I was blessed with an opportunity to do a cooking demo at the local Women’s Fair this weekend.  During the discussion, I shared some perspective on our eating habits before we started our journey to REAL food.  After the demo, someone approached me and said “You’re talking about my family!”

That comment stuck with me all weekend.  Why?  That is what Eat REAL America is all about!  We have been on a journey that started several years ago and we have learned SO MUCH along the way.  While I am not a professionally trained chef or nutritionist, I feel like I have a even more valuable and practical education from the school of hard knocks and from figuring out how to conquer the obstacles that stand in the way of enjoying a life full of REAL food!  We have learned from our own experience that making the change is not easy, especially with our food culture and our busy lives.  And, we know meals need to be easy-to-prepare, affordable, healthy and taste great!  But most of all, we know...if we can do it, anyone can do it!

An amazing thing happened on this journey...we realized we have a passion we never knew we had!  Not just a passion for REAL food, but for helping others pursue their own journey towards a lifestyle where enjoying great-tasting food – that is also good for you – becomes second-nature.  And, it has to be simple and practical!  Trust me...anyone can do this…you just have to focus on what really matters…and it has to be enjoyable (no boring baked chicken, brown rice and steamed broccoli)!  Plus, you must tune out all of the noise about the latest fad diets, restrictive eating and formulas for only consuming certain foods and nutrients (ok, we know there may be reasons for this in certain situations, but in most cases it only makes things much more complicated than it needs to be).

We've been there -- we know the challenges, hurdles and struggles!  We know about the “sabotagers” you will encounter along the way!  We know about the crazy-busy weeknights, the pizza parties, the business lunches, the vending machines and the weekend trips traveling with the kids’ sports teams!  But, we also know what “the other side” looks like and how fulfilling it is!

WHERE WE WERE BEFORE THIS JOURNEY...
Several years ago, we were a family that had a dinnertime routine of tacos, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, hamburgers…you get the picture.  And that was when we ate at home!  Our meals often consisted of something from the limited list of items we knew our kids would eat.  If my husband and I wanted to eat something different (like seafood), I became a short-order cook, making different things to make everyone happy.  We didn’t really stop and think “what are we eating?”…we just ate because we knew we needed to.  At that time, we had a list of things we didn’t like.  I didn't like beets, turnips and mushrooms, and my husband didn’t like eggs, pickles, or tomatoes (just to name a few).  We always bought the same things at the grocery store…if we didn’t know what it was or what to do with it, we didn’t buy it.  The farmer’s market?  What is that…and why would someone waste part of their Saturday morning going to buy the same food you can buy at the grocery store?

We never really stopped to question what we were buying, and my goal was to get the grocery shopping done as fast as possible!  We bought a lot of things we thought were healthy…if the package had a health claim like “high fiber” or “made with whole grain” or “includes real fruit,” we were golden!  We would look at nutritional information, but really didn’t understand what was good or bad.  At one point, we reduced our fruit intake because we thought there was too much sugar (we now know better).  We made a lot of meals from what I thought was my "awesome” library of cookbooks.  Many of these meals were loaded with creams, cheeses, canned soups, refrigerated biscuits…and I could go on and on.

Fast food was a staple, especially for weekday lunches.  Nacho Bell Grande from Taco Bell…yes please!  Quarter pounder with cheese…absolutely!  The McRib is back?  Let’s go!  Supersize it for a few cents more…why not?  Coworkers going to the local Chinese or pizza buffet…I’m in (it is team building after all)!  If we drove to Kansas City to visit family for the weekend, we had our favorite drive-thru (“Backyard Burger”) to get a burger, fries and drink to eat on the road.  And, of course, we had to make our routine pit stop mid-way through our drive and pick up bottles of Bug Juice for the kids (we still cringe at this one)!

WHAT HAPPENED DURING OUR JOURNEY?
So what changed?  I guess it all started with my husband’s New Year’s resolution (for maybe the fifth time) to “get healthier,” but we really didn’t know exactly what that meant…eat more fruits and vegetables?  We bought a cookbook that helped teach us how to make healthier sloppy joes, enchiladas and taco salad.  We can’t exactly pinpoint it, but something began to open our eyes to stop and think about what we were eating and to understand the difference between REAL food and food imposters.  I quickly realized my “awesome” cookbook library really didn’t have many good options.  We quickly became bored with the same meal rotation from our new healthy cookbook and began searching for new recipes.

