Real Food

In case you did not realize this, I live with two EXTREMELY picky eaters. In fact it is easier to just list what they do eat as opposed to want they don't. And of course they do not both eat the same foods. Yes I am talking about my son and my husband. Although my other family member, Cooper the lab, eats anything you put in front of him. Maybe I should start inviting him to meal times so someone appreciates my cooking. Hmmm....

This causes me to pull out my hair at meal time. I have been known to make 3 meals for three people. I refuse to do this any longer. In my husband's defense, he is at least consistent in what he eats. If I put a piece of chicken in front of him he will eat it no matter what. Trey is not so consistent. For example, he loves grapes, both green and purple. For a few weeks there was a sale on purple grapes so that was all I bought. Then I found a good deal on green grapes and he refused to eat them. They are the same thing! It's like I have to remind him, remember, you like this! I know this is a typical toddler thing, but I am over it.

Sorry this post was not supposed to be my rantings about trying to fix nice family dinners everyone eats, it is about real food. Sometime last spring I picked up a book Jay had ordered called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen. This is the same guy who wrote Omnivore's Dilemma. This book along with a class at my church really changed my whole perspective on food. The whole point of the book is that you should eat food, not too much, and mostly fruits and vegetables. Luckily since Jay had ordered this book himself he was willing to read it and agreed with many of the ideas.

Now we are the proud owners of a grain mill and grind our own flour for food each day. I use this to make pancakes, muffins, tortillas, bread, rolls, cookies, cakes, pretty much any bread product you can imagine. I could go on my soap box and tell you all about the benefits of freshly ground flour, but I will save that for another post. For now I am just working on making the food that does make it into the mouth of my family the best quality that can be.

We also try to buy locally and what is in season. I don't think I have ever eaten as many peaches in my life as I have in the past month. We shop at farmer's markets, natural food stores, and website for our food. This does not mean we do not use Kroger, but we are more inventive and try to rely on what we can make ourselves (homemade yogurt anyone... ) and what we can get from local farmers.

This does take extra time and effort. I have to plan ahead for meals, try to get things ready the night before or during nap time, but it is worth it. After making my own tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes I cannot go back to just a store bought jar. Our journey into only eating real foods has just begun and I am sure it will be tested when we go back to school, but for now it is an exciting adventure. Who knew the joy I would experience when Trey gobbles up a zucchini muffin!