Cut down on processed foods

My original strategy was to take foods I eat a lot and try to make them myself. But after a summer of vegetable gardening I have decided maybe a better way to go after this goal is to replace the processed foods with fresh produce.

And I have to say it’s been helpful in other ways as well. My intake of fruits and veggies has greatly increased, I fill up on less calorie-dense foods, and I don’t have to spend all day in the kitchen to come up with something good.

Our vegetables and herbs have sprouted, and I am super excited to try all of our home-grown goodies. Until then our produce drawer is overflowing!

I also made my first batch of wheat bread from scratch. It’s pretty good. My fiance loves it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so excited about bread.

I recently started paying more attention to ingredients labels on the foods I buy. At first it was fun to try and pronounce some of the crazy things in there. Then I got in an internal debate. On one hand, I get concerned about consuming chemicals. But on the other hand a part of me has faith that producers and the government wouldn’t let food be sold with anything harmful in it.

While I still haven’t completely taken a side, I figured it couldn’t hurt to eat more naturally. Plus I enjoy cooking/baking. So I would like to start by replacing foods I eat the most, like wheat bread. I’ve already tried making my own granola bars, and they turned out really good and I liked being able to put in them what I like (and can pronounce).