All posts tagged Stacy Myers

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By Stacy Myers, Contributing Writer

Switching to a Whole Foods Diet wasn’t an entirely seamless transition for my family. Since I was already a mostly “scratch made” cook, that part wasn’t hard…in fact, some parts of our switch were downright easy.  But some parts were so hard I wanted to pull my hair out and run screaming around the neighborhood…..since I don’t want to be committed, I decided against that particular outburst.

If you’re struggling with your switch or if some days you just want to cry, let me give you some encouragement – it’s not entirely easy for ANYONE. Everyone has an adjustment phase. So, to give you an honest look into a real food convert, I’ll share with you my five easiest and five hardest switches that our family made. They won’t be the same as yours….but maybe it will give you the encouragement you need to keep up the fight.

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Our Five Easiest Switches:

1. Switching to grinding my own wheat: I was already using white wheat flour, and our family liked the taste. White wheat flour seems to be a ton better than the whole wheat store-bought counterpart. When I would try to make a loaf of bread with whole wheat flour, it was like a brick. We used them for door stoppers. They could have been tied around someone’s neck who was being thrown into the sea. White wheat flour is awesome….so, I love my fresh ground hard white wheat berries.

2. Switching to Sucanat:  I thought buying some weirdo named sugar would just be the end of me…..but actually, it wasn’t. It wasn’t a hard switch to make at all. I use it cup for cup like white sugar, without the guilt. Yes, I realize that it’s STILL SUGAR. But at least it’s sugar with minerals. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Try some. It’s delicious….except in chocolate ice cream. Blech!

3. Buying in Bulk:  I grew up on a farm, with a mother who stockpiled. So, switching to buying my food in 25 to 50 pound bags wasn’t a huge stretch for me. I know it freaks a lot of people out. But let me put your mind at ease – stockpiling does not mean that you have to hide all your guns and live in the basement with a foil hat because the world is coming to an end. Fear not. Buy 25 pound of rice and be happy. Amen.

4. Cutting Back on Eating Out:  Barry and I are pretty tight with our money. I like to refer to myself as Cheap-O. It’s a term of endearment. So, cutting back on fast food and eating out was easy…mainly because we didn’t do it much anyway. Now when we go somewhere, I take a lunch in a lunchbox instead of running through McDonald’s. Do we ever eat out? Yeah buddy. Barry takes me out twice a month for a date. And I enjoy every minute of it because I didn’t have to cook it.

5. Getting rid of artificial sweeteners: The word artificial when it comes to food should scare the snot of you. Artificial food? REALLY? How does that make any sense? It’s like eating artificial grass – you don’t sit down to a mean of Astroturf do you? Blech! I did use Splenda for the longest time – because I had basically been lied to by the masses……but I kissed it goodbye and won’t look back. Hello maple syrup!

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Our Five Hardest Switches:

1. More expensive ingredients: I used to be a coupon queen. I used them on almost all the food I bought….and I ended up coming home with loads of boxed cereal and microwave meals. Switching to real food can be sticker shock for any frugal person. But I quickly figured out that by skipping all the convenience foods, I totally had room in my budget for “good ingredients.”  There are still some things I don’t buy (raw milk) because my budget doesn’t allow that – but, I am able to get high quality ingredients for most things.

2. Eating fat: I have had issues with weight and exercise since I was a teenager. Having my daughter helped me turn things around. I was terrified that when I made this switch that I would gain 50 pounds. Guess what? Not a lick….I actually lost two pounds. I’m eating butter like crazy – and all the meat I want. Nice, huh?  Revelation – fat doesn’t make you fat…your body NEEDS fat. Fat free stuff is crap.

3. No caffeine: It’s hard being addicted to something….and I knew we were addicted to caffeine. If I didn’t have a cup of coffee by 9am, I was a bear with a headache all day. First I switched us to half-caff. We had splitting headaches for two solid weeks. I felt like a druggy. Then I switched us to 100% decaf and some Teeccino. Two more weeks of terrible headaches. Now we’re caffeine free for the most part with the exception of some chocolate here and there.

4. Eating at someone else’s house: I used to freak out about eating at someone else’s house. I couldn’t control what they made. I didn’t know if they used margarine. I didn’t know if that was brown sugar or sucanat…….and did they use TEFLON skillets? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Then I put on my big girl panties and smacked myself.  Who cares if they used that stuff? I will eat it and be thankful. To do otherwise is quite rude. Live by the 80/20 Principle and your life will be a lot easier.

