Real Food Challenge: Day 2

Today was a super fun day! Two of my best friends were in town, and I have not seen them in FOREVER! So it was amazing to have a girls day =) Anyway, on to the challenge! Today we had:

Breakfast: Smoothie made with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, plain yogurt and spinach. This was pretty tasty! I had pre-made this last night, and I think next time I’ll stick to making it fresh in the morning.

Lunch: Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese. Oh my word is this good, and it really IS super easy to make. Definitely going on my ‘favorite dishes’ list!

Dinner: Grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, side salad (lettuce/spinach, strawberries, pecans, parmesan, oil/balsamic/honey/mustard dressing.) The dressing for the salad was quite the event =)  One of my best friends that was over today stayed for dinner… and we had a fun time experimenting with making the dressing (we all had NO clue what we were doing) but I must say, it actually was really good on the salad that we made.

Snacks: string cheese, banana, watermelon. I LOVE watermelon – I don’t know what I’ll do in the winter without it!!  

 

Looking ahead, I can definitely say that it is going to take some creativity to stick with this lifestyle. I think our biggest challenge ahead of us will be when we go out socially with people. I love to meet up with my parents for lunch or dinner (since they live so far away from me) and I am interested to see what options we can find at restaurants. Also, in the summer we visit my parents lakehouse quite often – and not everyone will be eating the way that we do. But, I’m sure we will make it work somehow!!  Below is a pic of our delicious dinner from tonight, enjoy!!

Real Food Challenge: Day 1

So, today was our first official day of our 10 Day Challenge. Our menu for the day was:

Breakfast: Granola Cereal. This cereal is super filling. I think for the next batch we make, I will look for a ‘rice crispy’ or ‘puffed wheat’ type of cereal to add to the mix. I think it will add a nice airy crunch in contrast to the nuts. 

Lunch: Quesadillas. I used the whole wheat tortillas that I pre-made last night, sharp cheddar cheese (shredded from a block) and served it with a side of sour cream and salsa. They were super yummy! I am normally NOT a fan of store bought whole wheat tortillas, I can’t even stand the smell of them. But my homemade tortillas are so delish!

Dinner: Quinoa, black beans, corn and BBQ shredded chicken salad. This is a dish that we enjoyed pre-challenge. The only change I had to make was the BBQ sauce. Since regular BBQ sauce is highly processed (and packed with sugar!) I experimented and made my own BBQ sauce using organic ketchup and honey on the stovetop. I was pleasantly surprised that it not only worked, but it was SO good! Perfectly sweet, salty and acidic at the same time. Go me!

Snacks: string cheese, banana (I didn’t really plan snacks, it was more of a ‘grab what you want’ situation.)

 

Overall, today did not feel much different from our normal way of eating. Yes, it is a little more work in having to make certain things for yourself (i.e. the tortillas and BBQ sauce…) but if you are prepared, it really isn’t an inconvenience. Speaking of which, tonight I prepared our breakfast and lunches for tomorrow. Below is a sneak peak of our breakfast!  Thanks for visiting =)

Fruit and Spinach Smoothie

Strawberries, Blueberries, Banana, Plain Yogurt, Milk, Spinach, Ice

The 10 Day Real Food Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a link to www.100daysofrealfood.com, about a family of 4 that cut out all processed foods for (originally) 100 days. As soon as I read their story, I knew that this was a challenge that my husband and I had to take.

As a new mother (to my 2 month old daughter Leila,) making sure she is healthy and happy is my most important priority. And right now, what Momma eats, baby girl “eats” (or rather, drinks, I guess I should say!) It amazes me how much having a child changed my life, even before she was born. As soon as I learned that I was pregnant, what I put into my body changed. An avid Diet Mountain Dew fan, caffeine was the first thing to go. It was definitely a struggle the first few weeks, but it was important to me that I not have caffeine while pregnant. I avoided things that were even considered mostly safe while pregnant (Tylenol, cold cuts, artificial sweeteners, that one glass of wine everyone says you’re allowed to have…) And now that she is here (in all her gorgeous smiling glory,) I want her to grow up knowing what real, healthy food is.

My husband and I had watched Food Inc. several months ago, and this is really where we knew that we had to make a lifestyle change regarding our food. But until I found 100 Days of Real Food, I didn’t know what change it would be, and how to make it. So, this is where our lifestyle change begins. Starting Monday, July 30th 2012, we will begin our 10 Day Real Food Challenge. This initial 10 Day Challenge is a good way to start for us, so we can learn the ins and outs of Real Food before I go back to work (ahhh, my maternity leave is almost over?! I was even lucky enough to have 12 weeks off, I can’t imagine only taking 6!! Ok.. pity party over 🙂 )  On Friday, I cleared out our cupboards and boxed up all of our “bad food.” Anything processed was out! I made our meal plans for the next 10 days, and today I went to the grocery store. I ventured this trip without the baby this time, because I knew that reading all of the food labels would make for a loooooonger trip and my baby girl tends to be a little diva sometimes!  So, our house is now stocked with 100% REAL FOOD – nothing is processed.. and I would say about 80% of it is organic (our goal is to be 100% organic as well, but we’re new to this – and since we don’t live near a Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s, etc., organic is hard to find.)  I was also pleasantly surprised that, for 10 days of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks (for myself and my husband,) our grocery bill was only $150 (so about $450/month.) To me, this is extremely doable – especially considering we will not be eating out as much, and we will be eating SUCH healthy and nutritious food.

After I got home from shopping today, I prepped a few things that we will need over the 10 Day Challenge. First was our granola cereal. Oh.My.God. is this good. It made our entire house smell like a Honey Bunches of Oats factory (but BETTER!) I also made whole wheat tortillas, which we will need for quesadillas and wraps. Finally, our whole wheat bread – which is WAY more delicious than any store bought bread, I can already attest to that.

I will be posting our meal plans daily (with, hopefully – some yummy looking pics!) and writing about any challenges/triumphs that we encounter on our new quest for a healthier lifestyle, so I hope you enjoy reading about our journey! Thanks for visiting my very first ever blog post! =)