Changing the Way I Eat - Part Two

[WMAn]

It's official. My wife says I am a combination of obsessed and insane as I continue my interest in learning about food and changing the way I eat. And, I'm fairly certain that TAFKAP would say I'm certified hippie. :grin:

It's been a month now, and here is what I have done. I have turned the way I eat upside down. Before, the food I ate was comprised of 60% processed foods, 30% meat, and 10% fruits/veggies. Now, I eat 70% fruits/veggies, 10% nuts, 10% meat (one meal per day), 10% processed foods, because as a hard-drinking college professor once told me, "Moderation is the key to life."

My family and I spend $125 a week on groceries. The amount we spend has remained the same, but starting this week the way we spend it is changing. Starting this week, I am budgeting $50 of the $125 to be spent at Farmer's markets. I shop at two farmer's markets: Franklin on Saturday morning and Thompson Station on Wednesday afternoon.

Here's one thing I love about this so far. When you eat fruits and veggies for breakfast/lunch, you can go all out for dinner. Forget watching the fat and make that one meal with meat a fantastic meal.

The other surprise has been shopping at the Farmer's markets. I was under the impression that I would spend more to shop there, but the prices are very comparable to the supermarkets. The quality is so much better though that the additional cost is worth it. Also, I take out the $50 at the beginning of the week. By using cash, I have to make decisions like, "If I spend $30 on Wednesday then I only have $20 for Saturday." Those decisions save me money, get me better food, and in a way make me eat less. Also, when I am at the supermarket, I find myself thinking, "Boy, those Mexican blackberries on sale for $2.50 (10 oz) look good, but I can pick my own strawberries, with my daughter, just down the road for $2.50 a lb (16 oz)." Again, I shift how I spend my money and get better food without spending more.

I am just about finished with Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. It is an excellent book.

If you like documentaries and stream Netflix check out Food Fight and Broken Limbs.

 

[TAFKAP]

D a m n hippies......

 

[TAFKAP]

Sounds good. I did notice that our spending habits certainly changed when we started paying cash at the farmers markets.

Do me a favor....please post your weekly menu. We're in a rut, and are needing some new ideas.

My hardest thing to change will be my meat intake. To me, it's not a meal without meat.

 

[BowGuy84]

Interesting. I'm modifying mine too, but struggle with where I want to go and time. I'm split between either paleo or something like this with more veggies/ fruits and in both I'm trying to limit processed foods.

Two problems I'm having

1) variety: paleo style I feel really limited especially on snacks (nuts get old)

2) time: currently I'm enrolled and finishing a masters and prepairing for comps in my doctorate from Vandy. Cooking takes back seat as does shopping for food. Wife does it...she will during deer/duck season (when I really struggle) too.

I want to make sure whatever I do is sustainable for me to replicate and not get bored in all seasons

 

[WMAn]

D a m n hippies......

TAFKAP,

I'm convinced based on past comments that think Williamson County is the San Francisco of the South, a virtual ant hill of hippie culture. :D

 

[WMAn]

TAFKAP and BowGuy84,

Knowing where to start and variety are two big challenges. I think the best thing to do is just start somewhere. Cut your meat portions at each meal in half or buy lots of different fruits. Farmers markets also help with variety and a menu because you will see stuff that is unfamiliar to you and the farmers are happy to tell you how to fix it.

Smoothies have also been big for me. I usually fix one big one every day. I have even used them to get veggies in my 18 month old daughter.

Although I am looking at Paleo and Raw food diets. I am not subscribing to any one "diet." My diet is to eat good food. I'm trying to get back to the way my great-grandmother, who always had a huge garden, and depression-era grandfather, who had a pantry full of canned, garden goods, ate.

That's why I really like Pollan's book In Defense of Food. Here are his simple rules for eating:

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
2. Don't eat anything incapable of rotting.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are A) unfamiliar, B) unpronounceable, C) more than five in number, or that include D) high fructose corn syrup
4. Avoid food products that make health claims
5. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket, stay out of the middle.
6. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible (shake the hand that feeds you, know your farmer)

 

[TAFKAP]

D a m n hippies......

TAFKAP,

I'm convinced based on past comments that think Williamson County is the San Francisco of the South, a virtual ant hill of hippie culture. :D

I fully concur....I'd call it more the "Marin County", since it's more effete wannabes more than hippie weirdos

 

[TAFKAP]

My wife read and enjoyed that book, as well. She's the one mainly driving our menu these days. The big problem I have (especially lately having quit smoking in January) is that my appetite is utterly insatiable. I'm constantly hungry, especially after dinner, no matter how much I ate. Big jars of almonds are great, but not quite there. Dark chocolate is another crutch.

