(Hey, did you fall asleep already?  Wake up.  The post just started.  I’m not that boring.  Really, I’m adventurous.  Just wait until you hear about the mayonnaise experiments I’m gonna write about next week.)

It’s one of my newest loves, coconut flour.  Coconut flour is the fiber taken from the coconut meat after coconut oil is extracted from the coconut. How cool are these people to use the whole coconut!  It’s hearty, it tastes incredible and it’s full of many nutrients that our bodies need.  Since I tend to almost always bake with whole wheat flour – baking with coconut flour offers our family a nice variety and change of pace.  Change is good.  Our bodies like and need variety.

Coconut flour is also gluten free.  Gluten free or not, I encourage you to try coconut flour as a new source of nutrition!

Why Coconut Flour is Good for You

• It is a great source for natural fiber.
• It is high in protein.
• It is low in carbohydrates (not that all carbs are bad, but many of us tend to get too many of carbs – or empty carbs – in many of our baked goods).
• It has a natural sweetness, which means you don’t need as much sweetener in recipes that include coconut flour.

The complaint I hear most often about Coconut Flour is that it is expensive.  Yup.  I can’t deny that.  The stuff isn’t cheap.  However, the more I use coconut flour, the more I realize that while it costs quite a bit more than wheat flour, you use quite a bit less coconut flour in most recipes.  So maybe the cost isn’t so bad after all?

For instance, I typically use 3 cups of whole wheat flour to make 24 muffins for my family’s breakfast (I told you we eat a lot of muffins!).  However, when I make muffins using coconut flour, I use only 1 cup to make the same 24 muffins.  I find that I don’t go through the coconut flour very fast because ultimately, it just doesn’t take as much per recipe.

Coconut Flour is a dry flour – it usually requires a lot of eggs to create a recipe using coconut flour.  Well how ’bout that?  Now we’ve just added tons more protein because we’ve added more eggs.  Have you tried these Basic Coconut Flour Muffins or Coconut Flour Banana Muffins yet?  Wow, they’re good – and full of protein and great nutrition because of the coconut flour and eggs.

Where to Buy Coconut Flour

I buy my Coconut Flour either at Tropical Traditions, Azure Standard or through Amazon, depending on who has the best price at the time.  Tropical Traditions often runs their Coconut Flour with a Buy One Get One Free sale.  I never pay full price – I wait for the sale!  I also watch Amazon to see if they have any specials going on.  If they have Azukar Coconut Flour in stock, that is by far the best price I’ve ever seen!

I store my Coconut Flour in the freezer and just pull it out as I need it.  I’m having fun learning how best to use it and since we love these Coconut Flour Muffins so much, I’m having fun experimenting with other recipes using the same idea.  There’s a full page of coconut flour recipes over at Tropical Traditions that I’ve been looking over.  Today, I tried their Gluten Free Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake.

If I didn’t know this cake was gluten free and made with coconut flour, I wouldn’t have known this cake was gluten free and made with coconut flour.  Make sense?  My kids didn’t know, so they didn’t know – and they liked it.  Make sense?  Mmm-hmmm.  That means the cake was really good – and nobody knew it wasn’t “normal” but that it was packed with protein and nutrition.

Yep, much healthier than sky diving, these adventures of mine.  You should get wild and crazy with me and make bubbles and coconut flour cake.  Buckle your seat belt.  It’s a wild ride.

{yawn}

Want to share some of the adventurous things you’ve been trying in your kitchen lately?

I just wanted to remind you about the Ice Cream Experiment that I conducted about a year ago, in case you’re new here or in case you’ve forgotten.

To be inspired to make Homemade Ice Cream or to at least be encouraged to buy a more “real ingredient” variety of ice cream at the store, check out the following posts:

• The Ice Cream Experiment, part 1
• The Ice Cream Experiment, part 2
• Which Ice Cream Maker (just in case you’re curious)
• Recipe for Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (that’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast!) and tastes great if made with Homemade Vanilla Extract and topped with this delicious Hot Fudge Sauce

Here’s a little hint about why you want Homemade Ice Cream :

This was Ice Cream Brand One after sitting for eight days on my countertop.
Mmmmm, ice cream that doesn’t melt.  Tasty.

Let’s all give three cheers for real, whole food, shall we?

Now that I’ve shared all that, I have to tell you that I’m sitting here shivering while I write about ice cream.  Where we live, we keep shifting from ice cream weather to hot cocoa weather. Some days I’m so confused I make hot cocoa to go with our ice cream .

