The Pantry Raid-Part 1

A side effect to whole eating that I hadn't really put much thought into when we started making these changes was weight loss.  After three kids, I had spent two years getting back into a good exercise habit and was actually very happy with the condition my body had settled into.  I hadn't done too much with my eating habits aside from moderation, so it really caught me by surprise, because I wasn't setting out to lose weight.  I had people asking me almost on a daily basis, "what the heck are you doing??".   Honestly, it took me a few to really process what was happening.  I hadn't changed my exercise routine or the amount of food I was eating, yet, the pounds were dropping off like flies.  Even my husband who was already very fit compared to the average Joe also lost 10 pounds.

Basically, as we started becoming more conscientious about the foods we consumed from a green standpoint, eating more whole was just a natural progression.  The more whole we ate, the more our bodies adjusted to a healthier state.  The best side effect I've ever experienced! :) 

The first step was reading labels.  Sure, I had checked out fat and calorie content on labels.  I had even advanced to checking fiber and sugar information, but very rarely did I even glance at the ingredient list.  The more aware I became of strange ingredients like Butylated Hydroxyanisole (I can't even say that!), the more I couldn't imagine eating those foods anymore.  Go get a bottle of salad dressing from your pantry and read the ingredients...I dare you!  You will be amazed!  Just because I'm a little anal retentive, I started researching these ingredients only to find that I had been pumping our family full of chemicals and biologically modified foods (which is so ironic taking into consideration that I spent my early years out of college as a scientist in the industry responsible for these modifications...a whole other post coming on that subject :) ). 

The more educated I became, the better we ate.  Out with processed foods and in with organic, whole foods.  I think mostly because of the visible, physical improvements, I have so many people asking me about making healthy changes to their eating habits.  The big question--So, where do I start?

Every household is different.  Personally, I have a hard time diving right into anything, so we started gradually.  Our focus was really driven by our new-found knowledge of where our food comes from and what effects its production has on our environment.  

My goal with starting this blog back up is to be able to answer this question for as many people as I can reach.  Clean, whole eating can prevent and cure many diseases that have become common to our country, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share what I have learned!  I will be posting a weekly series called "The Pantry Raid" where I will be sharing all kinds of mind-blowing info on our food supply and baby steps on how to get your pantry in shape, so make sure you check in frequently for new posts!