Going healthy....

Some things I've noticed since we've been trying to eat healthier/go organic.

#1--I FEEL better when I stick to the healthy eating plan (notice: NOT DIET). I feel like crap when life gets busy and we frequent the fast food drive through.

#2--Eating healthy takes TIME. Meal planning, shopping and preparation all take time. This is definitely something I need to work on. I need to get some good healthy freezer meals put up for when I am completely out of time.

#3--I've been conditioned. I feel horrible for spending 1 hour of actual work making a meal. I've been brought up in a society where the faster we can throw dinner together, the better mom and wife we are. Oddly enough, I don't feel bad about spending that amount of time on facebook..just more guilty in that case. Obviously my priorities need some SERIOUS changing.

#4--Organic bananas don't ripen quickly. Make sure you take this into account when you buy them. They stay green for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong time (unless you throw them in a sack with an apple..even then, they don't ripen quickly).

#5--Organic bread, on the other hand, goes stale very fast! It's better to make your own, but then again--see #2.

#6--It's hard to have shelf-stable snack food that is organic...at least I've found that to be true. Working on seeking more snack/kid friendly options.

#7--There aren't many organic, whole milk options I can drink. They all seem to taste 'funny'. This is after a life-time of drinking watered down skim non-organic milk. The only milk I truly LOVE and could drink constantly because it's just that good, is Kroger brand organic milk--Simply Truth Whole. It's fantastic.

#8--Sometimes organic is over-rated. SERIOUSLY over-rated. I would much rather have the words 'chemical-free' on my food than 'organic'. This is where my new favorite flour comes into play: Wheat Montana Hard White Wheat. SO GOOD.

#9--Sometimes 'natural' doesn't mean natural. Check labels. Check sources.

#10--Sometimes you just have to let go. If you can't find organic or vegetarian fed chicken thighs and that is what the recipe calls for and you don't want to sub chicken legs--then, just get the Tyson chicken thighs. Try not to do it too often, though.

#11--Sometimes that organic label really ticks me off. I'd almost rather buy Laura's grain fed beef than the organic beef at my local Kroger. The cost of that little sticker is outrageous.

#12--I still have no idea if organic is better than local or local is better than organic. Can't I just have local chemical-free? I really need my own garden.

I think that's it for now....I'm sure more is to come later......