Thinking of making the change... realistically, can I do this?

[SumnerRain]

I am thinking of making a complete transformation of our diet by working with a nutrition coach. I have been eating nothing but pre-packaged food because I have just been too exhausted to cook, but I am worried about being able to do this. The investment of working with her is HUGE and I don't want to put the money in if this does not work out.

I have 4 kids and I am 10 weeks pregnant with #5. I have been using my exhaustion as an excuse to hit the drive through and not make meals. But it is a vicious cycle, I probably feel like crap because I am eating crap.

A few of the issues I have against me though is that we don't have the best access to health food stores. We have a Safeway near us, a QFC near us, and a Fred Meyer a couple miles away. We do have a farmers market open in the summer, but it is pretty far away. There is no Whole Foods, and the Trader Joe's is about as large as a gas station convenience store, and in the next town over. I DO have a Costco, and I spend a lot of time there.

My husband is supportive, but at the same time not willing to compromise on taste, so I would probably have to find ways to make my old recipes healthier while introducing new foods.

I hate cooking, I really do, so I am not willing to spend more than 30-40 minutes on dinner most nights, up to two hours 1-2 nights a week.

We are on a budget, and my boys eat a LOT, so I need to keep my grocery budget reasonable.

We rent and cannot start a garden, not even a patio garden (I have big dogs), and a teeny tiny fridge, but a large freezer.

Does this seem unrealistic? For those of you who have made the transformation, how much more time do you spend in the kitchen? Do you have a hard time with picky eaters? Do you feel like a slave to the kitchen? How did you get started?

[griffin2004]

Heather, I'm in the Oly area, too. Have you checked out the food co-op stores? They have 2 locations in the Oly "metro" area. Bulk, organic, you name it. http://www.olympiafood.coop/

Would a CSA membership help with your veggie needs?

I'm so intrigued by the idea of a nutrition coach but have never heard of one. Where/how did you find him/her?

[SumnerRain]

I am near Yelm Hwy & College in Lacey, so metro Oly is not far at all, it just feels like it! lol

I did not know about the co-ops! I will check them out. I am still looking for a local butcher that uses local beef (does not need to be organic, just cheap, local, and grain fed).

I found the nutrition coach at the birth fair they had this weekend, her website is www.SeedofLifeNutrition.com Her name is Summer, she is super nice.

I have thought of a CSA before, but worried it would go to waste since I don't know how to can. Are CSAs just veggies? Or fruits too? I was not impressed with the selection in Colorado, so I never really looked into it. Where can I find more on it?

[Magelet]

why do you want grain fed?

[dislocator3972]

I made the switch a few years ago and was surprised to find it less horrifying than I thought.

Start by adding veggies into your dinners. You can get organic mac n cheese and add broccoli or brussel sprouts to it. Just toss the veggies in with the noodles and it's fantastic. Promise. If your boys insist on a little more cheese grated on top, no biggie.

Zucchini into spaghetti. Saute the zukes in a fry pan and then pour in your can of sauce.

Slice some potatoes into wedges, put olive oil on there and chili powder, cumin, cayene on top. Bake for 35 mins. They take longer than I like to spend, but they're almost zero effort, and everyone loves them. Plus, potatoes are dirt cheap.

The slow cooker is your friend. A veggie steamer is your friend. I am repeatedly surprised at how good steamed carrots are and broccoli is. Yum.

Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals helped me out for ideas.

kraft foods .com has simple, quick recipes. Most of them include salad dressing as a main ingredient (YUCK!) but we just skip it and add a little olive oil if something needs more moisture or is too thick.

My Dh grew up on pre-packaged everything and I ate cereal for dinner every night in high school. If my mom opened a can of soup it was for a special occasion. And we've switched almost completely. I can't remember the last time we ate fast food.

Oh, give yourself permission to have frozen pizza or something 2-3x per month. There will be days that somehow you just can't get dinner made. Whatever.

That's how we got started. We currently live in Alaska, and shop pretty much exclusively at Fred Meyers. We don't garden at all and would probably have to drive to Anchorage (7-8 hrs) for a health food store. IF there is one in the state. This doesn't take much more time in the kitchen, if any. But the time I spend, I'm actually enjoying. I think it's totally realistic for you.

Good luck!

Edited to add: I try to remember than any progress is still better than what I was doing. Even if it's not the perfect meal, if there is a vegetable present, I'm making progress. If there's protein that isn't red meat, I consider it exotic fare. That's right, in my house beans are exotic.

