What has changed

I've been thinking about following up on my food posts, it's just taken me a while to get around to it. I'm just punching this out, I don't even have any pictures, I'm sorry!

I've had people ask me, and you might be wondering-  what does it mean for us and what have I changed about the way we eat? Here is a summary without going into too much detail, if you really want to know! :

• We eat a lot less meat. I rarely ever have to buy it (which saves a lot of money for other things, or for buying better quality meats occasionally). We still eat it a of couple times a week, sometimes more or less, and when we do it is in smaller portions. I often replace it with things like lentils, beans, and quinoa. We have no intention of cutting out meat entirely, because we don't believe that is necessary and we really like it! 

• We consume less dairy. We use about a 1/2 gallon of milk a week. And I always buy the full fat versions of dairy products since low-fat versions have fat replacements added which aren't necessarily a good thing, it's better for Atticus, and it tastes so much better (to us at least, Taylor shouted for joy when I only started buying whole milk). Since we consume less, we're not worried about the extra fat. We enjoy it more!

• I buy a lot less processed/pre-made/packaged foods, especially of the "snack" variety. We have things around as back up or for the occasional snack/treat. There are a lot of things I make or aspire to make from scratch instead, and have found some things to be more worthwhile to just buy and some SO easy I can't believe I was ever paying to get it at the store- like salad dressing! I also like that this means consuming less packing and creating less trash.

• We eat less sweets and foods that have unnecessary added sweeteners. I buy plain (full fat!) greek yogurt, and we all like it- we eat it with granola or fruit (Atticus is very happy to just eat it plain). The sweetened yogurts do not taste good to us anymore. Other things like applesauce or jam I try to buy kinds without the added corn syrup (I think they are sweet enough as is). Things like bread or crackers I aim for more fiber than sugar. I don't buy cereals (except like I said as a back up or a special snack- like my pregnancy Captain Crunch), instead we eat homemade granola or old fashioned/steel cuts oats with some honey, cinnamon, and fruit for the quick breakfasts. I would rather keep the sugar out of our food and keep it in our dessert- which we eat more sparingly.

• I shop for a lot of my produce at the farmer's market. There are things I still buy at the store/Costco because they are too expensive for my budget at the FM. Surprisingly, some of it is actually cheaper than the store- like the beautiful organic rainbow chard I got for only $1. A lot of the food just tastes better, I like going there, and it has been really nice getting to know the local farmers. When I do buy at the store, I try to buy produce that is from the U.S, mostly because it always tastes so bad to me when it's coming from so far away and I always regret it. Bananas I choose not to give up, but I am more careful to never let them go to waste since it took a lot to get them here! 

• I don't aim for "organic or bust". In fact, I don't trust that everything at the store labeled as "organic" is really any better or much different because of loose regulations. There is certain produce I know is better if it's organic, and I like when I can get it organic from the FM or from the store at a good price, but otherwise I rarely buy other things organic. 

• Ideally and some day, I would love to buy a share of beef that is grass fed (that's the cheapest way to get good quality beef), buy other cleaner meats, raise my own chickens for eggs, have fresh milk from nearby, have a big garden where I know exactly what is going into the food, and make more things from scratch instead of buying it. I will just have to do what I'm able, what is affordable for us, and what is realistic. 

If you are still reading, I'm impressed! I think that sums it up pretty good. I am not interested in diets with names- paleo, vegetarian, vegan, etc., though I believe there are good things to take away from these different ideas. Essentially, I'm just trying to feed my family real food. I like how the author Michael Pollan puts it when he says, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."  I've discovered we just don't like food that feels like rabbit food or is straight up weird (though I am often willing to give the weird ones a go). I've found a lot of different food blogs and I've tried a lot of different recipes, some of which are terrible and some have been amazing! Taylor is so good to put up with me. Here are a few of my favorites:

Perry's Plate

Sprouted Kitchen

Oh She Glows

Smitten Kitchen

My New Roots -this one has a lot of straight up weird/rabbit foods, but I learn a lot and there is still some great stuff on it

I am still figuring a lot of things out, and I'm sure it will be years before I feel like I know what I'm doing and have it down like a pro!