the whole unprocessed thing - the plan



Just three days away from the start of the new year, I though it about time I posted my 'master plan' for this whole unprocessed thing ! I've done lots of thinking, do continual reading and have chatted with my husband about this and we've come to an agreeable plan.


(photos - Christmas 2009 fruit bowls)
We will eat no foods with additives and preservatives (with the exception of a few like 'gelatine' that have no adverse reactions) I have a comprehensive list of additives and preservatives used in Australia to make our shopping easier.

No white flour.

No white sugar (or brown sugar which is just white sugar with molasses added).
We are classing anything that has more than .5g of sugar per serve as having sugar.

No white rice or pasta.

No trans fat.

We will limit our dairy. Cheese will be an occasional food. Milk and yogurt will still be part of our diet but I'll be researching nut milks. So far I haven't found any without added sugar. All of our dairy will be low fat.

We will concentrate on eating leafy greens, lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and legumes.

I will endeavor to keep our sodium intake to less than 1000mg a day.



Exceptions ...
I am not wanting to take our family into the 'realm of weirdo'. For that reason, we will have a few exceptions throughout the year. Each of our birthdays will be a 'free day'. We will be sensible and try to make decisions as close to our 'plan' as possible but we will probably have birthday cake with sugar in it ...

As well ... I will not put myself or my family or our friends through the awkwardness of 'we don't eat that' when we go to someones place for dinner. So ... again, making sensible decisions ... but we will eat what is served to us when we are at someones place. The same if we are in a restaurant. Although ... restaurants will be easier as we will be given a menu with many choices.

The reasons ...
Improved health is the most obvious reason. After reading Additive Alert a few years ago and then again recently, I feel that it's time we 'take the plunge' to eliminate these 'nasties' from our diet.

I also was struck by something I read in another book that was something to the effect of "why do we wait until we are sick to make the changes our bodies need to be healthy ?" To me ... it makes sense to feed my family (and myself) food that will keep us healthy instead of waiting until it is too late.

I'm not someone who has much success with 'little by little'. I'm an all or nothing sort of girl. Hence the reason we are cutting all of these things out at once. I've tried it the other way ... doesn't work for me. So ... here we go ... starting an adventure ! I'm excited !

Oh ... the other reason I want to do this has not got much to do with health but more with a trend I see in society that I'd like to not see in my home or in my children. That is the trend towards 'instant gratification'. The 'I'll just run out and grab something quick' sort of mentality. You know what I'm talking about ? I want to see what it is like to not be able to do that. I want to be forced to make things from scratch ... even more than I already do. I know it will take a lot of planning and preparation and organization but I think I'm ready for that ...

We'll see ... because it starts in just three short days !!

I plan to share with you the foods we eat. The recipes. The challenges. The struggles. The physical, emotional and financial changes we discover. I'll share books and resources and who knows what else ...

I'd love to know your thoughts. Suggestions are always welcome too ! Links to recipes that fall in line with our plan ... hook me up !!

Look out two thousand and ten ... here we come !!


7 comments:

Ashley @ The Happy Little Home said...

I'm really excited to hear about your adventure in this!

Air Force Wifey said...

This sounds great. I look forward to following your journey and hopefully convincing my husband to go this route.

Kerry @ Wifey, Hubby, 3 Cats
wifeyhubby3cats.blogspot.com

barbiejay said...

I am very interested in your upcoming adventure, Bonnie. Last year I read the book "Sweet Poison" and consequently eliminated sugar from my diet ... temporarily! I am so weak! I will be checking out your blog, and your recipes, and may even go down this road sometime in the future!

Tessa said...

I am very pleased to see your plan. I feel somewhat vindicated for trying the same sort of thing with my family when they were young. Although now they (your husband included) complain that I gave them nothing but rice, bran spaghetti and NO MEAT, they were healthy slim and gorgeous teenagers!
Your drive and enthusiasm will mostly offer more enticing recipes than I offered, but it is amazing to find how natural flavours can be so good. I am looking on with interest AND looking forward to testing the results. Persevere no matter what!

Sabba and Nanny said...

I love the balanced approach you are taking, and the mercy you are showing those around you. I think it's a pretty good role modeling of how we should live our lives in every area. Good luck, and we'll be watching with great interest. Love, Dad

Ranee @ Arabian Knits said...

It is possible to get brown sugar that isn't white sugar with molasses added and it is possible to get sucanat/rapadura/evaporated cane juice that is minimally processed for white sugar. It makes baking much easier.

Alexa said...

I love your post and your thoughts on these goals, Bonnie. I agree that it has as much to do with society as it has to do health issues. I've made it a family affair. My kids get the same information I get, this way they understand the thought and care that goes or should go into every bite. My oldest son even went to speak to his school to ask why the food in the cafeteria had to be so processed (proud mommy moment). He couldn't change the way they do things but the fact that he cared enough to try was great. He packs his food from home daily.
I look forward to seeing your journey as you venture on this noble road. :-) Happy New Year!