It’s almost time for our You Can Do This! The First Five Steps to a Real Food Kitchen eCourse to launch! It will be available Monday, January 7 – the countdown is on. I am so excited for you to join me in this class that I can hardly stand it!
When I say “real food kitchen” – many of you are wondering what exactly that means. I decided to give you a little more information about the eCourse so that you better understand what you’re signing up for if you choose to join us.
What the You Can Do This! The First Five Steps Toward a Real Food Kitchen eCourse is about:
~ Baby stepping away from processed, boxed foods and toward delicious, healthy, fresh food.
~ Setting personalized goals that will work for you and your family – no matter your situation, location, or season in life.
~ Figuring out how you can make a Real Food lifestyle work for you financially.
~ Walking through the basics of simple, healthy menu planning.
~ Deciding when to compromise your real food diet.
~ Learning how to keep the journey simple and easy.
~ Enjoying balance and grace. Ahhhh...relax. Your Real Food Kitchen will be a breath of fresh air!
~ Having fun. You know I always like to have fun around here. Yes, that is a fact that will be on the test. Oh wait – in this eCourse, there are no tests! Sit back and enjoy the ride!
What this eCourse is NOT about:
~ Eating foods that are all organic, grass fed, free range, fermented, raw, yada yada. All of these truly are great and healthy, and I will eventually encourage you to check into them. But those are not the areas I believe should be our main focus as we take beginning steps toward a Real Food Kitchen.
~ Eating low fat, low carb, grain free, vegan, etc. I’m not knocking those ideas (necessarily), but within this eCourse, we’re working toward eating a wide variety of wholesome real food, in its original form, in balance.
~ Dieting. This isn’t about losing weight (although some might find that they naturally arrive at a healthy weight while working through this course). It’s about adopting and living a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your family.
~ Adapting to a one size fits all plan of action. No way. Your Real Food Kitchen is likely to look different from mine based on circumstances and preferences. This eCourse will allow you to create your Real Food Kitchen on your time table, around your schedule, and based on your own goals and desires. And guess what? I won’t make you eat okra if you don’t like okra.
My goal is that as you work your way through the eCourse, you find yourself saying, “Seriously? Is it really this easy? I can do this!”
Have more questions? Let me know. More information to come about what you can expect in the You Can Do This! eCourse. Make plans to join us beginning January 7 (or any day thereafter). Cost will be only $5 for the entire course. Come one, come all!
Gina says
I can’t wait, I’m excited to begin.
Carolyn says
I understand this is not geared toward specific diets, but do you think I would be able to adapt this ecourse to a gluten free diet? I know you use whole grains a lot, but also remember you tried a gluten free diet for your youngest for a bit so you know the challenge I face.
:-)
Laura says
Yes, you can definitely adapt this for your GF needs. I believe that even those who must eat specialty diets like this should focus on eating “real food” – as often I see that gluten free or dairy free foods at the store are very processed and not good for the body.
Everything in this ecourse can be adapted for you – even the exclusive recipes I share. :)
Carolyn says
Great! I’m signing up now. :-)
Heidi says
Hi! I’m interested ,but can’t seem to find where to sign up….Please help. Thanks :)
Laura says
So glad to hear you’re interested! We’re putting on the final touches right now and you can sign up on January 7! :)
Rachel E. says
I agree…it sounds interesting. I have been a slow process of getting all natural foods in my house and ridding the pantry of garbage for several years now, I have focused on making from scratch. Sometimes that is hard. Yet, we do once in a while end up eating something that isn’t the greatest. I have found there are ways to create something similar. When you get your tastebuds used to the created food, you don’t miss the processed garbage.
My latest move has been to eliminate those foods which are genetically modified. This is a hard one. Most corn and soy is. That makes it really expensive when you like things like corn chips and such. However, it isn’t impossible. You just learn to eat less of it. It has been an educational process to find out just what is in our food and how it is produced.
I am also learning which produce is better to buy organic. It is more expensive, but not everything needs to be organic. I look forward to my first garden. Then I know what is on my produce.
Kristin says
We have been GMO free for over a year and I thought I’d let you know Trader Joe’s pledges GMO free on all of their self made items. It’s nice because I can’t always afford organic prices. I make most of our food from scratch and I find Trader Joe’s staple stuff to be affordable. Their stuff is also MSG free and their dairy is BGH free. It makes shopping at TJ’s a no-brainer. I have found non-gmo corn taco shells at whole foods and in the natural foods section of our local large grocery store.
Rachel E. says
Unfortunately, we don’t have TJ’s or Whole Foods nearby. My goodness I miss Trader Joes. I went a few times when we lived in CA. We also don’t have access to the shipping bargains of Azure Standard because there is not a drop for Virginia. So, I do a lot of online shopping and price comparing. It’s difficult, but worth the extra work to be sure our family is fed nourishing food.
