Week 5 - 10 Weeks of Real food Mini Pledges

Week 5 is here!  This week I'm going to challenge each of you to try two new whole foods that you have never had before!

Whole foods are considered a food item which only has one ingredient and is not processed or refined.  For example:  Peach, Potato, brown rice, broccoli these are all whole foods.  Here are some  whole foods which is less common:

• Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”)
• Barley
• Parsnips
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Steel cut oats
• Papaya
• Brussel sprouts
• Black-eyed peas
• Chickpeas
• Bok choy
• Swiss chard
• Radicchio (pronounced “rah-DEE-kee-oh”)
• Spaghetti Squash
• Watercress
• Dates
• Kiwi
• Eggplant
• Pomegranate (and having the juice in a martini does not count!)
• Fava beans
• Lentils
• Spelt
• Pinenuts
• Star fruit
• Dragon Fruit
• Blood oranges

I haven't even tried all of these and this is certainly not a complete list but I challenge each of you to take this weeks pledge to try two new whole foods that you have never tried before and post which you have tried either here in the comments or in the Facebook group!

Week 3 - 10 weeks of Real food Mini Pledges

As week 2 comes to a close it's time to introduce the next mini pledge!  

Week 3 - Real Beverages
Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day). 

This might be of the more difficult pledges, but I realize that different things will be difficult for different people (depending on what your vices are!). So as you consider this next pledge please keep in mind that it is only for one week. I'll be giving up my weekly Starbucks tazo chai for this week which is my one vice and I know you can do this too! So here goes nothing… 

As you can see this means no Splenda (or sugar) in your coffee and it also means no pop. Can you (and your family) do it for seven days?

Sweetener Choices: The moral of the story is that all sweeteners (sugar, honey, maple syrup, raw sugar, brown sugar, etc.) are high in calories and low in nutrients. The artificial sweeteners that have no calories are just chemically created imitations invented in a lab somewhere…how’s that for appetizing? So no matter what kind of sweetener one uses we hope that it is, first of all, not an imitation and second of all, used in moderation. For this pledge we ask that you stick to honey and/or 100% pure maple syrup for your beverages for two reasons

1. They are both (mostly) made in nature and slightly higher in nutrients than other sweeteners like refined white sugar.
2. It is hard to find highly processed foods or beverages that have been sweetened with honey or maple syrup, and if you sweeten items yourself chances are you will put in a lot less than the factory. In our opinion sugar is way overdone in our society so while you can still have sugar in your food during this pledge we hope you can commit to at least keeping it out of your beverages (baby steps!).

Please note: Honey and pure maple syrup are more concentrated sweeteners than white sugar so you can use a little less.

Juice Restriction: Just like the sweeteners mentioned above natural fruit juice contains a concentrated amount of (natural) sugars, which again should be used in moderation. And while 100% natural fruit juice offers a great deal of nutrients and is highly recommended over a soda, it is not nearly as nutritious as eating the natural, raw, whole fruit itself. There is certainly nothing “wrong” with drinking fruit juice (as long as it is 100% real fruit juice and preferably organic), but we believe it is best used in moderation. Try displacing some cups of juice with something else like water, which most of us can never seem to get enough of.

Moderate Wine Consumption: In his book Michael Pollan suggests, “Have a glass of wine with dinner”  But Pollan does go on to say, “Drinking a little every day is better than drinking a lot on the weekends”. He also says “alcohol of any kind appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, but the polyphenols in red wine appear to have unique protective qualities.” So let’s take to heart Pollan’s research showing “abundant scientific evidence for the health benefits of alcohol” and not be afraid to enjoy a glass of red wine (in moderation!) with dinner this week.

Here are some beverage alternatives to consider during this pledge since most people like to cure one addiction with another…

• Try a  naturally sweetened latte or coffee
• Squeeze a little lemon in your water
• Eat a few juicy grapes or oranges to help quench your thirst with something naturally sweet
• Try offering your kids some naturally cold or hot chocolate milk
• Mix a half a cup of juice with some water to help stretch your juice consumption throughout the week
• Or just put a splash of juice in your water to add some flavor and make it last the whole week 

If you are addicted to Pop just think how much money you will save if you give it up since water (a far superior alternative) is free! My husband used to love pop and we would purchase a flat of it from the Superstore quite often!  Once we started eating only Real food we gave up pop completely and we only occasionally get a natural ginger ale from phillips brewing company!  In fact a few weekends ago while camping he asked me to purchase some Cola for him to have with his rye over the weekend and it felt very strange to be purchasing Coca Cola actually!  He didn't end up using the whole thing and came home with two full bottles of it. On his own he dumped the rest of it out when we got back!  I was floored but proud!