Also, look up Alton Brown's crock pot oatmeal. That's been my breakfast the past 3 months.

Gotta roll....dinnertime.

 

[BowGuy84]

Although I am looking at Paleo and Raw food diets. I am not subscribing to any one "diet." My diet is to eat good food. I'm trying to get back to the way my great-grandmother, who always had a huge garden, and depression-era grandfather, who had a pantry full of canned, garden goods, ate.

I like this thought and it is similar to my thought. However, like you my past generations were farmers/gardeners.

It wasn't much of a meal without meat. Lost salt cured, cooked in "healthy" fat (according to paleo). Lots of veggies and best I can tell a fair dose ground grain (biscuits, cornbread)...sugar and fruit were probably the least common parts of their diet in comparison to what we have today...and booze like you said moderation.

Thoughts/reactions? I have a really hard time cutting out the meat!

 

[WMAn]

I like this thought and it is similar to my thought. However, like you my past generations were farmers/gardeners.

It wasn't much of a meal without meat. Lost salt cured, cooked in "healthy" fat (according to paleo). Lots of veggies and best I can tell a fair dose ground grain (biscuits, cornbread)...sugar and fruit were probably the least common parts of their diet in comparison to what we have today...and booze like you said moderation.

Thoughts/reactions? I have a really hard time cutting out the meat!

Yes, but think about the annual amount of meat your grandparents or great grandparents would have been eating. Right now, the average American is doing about 200 lbs per year (roughly 4 lbs per week). If we go back to the early 1900s, the average American ate around 100 lbs per year. That's 2 lbs per week or a little more than 4 oz per day.

Why? Did our great grandparents like meat less? No, but they were probably raising their own cows, chickens, and pigs. It took more effort and money to produce meat than vegetables. In this case, meat was both a luxury and limited/necessary part of their diet.

Also, they only had access to fruit in season and there access would have been more limited than ours today.

No matter how you slice it, if you go back to a cave or before World War II, the traditional diet of humans is built on a basis of veggies, fruits when there available, and limited amounts of meat.

 

[WMAn]

It hard to cut back on meat when you have hundreds of pounds of it. If I was going to cut back significantly on meat consumption, I would really have little reason to hunt any animals for the next year or so.

Poser,

I think your solution is close at hand. Once you marry your fiance, keep her bare foot and pregnant. More mouths to feed will both limit the amount of meat left over for you and increase the need to hunt for food. It's a win-win.

Just make sure she understands Chris Rock's advice on the Big Piece of Chicken. :grin:

 

[Deck78]

It's been a while since you've updated your "changing the way I eat" post. Any new revelations since April? How are you doing at the farmer's martkets with securing good food for you and your family while staying on budget? There's a new farmer's market on friday afternoons in leipers fork you might want to check out. The veggie vendors are not as plentiful as some of the other markets but prices might be inline with your budget. Hope you're sticking with your goals!

 

[moondawg]

Interesting post. My wife and I are trying to change the way we eat as well. More veggies, less processed stuff. It's hard! But my wife says it's cool, because it makes food interesting again.

 

[WMAn]

I have hit a little bump in the road since April. With my business, the summer months are my busiest time of the year. I still try to make it to the Farmers Market in Franklin every Saturday, but my parents raise a garden so I'm getting most of my produce from them.

I started out at 186 lbs in January, and I'm down to 170. I definitely see the benefits of a "plant strong" diet (i.e. lots of fruits and vegetables, limited grains and meat). The main benefit for me is from a digestive standpoint. Things tend to move better if you know what I mean. ;)

I am also working towards growing more of my own food. I have tilled up two, 24 foot rows for raspberries, and I have areas marked for strawberries and two raised beds for vegetables. I'm planting marigolds in all of these areas right now as a cover crop and to add organic matter to the soil. The raspberries will be planted this winter, and the strawberries and vegetables in the spring.

I also read "Growing a Farmer." It's a good book by a guy in Seattle, who 20 years ago sold his restaurant and bought a farm (12 acres). It's a really fascinating read on farming, food production, and food prep.

My goals remain the same. Hopefully next year will be my first step toward producing more of my own food. The one thing I haven't done this year that I planned to is pick wild blackberries. I scouted them out, and they should be ripe now. I just haven't made it out there.