Real Food for Real Families: Week 1

I've been teasing you for a week about some changes I'm making in my family and consequently, on the blog.  A few weeks back I really started thinking about the food we're eating and was coming across various articles and information about things like "raw", "real" and "whole" foods.

I'm also training for a marathon at the moment (read all about it here!) and so I'm being conscious about giving my body the best fuel for running long distances.

So, I decided to embark on my own "real food" challenge - to cut down on processed and pre-packaged foods.  I think this is especially important for kids, because there is so much convenience food out there, and we're made to believe we need things like pre-packaged snacks.

Take something like processed cheese marketed to kids.  Not only is it way more expensive than buying a block and cutting some off, it's full of additives and preservatives, it uses so much more plastic and is simply not a "real" food.

Some of the changes I've made are:
- not buying anything packaged that has more than 4 ingredients in it
- cutting out white rice and pasta, replacing with wholemeal alternatives
- cutting down on bread and making some of my own alternatives
- making my own yoghurt - SO cheap, really easy and NO added nasties
- cutting out refined sugar and using alternatives like maple syrup and honey

I really love this blog (thanks to my friend Gemma for getting me onto it!) which has a great explanation and plenty of ideas and resources.

One thing I haven't done is cut out any whole food groups.  My family is fortunate enough to not suffer any allergies or intolerances, so we can eat pretty much anything.  I don't feel the need to go gluten-free or dairy-free or sugar-free, because I firmly believe that they're all fine in moderation.

I also don't do well when there is something I really enjoy (like dairy), and try and cut it out completely.  I don't like the mindset of "you can NEVER have that EVER again".  I like to be able to have a small piece of cake when celebrating a friend's birthday on the weekend, or sitting by the water and having an ice-cream with the kids.  I always try to be quite strict with my food during the week, but make a few allowances on the weekend - and I really like that balance for myself.

I also have no problem still using my home-made jams and chutneys, even though they have white sugar in them.  We only eat small amounts of these, so I don't believe it's doing us any harm - plus I made them myself, so I know there are no added extras like flavours, colours or preservatives.  I'm also still using spices and certain sauces, because again, it's only in small quantities and I think they really enhance a lot of vegetable and whole food-based meals.  I also often swap olive oil for coconut oil, because of the health benefits.  A lot of recipes I've kept as olive oil, but feel free to try the change for yourself.

I'm really enjoying getting back to basics with our food.  It's not hard, it's not expensive and it's not time-consuming.  And I'm feeling fantastic.  The kids are enjoying the food too.

I have heaps of recipes to share, but I want to go one step further and share with you my full meal plans and snack ideas.  I really want to spread the word that cutting out processed food is easy and cheap.  Let's bring up our kids on real foods with nutritional benefits, not pre-packaged food that's filled with nasties.  If they get a taste for real food from the start, they will enjoy and appreciate it and grow up with positive food habits.

I would love to hear from you if you have any ideas or recipes of your own, or it you are keen to try something similar in your family.  I'll be posting a Meal Plan each week for the next 4 weeks.  I've put a list below for Week 1, and will add links to the recipes each day.  At the end of the week, I'll even include a shopping list and rough budget guide, so you'll have everything you need.

Thanks for reading this far!  I look forward to bringing some Real Food ideas to Real Families :-)

Week 1 Meal Plan

Monday: Brown Rice & Carrot Bake
Tuesday: Balsamic-Roasted Ratatouille
Wednesday: Mexican Beef Wraps
Thursday: Cheesy Green Quinoa
Friday: Chicken & Cabbage Stir Fry
Saturday: Lentil & Vegetable Soup
Sunday: Leftovers/throw-together meal/go out to dinner

Breakfast: Porridge (sweeten it naturally with fruit or honey) or Muesli
Lunch: Home-made wraps with salad and egg; leftover Brown Rice & Carrot Bake
Snacks: Nuts, sultanas, rice cakes, cheese, home-made yoghurt, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread, fruit, carrot & celery sticks

Notes:  This shopping list is approximate prices, based on my shopping at Charlie's Fruit Market and Aldi.  I rounded most figures, as of course there'll be variations between stores.  This will also give you plenty of leftovers - for example, I got the 2kg bag of brown rice, but only used a small amount, so you won't need to buy rice again for a while.  There are also things like lettuce, avocado, tomato and corn, of which you'll have plenty of to cover lunches.  I've also included a few things that you probably already have in your pantry.  But this list will cover a family of four, for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for a week, for just over $100.  It's NOT expensive to feed your family nutritious, tasty meals!  Get back to basics and enjoy real, whole foods :-)

Shopping List & Cost Breakdown:

Fresh:
1kg carrots                     $1.20
1kg onion                       $2
2 red onions                   $1
1kg butternut pumpkin    $1.20
2 red capsicum               $4
bag of zucchini                $3
1 medium eggplant          $2.50
150g button mushrooms  $2.50

tomatos                           $2
avocado                          $2

1 lime                              $0.50

300g sweet potato           $1.50
garlic                               $1

celery                              $1.50

1/2 savoy cabbage          $2.50

lettuce                             $1.50

Groceries:

2kg brown rice                $4

1 dozen eggs                   $3

coconut oil                      $6
balsamic vinegar              $1

3 tins crushed tomatoes   $3
can corn kernels              $1

400g canned chickpeas   $1

400g can lentils               $1

Mexican spice mix          $2

1kg wholemeal plain flour$1

vegetable stock               $2

3/4 cup quinoa                $3

250g frozen spinach        $1

tomato paste                   $2

185g tuna in springwater $3

1kg rolled oats                $1

Dairy/Meat

3 litres milk                     $3
1kg cheese                     $6

100g ricotta cheese         $2
400g lean beef mince      $3

400g chicken breast        $4

Total:                             $80

Already in the pantry:
Oil

Spices
Baking soda
Baking powder
Salt
Honey
Vanilla

Extras that I bought this week:

1kg sultanas                   $4

1kg mandarins                $2.50

1kg grapes                     $3

Mineral water                 $1

1kg plums                      $2.50

1kg apples                     $3

Unsalted cashews           $4

Rice cakes                     $2

1kg bananas                   $1.50

Total:                             $24