Not really.  But I am confused about what season it is here in Nebraska.

Do share…where you live are you experiencing Ice Cream weather or Hot Cocoa weather?

Today I’d like to answer a couple of frequently asked Coconut Oil questions…

Why is coconut oil good for you?

Coconut Oil is a saturated fat…something we’re told today to stay away from.  My research has taught me to disagree with this.  I’m not afraid of saturated fats.  Please read this well written and well researched article, which explains saturated fats and coconut oil way better than I ever could!

Coconut Oil:  Why it is Good For You

Coconut oil is a stable fat, which means that it doesn’t go rancid easily like unsaturated fats do.  (Unsaturated fats, like canola and vegetable oils, go rancid within just a few hours of being produced.  This means that they are already rancid by the time they make it to grocery store shelves.)  Those living in tropical climates, consuming large amounts of coconut oil have low rates of heart desease, cancer and colon problems.  Coconut Oil can actually help you lose weight and fight infections.  It is anti-fungal.  It has the ability to keep your thyroid healthy.

Where can you buy Coconut Oil?

I’ve not seen high quality coconut oil in my local grocery stores, but I live in a fairly small town without a lot of options.  I have seen coconut oil at Wal-mart…and it works if I’m desperate…but it is far from great in my opinion.

I always buy my coconut oil online, as this is where I find the best prices.  High quality coconut oil may seem expensive, but I consider coconut oil to be a healing, whole food…therefore the cost is worth it!

A good price for high quality virgin coconut oil, according to what I have found, is around $14/quart.  I love it (of course) if I can find it for less than that!  I watch for it to go on sale and compare prices at any of the following:

~ Tropical Traditions (watch for sales on both their Virgin Coconut Oil or their Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil.)

~ Mountain Rose Herbs (Can be bought by the gallon here, helping this purchase to be very cost effective.  Since Coconut Oil keeps for a long time…purchasing a gallon bucket is a great idea to help cut the cost!)

~ Amazon (Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil seems to be the best price at Amazon.)

~ Food Co-ops – If you’re a part of a health food co-op, you’ll likely be able to buy coconut oil through them.

What if I don’t like the taste of coconuts?  Does coconut have a strong coconut flavor?

There are two types of coconut oil and both are good for you.  One tastes like coconuts, and the other doesn’t!

Virgin (unrefined) Coconut Oil has a strong coconut flavor.  It is processed in such a way that helps it keep the coconuty taste.  I love Virgin Coconut Oil for baking.

Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil doesn’t have a flavor at all!  It is processed differently, taking away any flavor, but keeping the nutrients intact.  I’ve almost always found this variety of coconut oil to be less expensive.  In fact, Mountain Rose Herbs has Virgin Coconut Oil for only $24/gallon + shipping…making it around $9/quart!!!!

How do I measure Coconut Oil for a recipe?

I addressed this question in my recent post:  How to Adapt a Recipe to Make it Healthier.  I encourage you to read this post, and read through the comments as many of you shared easy ways to measure coconut oil.  I pretty much just “eyeball it” when I measure!  :)

What other Coconut Oil questions do you have?  Do you like the coconut flavor, or do you prefer your coconut oil to be flavorless?

So, for no reason at all, let’s begin with Cottage Cheese.  I loved all of the ideas you mentioned about ways you eat cottage cheese!  Who knew there were so many great ways to eat the cute little curds.  There were two questions that were asked several times in that post:

1. What kind of cottage cheese do you buy?  I’m afraid of the cottage cheese in my store because it has all kinds of added ingredients!

Ah, indeed.  All the yucky additives and whatnots that we can’t pronounce on the label.  If I can, I like to buy Organic Valley Cottage Cheese from my health food co-op.  But, I have found that at my Walmart, I can get Nordica brand, which is not organic, but is at least without hormones.  It has a very good taste, unlike the cheaper brands that really freak me out.

2.  Do you make your own cottage cheese?  Will you tell us how to do that?

I have made cottage cheese a few times, but I’ve never been pleased with the results.  If I ever get a good cottage cheese thing going on, you’ll be the first to know.  (Second, actually, because I’ll be standing on my porch yelling, “WAHOOO!  I just made cottage cheese that tastes good!”  It’s okay, my neighbors already know I’m weird.)

Okay…now Sucanat questions:

1.  What is sucanat?  Is it healthier than other sugars?

I’ve addressed sucanat and other natural sweeteners here.

