Real Food - Shopping

We have a locally owned store very similar to Whole Foods near us. This is where I went shopping the first time I was looking for “real food” ingredients. I naively thought it would be easy and that just by going to that store I was buying organic and real food. Not so. I quickly realized that not everything is organic and that just because it is sold in a whole foods store it may not necessarily be good for you. This realization and the realization that not everything labeled organic is even good for you made my first real food shopping trip a little like rocket science. I survived with all three kids in tow but I don’t really think I bought much that fit the rules of real food. At that point, I was just happy to have a plan and making more meals from home. Since then, I have become a bit more educated on ingredient lists so while it still takes time to look at the ingredients on an item I can quickly make the decision about whether or not to purchase it.

I got a ton of food and was very satisfied at how I managed to stay within budget too. Fast forward three weeks and I haven't had a full week's worth of shopping to do because I wanted to use up all the food we already had on hand (prior to my first shopping trip even). So, I still haven't really spent much at the grocery store. I am anxious to plan my first full week of meals, shop for all of the items, and see if I am still able to stay within budget.

I also tried out Trader Joes for the first time. They did have decent prices but I wasn't able to get everything I needed there. I am very much a shop at one store person so if I can manage to stay within budget at one store I would rather do that.

We also have a Life grocery store near us that I haven't been to yet but I plan to go there to see what all they have and check prices.

I have big dreams of being able to price out all of the recipes that I try and figure out how much they cost. Being realistic though, I might just be okay as long as I can stay within my weekly budget...we'll see!
This post is part of a series. To read previous posts in this series please click below:
Real Food – Series Introduction
Real Food - Learning and Making Changes
Real Food - Eating Habits/Changes
Disclaimer:I am not a nutritionist or any other food expert. All information shared here is based on my personal experience, research, and opinion. You are the only one who can make decisions regarding the health choices of you and your family.

Real Food - Eating Habits/Changes

We have fallen into some pretty bad habits regarding our eating. Most of it has to do with not prioritizing the planning and preparation of healthy meals. Below are a few of our bad habits and how I think they will change as a result of a real food nutrition regimen.

We would go to the store and buy groceries. Then {gasp} stop and get some fast food on the way home. This is because we didn’t have a plan for the food once we got home and the little ones were not going to be able to wait much longer to eat before they really started getting cranky. So for this one it doesn’t really matter if it is “real food” or not, just the fact that we have a plan will stop us from doing this.
We eat fast food way too much. Not every day but at least a few times a week. Having a healthy meal plan to eat from actually motivates me to not let my family eat fast food because I realize how much better I feel when I eat things that are healthy for me. Again, having a plan will keep us from running out to eat because we can’t figure out anything else for dinner. As a side note: as I write this it has been about 3 weeks that we have been trying this real food thing out. We have eaten pizza twice and another fast food restaurant once. Everything else has been more fruits and veggies and home prepared meals and I have lost 2 lbs. Not that this was a weight loss venture but...BONUS!
My kids eat peanut butter and jelly far too often and would eat it three times a day every day if I allowed them to. So, when I was thinking of how much the real food peanut butter and jelly costs I was thinking there was no way we could do it. Then I realized that, again with a plan, they probably will not be eating peanut butter and jelly more often than I plan for. So, I will just plan for it less.
We eat a lot of snack crackers that get expensive after a while and really aren't very healthy. They definitely have more than 5 ingredients so they won't be on the grocery list any longer. I plan to make our snacks just need to gather several more recipes to rotate.
We eat a ton of frozen pizza or frozen pasta meals also that get expensive and aren't necessarily that healthy. These also have more than 5 ingredients and will not be on the grocery list any longer. I am more motivated now to feed my family something that I hand prepare than something out of a bag or a box.

This post is part of a series. To read previous posts in this series please click below:
Real Food – Series Introduction
Real Food- Learning and Making Changes
Disclaimer:I am not a nutritionist or any other food expert. All information shared here is based on my personal experience, research, and opinion. You are the only one who can make decisions regarding the health choices of you and your family.

Mahi Mahi, Penne Pasta, Asparagus

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.

Our neighbors had tons of crawfish a few weeks ago and we ended up getting some shells from them. Chef Andrew made a crawfish stock by simmering the shells with water.
Fish:
Seasoned with a variety of seasonings and drizzled with crawfish stock (slightly thickened with cream)
Asparagus:
Sauteed with butter, garlic, salt, pepper, drizzled with crawfish stock (slightly thickened with cream)
Pasta Sauce:
Corn
Red Pepper
Onion
Mushroom
Crawfish Stock
Slurry A thin paste of water and flour, which is stirred into hot preparations such as soups, stews and sauces as a thickener. After the slurry is added, the mixture should be stirred and cooked for several minutes in order for the flour to lose its raw taste (definition from Answers.com).

