Meet Krista Sanderson, REAL Food Champion, Wife and Mom

Hi!  My name is Krista Sanderson and I live in Wichita, KS with my husband, two kids, and our spoiled Border Collie.  I have a HUGE passion for enjoying REAL food!  After many, many different ideas on how to help others enjoy all the benefits of REAL food, in 2013 (with the help from some great partners), our service, Get REAL Wichita, was born.  After a year of talking to our members, learning, helping others, and building the content on Get REAL Wichita, we were asked repeatedly to expand beyond Wichita...thus, the birth of Eat REAL America...with weekly meal ideas, recipes, blog topics, tips and more -- all focused on REAL food!

Watch Krista explain why we started Eat REAL America!

Several years ago, we had a revelation...

maybe it was more of a “we just can’t do this anymore” fed up attitude.  At that time our kids were 7 and 10.  I was the short order cook, preparing different foods to make everyone happy.  Our son was the “fish stick, chicken nugget” kid who ate NO fruits and vegetables.  We knew we needed to eat healthier, but we had no idea where to start.  My husband committed to the typical New Year’s Resolution (for at least the 5th time) to “get healthy and lose some weight.”

What was different this time?

We began to pay attention to what we were eating, and the ingredients in our foods.  We learned that many “lowfat” foods are NOT healthy and those health claims are so misleading!  After finding some healthy recipes we liked and making them over and over (it was getting really boring!), we had to get some new ideas into the routine.  I also started to realize that my go-to recipes were not that great…they were full of cheeses, canned soups, processed grains and (gasp!) refrigerated biscuits, just to name a few!

We began going to the farmers’ market and buying things we had no idea what to do with. Talk about getting out of the box!  Spaghetti squash, for example…we didn’t even know how to cut it!  Even kale was something we had absolutely NO experience with.

We would find recipes online, make new things and realize…this tastes amazing!  Not only did our meals taste better, but we started losing weight and feeling better.  We realized if we can do this, anyone can!  Where had this secret formula been hiding?  We had learned how to eat REAL food and make it taste amazing!  My husband lost over 70 lbs, and I lost about 20 lbs, but the most incredible change…our kids were eating a much wider variety of food…including A LOT of vegetables!  And, they liked it!

We discovered the key to success is REAL food!

What is REAL Food?

We call it anything that doesn’t come out of a box and is minimally processed.  Some say it can be anything with 5 or less ingredients, or at least ingredients you can recognize!  Basically, REAL food is anything that grows from the ground, grows from a tree, swims in the ocean, or grazes on the prairie.

REAL food doesn't have ingredients, REAL food is ingredients!

We are just a normal family with a crazy schedule (mostly because of our kids)!  We understand the challenges to eating healthy and keeping things as simple as possible in a world where there is conflicting and confusing information about how to eat right!  We have learned over the years by personal experimentation how to eat healthy and eat well -- and that planning is the key!  We have learned the farmer's market is a great resource for fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, bread and more...not to mention the wonderful people who make these foods available.   And, we have also learned how to prepare simple, great-tasting meals with the huge universe of REAL foods!  We do still laugh about the tater tot casserole we made when we were first married (not that there is anything wrong with tater tot casserole, but it isn’t real food, is it?).  Before and after...

Our Recipe Requirements

We know recipes can be found everywhere!  But how do you sort out the ones that are healthy, easy-to-prepare, and taste good too?  We have made...and enjoyed...every single meal idea you will find on Eat REAL America.  There are several that don't make the cut (they are not "website worthy").  Our kids are also part of our taste test team...so you can be assured most of the meals are kid-friendly!

To make the cut, our meal ideas must meet these requirements:

• Easy-to-prepare,
• Taste amazing,
• Affordable,
• REAL food ingredients,
• And Good for You!

We believe convenience, cost, confusion, and taste should NOT be barriers to enjoying all the benefits REAL food has to offer!  For convenience, we have also built a recipe box to save your favorite recipes and a customizable shopping list (accessible from your smart phone or tablet) to make your farmer's market and grocery store visits a little easier.

We hear all the time from people who say they want to eat better, but have a variety of reasons why they don't follow through.  "I want to eat healthy, but my husband and kids are picky eaters," or "I just don't have the time to plan healthy meals,” or “we are in a rut, we make the same things over and over.”  We want to help people to follow through on this desire -- think of it as a personal trainer for eating well!  We will do the thinking and planning for you, providing the tools to make it easy to whip up a meal that is good for you and tastes great!

We Are Here to Help!

Because I am a mom, not a formally trained chef or nutritionist, we have joined forces with Zonya Foco, America’s Nutrition Leader!  The first time I met Zonya, she immediately inspired me…how can you not love her energy and enthusiasm?!  I quickly realized we have the same passion — we are like-minded in our philosophy about “keeping it REAL” with REAL food!

Zonya and I will work together to keep you and your family healthy and raving about how delicious REAL food can be!  We would love to hear from you... please let us know what you like, or what we could do better!

Thank you for keeping it REAL with us!