Diet for a young family

[woods89]

My wife and I got married young(I was 21 and she was 22) and we both came from families that ate mostly home cooked food. This translated into lots of starchy foods, baked goods, and rich desserts. We've been married 6 years now, and have been trying to transition towards a healthier diet. At this point, we drink very little soda, eat almost exclusively whole grain breads, try to get our share of vegetables and fruit, and eat a fair bit of wild game meat. My wife also has a small garden, and summertime means lots of squash and cucumbers.

We recently decided to try to cut back significantly on grains, starches, and processed sugars. I won't say we are going Paleo because we still are going to eat smaller amounts of those things, but we see a lot of room to cut back. Likely we will still include dairy( we both love cheese and yogurt!). The biggest culprits we want to target are potatoes, white rice, grain based foods, and sweet desserts. I have to give my wife props because this is very different than the way she grew up cooking.

Our motivation is varied, I guess. She has a mother who struggles with her weight and has type 2 diabetes, as well as some uncles and aunts. I simply like to enjoy the outdoors in a highly physical way and want to retain that ability late into life if possible. We both see some of our friends at our age (27&28) who are starting down the road of weight issues and want to avoid that if possible. We would also like to raise our children to enjoy healthy eating.( we have 2, a 2.5 year old and a 4 mo old.) We are both in pretty good shape at this point. I'm 5' 8'' and 150#, and she's 5' 4'' and around 115#.

I would like to hear any tips, encouragements, or criticisms you have for us. Especially from people that are raising children and trying to eat cleanly. My wife found some resources online that have given her some good info, but if you have any more that would be great!

And one specific that I would like answered. What do you do for non-sugary drinks for hot weather? I do construction work and here in MO that means really hot, humid weather for a few months in summer. I have drunk a lot of gatorade in the past as it seem like I can't drink enough water to keep me going. Are there any good alternatives?

 

[Becca]

I too make an effort to eat minimally processed foods, and because it's a marathon not a sprint I would say I shoot for an 85/15 split...in other words I try to commit to eating clean 85% of the time and try not to worry if I don't eat perfectly the other 15%. Honestly, during parts of the year (the six weeks of hunting season, or when we backpack) I may use even more leeway depending on what's available and feasible, but at home during regular life I try hard for the 85/15 split.

Check out the 100 days of real food blog, her cookbook which I also have is excellent as well. Michael Pollan also has some great books if you are looking for inspiration..."the omnivore's dilemma" and "in defense of food" are great reads.

At home, I make a lot of unsweetened iced tea (tazo passion is one favorite) and I also buy unsweetened seltzer water, both the flavored and unflavored types. If you want a bit more flavor you can add a splash of 100% juice. My husband had trouble giving up cola, so I found some lower sugar/no artificial colors ones he likes in the natural food section. Called Dry Soda Vanilla Bean, they still contain cane sugar but a lot less than Coke or Pepsi--like 60 calories worth instead of 150. Not a perfect solution, but better than nothing.

When we backpack, I bring lemonade packets made by True Lemon. Not entirely "real food" approved, but they are sweetened with stevia instead of aspartame so again it's a lesser of evils thing. I am all about trying to make this a lifestyle that is sustainable for us, and if that means bending the rules occasionally than I am ok with that.

 

[robby denning]

great advice Becca, because if it's not sustainable then all it's good for is a few months of results to post on the internet, then hide when you slip back to the old habits.

Woods89, good idea to watch the breads/grains- I'm all for the whole versions but you only need a few servings per day- so if you have 1/2 cup cooked oats at breakfast and a sandwich at lunch, you're there. Whole Grains are all around 100 cal/ounce so you gotta be careful but for most people they are necessary for a sustainable diet. They just get picked on by all the high protein diet gurus because they know if they can cut out a big chunk of peoples' diets at 100 cal/ounce, they lose weight- but only a few keep it off that way.

 

[Roy68]

I'm the last person to give dietary advice, but this is a summary of what we do. We are a family of 5 (3 boys - 7, 9, 11). Our garden is big likely bigger than a lot of folks yards that are on here. My wife is very skilled in food preservation and we literally grow enough produce to carry us through 11 months out of the year. For example the boys and I husked 147 ears of sweet corn yesterday. We grow spuds, cucumbers, sweet taters, beans, carrots, cabbage, beets, lettuce, kale, melons, tomatoes, corn, squash, zucchini, radishes, tomatoes, tomatillos, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, elderberries, apples, cherries. If we have bread it is fresh & homemade. We source whole wheat and my wife uses a vitamix to grind the grain and make her own flower. Eggs are farm fresh as is our cream. Our meat consists of elk, deer, antelope, pheasant, pond/river caught fish, and our homed raised grass beef. Pork and chicken are sourced locally. Only our beef is processed outside of our house. We still use sugar. We have no pop, cool-aid or the like and my boys will turn it down at others offers.