2.  Where do you buy sucanat?

I try to order it through my health food co-op, Azure Standard.  It’s much less expensive there.  Otherwise I save my swagbucks and buy it through Amazon.  If at all possible, buy it in bulk…it’s much less expensive!  The best price I’ve found is just over $2/pound.  Sounds expensive, but that’s a great deal for what you’re getting!

Last but not least…Brown Rice:

1.  Where do you buy brown rice?

Again, Azure Standard or Amazon.  I always buy organic, but that’s just me.

2.  Is Minute Brown Rice healthy and okay to eat?

I’ve never used the Minute brand of brown rice and because it’s processed, I guess my OPINION is that I’d prefer to avoid it.  However, at the store the other day, I peeked at the box and the ingredients only list “brown rice” as an ingredient.  Can’t be that bad, I guess.  :)  If the choice is white rice or Minute Brown Rice…I say go with Minute Brown Rice if it helps you transition to this whole ingredient.  In fact, here’s a coupon:  $0.50 off any one (1) Minute Rice Product

3.  I cooked my brown rice for over 45 minutes but it still isn’t cooked all the way.  What am I doing wrong?

Altitude and who knows what can make a difference in your rice being cooked the way you want it.  I found this article at Pinch My Salt.  Interesting and helpful! 

4.  Have you ever tried soaking your rice, Nourishing Traditions style?

No, and I don’t know why.  I should add that to my list.  Do you ever get tired of hearing me say that?  Do you ever wonder what “my list” looks like? 

I don’t think you really want to know.  ;)

This week, our local farmer’s market had its opening night!  Selection is limited at this point, because the growing season in Nebraska is just beginning.  But lookie what I got…

Cost for everything…$7. 
Value to me right now to fulfill my desparate need to eat fresh food…priceless.

Right out of our garden (for free), we’re enjoying all kinds of salads! 

Joy of joys…my friends with a huge strawberry patch 
invited me over for some strawberry picking fun!!!! 

Oh yes…I did have fun.

I then proceeded to trade my friend some strawberries for some fresh eggs.  What a deal!

And well…while he isn’t produce or eggs…this little fella does happen to be locally grown too.  After our travels over the weekend and a busy day playing hard in the sun yesterday, he just laid down on the floor and fell asleep.  On the floor.  Now that’s one tired kid.

Great food…cute kids.  Isn’t summertime the best?

Have you scored any great deals on local food lately? 
What’s in season where you live?

Raise your hand if you ever feel overwhelmed and confused about which sweeteners/sugars are the best to use in your treats?

Uh-huh…me too.  There are dozens of different sweeteners out there and all kinds of  arguments trying to convince you to eat one over the other.

While I’m certainly no sweetener expert (although I do consider myself an expert taste tester of all things sweet and sweeter), I will share with you what I’ve learned through the past few years of researching.

Better Sweeteners (in no particular order)

Sucanat/Rapadura – “Dehydrated Cane Sugar Juice”

This is by far my favorite sugar to bake with.  It is processed in the traditional way that people of India have used for thousands of years and leaves most of the minerals intact.  It substitutes one for one in recipes that call for sugar and has a delicious, rich flavor.

Rapadura is a brand name for Sucanat, so in general I find that Sucanat costs a bit less.  Be very careful to buy Organic Sucanat however, as some ‘regular sucanat’ brands I’ve seen are NOT dehydrated cane sugar juice…but some form of processed sugar with molasses added back in making it MUCH less nutritious.

Raw Honey

If you can find raw honey from a local bee keeper, go for it!  Raw honey (honey that has not been heated over 117° to kill healthy bacteria) contains many nutrients and digestive enzymes.

Raw honey is a wonderful addition to buttered toast or granola.  Honey is also wonderful to bake with (although then of course, it won’t be raw anymore).  If a recipe calls for one cup of sugar, I usually substitute 1/2-2/3 cup of honey.

Real Maple Syrup, Grade B

Mmm…I love maple syrup!  I never bake with it, but find it works wonderfully in liquid recipes like Strawberry Milkshakes, Smoothies, Warm Vanilla Soother, Creamy Orange Cooler, etc.  Oh, and it’s great on Pancakes and Waffles too!

Because real maple syrup is kinda pricey, I am the designated syrup pourer on pancakes…otherwise we’d have a lot of this “Liquid Gold” wasted all over our pancake plates.

Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is better than Grade A as more nutrients are present.  Plus, non-organic maple syrups may contain formaldehyde or other synthetic defoamers.

“Mom, can I please have some more formaldehyde on my pancake?”  I don’t think so.

