Shifting our thinking...

So we have been through just a couple of days of shifting to clean eating. I read the book; it all made sense. No surprises. You put bad things in, you get bad results. You put nice things in, you get good results. I like that nowhere in the book does she say you can't have something, just that you should modify it a bit. One of the major topics is sugar.

You start to really look at labels and then you realize just how much sugar you are ingesting. I thought we were pretty good...didn't let the kids get the "sugary" cereals, but even my so-called "healthy" cereals are LOADED with sugar. And we really eat alot of "white" and refined items (english muffins, rice, potatoes...). So yesterday I began to clear some things out of the pantry and get organized.

I got some containers to keep grains in and labeled them so I would remember what they are. I had bought some grains previously at Sprouts and could NOT remember what they were. Thanks to the internet I was able to re-identify them and put them into their correct containers. Note to self: write the name of the grain on the back of the bulk bin code so I can identify them when I get home.

When I visited Sprouts recently, I picked up some whole wheat couscous and some quinoa. According to the Whole Grains Council (www.wholegrainscouncil.org), 2013 is the International Year of Quinoa. Who knew?! These grains will go into some recipes I found through emeals.com.

I *am* taking it slowly. I have had oatmeal with berries on top for the past two days, but I haven't asked the kids to transition breakfast yet. There is too much open cereal in the pantry. I don't want to shock them and I don't want to waste the food! I will not buy any additional "bad" cereal, though, and we may give some away too. Once it is gone, it is gone for good.

I made pork chops with german noodles last night and tried spinach with the kids. They usually like the pork chops and noodles. The only difference was the spinach. I wilted it in olive oil and garlic. Yum, right?! Nope. No go for the kids. I have to keep telling myself that for some kids it will be 10 tries before they begin to like something. And the bottom line is that I am not a short-order cook. You eat what's on the plate or you don't eat. ;-)

I am proud to say that I picked up apples, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, a red and yellow bell pepper, plain yogurt, some grains from the bulk bin, some white wine for cooking, and a couple other items and kept my bill at around $50. I will be picking up our first CSA box on Monday and will let you know how that goes. I will try to highlight my shopping list and recipe list for each week as we get going. Most of this will require a restocking of my pantry with the replacement of sugary items with the clean-eating varieties of foods and staples.

This weekend is busy, but we are going to try making our own granola. This should be a fun way to get the kids involved with both choosing the ingredients and mixing it up. No better way to get buy-in than getting them involved.

Good luck to you!
--Katie