Welcome to Week 3!
I hope last week you had a chance to see how very different the same genre of foods can be. It always amazes me how 3 breads can be worlds apart.
I was always price driven when making my food choices. I looked at the flyer for sale items, matched my coupons to it and felt like I scored a touchdown when I paid less than $1.50 for a box of cereal. I used to brag about it too!
Now I have become curious as to what motivates others. The moms in the grocery store with the arsenal of coupons are easy to spot.  What motives them to pick one item over another? Was their reasoning similar to mine? I will go out on a limb here and say I think it is. I think our budget really dictates which item we pick up and why. I remember my mom saying ‘they’re all the same’ (sorry Mom!) but they aren’t all the same.
Well I’m happy to say sale prices, marketing and gimmicks no longer drive my purchase. Not that money is falling out of the sky over here, but I have found that our food budget really hasn’t suffered any major blows since we went unprocessed.
I now make much wiser choices and choose products based on their ingredients and not how pretty the package is. I hope you found the experience enlightening also.
Continue to read the backs of labels and compare ingredients. Ask yourself “why would this item have x amount MORE ingredients than it’s competitor?” And always try to choose foods with the LEAST number of ingredients.
Good work … Now! on to the next challenge …..
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This weeks challenge is to:
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Make at least 4 breakfasts from real unprocessed foods – this means no boxed cereals, no Eggo waffles, no pop tarts, no doughnuts and bagels
Now I know this can sound a little daunting, especially for those working moms with kids heading out before 7 am. But this CAN be done and here are some tips to help you:
- Make a casserole or quiche Sunday night. All you have to do is pop it in the oven the next morning. You may even have some leftover for another mornings breakfast.
- Make waffles or pancakes Saturday or Sunday morning for breakfast. Double the batter, make extra pancakes and freeze them. All you have to do is thaw them in the morning and pop them in the microwave for a min or two. Be sure to add some fruit to your meal.
- When cutting up fruit for Monday’s breakfast cut up extra and put it in a container in the fridge for easy access on other mornings.
- Make a big batch of steel cut oatmeal and refrigerate it for a quick morning on the go.
- Don’t forget your toaster! Whole wheat toast with all natural peanut butter is a great way to get protein in the morning. Cut up a little banana to put on top too.
- If you’re making eggs one morning, make a double batch and put them in the fridge. The next morning put them in a whole wheat tortilla and micro or make an egg sandwich with a whole wheat English muffin.
- When all else fails, a smoothie not only provides tons of nutrients and minerals, but is sometimes healthier than any other breakfast I have.
- One of my favorite breakfasts now is a yogurt parfait. You can make this the night before if you surround the granola with fruit instead of the yogurt. The yogurt may make it soggy. But this is a great way to bring breakfast to work with you if you’re running late!
…… are you noticing a pattern here? Make EXTRA, freeze, prepare AHEAD of time. My mornings aren’t nearly as hectic as long as I know what I’m making the next day. It’s when I DON’T know what I’m making that gets me into trouble.
Try and make Saturday and Sundays you’re hot meal breakfasts, eggs, pancakes, etc. and make extra so you can have leftovers for 2 of those 4 days and you’ll be good to go!
Good luck!
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