Things are gettin' crunchy 'round here

As of May 1st, we are doing the "100 days of real food" challenge, except for 31 days instead of 100.  But really, I am hoping it will be a lifestyle change for us.  You can check out the website that is our inspiration here.  We are basically cutting out all processed foods and eating only whole foods like whole wheat, local/organic meats, fruits and vegetables and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.  This means we can eat nothing with more than 5 ingredients (unless we make it ourselves), no sugar and no fast food.

When I was a baby, my mom put me on the Feingold Diet, which basically removes all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, because I didn't sleep, didn't eat well, my behavior was pretty unmanageable and I was sick with asthma and bronchitis.  When I go back and read in my baby book, my health and behaviors changed almost instantly.  So, I have always known that what kind of food we put in our bodies makes a huge difference.  But, sometimes it is hard to make such a huge lifestyle change.  And sometimes there is almost too much information out there to choose something that makes sense and works for you.  So, the rules for the 100 Days of Real Food seemed to be exactly what I needed.  They are clear cut and they make sense to me.  There just seems to be too much evidence showing the correlation between genetically modified/ processed foods and cancer, ADHD, autism, diabetes and many other health issues.  

So, we are giving it a go.  I don't think it will be too big of an adjustment for me.  I had already been moving in this direction.  I think it will have the biggest impact on Andrew who is used to eating out for lunch everyday.  After the lunch I packed him on Tuesday, I think he was a little scared that he was going to starve this month.  But, after going to the grocery store, I was able to pack him a more substantial lunch yesterday and he actually said it was almost too much food.  So, I think he will make it.  I think I will miss my weekly Chick Fil A outings though.  I mean, they do know me by name.    

I will keep you updated on how we are doing.  And I will leave you with what I had for lunch today.  Lemon Basil Penne Pasta (A Pioneer Woman Recipe) with whole grain pasta (it was leftover from dinner last night) and a spinach salad with some fruit from the kids' fruit salad and almonds and walnuts thrown in.  I didn't have any dressings that fit the 5 ingredient rule.  So, I just mixed up some apple cider vinegar and oil and tossed it on.  It was really good.  The kids had a fruit salad (apples, blueberries, strawberries) and a cheddar cheese quesadilla on whole wheat tortillas from Whole Foods.