- No fast food. It isn't convenient and the options are limited. Any dining done is done in restaurants where they have fresh ingredients, but mostly I cook.
- Canned goods and boxed goods are not as accessible and cheap, so we don't use them as much. I made something yesterday that called for about 3 boxed/canned items. I thought about it and it shocked me how often I used to cook/bake with boxed/canned goods and now I steer towards recipes with fresh ingredients because they're easier to find and cheaper. I had a whole pantry full of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup at home. Here I rarely use it.
- I've given up Doritos and other chips. Mostly because the Doritos here taste nasty, and then I read the package and started thinking about all of the unknowns I was putting in my body. That helped me stop.
We don't eat smaller portions and we have dessert almost every night. For instance, last night we had Brown Sugar cake with strawberries, bananas, whip cream and ice cream. The cake was made from scratch not a box. The major difference is I'm using fresh ingredients. I feel a big difference in my overall energy and wellness. Other dinner favorites that require one to no canned or boxed goods:
BBQ chicken salad
Fajitas
Sweet Potato Chicken Salad
Swiss Steak
Homemade pizza
Mexican Fish
Thai Noodles
Asian wraps
Tuna sandwich with avocado
BLT
These are 10 of our favorite meals. We've started having homemade pizza every Friday night. It's easy and gives us a day where Dan can come home and relax, we don't have to go out and fight crowds, we can put Tate to sleep, BUT I don't have to think about what I'm going to make.
7 comments:
I think breaking out of the processed food rut is one of the big advantages of living overseas. You don't necessarily decide to do it, you just start because you can't find the canned cream of whatever soups anymore. You should post some of those good recipes on your blog.
Ha. Exactly.
I'd love some more recipes! I tried your "triumph" cake and although I messed up getting the cake out of the pan and it ended up a trifle, it was really good. Matt and I have both gained weight since we moved here because we've been less active (partly because of the rain and no more gym membership), and we're just not eating as healthy. I'm going to try to cook more from scratch. We'll see how the kids respond. Friday nights is homemade pizza night for us too, we love it. We always do a pepperoni for the kids and sausage and mushroom for me and Matt but lately I've made a BBQ chicken pizza that is so amazing.
Love your insights. I love to use fresh ingredients as much as possible too, but it sure doesn't help me use up my food storage. And fruit and veggies aren't cheap here...oh well, an investment in my health.
I know several people who swear by the China diet. So, let me know if you like the book. :) You look fantastic!
I've read the china study, it's a good read. "In defense of food" by michael pollan is another one I liked. I quit buying processed foods and started buying more fresh fruit and veggies and my kids never get sick anymore...
p.s. the premise of the china study is that animal products are linked to cancer and chronic disease. you might not love it.
It's funny that you posted about this because it dawned on me the other day when a friend asked me for quick, cheap recipes that I have no idea how to cook in America. I never really had to cook real meals on a regular basis while I was single and then I got married and moved to a place with a small fridge, no pantry, and a bike to haul groceries. In Holland you buy your bread daily and eat fresh. I think it's one of the biggest things we'll miss when we go back to the U.S. and I'm determined not to fall back into the rut of quick and processed dinners.
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