Healthy Eating Quandry

[Hopefulmama]

Please bear with me. I am trying to sort out the best way to eat for myself and our family. We eat very healthy compared to most people I know. My kids love fruits and veggies. We eat some organic. We get our eggs from a farmer. Farm raised organic beef. I'm looking for a source for chickens. I have been reading a lot about being veg and even going raw, TF, etc. I'm not sure where to start. DH is totally a carnivore although is willing to try new things and is eating much healthier than he did before we met. Unfortunately, we all like our sweets and junk. I try to make it a once-in-awhile thing, but DH and extended family feel the need to spoil the kids with sweet treats. Uugghh. I guess my question is, how to you achieve truly heathful eating? I'm trying to figure out which path is best. How do you achieve a balance? I don't want my life to revolve around food prep although I do try to make somewhat thoughtful choices about what we consume. Is it better to go totally veg for myself and prepare alternative for DH? Eat meat but organically fed and free-range and keep everyone happy? Bake my own bread or buy sprouted grain Ezekiel bread? It's hard for me to figure it all out. I guess I need to figure myself out first, but I'm looking for input. How do you do it? How do you strike a balance while you have 2 small kids and time is so valuable? Any time I feel like I've made progress then it's two steps back. Thanks for bearing with the ramble!

[Zenzero]

I'm sure others will have some great advice for you and I will be watching this thread with interest as I seem to spend my whole life researching ang thinking about what we should be eating and it could become a real obsession if I let it! However, I am starting to realise that there is no one 'best diet' for everyone and that if I just go with what I crave (as long as it is whole foods prepared from scratch) then I can't go far wrong! I personally don't feel good without plenty of meat, but if you do, or prefer to eat mostly veg then go with that. I think it is very easy (especially for me!) to get so caught up in stressing about what you 'should' be eating that it isn't pleasurable anymore and I'm not sure how much better for you that is than eating a less than 'perfect' diet in joy and peace! I am trying hard now to just do the very best I can (whole, fresh foods, lovingly but simply prepared) on the limited budget we have and to enjoy every morsel rather than constantly reading and worrying about whether I could be doing better etc. I'm getting there slowly!!

Hope you find a way of eating you are happy with!

Linz

[lil_earthmomma]

I agree that there is no perfect path, and many different eating philosophies are going to promote health and wellness.

For our family, that includes meat. I make our bread with an 18 hour rise because we find it easier to digest. We eat butter, cream and full fat yogurts, sour cream etc. I don't do low fat foods.

We haven't followed any specific plan, but do what feels right to us. Loads of raw veggies and fruits, protein from meat and legumes, and full fat dairy products.

We don't do processed food, but I don't mind baking treats with a bit of sugar in them. We use maple syrup and honey a lot too.

I guess that although there are many different healthy eating philosophies, they all share the common principle of eating as close to the earth as possible. Not overly processing your food, or spraying it with chemicals or injecting it with hormones. You eat food in as natural a state as possible with all of these "plans".

[Ruthla]

I strongly disagree with the concept that "healthier eating always means eating less meat." Certainly, vegetarians can be healthy (and many of them do eat better than the SAD) but there are plenty of individuals who NEED meat in order to stay healthy. I'm one of them.

Have you checked out the "Traditional Foods" subforum?

Baking your own bread is probably equally healthy as buying sprouted breads. Buying the breads is more convenient and baking your own is cheaper.

I woudln't worry TOO MUCH about the extended family "spoiling" the kids, but I think you and DH need to be on the same page. I'd focus on having "compromise" treats on hand. All-natural ice cream from the supermarket is healthier than ice pops with food colors added. Home baked cookies and cakes are healthier than storebought versions with preservatives, HFCS, and hydrogenated oils.

[Hopefulmama]

Thank you all for your input. It was helpful. Still trying to figure things out.

[Thalia the Muse]

Honestly, I would go with the eating style you most enjoy. I don't think there is one magic diet -- just whole foods, cooked at home, with lots of fresh produce, and then whatever you enjoy and works for your family. If it's a source of stress, I think that's a good sign that you are making it too hard.

I think it is more important to eat food together that you all enjoy and feel good eating, than it is to eat one magic way someone else has laid out for you-- whether the magic way is fermenting everything and eating bone broth, or eating everything raw, or low-fat or vegan or whatever. I think as omnivores, we are lucky in that there is a wide range of eating styles that will nourish our bodies and give us what we need to thrive -- and we are unlucky in that there is NO eating style that is the one true way that will always keep us perfectly healthy forever. Food is not capable of doing that.

So -- if you enjoy baking bread and love the way it tastes and smells, bake bread. If baking every week is a stressful chore that you dread, buy a packaged bread that you like. If you don't enjoy meat, don't eat it; if you like it, include it in your meals. Occasional sweets aren't going to hurt your kids, so you don't need to worry over them.

[WC_hapamama]

I don't see the point of prohibiting sweets and junk from your diet, as long as you're eating them in moderation to begin with.

A healthy diet shouldn't be about denying yourself a treat occasionally, or about punishing yourself for craving a cookie, ice cream or tortilla chips and salsa.

I don't think that guilt should have a place in a healthy attitude about food.

[desertpenguin]

i agree you should do what you enjoy and what makes you feel good. only thing i have to say about omni vs veg is that if part of the family is omni and part of the family is veg, that can make cooking meals take longer and be a little more complicated, ime (albeit limited). my mil is a life-long vegetarian however fil is an all-meat all-the-time person so when we're having meals together it can get kinda crazy in the kitchen...ie, spaghetti usually means making two different sauces, more pots and pans to wash. i'm pretty sure that there are mommas on this board who pull it off quite well though, i just don't know how. lol.