Day 4 of the 28-Day Real Food Challenge

It is very interesting how the same idea is circulating all over.

Last weekend, I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I really like his plain-spoken writing style and what he put in that book made a lot of sense to me.

I remember eating veggies grown in my grandparents' and my parents' gardens as a kid. I also remember how much I hate cutting okra and how much I still don't like to eat it.

I remember the fruits my grandparents grew: strawberries, blueberries, pears, peaches, apples, and figs while wild blackberries grew on their property for cobblers and jams.

My grandfather raised beef cattle and when I was a tot, he owned a dairy farm. Fresh milk - raw milk - straight from the cow is something most Americans have never had the opportunity to try. That is a shame!

I was raised on REAL foods but I have stopped eating real foods. My grandmother is 88 years old and may be in better health that I am. She's definitely in pretty amazing shape compared to her counterparts!

Today, I read an article on CNN.com by Madison Park entitled An Inconvenient Challenge: Eat "Real Food" for a Month. The article features nourishedkitchen.com's challenge to eat non-processed foods for a month. I decided to sign up for the challenge. Yes, it is four days into the month, but my husband and I actually started trying to eat only "real foods" on Monday, March 1. We were doing it before we knew about the challenge.

So, how's it going? Well, honestly, I spent twice as much at the grocery store on Sunday than I normally do. I loaded the basket with veggies and meats. I selected organic milk produced on a farm where cows get to eat grass and organic grains. I bought FISH. We don't typically eat fish. I bought shrimp, flounder, and salmon.

I did buy processed pasta. I am not ready to make everything we eat from scratch quite yet!

Thus far, the week has gone well. We have eaten more fruits and vegetables than normal. We have reduced our portion sizes of meat and increased portion sizes of veggies at meals. We are not drinking soft drinks (except for that diet dr pepper I had on Monday). We are drinking coffee, but the hubby has started using agave sweetner instead of refined white sugar.

We will not cut out all processed foods immediately. I don't think it's practical and I do not want to waste foods we have already purchased. Unopened items can be donated, but opened bags of pasta, rice, etc will be consumed in smaller portions and less frequently, perhaps, but throwing things out is not something I can do.

I have been researching bread recipes so I can make bread. I have gathered some "from scratch" dessert recipes, too. I don't know that I've ever made a cake from scratch before, but I will give it a try!

I'll keep posting our experiences with eating real foods and finding real foods. I have called my mother to ask if she can come up after the last freeze and help me plant a vegetable garden. Of course, she said she would. I'll post about that experience and what I am able to produce for my family myself. It should be interesting to see how my lifestyle changes and what impact these changes make on our health.