Food Intentions.

* This may be just part one on food, I'd also like to touch on our new, simpler meal planning and going nearly 100% organic.

I wish sometimes I could just write a food blog. I love taking photos of food, and I love eating it (um, who doesn't?). I've been trying for a few years to get healthier and healthier in my eating habits, but there is always room to improve. I especially want Johnny to grow up with a healthy pallet, accustomed to all sorts of natural, unprocessed foods.

So now our house is almost 100% vegetarian, and we eat vegan A LOT, mostly because we share so many meals with our vegan neighbors. Occasionally I buy a free range chicken for Chris, which I cook and freeze and that lasts almost a month.

The thing is around here, with J's allergies, things need to be simple and largely homemade (since soy and peanuts are in evvvverrrrrything, and we can't afford and don't desire to buy allergy free preprocessed foods all the time). I love to cook but as much as I'd like to be in the kitchen all day, there are other things that need to be done, so the simpler the better at this point.
I've been eating less and less dairy, now it's literally down to two or three servings per week, and all in organic cheese form. Johnny gets at least a serving of organic cheese a day, but no straight cow's milk or cream, not even yogurt. I'm working on making yogurt from alternative milks, but so far no luck (sad face). I'm trying tonight with coconut milk, which would be a great source of nutrients and fat for the boy.

We still eat a lot of sugar, although lately it's usually in maple syrup/agave nectar/honey form. While I was baking cupcakes for a craft fair last month I got pretty sugared out, and have hardly had any processed white sugar since then, and even limited amounts of natural cane sugar, which is the only granulated stuff we have in the house. I've made a commitment this past week to not eat any processed sugar during the week, only on the weekends, and only in limited amounts. This has caused me to give up caffein, as I can't tolerate black coffee. I hate giving up caffein, the headaches are atrocious, but after the three day hump I feel a lot better! I can't imagine how you can feel like doo until you have a cup in the morning when you usually drink it, but when you don't drink it at all you can feel more energized and "up" than if you did drink it. I don't get it, but I won't question it. My body is telling me to knock off the crap so I will.

So, no more sugary things, this goes for the boy as well, although he can have more than me, especially if it means me putting agave in his green smoothie so he will be more likely to drink it. Also, absolutely no white flour/rice/ect. These things may as well be white sugar, they do you no good whatsoever. Except for crusty German brotchens and Brenda's rice pudding. Those things are delicious and I will eat them, and savor them, since I won't be able to get them back home when we leave next year.
I also drastically cut back on wheat/rice in general. Not all out, but eating them only once a day as opposed to 4-5 times a day. I always have an angry tummy after I eat too much pizza, or rice, or bread. Johnny still gets several servings a day since he's a growin' boy ;)

So what are we eating?
Beans. We've been eating so many beans! I looooooove them in almost any form (but NOT on cornbread!!)
Lentils, grains, oats. Last night Brenda made spanish rice with quinoa instead of rice and it was amazing. I love quinoa like it's going out of style. Today I started soaking lentils to make stuffed bell peppers this weekend, I haven't read much on it, but I heard sprouting things makes them more nutrient-rich and easier to digest.
Fruits/veggies. A year ago, I didn't think it was possible to live on these alone, but I'm starting to think now it absolutely is. I make a BIG batch of juice/smoothie in the morning and sip on that most of the day, and I can't believe how far it gets me. Snacking on carrots/celery and hummus is super yummy.

This morning Johnny and I shared a pineapple/carrot/spinach/ginger smoothie and J had avocado-banana pudding with a big handful of blue berries and a whole-wheat carrot muffin. For lunch he had a string cheese stick, half a banana and half a sunflower butter sandwich on whole-grain bread. I sipped my smoothie and am about to eat some of the above mentioned veggie sticks and hummus. Dinner will be chickpea/quinoa salad and our friends are bringing over burgers for themselves and Chris. If J won't eat the salad I'll make him some whole wheat mac&cheese with peas (maybe cheesy quinoa and peas? mmmm..) I'd like to get to the point where he just eats what we have, but I made the mistake of making his food separate from ours for a long time, so we are slowly transitioning into that. He does pretty well and chooses to eat our food more often than I expected, so it's going okay.

J and his beloved guacamole, scooping with a baked spinach pita chip.

So, two things moving forward: I need a new juicer, mine was free but it blows. Brenda and I have plans to go in together on one soon. And I'd like a dehydrator to make fruit chips and roll-ups and things like that. That may have to wait until we move back to the States since I'm not going to buy a 220 one now and I won't run one off of a transformer for who knows how many days.

That's it I guess. There's really not a whole lot of point to this post, it's all just been bouncing around in my head so I had to put it somewhere so that I can move onto the next thing.

Happy eating!!

P.s. Check out Bonzai Aphrodite and Kath Eats Real Food on the internets for some good, all natural food inspiration.

* This may be just part one on food, I'd also like to touch on our simpler meal planning and going nearly 100% organic.