Changing the way we eat and drink...

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
So over the past 6 months or so, I have been more cautious about what I and my family put into our bodies. We have stopped buying Soda all together and I have been making infused water at home for the most part. We still enjoy our occasional flavored sparking water and Don't really drink alcohol that much anymore either. I just had my first drink in about 3 months on Friday. So next, I want to move onto food. We have a 4 year old daughter who is just eating all the time now and so we constantly need to have snacks on hand. She only drinks water and milk, nothing else... Maybe the occasional thing of juice every once in a while, but the snacks she eats are just not good for her at all and I have been reading about some ingredients to cut out not just for her but for my wife and I as well. Things like Carrageenan (which I know is found in some plant based milk, which my wife does drink since she is allergic to Milk Casin) and Artificial colors and dyes, like Red 40 and yellow 5 (which is found in a chit ton of stuff) High fructose corn syrup, Soybean Oil, Natural Flavors, Inulin, and Xanthan Gum. I know there are alot more ingredients that should be made aware of and we have even started buying natural shampoo. Anyone else on this boat? I have just read so much about these ingredients that are in our food that don't exist in the EXACT same food over in the UK, which is crazy to me.

I want to start sort of a mental list or ideas on alternatives to things we normally buy that we can make the switch over to just live a healthier life. We are already pretty active outside and get our cardio in for sure, but I also want what I am feeding my body to be as natural as possible, but i know alot of stuff that is convenient is just not good for you at all.

Anyone gone down this rabbit hole and changed things they eat and what did you buy instead of that is a good alternative? Is there a list out there somewhere on the internet has done something like that for me already?

Both of our parents are hard headed, stubborn, and don't really take care of themselves and we just don't want to end up a like them and I want to teach our daughter early about choosing healthy eat habits.
 
I’ll say this…there’s an egg wrap/tortilla that came/comes in clutch for me. Kind of a weird texture you have to get comfortable with…but instead of sandwiches, use the wraps. Instead of pitas for gyros, use the wraps. Instead of tortillas for quesadillas/tacos, use the wraps. For me, that one item was probably the biggest thing that helped me ‘get over’ carbs.

We also use ground chicken for pizza crusts, another biggie as far as carbs were concerned for me.

Then we also made the switch to cauliflower rice as filler.

Another big one for me was carrying around a jug of water…certainly felt satiated longer, and prevented snacking.

Smoothies and juicing really helped to have a go to for flavor.

Overall, a lot less ‘unnatural’ was eliminated using those items, in my house anyway.
 
Want to do it right? I mean, like...really right?

Single ingredient foods, seasoned to taste w/ salt & pepper...that's all
 
We arent on the health freak thing. But we do eat healthier than a lot of folks. We cook most of our stuff from scratch, and try to eat "healthy stuff". We also cut out all red dye, blue dye, and yellow dye mostly because it sends David off the deep end.

As far as snacks go, "Annies" brand of snacks are all dye free. We went so far as to find dye free food coloring and snow cone flavoring for Davids parth.
 
JSJJ388 said:
We arent on the health freak thing. But we do eat healthier than a lot of folks. We cook most of our stuff from scratch, and try to eat "healthy stuff". We also cut out all red dye, blue dye, and yellow dye mostly because it sends David off the deep end.

As far as snacks go, "Annies" brand of snacks are all dye free. We went so far as to find dye free food coloring and snow cone flavoring for Davids parth.
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Annies... This is good to know. Next grocery trip, I will check some of this stuff out.
 
Note that High Fructose Corn Syrup doesnt have to be clearly labelled as such in food. You can look up alternative names, but there are a number of words that mean the same thing.

If you think you might have an aversion to gluten, Id suggest trying local stone ground flour/meal. The grains break down in your body differently than the processed stuff.
Same goes with dairy. If you have a mild sensitivity, you can try A2A2 cows milk or goats milk as the proteins can be absorbed differently in your body. Doesnt solve it for everyone though.
 