Molasses

Molasses is the “waste product” that comes from the production of refined sugar.  It is rich in many minerals.  I don’t use molasses much for baking, except in recipes such as Molasses Cookies.  Mmm!

————————————————
This is by no means an exhaustive list of “healthy sugars”…these are simply my favorites and the sugars I’m most familiar with.  Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section if you have researched and know of a great sugar to try!
————————————————

Sweeteners to Avoid

Refined Sugars

Unfortunately even many organic sugars (turbinado, raw, natural) are quite refined and contain very few nutrients.  I use these occasionally because AT LEAST they are (unbleached, organic, a little less refined) and better than…

White Sugar

This sugar is so refined that there are no nutrients left in it whatsoever.  It is also usually bleached to make it prettier.  Because it is not sugar in its whole form…it has a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels in the body.  I can actually feel the effect white sugar has on my body (can you?!).

But, if you have a choice between the two, choose regular sugar over…

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dr. Mercola can explain why High Fructose Corn Syrup should be avoided way better than I can!  Read his professional information on the subject…

Agave Nectar

While I used to believe that Agave Nectar was a healthy substitute for sugar, it seems I should have done my homework more thoroughly.  Agave Nectar should usually be avoided as apparently, it is almost worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

By the way, I think I’ve changed any recipes I have here on my site that included agave nectar as an ingredient…but in case you find it anywhere, please let me know so I can edit it!

Artificial Sweeteners

Ooh, I can’t say enough about fake sugar!!!  Please don’t make the mistake of believing that you are eating/drinking healthier if you avoid sugar but use aspertame, splenda, or whatever the latest “fake sugar” is out there. They are worse than good ol’ refined sugar and can cause so many long term health problems.  I have reasons to be passionate about this subject…so if you want to picture me down on the floor grabbing your feet begging you to avoid these…that truly is what I’m doing right now.   You can read more information about aspertame here…and more than you want to know about artificial sweeteners here.  I believe these testimonials may say more than I ever could.

————————————————

I’d love for you to share your experiences, thoughts on this subject, and favorite sugar choices with us!

I hereby declare that The Ice Cream Experiment is over.  I got tired of looking at it.  I got tired of it being in my way on my kitchen counter.  I got tired of trying to prepare food around it.

After four days, I didn’t notice any more changes in the ice cream.  After eight days…it looked the same way it had looked on day four and I decided to say goodbye to the ice cream sponges on my countertop.

Here are the final pictures…

Brand One:

Brand Two:

Brand One with a spoon stuck in it just for fun:

Brand Two with a spoon stuck in it for the same reason as above:

As you can see, if you compare the pictures from the beginning of the experiment until the last day of the experiment, the ice cream did do some melting .  After four days, the towel under both boxes was wet and icky.  So, it would appear that the milk, cream and buttermilk in these ice cream brands did what they were supposed to do:  they melted.  For some reason, it took four days…but they did melt.

But then there’s all the others stuff left in the box that didn’t melt. 

Yes, I understand that stabalizers and stuff are added to make it easier to transport it all over the place…but that still doesn’t make me want to eat it.

My Conclusion:

If possible, I’ll stick to my Homemade Ice Cream.

Or, if I’m in a pinch and need to buy some ice cream at the store…I’ll definitely spend a little more and get “the good stuff” like Breyers or Haagen-Dazs that has basic, more natural ingredients.

And now…I am completely hungry for ice cream.  The creamy homemade vanilla kind.  Maybe with some fresh peaches in it.  Or strawberries.  Or both.

So what’s your favorite kind of ice cream?
————————————————-

(Read about which Ice Cream Maker I recommend here!)

I recently read an ice cream story that left me with my jaw on the ground.  With Randy’s permission, I will share part of his story (taken from a monthly newsletter I receive from North Star Neighbors)…

On February 25th, I went to [a grocery store] and purchased  2-quarts of ice cream.  It tasted so-so.  I went to try again and when opening the cartons, it just didn’t look right and fresh!  So, I set both cartons in the sink to melt.
 
The [first brand] took 2 days to actually melt.  The [second brand] NEVER did melt.  Three days after sitting on the counter, I stuck a spoon in it and it ‘stood up’ all by itself. 

I read through the rest of this email and was shocked that an entire month later, the second brand of ice cream had still not melted!!!!  Ice cream that doesn’t melt?!  Whoa!  I knew that many store brand ice creams contain some funky ingredients, which is why I avoid them, but funky ingredients that actually keep the ice cream from melting?!  Kinda makes you think that maybe this frozen stuff in a box is possibly…not real food?!?!

