Confession: I'm not really a fad person. Add my medical background to that, and I pretty much hate any fad diet right from the get go. Anytime there is a new eating philosophy that it is supposed to magically fix everything, I mentally (or actually) roll my eyes. Not to say there's not good intentions behind each and every one.
All this to say, I'm a little late on the natural foods band wagon.
I've done a lot of (internet) reading, which these days basically qualifies me as an expert, and I've felt a strong urge to start incorporating these concepts. Let me save you some time, if you're not up to speed. There's some evidence that processed foods have very negative effects on our bodies: from cancer to heart disease to ADD, there are articles linking artificial everything to each and every physical/mental/emotional/psychological problem.
So, here are the things that we are trying to stick to in the Johnson household:
1. Try to stay on the outside of the grocery store.
This means mostly fresh produce, meat and dairy. I do saunter into the scary middle aisles for a few things like all natural peanut butter, rice, etc.
This means mostly fresh produce, meat and dairy. I do saunter into the scary middle aisles for a few things like all natural peanut butter, rice, etc.
2. Read the label.
For those things that come out of the middle aisles, if the ingredient list has more than 5 ingredients, it's probably not going in our cart.
For those things that come out of the middle aisles, if the ingredient list has more than 5 ingredients, it's probably not going in our cart.
3. No artificial sugars.
I gave up the Diet Dr. Peppers when I was pregnant, but they tempt me every now and again. Sometimes I just splurge for the actual thing, but this is mostly when I'm needing a caffeine pick me up at work.
I gave up the Diet Dr. Peppers when I was pregnant, but they tempt me every now and again. Sometimes I just splurge for the actual thing, but this is mostly when I'm needing a caffeine pick me up at work.
4. Avoid fast food.
Restaurants aren't always much better, but at least you can imagine your food is cooked to order instead of sitting under a heat lamp.
Restaurants aren't always much better, but at least you can imagine your food is cooked to order instead of sitting under a heat lamp.
So what does this all look like?
Here's an example of our menu list this week:
Mediterranean Pasta
Cilantro Lime Chicken with Tomato and Avocado Salsa and Cilantro Lime Rice
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with Greek Salad (and homemade Greek Dressing)
Oven Roasted Citrus and Herb Chicken with Vegetable Rice and Green Beans
Tuscan Chicken Skillet and Caprese Salad
Greek Chicken with Couscous Tabbouleh and Greek Salad
Yum! We have been very happy with our food choices and are loving the abundance of fresh food in our fridge.
Happy Friday!
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