineered to grow abnormally large breasts very quickly so when they were slaughtered they would bring more money. The sad thing is, these chickens grow so large that eventually their internal organs can no longer keep up with their bodies and they die. We gave away three of the chickens and the other three died within a week of each other. I remember remarking how huge they were. We thought the heat killed them, but now I think otherwise.
This real food diet will take some time to ease into for my family. Some things like grassfed meats and organic milk are too expensive for us. I don’t even know where to get raw milk. My husband is a picky eater and I know I will have a difficult time getting him to eat new things. It’s a slow process being done in baby steps here.
So far we have switched to using real butter and olive oil. I’m making just about everything from home and from scratch. I like to roast up a whole chicken and make bone broth. We are eating more beans and lentils, and I’m planning to start soaking them soon. I also love buying fresh veggies now, and my son especially really enjoys eating them. I’m starting to bake our own goods. I’m not a great baker, so this is taking some time, too. Next on my list of things to do is get rid of vegetable oil and start using coconut oil in my baking. Then I will start trying to use less and less white sugar and begin using sucanat.
I’m excited about doing this! I’m excited about trying new things, shopping in new ways, and hopefully convincing my husband to enjoy real food.
Most of all, I’m doing this for these two little people. I want my children to know the taste of real food cooked in their mama’s kitchen. I want them to have an opportunity to beat the odds and have a healthy life. I want them to help change the world. Our children are worth it.
Here’s a list of blogs that I visit that are teaching me all about real food
The Purposed Heart (delicious recipes)
Real Food Little Rock (local resources)
There are a lot more sources out there, too!
Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
we have the same problem with sugar. i wont use artificial sweetners and i have to eat glunten free. so…..i think a little sugar is just fine. i also bought meat chicks on-line. they were so much bigger than my hens as chicks. i lost half of the 50 i ordered. i was so sad at the loss and the constant death. i put the remaining chicks on all natural sweet feed. it slowed down their growth and they are less aggressive. i know it takes longer to grow them and more money….but i’m not in it for cruelty. i want to feed my children healthy food….not hormones and sick unatural food.
Kim, that’s very neat that you’re raising your own chickens for meat. We don’t have the space to do that, and I’m not sure about the whole slaughtering thing. If I had to do it I certainly would, though. I’m still on the look-out for better sources of quality meat around here. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Sounds like we are on the same journey with some of the same challenges. Thanks for the reality check and yes, it is all about baby steps 😉