Thursday, June 02, 2011

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Baby Step Changes Part 4



















Practical steps to change. One at a time.

1.

Shop differently. Take advantage of the farmer’s market. What grows well locally? Find out, find someone who produces it and buy from them. The product will likely taste better if it doesn’t have to travel miles and miles to get to you.

Read the labels. Avoid genetically modified. Know which products you should buy in organic and which are okay to buy non-organic.
(spinach, apples, potatoes, meat)
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods.


Begin to replace what you normally buy with "better" products. If you buy all purpose flour, try to replace it with spelt or oat flour (you can make your own with a blender and oatmeal). These tend to make less dense baked goods than whole wheat and are closer to the feel of traditional flour. Or buy unbleached flour (less processing steps) or begin to blend your regular flour with healthier choices until you find a blend you are okay with. Buy whole grain pastas and mix those with your old standby if you think your family (or your taste buds) will balk (Vitaspelt and Eden Organics are ones we've tried and liked).

Buy brown rice instead of white. Buy organic sauces, condiments (less chemicals). Basically, take baby steps. You don’t have to toss and conquer in one fell swoop. Use up less healthy ingredients when making items for potlucks or gatherings where you have to take food. It took us months to really see big changes in our cupboards and fridge. I liked to make sure we always had favorites on hand and would buy when on sale and that made things more challenging when we decided to slice and dice our food choices.