And so, I decided to do a little ice cream experiment of my own, and blog the progress for you.  Only for you (and because I’m weird enough to want to see this for myself) would I buy two cartons of ice cream that I wasn’t planning to eat  and leave it on my countertop for days and days to watch it’s progress.

At the risk of sounding like Dr. Seuss, please allow me to introduce to you…Brand One and Brand Two:

Brand One Ingredients:  milk, cream, sugar, skim milk, corn syrup, whey protein concentrate, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, sodium phosphate, cellulose gum, sodium citrate, polysorbate 80, carrageenan, vanilla extract, artificial flavor, annatto

Brand Two Ingredients:  milk, cream, buttermilk, whey, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, guar gum, mono & diglycerides, sodium phosphate, cellulose gum, sodium citrate, polysorbate 80, carrageenan, natural flavor, annatto

We took a scoop out of each, just to show the texture.

Brand One:

Take special notice of the layer of gunk (for lack of a better word) on the top of the box of Brand Two:

We set the ice cream out at precisely 10:40 am Saturday, March 27 (2010).

Exactly one hour later, Brand One looked like this:

And Brand Two looked like this:

They appear to be melting don’t they?  Oh dear, maybe we should stop the experiment right now and eat the ice cream before it melts all over the place!  But no, let’s not.  Let’s wait and see what happens.

Two hours later…Brand One:

Brand Two (notice again, the lid gunk that hasn’t changed a bit):

As the familiar saying goes, a watched ice cream carton never melts…so we put a towel under it and walked away for the evening. 

The next morning…

Brand One:

Brand Two:

The towel underneath the cartons was wet and clearly the cartons were slightly less full than when we first started this two days ago.  So, I will give it this much:  the ice cream was melting somewhat.

Moving on to Monday morning…

Brand One:

Brand Two:

At this point in the experiment, it had been almost 48 hours since we’d taken the ice cream out of the freezer.  When we gently pushed on the contents of the cartons, it resembled a sponge.  A sticky sponge.

What could we do now, but make Homemade Ice Cream with all natural ingredients to make a comparison!  And so, we lugged out our ice cream maker and got it whirling.

Homemade Ice Cream Ingredients:  Cream, milk, real maple syrup, egg yolks, vanilla, arrowroot powder

Okay…yum.

I know this experiment isn’t exactly apples to apples (or ice cream to ice cream as the case may be) because I just wasn’t willing to part with an entire quart of homemade ice cream to see how long it would take to melt.  Instead, we scooped some out into a small bowl.

Here’s the Homemade Ice Cream at 11:40 Monday morning:

Homemade Ice Cream at one hour later at 12:40 pm:

And the homemade ice cream on Monday at 1:26 pm:

The homemade ice cream melted in our mouths too…but that goes without saying.

So let’s review:

Homemade Ice Cream…melted in just under two hours.

Brand One and Brand Two…72 hours later, we’re still waiting to find out.

Check back  here in a few days and I’ll share the ice cream melting progress (or lack thereof)!

And um, just in case it never melts…how long do you suppose I should let it sit on my countertop?
——————————————

Rapadura is unbleached, unrefined dehydrated cane sugar juice.  It bakes just like sugar (you substitute it one for one)…has a wonderful molasses-y taste and it is SO yummy!  Because it is unrefined, it still contains nutrients from the sugar cane. 

Many of you have asked if Sucanat is the same thing as Rapadura and if it was just as good for you.  I looked at the label of Sucanat…which happens to be named for “SUgar CAne NATural” (very clever), and it appears that Sucanat too is dehydrated sugar cane juice. 

I’ll admit to being (more than) a bit confused about Sucanat.  It appears to be practically the same as Rapadura…yet my trusty Nourishing Traditions book tells me to avoid Sucanat like I would avoid other processed sugars.  It says that Turbinado, Sucanat and Florida Cyrstals ”are all refined sugars from which the nutrients have been removed.  Small amounts of molasses may be added back to give a light brown color.”

The Sucanat package says that it is “dehydrated whole cane sugar that has not been separated or blended”.  THEN, it says that “basically nothing has been added and nothing taken out!”.  What does “basically” mean?!  Is that something like “Sort of”?   Has stuff been added or taken out…or hasn’t it?  Oh, I’m so confused.

I googled this subject, researched for way too long and found more confusion.  Sigh.  Like I need this kind of confusion.  I have a hard enough time staying on my feet sometimes.