We started reading ingredient labels.  We didn’t overly focus on the nutritional label, but really paid attention to the list of ingredients.  Reading the ingredients was a game-changer!  One of our first revelations was Aunt Jemima (there is no actual maple syrup in there -- just a bunch of sugar!) vs. 100% pure maple syrup.  Other changes followed (whole wheat pasta and bread, yogurt without all the added sugars, dressings, among many others).

We talked to our kids.  We explained why these changes were important and why what we were eating was affecting our health, even if we didn’t see it yet.  The kids were on board, but were a bit apprehensive about the new foods and the new tastes.  Believe it or not, they found numerous foods they never knew they liked (and never would have eaten before).  I guarantee our son would never have requested roasted parsnip fries like he does today!

We started experimenting with new recipes.  By the end of meals, we found ourselves saying “Wow, that was really good!”  As our confidence began to build, we started shopping at the farmer’s market and experimenting with items we had no idea what to do with.  This fresh, local food took the flavor of our meals to a whole new level!  We made a meal using a spaghetti squash and thought “Where has this been all our life?”  We bought beets and found a simple recipe to roast them and add herbs, nuts and goat cheese…after the meal – “I had no idea roasted beets would taste like that!”  We made sweet potatoes, loaded with fresh veggies, Mexican flavors and black beans…the conclusion – “Are you kidding me?  That was amazing!”

We became planners.  We changed the staples in our pantry and refrigerator.  We started thinking a day or two in advance about our meals.  If we knew we would be on the road or away from home, we planned what we would eat and what we should take for snacks.  Packing healthy, great-tasting meals for the road became a routine (no more drive-thru).

As the quality and taste of our meals dramatically improved, we also noticed we were losing weight…1 or 2 pounds per week.  We weren’t eating less, but the food on our plates was much different.  We had more energy and our clothes began to fit differently -- all the more reason to keep going!

WHERE ARE WE NOW?
It's all about eating REAL food!  Every day, we prepare meals that taste fantastic, are easy-to-prepare, affordable and healthy!  There is nothing we don’t like or won’t at least try (yes, even liver!).  We eat just as much (or more) than we did before our journey started.  Of course, we are aware of our portions, but as Dr. Mark Hyman says “when you are eating nutritious REAL food, you will get full before you get fat!”

It's not about the numbers!  We don’t count calories or over-analyze nutritional information.  Instead, we focus on eating a wide variety of REAL food and know we are getting the nutrition we need.  We have a better understanding of the differences between added sugars and natural sugars, processed vs. whole grains and how different foods behave differently in our bodies.

Believe it or not, our cravings have changed!  We don’t crave fast food like we did before.  We do crave simple combinations of REAL foods with flavor that “pops!”  If we want something sweet after a meal, a few dark chocolate covered nuts or fresh fruit can hit the spot!

We still treat ourselves!  We occasionally enjoy our favorite treats in moderation (Orange Leaf, our favorite donut, French fries from our favorite food truck).  Our kids enjoy treats, especially at their Grandparents’ house, where there are lots of “not-so-good” choices.  They have learned to make choices (like one dessert…not three!) and actually admitted they were glad to return back to our normal way of eating after the last few holiday trips!

We are still learning and our kids are still a work-in-progress.  We still struggle with certain foods and making them healthy and taste great (such as pancakes) and we still get blind-sided by fake food discoveries (such as the artificial ingredients and colors in one of our favorite drinks -- our kids even pointed this out!)  We also continually learn new ideas, shortcuts and tips for the kitchen -- and don't worry, we will share them with you!

WHY ARE WE SHARING THIS?
We were initially reluctant to share all of this, but we thought it was important to share some of our story since we started where so many others are today.  We have been through the challenges and struggles that go along with this lifestyle transformation, and we have seen others do it too!  We are very blessed to have been on this ride and to be where we are today -- we are healthier than we have ever been at any other point in our lives!  We have developed a passion to help others along a similar journey.  Keep in mind, each person and family will have a different journey.  However, many of the challenges are the same…and many of the solutions are the same!

Through Eat REAL America, we want to help others…and we whole-heartedly believe REAL food is the answer!  We also believe it's critical to keep it simple, learn how to read ingredient labels and have a plan!  Remember, this is about progress, not perfection, and it doesn’t happen overnight…but it can happen…for anyone!

Feel free to contact me for help, questions or ideas where to start…I would love to hear from you: krista@eatrealamerica.com or 316-655-6903.

“You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”.     - Zig Ziglar