10 days of real food

I am eating chocolate chips as I write this. The first chocolate chips I have had in more than 10 days. That's a big deal for me, considering I used to have chocolate chips as an everyday snack. (That's probably part of the reason why the pregnancy weight is coming off more slowly this time around... but that's another blog post for another day...)

This is a really long post, but I hope you find it valuable.

About a month ago, Tony and I decided we wanted to try the "10 Days of Real Food" challenge, as posted on the blog 100daysofrealfood.com. (One family did this diet for 100 days.) The rules are inspired by one of my favorite books, In Defense of Food, and are as such:
-No foods that contain sugar or artificial sweeteners, except for those naturally occurring in foods like fruit, honey and maple syrup. (Honey and maple syrup should be used sparingly, though.)
-No white flour or foods that contain white flour.
-Nothing out of a package, can or box that contains more than 5 ingredients.
-No fried or "fast" foods.
-Grain products must be 100 percent whole grain.
-Only meat that is locally produced. Fish and seafood (wild-caught is best) is also allowed but doesn't have to be local. (The best we could do was the meat from the meat counter at Whole Foods, which includes where the meat came from in its signage. All of our meat came from the midwest.)
-Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds are free game. So are dairy products that contain 5 or fewer ingredients.
-Allowed beverages were milk, 100 percent fruit juice, water, tea and coffee.

We decided we would start after the new year and ended up taking the challenge from Jan. 9-18. I did a lot of research and planning ahead so I could be sure we would have plenty of "allowed" foods on hand. I planned a 7-day menu for the first week of the challenge, which was extremely helpful. What did we eat? Here is a general idea:

-Breakfast: Homemade granola, oatmeal, eggs, toast (from homemade bread or bread purchased from Great Harvest Bread Co., which makes some varieties with 5 ingredients or fewer and only honey as a sweetener), whole wheat banana pancakes, muffins (made with orange juice and honey)
-Lunch: PB&J; homemade mac and cheese; salads; wraps made with homemade, 100-percent whole wheat tortillas; leftovers from dinner
-Snacks: Unsweetened dried fruit, nuts, whole fruit and raw veggies, Triscuit crackers (only 3 ingredients and whole-grain!), cheese, Larabars that have 5 ingredients or less (my favorite flavors were lemon and cherry pie), smoothies
-Dinner: Soups, chicken fried rice, fajitas, roast chicken, etc.

The first day we started the challenge, I moved the "forbidden foods" to their own cupboard so they wouldn't be such a temptation. Tony and I were craving sugar like crazy during the first few days. It was then we realized we are sugar/white flour addicts. Also, we noticed our GI systems were taking a beating because of the dramatic increase in fiber in our diets (sorry if that's TMI - just keepin' it real!) After those first few days, though, we noticed we didn't feel as sluggish as we did before we started the challenge.

We had already agreed that we would just do our best if we had dinner at another person's house or if we went out to eat. But I had a big cheater moment on Saturday when I took my mom out for lunch and had a turkey melt (on white!) and french fries. Definitely didn't do my best, and I regret it.

All in all, it was a great experience. I even lost a few pounds! I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking about changing their diet to include more whole foods, less sugar and fewer highly-processed products. Here is what I learned:
-You have to read the ingredients on the foods you buy! Who knew that shredded cheese has more than 5 ingredients? Who knew that some pastas that say "whole grain" are not 100-percent whole grain? Why are there so many ingredients in store-bought bread and tortillas? And why does regular sour cream contain a whole boatload of ingredients, while organic sour cream contains only two or three?
-Keeping highly processed foods out of our regular diet takes a lot of work. This was a very cooking-intensive challenge. Convenience foods are usually very processed. Planning ahead made the challenge easier, but still, there was a lot of cooking involved. Some days it really wore me out. I can see that it would take a lot of work and dedication to make this diet work for a large family.
-We (Tony & I) don't typically drink enough water. And drinking water is important, because sometimes we think we are hungry when our body is really telling us we are thirsty. It's also important to drink lots of water when you are eating a diet very high in fiber. I learned this the hard way!
-We love baking our own bread and eating Great Harvest bread. It was worth the investment.
-Switching to 100-percent whole grain foods wasn't that bad. Macaroni and cheese made with whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat noodles is not the same as the blue box version, but its still very yummy.
-Toddlers (and other children, I'm sure) do have the capacity to follow this diet without too much trouble. I felt bad because Ruth's snack options were fairly limited, as she didn't like a lot of the choices. But she survived and enjoyed many of the things that we ate.
-There are lots of minimally processed, whole-food options. I found lots of great, healthy, new recipes and products. We really love the dried, unsweetened fruit you can find at Trader Joe's (mango and pineapple!), Larabars, homemade granola, and homemade tomato soup.
-Eating less processed food can be more expensive. But the idea is that if you eat well and spend more money on nutrient-dense food, you will spend less money on healthcare expenses in the future.

