Marc and I try our best to be responsible and make
healthy choices not only for our family, but for our daycare family. Below is a
list of various things Marc and I choose to use within our home:
We typically only drink coconut or almond milk
We mostly cook wild deer or moose meat, but when we
don’t have any we buy lean meat
We bye rye bread and sometimes whole grain bread,
but never white bread.
We buy free run eggs from a local farmer. When we
can’t get the free run eggs from Costco or the Organic Farmer’s Market eggs from
Extra Foods
We always buy butter, never margarine.
We use Pink Himalayan salt or sea salt, rarely
table salt
When cooking we use extra virgin olive oil, avocado
oil, and coconut oil.
We almost always buy organic carrots, bananas,
apples, oranges, broccoli and many other fruits and vegetables when we have
access to it.
We buy our honey from the Farmer’s Market and we almost
always pick up cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, peppers, and various seasonal fruit
when we are there. Sometimes we go to Robertson’s Farms to buy produce such as
potatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
We typically buy Nature’s Path organic, non-gmo
cereals.
We try to purchase crackers that don’t include ‘enriched
flour’.
When buying pasta we try to buy the whole grains,
whole wheat, some gluten free, and the organic edamame and black bean spaghetti
from Costco
We rarely ever buy juice, but when we do it’s
usually cranberry, orange, or apple and I typically water it down for the kids.
We make steel cut oats instead of the Quaker
Oatmeal that is high in sugar
We rarely add sugar to anything. If we use a
sweetener it’s typically a very small amount of organic coconut sugar, maple
syrup, or liquid stevia. Baking is usually the only time we add sugar and we
usually lower the amount in the recipes
If a child is a little constipated I might add a
very small amount of flax oil or milled flax to their yogurt.
We typically buy the plain and honey flavoured Greek
Gods Greek yogurt or a yogurt that is low in sugar (without aspartame or
sucralose). Sometimes I mix the plain Greek yogurt with the honey flavoured one
for snacks.
We try use a lot of basil, garlic and add vegetable
when cooking as much as possible.
We make homemade soup regularly (usually 1/week in
the winter and 1/month in the summer) and rarely buy any canned food.
We are always looking for Organic, non GMO products
and boycott Monsanto companies like Kelloggs, General Mills, and Quaker.
Marc and I
are constantly doing research on how we can eat healthier. Our latest
ongoing research has been on food combining. If you have any suggestions
about any other healthy eating choices, I would love to hear them J!
We follow
the Wellness Mama’s and Food Babe’s blog and have used many of their recipes. Some
of our favourite cook books we use are, Cooking
From the Farmer’s Market, Looney
Spoons, Magic Foods: Simple Changes You
Can Make to Supercharge Your Energy, Lose Weight and Live Longer, Cook
Great Food by Robert Rose, and The
Kitchen Garden Cookbook, by Dorling Kindersley.
Here are a some
top cook books/books about food we like...
http://www.amazon.ca/Clean-Up-Your-Diet/dp/1844833623/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398824965&sr=8-1&keywords=clean+up+your+diet
http://www.amazon.ca/Magic-Foods-Simple-Changes-Supercharge/dp/0762108959/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398825191&sr=8-1&keywords=reader%27s+digest+magic
COOKING AND EATING
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Why we choose to
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Butter vs
Margarine
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Margarine
is a chemically produced substitute for butter. There is interesting things
that happen to butter then it’s heated. The fats aren’t necessary bad
in butter if they aren’t used excessively.
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Olive Oil
or Avocado Oil vs Canola or Vegetable Oil
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When
cooking with canola oil, it has a lower oxidation temperature which
introduces more free radicals/damage producing cells into your body. Olive
oil has a higher temperature oxidation.
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Organic no
salt spices or Herbs and Spices vs salt as much as possible
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There is a
lot of sodium in many foods already. Sodium is a key contributor to strokes,
bloating etc. We should be at a max of 1200 mg/day for adults
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Rye Bread
vs Whole Wheat or White Bread
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Rye bread
isn’t a bleached white flour and it tastes better. White bread is very
processed it has little nutrients. Whole wheat is refined, leaving little
fiber left.
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Whole
grains/ancient grains vs whole wheat
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Whole
grains keep the fiber and nutrients
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Reverse
Osmosis Water vs Distilled or Tap water
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Reverse
Osmosis is a filtration process that removes almost all particles from the
water. Distilled water works slightly better than RO at removing particles,
but uses significantly more energy because it needs to heat the water first.
Although tap water has minerals, it also contains chlorine and
fluoride. You can add trace minerals to RO of distilled water.
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Almond
and/or Coconut Milk vs Soy
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Soy beans
are excellent for you, but the latest research we’ve read suggests that when
they are processed they aren’t good for you at all. Milk straight from a cow
is excellent, but store bought milk has hormones. From what we
researched there is more nutritious calcium in spinach and almond milk than
in whole milk or 3% milk. We mix ½ almond milk and ½ 3% milk for Soleil
and give her 1 cup/day.
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Cheddar
and Mozza cheese vs Processed Cheese Slices/Cheese Whiz
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Cheese
isn’t good for your digestion, but when eaten in moderation it is a good
source of protein. Processed cheese is even worse and we do not use it.
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Aguava or
stevia sweetner vs sugar when possible
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Aguava and
stevia are both naturally plant based sweetners and don’t spike your blood
sugar levels like corn based syrups or refined sugars. We sometimes use
aquava in sauces when cooking.
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Sea salt
vs table salt
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Sea salt
is more naturally produced and unrefined making it easier for your body to
absorb.
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Raw or organic
foods whenever possible
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Organic
foods don’t introduce new toxins into our bodies. Raw foods are high in
beneficial enzymes that start important chemical processes within our
bodies.
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HOUSEHOLD
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Castile
Natural hand soap from Dad’s
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Less abrasive
on children’s hands
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Natural
spray toy cleaner (or dishwasher) vs chemical cleaners like bleach
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Still
kills germs, but safer for environment and more cautious of children’s
sensitivities
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Vinegar vs
Bleach
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More
environmentally friendly and still kills germs. When doing laundry we add
vinegar.
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Warming up
food on the stove vs using a microwave
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The
radioactivity of microwaves changes the makeup of the food itself. It
also doesn’t take that much longer to do so.
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Homeopathy/Aromatherapy
before prescribed medication
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From what
I’ve researched and from taking them personally, natural remedies absorb into
our bodies quicker and are more effective than synthetic medicines.
They also have minor if any side effects. I find that the price isn’t
that much of a difference and the symptoms are gone almost instantly. Within the
daycare I will use Chamomila tablets for teething and overly irritable
children. I will add a couple of drops of eucalyptus and peppermint essential
oils if the kids have funny noses and a ‘Happy Kids’ essential oil here and
there.
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