5. Bye Bye Canned Convenience foods :  As a self-professed coupon queen, I used to keep a ton of convenience foods around the house – canned condensed soups, ready to eat soups, baked beans, etc. How on earth was I going to make edible food – freaking out ensued. Were we going to eat dried beans every day until we died? Nope. I figured it out…it just took a bit of freaking out time. Now I can make my own scratch soups for freezing.

What were your easiest and hardest switches? Confess below. Thanks!

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By Stacy Myers, Contributing Writer

When you switch to a mostly “whole foods” diet, things are hunky dorey when you’re at home. You’re on top of the world! You control what’s on your family’s plate. You’re the boss – and your family doesn’t question you…..if they know what’s good for them.

But then this strange thing happens: you have to leave the house. It’s inevitable. You can’t stay holed up in your home 24/7 with no contact with the outside world – aka your friends and family. They want to see you. They want you to come over to dinner.  They want to have a birthday celebration at Golden Corral. And for a moment (or maybe weeks) you feel like a deer caught in headlights – I know I did. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Save me from the MSG! I’m here to tell you that you’ll save yourself a lot of grief and ulcers if you live by our 80/20 rule. Control what you can 80% of the time and the other 20% will be just fine. And you won’t be on medication for your ulcers. Now you can breathe an audible sigh of relief.

So, now you’re ready to leave the house! You’ve got your big girl panties on and you’re ready to face Golden Corral. But, I have to tell you something else you need to be prepared for……the questions. When you go to someone else’s home or to an event, I believe 100% that you should eat what you are given. It’s common courtesy. As Erin from The Humbled Homemaker says “relationships trump whole foods.”  Don’t ruin relationships with your friends and family over a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup.

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But, they might notice when you eat the meat and vegetables but skip the white bread. They might wonder why you ate your meal but skipped the pecan pie. And they’re going to ask. “Hey, are you on a low carb diet or something?” “This pie is delicious! Do you want a piece? No? How come?” Here are some options for you and how I handle most of these questions:

1. “I filled up on meat and veggies and now I’m just stuffed!” This is 100% true. Fill your plate with meat and vegetables. You WILL be stuffed. Way too stuffed for a white roll or sugary pecan pie…..at least I usually am.

2. “Uhhhh, I have to go to the bathroom!” This one is a great way to get out of any conversation you don’t want to have. Usually by the time you get back (if you are gone long enough – take a magazine) they have moved on to something else, or even finished their pie.

3. “Well, we’re trying to avoid white flour and sugar. We feel so much better!” Now, if they are REALLY interested, they might ask more questions. This is a great opportunity for you to share the knowledge that you know. If they don’t question any further, they don’t want you messing with their pecan pie by skewing their view. Ahem.

4. “I just don’t care for any right now, thank you.” This is the one I use the most often….in conjunction with the bathroom quote. If they still press you, ask if it would be okay for you to take a slice home instead. This will appease just about any grandmother. Be warned though – she might send the WHOLE pie home with you. If so, just send it to work the next day with your spouse. I’m sure someone at work will eat it, if you don’t want it.

5. “Haven’t you heard the quote ‘the whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead?’” This should be reserved for those members of your family that you like to shock. Those friends who won’t be swayed – and you want to quiet them up pretty quick. They’ll think about this quote all night. They’ll pass the white bread too. They might even have difficulty sleeping….so, like I said – reserve it for the difficult ones – not your feeble grandmother.

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For the most part, I try to keep quiet about our whole foods diet. Well, except on my blog – a quiet blog would be sorta boring. I really don’t talk about it often. I’ve found that for me, it’s easier to keep my trap shut than to try to go into a long conversation about the ill effects of high fructose corn syrup. Most people don’t want to have that type of conversation anyway.

If someone IS interested in how you eat, they will ask you. You’ll notice when they are genuine or if they are trying to pick a fight. If someone asks me, I like to talk to them about it. But, I don’t feel the need to explain to the lady at the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru why I’m ordering a wheat bun instead of a traditional white one. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and grief if you listen more than you speak….oh wait, that’s Biblical isn’t it?

How do you handle questions about your whole foods diet?