We believe moderation is okay in all foods. If we eat at someone's house, we aren't going to ask if their noodles are 100-percent whole wheat. When Valentine's Day comes around, we aren't going to ban candy from the house. (I actually have plans to make heart-shaped rice krispies treats.) However, after this experiment, we also hope to make some permanent changes in our family's diet:
-We want to keep our sugar consumption to a minimum. We aren't going to buy ice cream or sweetened cereals on a regular basis. We won't make cookies, brownies, etc., except for on special occasions. Whenever possible, we will bake items using natural sweeteners like juice, applesauce, honey and maple syrup. We also want to avoid pop and other sweetened beverages. This will be good for all of us, especially since diabetes runs in both of our families.
-Whenever possible, we want to make our grain products 100-percent whole grains. We are going to continue using Great Harvest Bread and homemade bread and stop buying bread from the store.
-We want to keep increasing our intake of veggies and fruits (but mostly veggies).
-We want more of our food to be locally-produced. We are seriously considering joining the Nebraska Food Cooperative, which allows members to purchase locally grown/raised produce, meat, poultry, eggs and a variety of other items. We also plan on shopping at the Omaha Farmer's Market when it starts again.
-We'll buy organic whenever we can afford it - especially organic dairy (the Hy-Vee brand organic milk is produced in Iowa, so it's local, too), meat and eggs.
-We don't want to buy packages foods with long lists of weird ingredients. I don't mind so much if it contains more than 5 ingredients, as long as it's not too many more than 5 and I can pronounce all of them.

If you want to try this diet or get more information, check out 100daysofrealfood.com. The site author provides lots of meal ideas, recipes and tips.

By the way, after the 10 days, the chocolate chips aren't even that great! I never thought I would be able to say that!

Book Review: In Defense of Food

I finished reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan a couple of days ago, and it was a really great, quick read. If you are reading this book *cough*Jenn*cough*, consider this your spoiler alert.



As I've posted before, Pollan's motto with In Defense of Food is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The book itself contains a brief history of the "Western diet" (i.e. what Americans eat); commentary on how the American diet has been influenced by politics; summaries of studies related to nutrition, diet, health and farming; and recommendations on how to "eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

What I found fascinating about this book is how politics have played a role in the American diet. Many food producers have lobbyists, so if studies come out that show that Americans should cut back on their intake of red meat and dairy to reduce heart disease, the government can't change its dietary recommendations without getting flack from the beef and dairy producers. Therefore, the government has fueled the growth of "nutritionism," an idea that a food is as good as the sum of its nutrient parts. The government can say "cut back on saturated fat" without offending an industry group (even though it really should be saying "cut back on meat and dairy").

However, as Pollan goes to show in his book, nutritionists haven't been able to fully understand foods by breaking them down into their nutrient parts. Therefore, it's not enough to tell people to "cut back on saturated fat," or "increase your intake of fiber," as has been proven by our country's increasing problem with heart disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes. There is a synergy that exists in whole foods, so it's better to eat foods for their overall nutritional value rather than one nutritious part. For example (this is a very simplified example), scientists think carrots are good for us because they contain fiber and beta carotene. However, if you give a person fiber and beta carotene supplements, they will not receive as many health benefits as they would have if they had just eaten the carrot. (Actually, studies have shown beta carotene supplements can have harmful effects.) Therefore, it's better for nutritionists to say "eat more carrots," or "eat more leafy greens," than it is to say "eat more beta carotene," or "get more antioxidants."

Pollan also writes about studies that have shown the importance of eating whole, unprocessed foods. In places where the "Western diet" exists, a whole number of diseases have followed, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Where cultures eat whole foods (i.e. many of the French, Japanese, Greeks, etc.), such diseases are much more rare.

At the end of the book, Pollan gives recommendations on what to eat and how to eat it. Here are a few:
-Avoid food products containing ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number, or that include high-fructose corn syrup.
-Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
-Eat well-grown food from healthy soils.
-Do all your eating at a table.
-Pay more. Eat less.

I found it interesting how closely Pollan's findings follow the Word of Wisdom, which isn't just a list of prohibited substances for Latter-day Saints. The Word of Wisdom also includes a list of do's: eat grains, plants and a very small amount of meat; get plenty of rest. Unfortunately, many of us forget that the list of things we should do to be healthy are just as important as the things we shouldn't put into our bodies.

I enjoyed this book very much, and it has encouraged me to take better care of my body. I want to be healthy, and I want to teach my little girl how to take care of her body, too. If you're prepared to look at food differently, I highly recommend this book.