100 days of "Real Food" ...mini-pledge style

When my friend told me she was going to try some real food mini-pledges at the start of the new year, it sounded like something doable.  Just a week to think about something in the "eating better for life" department.  I have become more conscientious about food since having Declan... and more so when feeding a kid...and now already fearing getting into shape again after baby #2.  So I actually liked the thought of doing this while pregnant to build awareness and habits  and not worry about "dieting"... which in general I won't be worried about dieting after baby #2 either eating this way most of the time.    

 All the information and the mini-pledges below are from Lisa Leake's website and (crazy... in my opinion) journey of 100 day of real food website!   They did all the below mini-pledges all at once for 100 days (and continue to be very near 100% following real food rules all the time)   I know and don't feel I need or will every be that "extreme" but am thankful for this journey so far.  Below is what we did if you want to give it a try! 

For some definitions click here: Real Food, or just seeing the mini-challenges you'll get the gists.

Some "grades" & thoughts on how I did each week are below each mini-challenge!

14 Weeks of “Real Food” Mini-Pledges:

• Week 1: Two fruits and/or vegetables per meal – Eat a minimum of two different fruits or vegetables (preferably organic) with every breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal.

A:  I did this one well.. but it was harder than I thought and started me making sure I prepped everything for easy to grab bags/containers and planned what I would have.  This one I have pretty much continued each week and it really does help you feel fuller.  And it is easy for me because I like veggies and fruit.

• Week 2: “Real” beverages – Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day).

A: (and easier due to being pregnant... ):  I mainly only have soda when I drink some rum, and the wine was out so LaCroix was acceptable.  I did stop all coffee creamer and just did whole milk. I know have my coffee black or with a little milk and don't miss it.  I have had a few sodas since this week and sips of Andy's but most of it does taste so sweet I don't like it.  But Dr. Pepper will always be my treat! 

• Week 3: Meat – All meat consumed this week will be locally raised (within 100-miles of your hometown). Meat consumption will also be limited to 3 – 4 servings this week, and when it is eaten meat will not be presented as the “focal point” of the meal. Instead meat will be treated as a side item or simply used to help flavor a dish.

F: for finding local... I didn't prepare and try hard in advance.  But I do want to check out The Lamb Shoppe in Hutch now that I know about it soon as we are about to do Week 11.

B: For 3-4 meal meals a week... Pretty sure I had meat 6 times  (two were bacon for breakfast... mmmm love bacon...) but it wasn't the focal point and did have a few vegetarian meals.  

• Week 4: No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.

B:  We did no fast food this week but I did have chips twice and didn't think about how those were made.  And then the day we started week five I think I had two plates of Andy's homemade potato chips on the Superbowl!

• Week 5: Try two new whole foods – Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.

A:  Made delicious spaghetti squash sausage lasagna boats and made quinoa for the first time! 

• Week 6: No low-fat, lite or nonfat food products – Do not eat any food products that are labeled as “low-fat,” “lite,” “light,” “reduced fat,” or “nonfat.”

A:  I had been staying away from these labels for most of the challenges after watching  the movie Fed-Up at the start of this challenge. But I have pretty much drank just whole milk or almond milk since.  Yogurt is the hardest but I have pretty much stuck with plain whole milk yogurt, adding honey and my own fruit. 

• Week 7: 100% Whole grain – All grains consumed must be 100% whole-grain

B:  Planned and prepared for this week because IT IS HARD to find 100% whole grain things, especially with less than 5 ingredients and no added sugars which is a recommendation.  But I'm not going to totally devote myself to baking my own bread and own tortillas so I find the best possible and don't feel guilty about it!  

• Week 8: Stop eating when you feel full – Listen to your internal cues and stop eating when you feel full.

D:  THIS WAS BY FAR THE HARDEST WEEK FOR ME... and still is... and that's all I have to say about that.

