Transitioning Real Food Confessions
Elimination. There are TONS of things you can simply go without. For those you can’t; start transitioning to to the better choice – not necessarily the best – but the better one. Then continue taking steps in the better direction.
Continue to educate yourself. We can read or watch something and get energized, have that “mountain top experience”, but that quickly fades. If I continue to read, it keeps the realities of what food can do for our health and how some can be detrimental, fresh in my mind.
And remember, relationships are ultimately more important than food. Fill your family up on good food and good drink before allowing influence of the ”junk food”. If you can make them aware of the transitions you are making and WHY then hopefully they will respect and support what you are trying to do, even if they are not themselves.
Have you ever struggled in transitioning to real food because your husband wasn’t (fully) on board?
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Ann:
July 17th, 2012 at 10:41 AM
My husband thinks I am a little wacky too! I have found that baby steps are the key. Some things he is happy to do- he is excited that I want to try canning this month, his mom always did (mine did not and so I am experimenting and a little nervous!). I found a farmer from Iowa who makes frozen delivery to our area of grassfed beef, organically handled chicken and pork, and limited distribution of wild salmon and shrimp, and while the cost is higher (not much!) than local supermarket meats, hubby is on board after the “pink slime” reports that were very public last winter. I have always bought produce at farmers markets, but in the Chicago area the window is limited; off season Meijers offers organic produce and we are blessed to have a Trader Joes that is close and offers many organics. As we would run out of a processed, non-organic food, I would replace with a healthier real food. I don’t mess with his coffee
He was born and raised on Hills Brothers and would definitely rebel if I tried to change that! For sodas, we have drastically reduced how much is consumed, and what we stock is all made with sugar, not HFCS. Hubby likes his Diet Coke, but has been actually making the gradual switch to water with fresh lemon or lime, and my 12-year-old has also adopted the same switch; they actually did this one on their own!! My next baby step: I found a vendor who does cow shares for raw milk. This is a big one, hubby is not convinced that raw milk is healthy, and it is expensive. Wish me luck…
Susan Alexander:
July 17th, 2012 at 10:59 AM
Yes, this is totally our household. Hubby is not fully on board, our budget (and the fact that we move a ton) doesn’t allow for certain luxuries other people get. So we do our best. But, 4 years ago when I had my oldest daughter, we ate a highly processed food lifestyle. Ramen noodles, hamburger helper, freezer pizzas, diet soda, etc all played huge roles in our household. We ate out at least 2-3 times a week, lots of fast food lunches, etc…
So I feel good about the slow transition we are making. I know that if I keep at it slowly, we will eventually get there and I’m ok with that. We now typically eat out about twice a month. If we do fast food, it’s at a place that does not use preservatives or artificial junk. I buy very little boxed and I’ve gotten my husband to finally drink soda sweetened with sugar instead of diet. He is getting more and more open every day to new things. I’m very happy with the progress and will just keep changing things slowly. It helps to know your partner and know what’s important to them. Marriage is far more important than food.
Jessica T:
July 17th, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Yep hubby is like that now. The first thing I changed was salt, and boy that was a huge hurdle to cross over! Next was coconut oil, but so far that nasty bottle of veg oil we still have hasn’t come out of the cupboard! He’s getting better, but there are a lot of things he still consumes that I don’t. I do influence the kids though. And he’s okay with that.
We spend most of our grocery money at the “health food store” and less at Walmart, Kroger, etc. He gets nervous about this and is trying to trust me with all this “real food” stuff. But it’s not for him right now. I figure in time maybe he’ll come around more. I’m thankful that he’s okay with me and the kids changing our eating lifestyle, even though he’s not on board himself.
melanie keck:
July 20th, 2012 at 11:28 AM
Lucky me, I have a husband who tries to be supportive. When I first met him I was on a health kick and had lost alot of weight. I have since gained it back and I know that it is due to the processed foods. In the begining, I was learning to cook real food. Sometimes it turned out really bad. He would just smile and say “please do not make this again” We got married and the kids came along and I went back to the old standards that I had grew up with. It was good tasting food, but not so good for us. We are on a journey back to good health. It is a process to learn how to cook and prepare great tasting healthy food. It is something that I did not grow up with. It was a bit easier when I was single and had time to think about it. The kids make it hard. They are always hungry and want to eat. I have been teaching them how to make good choices. It is alot easier to make good choices if the choices are only better or best. If the junk food is not around you are less likely to eat it. I am working towards a better life. It is a struggle but worth it I love to hear that others are struggling to find a way to incorperate real food into real live situations also. It is nice to know that I am not alone Thank you for the inspiration to keep going at it.
You can read a bit about my jouney at http://mkeckblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-has-happened-to-real-food.html. also at http://www.lifelesshurried.com/2012/05/getting-real-food-into-your-everyday.html and at http://www.lifelesshurried.com/2012/07/we-cant-afford-to-eat-healthy.html
Cecilia:
August 15th, 2012 at 3:27 PM
I am so thankful to have a husband who fully supports me in all of my healthy food endeavors! I can’t understand why so many men are averse to changing what they eat. I also think it’s highly inappropriate for your husband to call you a “nutter”. Spouses should be encouraging and positive as much as possible.
Sara Shay @YourThrivingFamily:
August 15th, 2012 at 4:17 PM
Thanks for the support! It is in jest and love. He does recognize I am working on helping our family to be healthier, he just hasn’t read and seen all I have. Sadly, sometimes they have to come to it on their own. I don’t get it either!