Growing in eating

I've hesitated blogging about this, because I'm afraid it will jinx our progress. Our little family is on a journey to eat healthier... moving closer and closer towards no processed foods and no sugar. I also had hesitation in blogging about this because I didn't want to come across as "healthier than thou."

We are not healthier than thou. I'm sure of it.

It's been a long time comin', honestly, but as the director of our food intake in our house I have just felt overwhelmed. Where do we even start?

And then I ran across this blog... {100 Days of Real Food}. And, more importantly, I found a gem on this blog: {14 mini-steps to cut out processed food}. You take one pledge each week to make your way towards a healthier intake. It sounded SO attainable. I asked Andrew if he was up for it and he said yes.

Our journey begins. We are only on week two. I've decided to start talking about it on here because it gives me a little more accountability and this is my blog about growing. This is an area of growth... and I want to be vulnerable about it. So here is a little of what I've learned so far:

Week One: Eat two servings of veggies or fruit with every meal
This was mostly simple. Since I've been using the E-Mealz meal plans, every dinner so far has had this element. Lunch was a little bit of a challenge because normally I like a sandwich and chips. I started to get creative and eat veggies from the night before and then added a fruit like grapes or an apple. What was really helpful here was that I had no need for chips, which have no nutritional value. Breakfast seemed like a real challenge at first because I don't even like to eat breakfast (mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to do hard things in the morning... like put cereal in a bowl). But then I came up with an alternative that I've eaten EVERY morning since: Rolled oats and milk warmed up in the microwave with two frozen fruits. I was on blueberries and raspberries but I just ran out of both so now it is blackberries and strawberries. So, so good. I look forward to breakfast now.
AND.... I'm fulfilling #27 on my list of {28 Things}!

Week Two: Drink only "real" drinks: water, milk, tea, coffee (only sweetened with a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup... no stevia, even!)
Oh, I was so nervous about this week because of my cravings for diet coke. Guess what? I've only craved it once when I was eating popcorn last night! I've loved drinking more water throughout the day. I can feel a difference even in my energy level. That may also be because this week I've started to be a coffee drinker. Normally I would drink sweet tea or a diet coke to give me a little caffeine, but I've started to become one of those people that I never understood before. I am loving a little coffee in the morning... I've also learned how to make it palatable without sugar. I add a good helping of milk, a little squeeze of honey, and a dash of unsweetened cocoa! Mmmm.mmm.mmm.

So, there you go! Here is the beginnings of hopefully a lifetime of taking good care of our bodies. I've realized that most of my "unhealthy" ways are because of laziness, not ignorance. And from that I would like to repent.

A side note... One theme that we hope to be true of this endeavor is that we would not be legalistic. Once we start eliminating more processed foods, I do not want it to keep us from going to a restaurant with friends, enjoying a bar of dark chocolate every now and then, or having a meal cooked by friends or family. We don't think that a little bit of processed foods or sugar every now and then will hurt... but let's be honest, our lives thus far have included far more than "a little bit" of unhealthy foods.