[kavamamakava]

I haven't made a transition because I've always eaten this way but I know it can be done with the stores you mentioned. I do mostly organic and cook a lot from scratch. I am a full-time student single mama so I certainly don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. I also don't have the budget to shop at Whole Foods and hardly make it to Trader Joe's. Safeway has O brand Organics that are very reasonably priced and carries a lot of the major organic brands like Muir Glen, Annie's, Organic Valley, Amy's, Yve's, Wolfgang Puck's, etc. QFC has a lot of organic choices and Fred Meyer often has a bulk section. I have found that all three of those stores offer diet restriction type foods like veggie "meats" and gluten-free foods and plenty of organic options. Often the organic selections are shelved with the rest of the foods and also shelved in a separate natural foods part of the store. Make sure you look at both.
I know that neighborhoods often vary when it comes to stocking those chain grocery stores so I'm not sure if my QFC experience would be the same as yours, but I am pretty sure it's doable just basing your shopping on those three stores and a once a month Costco trip. Costco has a lot of organic options although you might want to read the ingredients on some of them because they can be just as full of sugar and empty calories as non-organic foods. Like buying organic Toaster Pastries at Costco (instead of Pop Tarts) isn't much of a move toward healthier eating

I tend to cook once or twice for longer periods on weekends and make extra. Like if I'm making pancakes I make 3 or 4 batches and freeze some. I get organic whole wheat pancake mix rather than make it from scratch. The kids heat them up in the toaster. Or if I'm making enchiladas I'll roll up another pan (I use the organic enchilada sauce in the glass jar by the salsa at Safeway) and freeze the 2nd one. I also have a rice cooker and use it often. I peel bananas and break them into pieces and freeze them for smoothies if they are starting to get too soft to eat. I chop berries and freeze for smoothies - same with peaches and other summer fruits and berries. Smoothies are a quick easy snack for you when pregnant and for kids. You can add all sorts of goodies that make them nutritious and filling. I add things like silken tofu, nutritional yeast, flax seed oil, nut butters and of course fruit and I sweeten with Agave Nectar (bought it at Fred Meyer) - but not all of those things into the same smoothie! I sometimes make fresh cheese when I find a sale on organic milk and know we'll never drink it since we probably only drink about a gallon of milk a month in this house. I use the whey for soups or making rice or in smoothies.
I make food in the oven a lot because it's faster to prep and then let it cook while I do something else. The kids like to help make our version of tostadas. Corn tortillas, some sort of topping like beans or tofu or rice or veggies or sauce and then top it with cheese and put in the oven until the cheese gets bubbly. Then we add shredded lettuce and pico de gallo and avocado slices.
I also like to make noodle soups and instead of cooking it for a really long time to let the flavors sink in, I'll add a can of an Amy's soup. Tortilla soup is a big hit around here. I buy one can of organic tortilla soup and then add my own beans and other veggies and more soup broth to it. We eat it served over tortilla chips and cheese and topped with avocado and pico de gallo and sour cream.
I do soak beans a lot around here. They are so useful and much more flavorful than the canned beans. My kids especially like it when I make hummus. I get organic chickpeas at Safeway or Fred Meyer. I haven't tried it at QFC but I get organic cake mixes at QFC and natural candies like jolly beans and sunspire chocolate chips.
I hope I've given you lots of ideas, I know it can be mostly done even if you don't have access to a health food store.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by SumnerRain

I did not know about the co-ops! I will check them out. I am still looking for a local butcher that uses local beef (does not need to be organic, just cheap, local, and grain fed).


I have thought of a CSA before, but worried it would go to waste since I don't know how to can.

Originally Posted by Magelet

why do you want grain fed?

My guess is that she means grass-fed or is confused about the difference.

OP - you don't have to be able to can food to use a CSA. Honestly... in a CSA box, there isn't enough food to can, anyway. You just have to learn how to be creative with it, and most of all, flexible.

I think the best approach is to make some small steps toward a healthy, home-cooked diet. Your first step can be to stop going to fast food. We don't eat fast food and it doesn't hinder our convenience at all. If you want to eat quickly, outside of the home, there are better alternatives, such as ethnic restaurants, the salad bar at grocery stores, and delicatessens. A good incentive is to remember the guy who made "Supersize Me". He ate nothing but fast food for a month and almost died from liver failure. Now, of course he was eating it for every meal for 30 days, but imagine what it's doing to your body if you still eat it several times a week... it'll just get you longer to get to health problems. Especially pregnant. That can be dangerous!

Then you can try to make some pre-packaged meals at home. You have a large freezer. There are many frozen entrees that I see advertised on TV that say they are "all-natural" with no additives or preservatives. We don't eat them (I cook from scratch), but I'm sure they would be better than fast food. Try cooking some boxed foods that have the least amount of chemicals and start adding in some fresh items.

Then you can work on some simple recipes from scratch and at this stage, get a nutritionist involved to help you.

I think jumping from fast-food many times a week to cooking from scratch at home is a HUGE leap and not realistic. The goal is realistic, just not doing it immediately. I cook 90% from scratch (not things like pasta, some breads, etc.) but I have been cooking like this for 20 years. I'm sure I didn't cook as much from scratch when I was in my 20's and it was a process to get here.