Grilled Chicken, Corn/Pepper Mix, Potatoes

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.

I am noticing that we eat a lot of chicken around here. We almost always grill it and then couple it with some new and different side(s). This one is grilled chicken seasoned however you like it with sliced potatoes and corn/pepper mix. We had this again just last night with a sliced, raw avacado on the side instead of potatoes. It was wonderful. The corn pepper mix is sauteed and includes:
Corn
Red Pepper
Minced Garlic
Onion
Salt
Pepper
I think this has become a favorite with the kids.

PS-Sorry about the obnoxious blue plate...it makes for a horrible picture. Just focus on the food and I promise not to post anymore food pictures on our blue plates! :-)

Healthy Meal Idea (Chicken w/Carrot & Lentil Mix)

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.

Carrot & Lentil Mix with Grilled Chicken:

1. Cook carrot ribbons with olive oil, black pepper, salt, parsley, and a couple drops of maple syrup

2. Cook lentils per package instructions for ease. However, we soaked them overnight with:

Water (3 part water to 1 part lentils), liquid smoke, salt, montreal chicken seasoning, dried thyme, bay leaf (add any other herbs or sub if you prefer). Use the same liquid to cook the lentils (may need to add more water)

3. Seperately, mix diced tomato, minced onion, minced garlic, rice wine vinegar, salt, and pepper

4. Mix together and enjoy

5. Serve with grilled chicken seasoned to your taste. We seasoned it with salt, pepper, montreal chicken seasoning.

This is another recipe from my wonderful hubby (chef). Thanks, Honey! Sorry there are no measurements...please use your best judgement according to your own taste.

Healthy Meal Idea (Mahi Mahi & Salad)

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.
This is a very simple meal. Thanks, again to my wonderful husband for preparing it for us. I love that fish is so good for you because I love fish. And, there are so many different ways it can be prepared. This dish is grilled Mahi Mahi, Spinach Salad, and an Orange. The Mahi Mahi is seasoned with lemon juice, chicken rub, salt, and pepper. The salad is spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, feta cheese, craisins, carrots, and white balsamic vinaigrette dressing (or whatever dressing you like).

Healthy Meal Idea (Chicken Pita)

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.

This is another awesome creation from my chef hubby. Thanks, Honey!

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Chicken (we used leftover baked chicken)

Fresh Spinach Leaves

Seasoned Tomatoe slices
Guacamole (see below)
Carmelized Onions & Corn (see below)
Directions:

1. Lay Pita bread flat and cover with a bed of fresh spinach leaves
2. Add Chicken, Guacamole, and Carmelized Onion & Corn mixture, Seasoned Tomatoe slices
3. Fold and enjoy
Spin on Guacamole:
Avacado (chopped)
Cilantro (chopped) optional
Salt
Pepper
Carmelized Onions & Corn (see below, chopped fine)
Lemon Zest
Directions: Mix well
Carmelized Onions & Corn:
Red Onion
Corn
Chili Powder
Salt
Pepper
Cumin optional
Lemon Juice
Directions: Saute Corn and Onions together to carmelize. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

All of these flavors mixed very well and tasted great. However, you can add, drop, or substitute many ingredients in a recipe like this. I hope you like this one or it inspires a different creation.

Healthy Meal Idea (Tuna)

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. What I deem as healthy for me and my family may vary from yours depending on your family's nutrition needs. Let me also add that these meals are healthy for the most part. However, they may still contain some ingredients that aren't necessarily that good for you.

This lunch idea is a somewhat healthier twist on one of my old favorites...Tuna Salad, Whole Wheat Crackers, and Cucumber & Vinegar Salad. I can't take credit for it since it comes from my wonderful husband. I walked into this for lunch the other day and he said "I figured this could be your healthy meal idea and I even took pictures of it for you." Thanks, honey!

Tuna mix:
3 cans Tuna
1 tbs of mayonnaise
Salt
Black Pepper
Vinegar dressing to taste (from below)
Or, you could use bottled dressing, like Italian

Vegetable mix:
2 Cucumber
1/4 Red Onion
1 Pear
Apple Mint to taste (or whatever other herb you prefer)

Vinegar dressing:
12.7 oz Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Sugar to taste


There are a couple of different ways this can be mixed up. We mixed the tuna mix and vinegar dressing together. Separately, we mixed the veggies with the vinegar dressing. So, as you can see from the picture it was like two salads. It could all be mixed together into one big salad but I haven't tried it that way. Or, I have also heard of a similar recipe where the Tuna is served in a sliced half of an orange or red pepper. If you don't like Tuna, don't worry just change it up with Chicken Salad or whatever else you do like.

I hope you can find the ideas useful!