Why Eat Whole Foods?

I heard a statement recently that only confirmed my stand on eating only whole, natural foods when possible, "If you grandmother or great grandmother would not recognize it don't eat it." Along with this statement and having watched Super Size Me and the trailer to Food Inc my husband and I are convinced that a diet that has been processed as little as possible is the best way to go for us. My theory is if God made it that way then it is OK to eat. (For example whole, raw milk) If man made it think twice.

I am not going to say that we NEVER eat anything that is not processed or has artificial ingredients in it. That would be nearly impossible in today's society, especially with little ones. I am not going to throw a fit if someone feeds my child something that I do not necessarily approve of, but I can try to teach my children what will nourish their bodies the most and hope that someday they will remember.

The problem becomes how do we afford to eat the way our grandparents did? When the words "organic" and "all natural" were unheard of. Things already came from local farms and were not sprayed with pesticides or genetically modified.

The other day I noticed a mother shopping in our local grocery store and she was filling her cart with only organic, healthy foods for her family, but I could not help thinking to myself, "Wow her bill is going to be HUGE. I wish I could tell her that I can teach her how to make most of those things herself and save tons of money." I realize that not everyone will have time to make all of their own foods from scratch, but it is possible with some time saving techniques. Only in the last 50-60 years have we decided that we need to make everything as fast as possible and not spend time making nourishing foods. We need to slow down and realize that good food is necessary for a healthy life. We could avoid so many health issues if we would just slow down and prepare wholesome food.

Well I got to thinking about how to go about buying cheaper food that is less processed. I went into Aldis last night and the family in front of me had nothing but prepared dinners and overly processed foods in their cart. I felt bad for thinking that they could have made better choices. They had absolutely so fresh produce at all. Again I felt bad for judging them and I tried to think about something else. Maybe this is all they could afford. They were doing the best they could. Then I heard their total, over $70. I got to thinking that I budget $250 a month for whole foods. What could possibly be the difference between us.

Between the lady in the first story spending $100s on healthy food and the family spending close to the same amount on processed food I had to stop and think, there has to be a middle ground. How can I possibly show others that they can live healthy, natural lives and not spend tons of money. We will have to see were things go. That is the purpose of this blog. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to start my series on where I buy my whole foods and how much I spend. Thanks for bearing with me on this bit of a rant and long post.