No we are not granola treehuggers. Our lifestyle is a result of growing up and living in agriculture. We have over the years examined the payoffs and we know we are money ahead (we don't figure in our hours). Plus we know exactly where our food came from and how it was grown.

When it comes to desserts they are homemade and usually from our preserved (canned) fruits which require little sugar according to the cook. Homemade ice cream is my vise though.

If you don't have the above capacity that is fine. Farmers markets are everywhere and a great option imo over the grocer. Doing what we do doesn't happen overnight. You can't buy some jars, a pressure canner, and misc supplies one day and be doing what we do the next. Take small steps and learn. If your family doesn't have the experience to teach you there are plenty of folks around that do. One thing we have noticed is that the older generations (80+) love to share their knowledge of how it used to be done with those that want to learn.

I agree with Beccas comments too. I'm a sun tea guy in the summer and water in regards to dealing with all day heat (central KS), my sugars and lost nutrients through the day of heat comes from produce and fruit not Gatorade or the like. Thats just me.

Don't look at your small garden and think it isn't big enough. That garden will give you opportunity to work together with your wife and kids. The benefits from that are just as healthy and nourishing to your lives as the produce you harvest together.

 

[woods89]

Thanks to all!

My wife also does a lot of canning, even a lot of the meat I harvest is canned because we don't have a ton of freezer space. That's a huge plus and helps us stretch our garden produce throughout the year.

I also agree that cutting grains out entirely is probably tough to sustain. We are going to try to hit the one or two small servings a day. We have both learned to really like brown rice and it would be tough to give that up! Both of our families grew up eating a lot of potatoes and I think we will try to do the same with them, at the most one small serving per day.

My vice is potato chips. I can sit down and eat 3/4 of a bag if I let myself. After a while you don't miss them nearly as much, though. Nothing good in those things!

 

[Roy68]

Take zucchini potatoes or sweet potatoes thin slices, very lightly salt and bake. Lightly mist with olive oil if desired. We dehydrate them as well, just skip the oil part. Not lays but good and better for you.

 

[woods89]

Take zucchini potatoes or sweet potatoes thin slices, very lightly salt and bake. Lightly mist with olive oil if desired. We dehydrate them as well, just skip the oil part. Not lays but good and better for you.

That's a great idea! We'll have to try it.

 

[Ross]

We do what we can to eat healthy but we do like red wine My only motto is don't have it in the house to tempt yourself Sounds like your doing well and for me moderation is the key so I don't feel deprived + I am a workout junky. It is a life style and just do the best you can.

 

[elkyinzer]

I love food, cooking, and socializing with friends and family over good food and drink. I also have this personality trait where I tend to go all in with stuff, so random weeknight meals occasionally get out of hand, and as a result get a bit unhealthy, because let's face it, unhealthy food tastes better most of the time. I get bored with the same healthy stuff day after day, and that tends to lead to bad habits as well. It can be hard to eat healthy, but similarly to Becca, I try to do right "most of the time" and contain my gourmet (unhealthy) meals to once a week or so.

When I go to the grocery store, I try to live by the rule to spend 90% of my bill on the perimeter (namely produce and dairy since most of the meat I eat is game in the freezer, except some chicken or pork once in awhile). Avoid those processed food laden inner aisles as much as possible.

I don't get the no carb thing. I've tried it just out of curiosity, and feel like crap. I need a moderate amount of complex carbs or I feel constantly hungry and lethargic, no matter how much protein I get. I wouldn't necessarily try to eradicate those until all the sugar and processed foods are cut out. I would look more toward nutritional substitutions (sweet potatoes vs. white; whole grains vs. processed; quinoa vs. wheat, etc.)

Portion control is huge and probably the biggest reason Americans are so fat. We tend to overeat, plain and simple. Take a basic dinner, double or triple the meat and carb portion as American's are prone to do, then throw a fatty/sugary dessert on top of that and it's not hard to consume 2 or 3 thousand calories in one sitting. After eating that much, you will be lethargic for many hours which throws off workout routines, effects metabolism, and creates a feedback loop that drives people toward obesity if sustained.

Eat colors is a good rule I saw on a documentary. There's a good chance if a food is not brown or white; then it's darn good for you (naturally, not by way of artificial coloring)

Don't drink your calories - many people struggle with this one, but it's so basic. I don't follow this to a T...I love beer. Since I drink a fair amount of beer, I completely avoid sugar-laden pop and juices. They are just empty calories, and usually bad calories (sugar crash). Water is best, but if you don't like water, try flavored sparkling waters, and teas. I am hooked on unsweetened sumac tea right now as my summertime drink. Made from sumac berries picked right out my back door. It tastes a bit like lemonade.