• Week 9: No refined sweeteners – No refined or artificial sweeteners including (but not limited to): white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, sucanat, splenda, stevia, agave, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and cane juice. Foods and beverages can only be sweetened with a moderate amount of honey or maple syrup.

C: Truly I mostly did ok... except for eating out 3 times (and I'm not ending a social life and avoid eating out, but I knew there'd be sugar in the wing sauce, and in dressing for a salad)  but I still made good choices elsewhere)  and ice cream 2 times and chocolate cake.. but blaming Firecracker on the ice cream and it was my sister's bday...  When I cook and prepare meals and snack I did good and that is what I care about. 

• Week 10: No refined oils – No refined or hydrogenated oils including (but not limited to): vegetable oil, organic vegetable oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, organic canola oil, margarine, and grape seed oil.  

Just starting this week... so far so good... I had a baked potato tonight while Andy made his delicious chips that I didn't even sneak one:)    This is doable for a week, but I like hashbrowns once in awhile and olive oil/coconut oil, just doesn't cut it.  If you aren't eating deep fried foods a lot, a little is ok.  But the next four weeks are the kicker... they are hard... I'll be happy with a C average by the end :) 

B: I did pretty well this week.  Two broken meals... I made our breakfast scrambler one day with a little vegetable oil but definitetly followed the 80/20 real food/some processed ingredient I'll be trying to obtain after these challenges

• Week 11: Eat local foods – Eat at least 1 locally grown or raised food at each meal. This includes, but is not limited to: fruits, vegetables, eggs, grains, nuts, meats, and sweeteners like honey.

A if if was the summer... F for this actually week since I didn't even try.  I am looking for someone to split a weekly share of a CSA at Loon Organics in Hutch!  This week will happen in the summer :) And I have some local honey so guess I'll just put that on everything :)    I continued to focus on stop eating when I am full, eating slower, taking smaller portions and that habit is getting better!

• Week 12: No sweeteners – Avoid all added sweeteners including, but not limited to: white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, date sugar, maple sugar, sucanat, splenda, stevia, agave, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and cane juice.

C: I knew this was the hardest week and is the hardest thing  had 2 days where every meal "cheated" (but I blame that on my "Sugar" man Adam Levine and our mini-vaca) and then 2 completely successful days that were HARD and definitely count as success to me...and I had quite a few successful meals... but ice cream was calling my name this week and I had a scoop three different evenings! (But just a big scoop... not a big bowl! That counts as success too!)   And some things with excessive sugars definitely taste repulsively sweet to me now but ice cream isn't one of them!   I am  not feeling guilty having some treats now knowing I'm doing pretty good the rest of the day/week!

• Week 13: Nothing artificial – Avoid all artificial ingredients including, but not limited to: sweeteners, flavors and colors.

Sure... Easter week.. They say no even dyeing egg shells but I say boo hoo to that and I'm not going that crazy. 

C: I didn't avoid the colors and definitely had some Easter candy and treats but meals I made and lots of other snacks I chose wisely.

• Week 14: No more than 5-ingredients – Avoid any and all packaged food products that contain more than five ingredients no matter what ingredients

B+ (Mon-fri)  C (weekends!)  This is one that seems simple and if you are following this, you are basically following all the previous weeks challenges.  Bread is the hardest and the best 100% whole grain bread I can find still has 8 ingredients, but at this stage of my life I will not be baking my own bread!  Something has to give... and that also is ice cream...

I give in to ice cream!!

Preparing for this week and for the new habits that make grabbing healthier snacks and lunches and meals better:

  From starting with baby-led weaning with Declan to me trying to avoid him have any obsession about sugar, I am very grateful he is a good eater.  That has made this all possible doing it while he is young and he doesn't have habits to break.  Andy has been a great sport in eating and trying any meals I cook too.  And prep with planning menus on weekends for small grocery shopping, and freezer meal making for dinners, have helped make the successful weeks, more successful.  I hope these habits will continue and I think they will as they give me so much sanity and help me to enjoy cooking a lot more when I know what the plan is!