Musings from DownUnder

Real Food
150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
Cholesterol and the French Paradox
Nourishing Traditions
We want Real Food
Fast Food Nation
Eat Fat, Lose Fat
Cancer: Cause and Cure

Plus I have studied extensively the "WholeFoods Course" I purchased online.

Notice the Theme?

I have been trying to make changes in our diet, in order to become more healthy and avoid the seemingly inevitable problems that seem to strike as aging occurs.  I am starting to realise though, that what has always been promoted as "Healthy Eating", isn’t actually healthy.  We have been sold some very dangerous lies from people with less than honourable motives.  For instance, the whole "Eat Fat, Get Fat" mantra was based on one study in the fifties and has been misproven so many times it is ridiculous how it is still preached.

Slowly but surely we have been making changes, we still have a long way to go, but when I consider what our family was eating a year or two back, it really doesn’t compare to how we eat now. 

My husband commented the other day how it had become an interest of mine to study these books and try to implement them, and its true, I am finding it incredibly interesting and stimulating. 

Here are some of the changes we have implemented so far:

Switched exclusively to raw milk (finding this was a real answer to prayer)
Switched to free-range eggs (finding an economical source was another answer to prayer)
Only use un-refined sea salt, not the white processed stuff
Gone back to saturated fats – butter for baking and spread, lard or dripping for roasting and frying
Eating a good amount of fat with meals, loving the luxury of eating good amount of butter and cream without guilt
Use only homemade stock, not the stock powder I used to use to flavour everything

The Next Changes I would like to Make:

Investigate soaking grains and sprouting
Sorting out breakfasts, getting used to healthier options
Figuring out how to make our own yoghurt – no luck so far!!
Buy a dehydrator to make soaked grain snacks, muesli and nuts.

I guess the changes can be summed up by saying we are going back about a century, to how our great-grandmothers cooked before all the processed muck entered our supermarkets.  We eat very "old-fashionedly", like people did before heart disease, cancer and diabetes became prevalent.  But the food we eat is full of nutrition, and hasn’t had all the goodness taken out of it by modern technology. 

Many meals such as pasta or quiche become lunches for my husband or oldest son, sometimes I try to deliberately make heaps so we can freeze a few meals for them to reheat at work.

Bread – use as french toast, as ‘mousetraps’, or leave in just-turned-off oven overnight to dry out and make breadcrumbs in food processor.

Rice/Potato – use as lunch next day, fry onions in butter, add rice or potato and whatever else is around, heat through until browned.
- rice is great for breakfast the next day, heated through with milk or cream and dried fruit.

Casseroles – in squares of flaky pastry as ‘turnovers’
 -  mix with baked beans, chilli beans or lentils and tomatoes and reheat, serve on toast or rice
 - yummy in toasted sandwiches

Meat - chop sausages and add to baked beans
 - chop bacon into small pieces and freeze for use in muffins, savouries etc
 - chicken – add to risotto or fried rice, mix with leftover stuffing and gravy and use as turnover filling
 - make butter chicken – stirfry veges, remove from pan, add 2 tins indian tomatoes and reduce down, return veges and chicken to pan, add cream and big knob of butter, serve on rice
 - layer meat with potatoes, fried onions and cheese in flat dish, pour over cream and extra cheese, bake in slow oven for 1 1/2 hours
 
Gravies – freeze and use in soups

Veges – heat and mix couple of  eggs through for ‘scramble’.

I love this verse, it is a great one for comforting the homeschooling mother who feels overwhelmed.