I just finished looking through all the recipes in your Main Dishes section. Looks good. Very similar to how I cook. :)
Janet says
I’m looking forward to this as well. I started eating more natural foods several years ago, but am looking forward to learning more. I’m trying to figure out a good balance as I’m newly married, work full time and am now entering the busiest time of my year. Hoping you have good suggestions on how we can eat healthier when my husband doesn’t cook and I work 60 hour weeks.
Tracie says
Thank you for offering this at such a great price! I’m so excited to restart this process! I started a real food journey a year and a half ago, but had to pause due to an unexpected move, starting homeschool, having a toddler, and resistance from the family. Ready to give it another try!
Pamela says
Thanks for this course!
I don’t know if you’ll address this issue, but…I’d love your (or other readers’) advice on real food compromises. For example, raw milk. We LOVE it! But it is $18 a gallon right now in southern CA. We can’t pay this amount. So should we just not drink milk? Or should we buy regular (whole) grocery store milk? And is there any advantage to buying Organic milk, when it has also been pasteurized? HELP!
I have these questions about SO many food items….Eggs, as another example. We struggle to find farm fresh good quality eggs. Do we just skip eggs then? Or do we compromise with grocery store eggs?
I guess I’m confused about what to do when I can’t go “all out”. Thanks for any help you or your readers can give.
Laura says
The ecourse definitely addresses compromising and you ask great questions with your expensive raw milk and whether or not you should drink regular milk or not!
If I were in a location that did not offer raw milk at a decent price (I get mine for $5 a gallon), we would drink less milk, and I would buy organic from the store. Even though it is pasturized, at least it is from cows that are fed better food and not given hormones. I’m thankful that this is an option for people who don’t have a great source for good, raw milk.
As far as eggs go, when my supplier runs short, I buy them at the store for baking, and occasional eating, but we eat fewer than we do when we can get them from our farm source. There are different brands at our local Walmart and while I don’t buy the most expensive since I don’t really feel like store bought eggs, when labeled “free range” are entirely worth the price – I do buy a better quality than the cheapest on the shelves. It’s a compromise I feel okay about.
Overall, I feel that ANYTHING is better than processed foods and eating out regularly. Even if you’re using “regular ol’ ingredient’s” from a regular grocery store to make your foods – you are eating SO MUCH BETTER and can feel great about that!
Kristin says
The other nice thing about organic dairy aside from being BGH free, is that the cows are guaranteed a certain amount of pasture time. Assuming the cows are raised in an area with grasses, the milk should have a higher omega-3 content. Plus, a diet of grasses, means happier cows as cows stomachs were meant to digest grass not corn. I try to buy only humanely raised meat, eggs and dairy and since raw milk is illegal in Wisconsin, I opt for locally produced organic milk from a company whose farming practices I have researched and trust (organic valley). Also, my local grocery stores brand of milk is supplied by organic milk. So I get the same quality milk in the slightly cheaper store brand. FYI a gallon of organic whole milk ($5.99) is nearly double the price of non-organic milk ($3.30).
Susan Parker says
I am in. Can’t wait to get started on this. I have been trying to make more ‘homemade’ recipes (including the kind you can not eat…laundry det., soap, getting rid of paper towels etc..). I like that this is an e-course.
The one question I have is, do we receive the whole course all at once and work gradually step by step, or do we receive each step week by week and try to work within that week? (Hope that question makes sense).
Either way, I will be joining. It’s just that some weeks are more stressful and hectic when my disabled daughter gets sick. I usually have alot of back and forth to doctors and busy with keeping her from going into the hospital. So, I could follow along, just some weeks I would need to skip or catch up….. (now that is about as clear as mud..LOL) sorry for the confusion…was just wondering.
Susan
Laura says
Very good question (and it clearer than mud!). :)
You’ll receive the entire course, with all of the links to all of the lessons all at one time. Then, you can work through them at your own pace, at whatever time of the day or week or year that works for you. And, you’ll be able to refer back to past lessons even when you’re further on in the course. The entire course will be available to you forever so that you can reference it whenever you need to!
Susan Parker says
Thanks Laura for the information Two random questions:
1. When referring to milk, what does BGH FREE mean?
2. Have you ever used grapeseed oil for cooking or baking, and what is your take on grapeseed oil?
I ask, because my oldest dd is allergic to coconut, and I can’t stand the smell and taste of olive oil, and I see you use coconutand olive oil. I don’t know what palm oil is, butter know that grapeseed oil has different flavorings, natural, butter, roased garlic, lemon – I believe these flavors are infused, so was wondering what you thought about grapeseed oil.
Laura says
BGH is a growth hormone that you are avoiding when you buy organic milk.
I’ve had a terrible time finding trusted sources discussing grapeseed oil, so I’m really not sure what to recommend about that. :)