Popcorn... make your own. Literally corn kernels, a dash of olive oil, a dash of salt and a pot. Great snack and so much better than the bagged stuff.
Technique takes a little while, I'm still perfecting it myself.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Popcorn... make your own. Literally corn kernels, a dash of olive oil, a dash of salt and a pot. Great snack and so much better than the bagged stuff.
Technique takes a little while, I'm still perfecting it myself.
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Coconut oil FTMFW. Higher smoke point and doesn't impart flavor.

1T in a pot with 4 kernels, heat until they pop, then add 1/2 c kernels and cover. Remove from heat and shake for 30 seconds (this helps bring the kernels up to temp). Return to heat and shake until you don't hear any more popping. Dump into bowl. Season as desired.

I prefer melting a couple of tablespoons of butter in the still warm pot and pouring it over the top, add salt and stir. Not enough butter to make it greasy but 'no fat no flavor.'

I've been making it this way for like 10 years.
 
A diet like you describe is really simple.
If it tastes good, spit it out, it’s bad for you!
 
Loganwayne said:
Are yall saying these double stuffed oreos I'm eating with my tall glass of milk Stent good for me?
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That's better than my usual milk with a tall glass of oreos.
 
Bebop said:
Best thing you can do is eat 3 meals per day at fixed hours and that's it. Snacks are terrible for your body.
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Blanket authoritative statements are never accurate..... ;)
 
I didn't read through all of the replies. But a lot of them are dead nuts accurate.
@Cherokeekid88 if you want an accurate answer based on personal results, here it is. Eat single ingredient food, limit sugar to under 40 grams a day, don't drink calories and eat a shit ton of veggies. I did that back in 2016 and dropped something like 80 pounds in 7 months. People thought (@McCracken ) I was going through cancer treatment or something. My cholesterol was/is amazingly low/ Resting HR and BP along with all blood panel results were better than when I was in high school (I was 39 in 2016).
I felt amazing, tons of energy, total clarity in my brain and what else??? It was (is) cheaper than cooking and eating processed foods.
You eat chicken, steak, fish, pork and whatever meats you want. Just don't drown them in mayo, ketchup (tomato flavored sugar) and BBQ sauce (again, sugar).
It's all about discipline. You change the way you buy food. If you don't buy it, you won't eat it.
Best way to quit smoking or drinking is to stop buying the stuff. Same thing.
Hop on Netflix and watch Fed Up. Really pay attention and draw your own conclusions.
 
Regarding "single ingredient foods" - is this a literal rule, like no butter on a potato, or just no casseroles. Or tacos? OMG. Couldn't quit those.
 
We have gone to a lot of single ingredient foods. It's made cooking and shopping a lot easier plus better for us health wise.

I quantify single ingredient foods like steak fajitas = onion, green peppers, jalapeno's, steak, chicken etc. Sure you can put them all together but its still single ingredients. Throw them on a bed of spinach and dinner is done.

Especially with the twins, we have tried to limit or cut out all processed foods. The worst thing they eat on a daily basis is unsweetened cheerios(quick snack in moderation) and eat lots of protein and veggies.

It can be hard at first but you will quickly fall into a pattern on what foods to buy etc.

For items like butter/cheese we go with Kerrygold Irish Butter and Tillamook block cheese that we shred.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Regarding "single ingredient foods" - is this a literal rule, like no butter on a potato, or just no casseroles. Or tacos? OMG. Couldn't quit those.
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The idea isn’t to eliminate butter from the potato, that’s two single ingredients mixed together.
In your example the idea is to eliminate the taco shell as it’s a processed grain product
 
Jody Treadway said:
(tomato flavored sugar) and BBQ sauce (again, sugar).
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The amount of sugar in processed foods is unreal. Especially obvious when you compare EU-manufactured "sweets" against their US-manufacturered counterparts.
 
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