One of the first sites I found when I started looking into the awful ingredients in processed food was 100 Days of Real Food. I didn’t know when I first found Lisa Leake’s website that she lives just outside my hometown of Charlotte, NC; finding that out was just the (whipped cream) frosting on the (whole wheat chocolate) cake. (I later found out from a co-worker who went to high school with her that she used to live in Knoxville, TN, where I live now – crazy!)
Lisa and her family pledged to go 100 days without eating a bit of processed food. She, her husband, and their two daughters were successful, so Lisa decided to help others by sharing their journey. She came up with a ten-day pledge to assist in making the transition from processed to real less overwhelming. And for those that think ten days is just too much, she offers weekly mini-pledges as well. You’ll be surprised by just how easy it becomes once you start doing several little things.
Even after reading everything I could on Lisa’s site, I still had to wrap my head around actually ridding my home of processed food. I mulled it over for weeks, but started taking baby steps, one at a time. The first step was to end the "treat" trip to McDonald's for a Happy Meal after my daughter's dance class every week. (This was actually not a baby step, this was HUGE! After almost a year, she just very recently stopped asking to go to McD’s after dance class every. single. week.) I know, isn’t that just awful? She didn’t care much for the burger, and she usually ordered apples instead of fries, but she always loved the toy. So now her treats are usually sticker sheets from the dollar bin at Target. She actually has a treasure box at home, that she painted and decorated, that I keep stocked with treats like this – stickers, lip balm, bath bombs. And every now and then, we hit up a froyo place – I know, I know, still not great, baby steps people!
We’re still not completely free of processed food, but we’re getting there. My daughter is making better choices on her own (she loves salad drenched in our version of ranch – Greek yogurt with a few seasonings), although she is still resisting most of Mommy’s cooking – not because it’s bad, but just because, well, she’s stubborn. (I have NO idea who she inherited that trait from!) ;)
If you think you’re ready to start getting rid of the junk, just know that it takes a lot of determination. Your spouse kids will fight you every step of the way. Don’t expect that it’ll happen overnight just because you’re armed with knowledge and recipes. If you have eggs, milk, and whole wheat flour (as well as a few other ingredients) on hand, do you automatically have super yummy whole wheat waffles? No. You have to mix the ingredients, wait for the waffle iron to heat up, pour in your batter, and wait for the waffles to cook. But boy, when you’re finished, you have a lovely plate of homemade waffles (hopefully with some 100% pure maple syrup). EFFORT. WORK. PATIENCE. But isn’t it totally worth it? I promise you, it is!
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