Here’s what I’ve decided for our family:  I order my Rapadura from Azure Standard.  It is cheaper than the organic Sucanat from Azure.  I love Rapadura.  I’m going to stick with Rapadura. 

NONE OF THIS WOULD EVEN MATTER IF BROWNIES WEREN’T SO STINKIN’ YUMMY!!!! 

(I’m sorry for yelling.) 

What have the rest of you learned about the great Sucanat vs. Rapadura mystery?

**UPDATE**

Valerie commented that I should check out the Weston Price website for information on this.  THANK you.  (Why did I not think of that before?)  I trust this website.  In fact, Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions bases her nutritional information on Weston Price’s research.  Here’s what I found there:

Q. I’m confused as to which type of sugar is better, Sucanat or Rapadura?

A. Both are fine; both are made by dehydrating cane sugar juice. For a while Sucanat changed the way they made it and were using white sugar, so we stopped recommending the product. But they are now making Sucanat the old fashioned way, so we can recommend it again.

Sooo, there you have it.  NOW what do you think?  :)
—————————————————-

Visit Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips.

Here’s Lindsey:

When Laura started posting about eating healthy, natural foods, I was a little skeptical.  I thought that her lifestyle was something that would take a lot of time and money, and those are two things I do not have.  Because I know Laura to be an intelligent woman, and one that I want to mirror my own wife/mothering skills after, I thought I should open my heart to this topic.  As I continued to read her posts, I also set out to do some of my own research.  I began with reading about unnatural foods such as High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Oils and artificial sweeteners.  Once I heard everything that went into processing those foods and the health problems they can lead to, I was pretty convinced we should try to make changes. 

Our changes have been slow for two reasons.  The first is that we want to make sure the changes we make turn into habits that will fit our lifestyle.  Second, we make small changes because some of them are costly and we need to find room in our tight budget. 

One of the easiest changes to make was switching from margarine to real butter.  I never had real butter growing up, so I never knew the difference.  Now I know, it is so good!  And, when used in moderation, is a great addition to the fats needed in a healthy diet. 

We have also stopped buying prepackaged foods that have HFCS and Partially Hydrogenated Oils.  These are in pretty much everything.  Some things I buy still have those ingredients, but I will only continue to buy them until I find an alternative. 

Recently, we stopped buying bread from the store.  The ones I found either had whole wheat and HFCS or were not whole wheat, even though it was labeled as whole wheat bread.  So, I made my own, with Laura’s recipe.  I thought I would give it a try, and if it didn’t work out or if it was too time consuming, I would have to try another replacement.  It was not time consuming at all, and I really loved the process.  My two year old even helped me, and it was a great bonding experience for us.  I also switched from buying enriched pastas to whole wheat pastas.  This was another easy change to make, because it doesn’t cost much more and it actually has way better flavor. 

We also switched from buying white flour to whole wheat.  It is not much more expensive, and because I am saving money with not buying prepackaged snacks, I have that money to spend so I can make healthy snacks for our family.  My two year old also helped me make Laura’s pretzels and they are incredible!  They also lasted longer for my small family than a box of unhealthy food would. 

Something that we have always done is buy a lot of fresh fruit.  Over the summer, I had a garden where I grew a lot of it, so we didn’t spend much money on that.  Now that gardening season is about over, we are buying more fruit, but it is so good, and I really feel good when my husband and kids ask for more grapes/apples/pears etc.  We have found so many healthy snacks that are good for us and taste good too. 

I really thought at first that this is something I would fail at because of the money issue, as well as my husband’s picky eating.  His favorite foods are cheeseburgers and pizza.  Not only have I found healthier ways to serve those foods, I am so surprised at the new foods he is trying, and how much he likes them.  There are still many changes I am excited to make because I know I am taking better care of myself and my family. 
——————————————————

 Thank you so much Lindsey for opening yourself up to share with us.  You are such an encouragement to me and to others.

One of my favorite things about what Lindsey is doing:  She’s not just reading my posts about healthy eating, believing what I say and that’s it.  She’s been doing a lot of research on her own to validate the fact that HFCS and hydrogenated oils and such are not good for you.  (In the meantime, she found a website telling how great HFCS is supposed to be for your health.  Guess who funded THAT website?  Grr)

I’m curious what others of you out there have discovered about making changes.  Has it been difficult?  Is it costing you much more to eat this way?  Are you discovering some new favorite foods that are both healthy and delicious?