Change is good...

You may notice that my blog started out with the premise of saving money and that's it.  It had little to do with what is healthy for my family; it was focused on what is cheap.  And sometimes, that's the way being on a strict budget works.  You (think you) cannot afford to buy the stuff that is better for your family.  But I've still always strived to buy as high quality ingredients as my budget would allow.  Meaning, we don't eat crap out of a box, package or can every night.  In fact, very seldom.

While I'm still concerned about maintaining a very strict budget, my focus has been shifted over the last few months. You will be able to notice this as you compare new posts to old posts.  Something I've only recently touched on is health.  I don't normally mention 'diet' unless it's referring to a particular aspect of a dish, not me personally.  I have been on more of a journey than a diet.  A journey toward health and wellness for my family.  This is not a blog about dieting nor do I want it to become one.  However, it is soon to convert (somewhat) to a blog about whole health and REAL food with some occasional 'normal' treats thrown in, I'm sure.

What I DON'T know......
As a disclaimer, I am NO expert.  I have only recently begun my whole health journey and have learned a LOT about what is good and bad for me over the last few months.  However, I still  have tons to learn and you may be learning right along with me!  I sometimes may state something I have seen or heard somewhere.  This does not mean that I know every miniscule detail about it.  But I will try to provide handy links for you to do more reading from those who actually DO know more.  I don't want my blog to turn into a scientific blog where I have to back each post up with studies either, lol.  How boring! 

What I DO know.....
Over the last 6 months, my focus has gravitated toward REAL FOOD.  What is real food?  Bacon, eggs, fatty beef, chicken with skin ON, vegetables slathered in butter, homemade yogurt, heavy cream, nuts and fruit, food cooked in lard, bacon fat, butter and most importantly, coconut oil. Hmmmm......sounds kinda like the stuff that we've been brainwashed taught will MAKE us fat, right?  Wrong!  These are the foods that your great Grandma and Grandpa ate when there was no such thing as high blood pressure, heart attacks, high cholesterol, etc...How can that be?  Stay tuned to my blog to find out why, and how you can improve your overall health with eating traditional foods.  Remember, you will be learning right along with me!  My focus will be more on the recipes with a few factoids thrown in here and there.  I've lost a good chunk of weight eating this way.  If I get gutsy, I may even share before and after pictures some day.

Some obvious changes you will see in my recipes:
I will now be using coconut oil in place of any other cooking oils when possible.  Olive oil will be used in dressings or used cold 99% of the time to preserve its nutrients.  "Frankenfood" oils such as canola, vegetable, shortening, etc...are out the window.  More about them in a future post.

I will be experimenting with new flours such as coconut flour and almond flour to bake with.  I've finally learned that grains are not a good fit for me.  I'm not allergic or anything...they just make me gain as if I had eaten a handful of sugar.  More about that later, too.

I am going to attempt to soak some flour and possibly sprout some grains.  Maybe they will have less of a fattening effect on me.

I will be starting sour dough from scratch.  That should be a fun experiment.

I may attempt to make some Kombucha!

As money allows, I will purchase some water kefir grains to make my own.

I am going to try to avoid refined processed white sugar altogether.  Instead, I may use stevia, raw honey, real maple syrup, sucanat or rapadura.

I will be using Full Fat everything.  Not that I used much of anything low fat before, but I won't be using low fat anything ever again.  It's just loaded with sugar.  More on that later.

I will be using REAL Sea Salt, which contains trace minerals that the body needs and is actually good for you!

I will be avoiding processed food as much as possible.  Most things I make don't come from a box, can or package anyway, so this won't be that hard for me.

When possible, I will substitute a natural ingredient over a processed one.

I am going to find a source for grass-fed beef, raw milk, pastured chicken and eggs.  These are probably going to be out of my budget right now, so I will make due until I can afford these.  I will substitute the best foods I can find.

So, these will be the most noticeable changes.  If you have a question as to what anything is, please feel free to ask and I will help as much as I can.  Thanks for listening and I hope to have some fun experiments to post soon.  Thanks!

What the difference between table salt and REAL sea salt?

Perhaps this should be called Step One to a healthier diet.  Throw out your table salt and replace it with real, natural sea salt.  Without getting overly scientific (because I'm no scientist), here is why I am switching.

Table salt (the white stuff) actually is/was sea salt, but it has been bleached and processed. If you purchase something at the store labeled 'sea salt' and it is totally white, regardless of price, you are just buying glorified processed table salt.  It might be in bigger chunks, but it is still table salt, which is just sodium chloride with some iodine thrown in. This is the stuff you get in processed foods, canned foods and fast foods. And we all know that stuff is unhealthy.

These are NOT real sea salts! 

 

Real, natural sea salt contains scads of trace minerals that your body and brain need to function daily.  Real sea salt will be colored.  The colored flecks are microscopic sea life that provide iodine naturally, which is why sea salt doesn't need iodine added back in.  It can be tan, grey or even pink depending on where it came from. It will also usually be somewhat moist and not flow easily.   Real sea salt is also essential to brain development, proper adrenal function and muscle movement.  Recent studies have even proven that low-salt diets actually lead to high blood pressure and heart disease!  So, go ahead and salt your food...but do it with real sea salt!

These are real seal salts!  See the colors?