Purely Drivel

Nutrition Notes: Finding Balance

I had a chance to chat with a friend the other day who has food and nutrition goals that are similar to mine.  We both strive to feed our families whole foods as often as possible, try to stay away from unnecessary chemicals and processing, and are commited to green living.  She's one of the few people I know who really gets me when it comes to food, and it's rather nice to have someone like that in my life.

As we talked, I realized what a journey this has been over the last few years, and it's one that I'm sure will continue through the rest of my life. 

It's also something I'll be working to balance for the rest of my life.  The more I learn, the more changes I want to make...and that's certainly not bad, but they're not always convenient or an option due to budget or availability.  Following a traditional, whole foods based diet seems to be a continual learning process, and in that process, balance must be daily found.

Example: I really, really love raw milk.  I love what it does for my skin, my digestion...I even love the way it tastes.  Right now, it's about an hour drive just to get to our co-op's delivery stop.  It's just not possible given our schedules and needs right now.  Hopefully in a few months, it will be a more viable option for us.

Often, I just have to make the best choice for this season. 

And sometimes, I have to find the lesser of two evils or make the best choice out of a bad situation.  I know corn tortillas are made from GMO's, an entire category of foods I try to avoid.  I also know that for the most part, flour anything isn't a good choice for me.  Right now, corn tortillas win...at least until I get crazy enough to attempt corn tortillas completely from scratch (which I don't think is going to happen anytime soon!).

Sometimes, I have to just let it go and trust that the 90% of the time I'm eating the way I want to be will make up for the other 10%. 

And sometimes, I have to remind myself yet again that God is sovereign and that healthy eating should never become an idol or an obsession.  I could eat the absolute perfect diet and that won't change God's plan, His will or the days I have on this earth.  And I don't want the way we choose to eat as a family to ever make anyone else feel bad or guilty about the choices they make...although I do hope I would inspire others to become more intentional about food.  It's all about personal decisions and personal journeys.

I look so forward to continuing this journey and wonder what changes we'll have made come this time next year, what new balance I'll have found.

On My Mind: Nutrition Notes

A few things nutrition related I've had rolling around in my head for the  past week or so. 

• Are you watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution?   We've been big Jamie Oliver fans for years and there's only two episodes left, but this series has been especially good and eye opening.  French fries count as a vegetable according to the USDA when it comes to kids lunches?  Even my picky seven year old knows that french fried don't count!  I'm really hoping to pick up the companion book to add to my collection - I'm reading lots of good things about it from cooks of all ages and abilities.  Also, check out this great post from scrapbooker Cathy Zielske.  I love the idea of a tracking chart for new foods!
   
• Want to get even more annoyed about what they're serving kids in school lunch rooms?  Fed Up With Lunch is a blog showing exactly what kids are being given to eat.  Terrifying.  There is so much that goes into school lunches that has absolutely nothing to do with what is good for kids...but then how much of what is being done to schools at the governmental level is actually about kids?  Not much!
• I have been meaning to share this post on organics for a few weeks now and just haven't had time to put a post together the way I want.  I've discovered a lot of people have the impression that we're organic obsessed.  That's not really true.  If anything, I consider the way we strive to eat to be traditional as opposed to organic.  Organic is really a very, very small part of that and the post I linked is such a great explanation of why organic isn't my main priority.  We do strive to be good stewards of the financial resources God has given us, as well as His Creation. 
• Love, love, love the series of posts on real food makeovers at Keeper of the Home.  First, we meet the W family and learn about how they're currently eating and what their nutritional goals are.  Next, Stephanie takes them step by step through meal plans, recipes, goals and more.  So easy!  I can't wait to see the other families Stephanie profiles.
• I've gotten a few questions about these:
   
  
  Green smoothies.  I drink one every morning for breakfast (although not usually in a wineglass  and I'm not sure how it ended up on the National Geographic).  Super simple - I put about a cup of almond milk in the blender, add a handful of spinach and blend the heck out of it.  Add in fruit of your choosing - this one had fresh pineapple and bananas, plus about half a tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil.  It's my currently favorite combination and I call it a Greenia Colada (yep, I'm feeling fairly clever about that).  
  
  I use whatever liquid I have on hand, usually almond milk or raw milk and sometimes yogurt or kefir.  We stay away from most soy products unless they're traditionally fermented and don't drink too much juice either.  It's far better and more filling to blend the entire piece of fruit than to juice it (fiber!).  I can drink one for breakfast and be satisfied and energized until lunchtime. 
  
  And the most common question I get...Can you taste the greens?  Not really.  If I don't blend enough, it can get a bit grassy feeling to drink, but it's usually not a problem.

So much more on my mind lately - especially when it comes to food - and just not enough time.  We've got about 6 more weeks of school and then I'm hoping to be able to give a little more focus to this poor blog.