Week Two - 10 Weeks of Real food mini Pledges

This Weeks Mini Pledge is all about 100% Whole grain – All grains consumed must be 100% whole-grain this week.

Will you take the pledge?

Whole grains can be one of the most confusing and hard-to-find food products in the supermarket. From misleading buzz words like “multi-grain” and “wheat” to health-claims on the front of food packages that aren’t backed up by the ingredient list, it sure is treacherous out there.

For the most part all grains (wheat, corn, barley, rice, etc.) consist of 3 parts: the bran, germ and endosperm. The bran and especially the germ are where you’ll find most of the grain’s nutritional value. When a grain is highly refined into a product like white flour or white rice both of the most nutritional parts are removed leaving you with only the endosperm. The endosperm is basically a “big packet of starch and protein” that is high in calories and low in nutrients (similar to sugar).

In order to make up for the lost nutrients they have stripped away from the grain, refined grains are often "enriched" or "fortified" with vitamins thought to be lost. Wouldn't you rather just eat them in the first place?

Did you know that one of the main reasons products like white flour were manufactured is because when the key nutrients are stripped away, the flour ends up having a much longer shelf life and is less interesting to bugs since they are looking for nutrients and don't have much interest in refined grains.....

So here is where to start:

** If the front of a food package says it contains “whole-grains” or “whole-wheat” don’t be fooled…always verify by reading the ingredient label to see what a product is really made of. Packages often advertise that a product contains whole-grains even if it is only 20% whole-grain.

**If a product is labeled as “multi-grain” it by no means guarantees those grains are whole-grains. It could be a bunch of different refined grains mixed together. Again, you must read the ingredient list to know for sure what’s in a food product.

**If the ingredient list on a product contains any portion of “wheat” or “rice” then it is not 100% whole-grain. White flour is still technically made from the wheat plant (a refined version) so it is often labeled as “wheat.” It must say something like “whole-wheat” or “brown rice” to be a whole grain ingredient.

**Whether you are shopping at a supermarket or eating at a restaurant, most food products that are labeled as whole-grain are rarely 100% whole-grain. They often contain some percentage of refined grains as well.

**Since it is so hard to find 100% whole-grain foods it is best to avoid grains all together when you are out to eat at a restaurant (unless you can see the ingredient list yourself). Servers and other restaurant employees are often misinformed and will tell you the bread is “100% whole grain” when it is not.

**Finding good 100% whole-wheat sandwich bread is one of the biggest whole-grain challenges of them all. Some stores bring in freshly made bread products from a local bakery. Other stores have a few decent options in their freezer section. Your best bet is to find a local bakery that makes their dough fresh daily (unlike grocery store bakeries that typically bake pre-mixed dough) or make it yourself!

I did a blog series a few months ago on 5 Breads that passed my test at the grocery store and how they tasted, check it out here if you are looking for a place to start this week!

10 weeks of Real Food Mini Pledges - Week one: Eat a minimum of two different fruits or Vegetables at each meal

Here we go! Week 1 started today!  The group participants are busy introducing them selves and getting started on the pledge!  

Here is this weeks pledge:
Week 1: April 28 - May 4 -- Eat a minimum of two different fruits or vegetables (preferably organic) with every breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal.

Even for our family eating two fruits or vegetables at every meal is a challenge. We usually eat at least one serving per meal but two is more of a stretch. At dinner time I try to get two on the plate, but the other meals are lacking over here! So I'm excited to take part in this challenge along side everyone and see how we all do!

There are many people who don't eat any vegetables at dinner time, never mind the other meals. I get it, easy to have a BBQ burger with fries right. But try adding a salad instead or even a veggie tray to the mix.

The reason I say try for organic produce is because there are more nutrients in organic, because the soil has more nutrients in it, additionally you won't be adding the extra chemical pesticides and fertilizers that used on conventional produce. Plus it just tastes better!

The whole point of this challenge is for you to displace something else that you would normally eat (like chips or fries or even crackers) with some colorful produce. So for those that are worried about the extra expense of organic fruits and vegetables try buying more produce INSTEAD of something else that you would normally buy. And also consider buying frozen organic produce, which is a wonderful alternative to fresh and usually much cheaper (although it is unfortunately not always as tasty). Please be aware though that there are two things that do not count for this particular challenge: dried fruit (like raisins) and fruit juice – sorry about that!

This challenge is great for involving the whole family especially the kids! If you tell them that we are all supposed to eat two fruits or veggies at each meal they will probably remind you and and hold you accountable too!  I know Asher would!

If you want to participate in our Facebook group to pledge that you too will eat a minimum of two fruits or vegetables at every meal this week, request your spot by clicking the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/256038117914079/ 

Each week will be a new pledge, and each week the participants will gain more knowledge about real food and eating locally!  I'm so excited for this challenge and I hope you are too!