Evolution of Dinner: Part 2 - New Traditions

• Blog Post
    This is the second post of a 5-part blog series that shares how a stay-at-home mom transitioned her family from processed foods into natural, whole foods nutrition that radically improved her family's health for the better.

  Yesterday, I blogged about our changes from the Standard American Diet (SAD Diet) to our current healthy way of living... Here is part 2.

  Amazingly, we felt better on our new diet opting for more fresh ingredients and less packaged foods. We started new "traditions" for our family to replace the way we had done things before. They started out from our desire to cut costs, so that I could stay at home with our kids, but ended up giving us so much more. The traditions had positive health impacts on us that, frankly, I hadn't even considered as a 25-year-old new mom.

  Saturday was special because the kids got "Saturday Cereal" - AKA sugared cereals". It was our one day a week we allowed our boys a single bowl of Cap'n Crunch or CoCo Puffs (off brand of course), and to watch cartoons all morning. This was great for our family's health, but also helped our bottom line at the grocery store. We changed to a box of oats that was much cheaper than processed sugared cereal, and MUCH healthier for us!

  We also began making Sunday Night Pizza. That's right- making it! I could tell you many hilarious stories about our first dough making attempts, but I won't bore you. The first few were far from perfect, but over time, the Pizza making became a highlight of our week. It was something Jamie and I did with the boys (when they got old enough, each child was able to make his own personal pizza- start to finish!) We made our sauce and dough from scratch using fresh ingredients and it was the best pizza we ever tasted.

  We still, however, relied heavily on mac-n-cheese, canned soups with MSG, cheap peanut butter and other unhealthy choices during the week, but we were making gradual progress on our budget as well as our health.

    Evolution of Dinner: Part 3 - Hunter Gatherer

    Please see the related Wellness Resources we have provided to support the Evolution of Dinner series. You will find recipes, grocery shopping list, shopping tips and other useful tools to move you down the path of better nutrition.
• Related Content
   Related Content

  We encourage you to take advantage of this related Wellness content on our website.

  

  Evolution of Dinner: Part 1 - Raw Ingredients

  We weren't always the "healthy eating family". We used to eat plenty of processed foods and fast food including frozen foods, sugar laden desserts, and plenty of processed junk. So, I'll be blogging for the next few days on our Evolution of Dinner...

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  Evolution of Dinner: Part 3 - Hunter Gatherer

  Have you ever considered team meal preparation? By cooking large volumes, and trading with friends, you can reduce your meal preparation time significantly!

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  Evolution of Dinner: Part 4 - The Dark Ages

  Yes, we too lived through the "Dark Ages" of dinnertime. We went for convenience foods, and that set us back a few centuries!

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  Evolution of Dinner: Part 5 - The Renaissance of Mealtime

  Learning I had an autoimmune disease changed my life. One practical way we changed was mealtime!

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  Healthy Living Whole Foods Recipes

  The foods we choose to put into our body should be helping us live more vibrant and productive lives but for many they are the leading contributor to chronic disease.

  Many people know "what" to do to be healthy, but HOW do you do it? One of the best ways we have found is to show people how we eat as a family. This customizable, whole foods cookbook features healthy, affordable, great-tasting recipes that are easy-to-make. We hope you enjoy these recipes and encourage you to share them with your family and friends!

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