Good luck!

[mamadelbosque]

I started cooking by looking up things I liked to eat when we were out and finding a recipe for them online. (baked chicken paremsan & general tsos' chicken were my first two.

We eat a lot of stir fry's - they are *SO* easy and *SO* fast - the only thing that takes time is the rice (we only eat brown - so it takes 45 minutes or so, but its pretty simple: put as much rice as you want in a pot, twice as much water, bring to a boil, put a lid on it and turn it down to simmer. wait 30-40 minutes till all the water si absorbed - tada! rice!), and cutting up the veggies/meat. You can get the various stir fry sauces or make your own, or do a mixture (I tend to put hoisin sauce in a lot of my stir fry's but rarely buy the other bottled sauces).

Spaghetti/rigatoni/etc is super easy too - especially if your buying pasta sauces (which, I have to say I think is just peachy fine - just look for the ones w/o HFCS. Add a salad and some garlic bread and poof! complete, balanced yummy meal!

Finally, my other fall-back meal is tacos/burritos - Cook up some ground meat (turkey is great as tacos), mix in oregano/salt/garlic/chili powder/cumin, warm up tortillas/taco shells add grated cheese, diced onion, lettuce and salsa and tada! dinner! If you want to add some beans to it (which is super yummy too just buy a can of pinto beans, drain then warm them up with the above spices and smash a bit with a fork (thus avoiding buying the canned 'refried beans' that are full of crap.

Good luck!!

[SumnerRain]

Originally Posted by Magelet

why do you want grain fed?

'

Gah, typo! I mean grass fed!

[SumnerRain]

Thank you for the ideas guys!! I can tell my first step is going to be meal planning. We have been running for FF more frequently because I have not been making a meal plan. Time to go back to the menu. I think I will start looking for a butcher and into a CSA, I love trying new foods, so finding a use for new veggies would be fun. We used to go get something we had never used before from the grocery, bring it home, google it to learn what it is, then look up meal ideas that revolve around the new food.

Just adding veggies & fruits, and removing FF would make a world of difference and give me the motivation to get more adventerous! Thanks so much!

[mamadelbosque]

Oh, and if your looking for a new cookbook, I *highly* recommend Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh cookbook. I got i almost a month ago for my bday and I *LOVE* it! I don't think anything in it has taken more than an hour to prepare from start-finish and everything so far has turned out 'good' if not 'excelllent'! Most of the stuff is from scratch although some recipes do call for prepared marinara sauce/teriyaki sauce, but those things you can easily sub your own home-made sauce if you want to

[griffin2004]

Originally Posted by SumnerRain

I am near Yelm Hwy & College in Lacey, so metro Oly is not far at all, it just feels like it! lol

I did not know about the co-ops! I will check them out. I am still looking for a local butcher that uses local beef (does not need to be organic, just cheap, local, and grain fed).

I found the nutrition coach at the birth fair they had this weekend, her website is www.SeedofLifeNutrition.com Her name is Summer, she is super nice.

I have thought of a CSA before, but worried it would go to waste since I don't know how to can. Are CSAs just veggies? Or fruits too? I was not impressed with the selection in Colorado, so I never really looked into it. Where can I find more on it?

Heather, I live about 2 miles from you!! What a small world!! Do you and your crew ever go to Rainier Vista Park on 45th? We practically live there.

If I had to pick the 2 things that I feel best keep us on track nutritionally, I'd pick 1) weekly meal planning, and 2) no fast food. I'm a single mom and work FT, and that meal plan is my best friend.

There are a couple of butchers at the Oly Farmer's Market. I haven't purchased from them but the lines are always long.

This is the CSA we're doing this year. http://organic-csa-washington.boistfortvalleyfarm.com/ There are several good options in this area. Here are a few. http://academic.evergreen.edu/curric...eGuide/CSA.htm

Spooner's Berry Farm (on Yelm Hwy near Rich Rd) should be opening up pretty soon with next-best-thing-to-organic strawberries, blueberries, marionberries, etc. They have a u-pick option, but the picked price isn't all that more.

Re: grocery stores, have you checked out Bayview or Ralph's in Oly? They're a little spendy but their produce and selection are awesome. For chain groceries, I think the Fred Meyer in Tumwater is the best in the area.

[womenswisdom]

A couple months ago, I read a recommendation on here for "How to Cook Everything", which I got from the library. It's been AWESOME! I hate to cook, and really had no idea how to do some basic things in the kitchen. This book has really helped me gain some much-needed skills and now I don't hate it quite so much. It's whole-food cooking (so no "1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup recipes), which is what I was looking for. If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of cooking from scratch, I highly recommend this book!