People that know me personally know that I'm pretty picky about the foods that my family eats. Some may even say worse things than that. (I'm not pointing any fingers though!) But the truth is, I AM. And unfortunately, I think the way we eat seems quite foreign to most folks.
In one of our more recent conversations, hubby and I were trying to figure out how many families in our community, that we know, eat the same way that we do. We could only name 5. No wonder our health food store is itty bitty! No wonder Safeway's organic produce section is only about 1/8 of the produce department! There's no demand for it here.
I've heard folks talk bout the 80/20 rule. It's where you eat "healthy" 80% of the time and then you allow for 20% of the time to be "not so healthy." The occasional, "We're on the run so let's hit McDonald's" or "Corndogs at the baseball game are just going to have to be our lunch." In my mind, I guess I can find that reasonable. Reasonable if you're not part of my family that is.
See what I mean about being picky?
I like to abide by the 95/5 rule. I'll skip Mc Donald's- AT ALL COSTS and really? I'll pack a lunch for the baseball game ahead of time so we're not caught hungry without healthy food to eat.
How do we abide by the 95/5 rule? Well, for starters we don't eat out. At all. I think the last time we did (actually, I know) was at a friend's son's birthday party. It was at a pizza place and the pizza was great! That was back in August of 2010. Meal planning helps tremendously with this. I'm usually never caught in the "hmmm, it's 4pm, what's for dinner tonight?" scenario. Then we pack food where ever we go. We pack a lunch for the drive home from church. We pack food to go up to the snow. We pack food for the long drive down to Grandma's. It's really not that hard. Then we buy healthy food. Grass fed meats and butter. Raw and non-homogenized organic milks. Organic produce......and so on. We don't do juice. We try our best not to do processed foods, and if we have to, we buy organic ones.
So, what's the 5% then?? DONUTS and the occasional trip to the ice cream shop.
But mostly, donuts.
I love donuts and guess what? So do my kids...and my husband. I'll happily turn my eyes away from things like brownies, even "homemade" out of a box Betty Crocker ones. I'll turn a cheek to pies made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil (yep, that's Crisco.) But some things, like a sweet, round glazed donut should never be left uneaten. Ever.
What do you give in to?
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13 comments:
Another reason to be neighbors! LOL! I agree with you 100%~although we eat out a little more often. (But NEVER at McDonalds~blah!) I seem to have a weakness for peanut butter and chocolate. Guess that puts me at about a 94/7 percent! :)
Dr. Pepper. I'm with you on the no eating out thing, but I do it mostly to save money. PB&J is a heck of a lot cheaper than fast food, or concession stands. What do you pack for your on the go meals? I find that we get bored with what I bring.
I'm pretty sure donuts at bakery by the sea are soy-free. At any rate, they make everything from scratch and can list all the ingredients, off the top of their heads, at the drop of a hat. They are only open three days a week and we really only make it up there during sports seasons... but if you are a donut person, check it out :) tiff
I'm with you--we eat out about once a year, at the Sushi Bar-can't resist it! I make everything at home from scratch, although I envy you your access to raw milk.
i am with you on the McD's...we have not been there in years. you are an awesome planner. i am guilty of being that person who forgot dinner until 4 and then we end up eating out. i can see not being able to live without donuts. they are amazing
great post!
SWEET TEA for sure!
and when we do eat out, it's almost ALWAYS mexican. Just me and my husband for date night. We LOVE it and I don't consider it as bad as fast food.
teekaroo,
We pack all kinds of things depending on what we have on hand. A usual paked meal looks like this though: Some type of sandwhich- tuna, vension, or something made from leftovers, bananas, apple slices, kettle chips, oragnes, grapes, really any fruit (we're fruit junkies,) baby carrots, celery and peanut butter, the list goes on!
AHey, I know that August baby!
Wow! Thats self control! Don't forget fair food!
ooooh, yeah, fair food! Even at the fair we limit ourselves though...usually, to funnel cakes and cotton candy! :)
We too rarely eat out, health and money reasons. Eating out is a ridiculous expense for our family size- probably the same price as a week of groceries!
We do the same for traveling. A good traveling treat is air popped popcorn, although it does make a MESS in the van! but it's a great, cheap snack.
I enjoyed this post.
We are also careful about avoiding McDonalds (the food is terrible - although I do like the frappuchinos at McCafe). I do love donuts though I'm awfully picky about the kind I like. I haven't found a recipe that I love just yet and it's probably a good thing that the closest ones I love are about 2 hours drive away!
So many similarities to our family. Living in the country means that when we go anywhere we have to drive at least 30 miles to get there. Usually making for a long day or even half the day. I always pack something to bring along if I have the children with me. If it's only me I normally take an organic bar with me and water. And McDonalds NEVER happens around here. When I was in CO I broke down and gave my 2 youngest daughters a happy meal. For the first time in their lives. They weren't impressed and I was totally surprised with myself. But, I was 1600 miles away from home, in a hurry to beat a snowstorm hitting the road I had to travel and I broke down. Shame on me!!!!!! Maybe that was my 95/5 day.
My daughter and I were discussing our favorite on-the-go lunch just the other day: cheese,crackers,veggie sticks and fruit.
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