In the holistic community there is a plethora of ideas about which diet is ideal for optimal health. I have dabbled a little in several, but have yet to adhere to any specific way of eating. I am really looking forward to the series of lectures we have lined up at the Holistic Moms Network in 2010 on nutrition. I hope to begin to figure out in which direction I’d like to take our eating habits. And I’ll be sure to share what I learn at each lecture.
Currently, the choices I’ve made with regards to food include eating foods as close to their natural state as possible. Let me clarify by saying I don’t mean that I am a raw foodie (though I would like to incorporate more raw foods into my diet), but that if I buy a container of half and half, I want the ingredient list to be cream and milk. I was dismayed to discover that many brands of half and half (specifically non- and low-fat versions) have rather long ingredient lists. Here is the ingredient list for one popular brand: nonfat milk, milk, corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, mono and diglycerides, carageenan, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin A palmitate. Blech!
Packaged snacks have been the most difficult to find without a long list of unpronounceable ingredients. But I have found several items that I buy regularly. My current addiction is Sea’s Gift Roasted Seaweed Snack. My only complaint about it is that it is overly packaged. But it satisfies my cravings for a crunchy, salty snack while delivering only 25 calories, 1 gram of fat, 2 grams of protein, 35% of my vitamin A and 20% of my vitamin C. And there are only 3 ingredients: seaweed, sesame oil and sea salt. I know similar products exist in Asian supermarkets with less packaging, and I fully intend to take myself on a field trip to pick some up.
I have also fallen in love with Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips from Food Should Taste Good. The ingredient list? Stone ground corn, high oleic sunflower oil and/or safflower oil, sweet potato, corn bran, evaporated cane juice, and sea salt. I have yet to try any of their other snacks, but they all sound wonderful. I think my next purchase will be the Potato & Chive Tortilla Chips.
I bake a lot as well to satisfy my sweet tooth (that I only acquired since having children)–almost always substituting Sucanat, honey or agave nectar (though I’m learning that many brands of agave are highly processed) for both white and brown sugars, and always reducing the amount of sugar called for in a recipe. I also almost always substitute at least a portion of the white flour with whole wheat, oat, or rice flour. And instead of milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips, I use bittersweet chocolate chunks.
I have this dream that someday when I find the motivation (maybe once I regularly get enough sleep) I’ll make everything we eat in our home from scratch–breads, sauces, snacks, pasta, etc. From the little I know about nutrition, it’s not the low-fat or low-sugar or low-carb diet that’s best, it’s the fresh and whole diet that will add years to our lives. That means whole (raw) milk, whole (soaked) grains, free-range (organic, grass-fed) meats, fresh (organic) nuts, fruits and vegetables, with no preservatives, additives, enhancers, etc.
While I can’t make everything from scratch right now, and there are still those brands and items I haven’t figured out how to replace or give up, I am on a trajectory toward better nutrition and health.