I've Switched To Eating All Natural...A Better Alternative

About a month ago my wife and I along with my children switched from eating processed foods to whole natural foods. There were several reasons behind this including weight loss, lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, more energy, fewer incidences of illness, and general well-being.
So far, all of the criteria I described above have been proven and a direct result of eating natural.
Some of the food items we are now eating include whole milk from a local dairy, free range eggs from a local farmer, and freshly grown vegetables locally grown when available. Items such as cheese, butter, cream, and even ice cream are made fresh at the dairy we buy from. The cows are grass fed 3 seasons a year and then consume corn silage and hay grown in the summer, but bagged for the winter.
I read a book recommended by the mother-in-law called "The Perfect 10 Diet". It's written by Dr. Michael Aziz who focuses on the the major hormones in the body that control your general well-being. There are recipes, suggestions, and even a "troubleshooting" guide in the book.
"Low-fat" processed foods are just that, low in fat, but high in sugar. The idea is you consume so much sugar that eventually turns to fat. Many people are not successful losing weight on low-fat diets because of the sugar content. I've realized that by balancing these hormones, I've never felt better, have lost close to 15 pounds in a month's time, and don't have to worry about ingredients I can't read.
He makes a point that cases of cancer didn't really increase until people started consuming so much processed foods and this is what causes cancers for many people. Overweight people didn't really exist until all the additives, preservatives, and processed sugars became common place.
I just thought I would share this with you folks in case anybody was looking for a viable book to read about health and eating.
On a similar note, if you are eating natural, any ideas for some good recipes? Take care all!

Vinny

I'm not *normally* for canned goods at all, but I've found that Wolfgang Puck's soups are delicious and I will never eat any other kind again. It's all organic and free range and my kids like it too. I highly recommend it.

~Namaste

reply to post by Vinny5036

On a similar note, if you are eating natural, any ideas for some good recipes? Take care all!

Glad to see more people moving towards this, natural + local is sustainable as long as we all jump on board.

a few things off the top of my head....

When I pick up a nice ribeye from our meat guy, I'll chop up some fresh rosemary and thyme, preferably grown myself but I've had little luck growing rosemary. Sprinkle a little of that on either side of the meat with some sea salt, I like the large rocks in a grinder, and black pepper from a grinder.

Little bit of olive oil, or butter I guess, in the pan, toss in a lightly crushes clove of garlic, some onions or shallots, peppers and mushrooms if you like.Let the onions start to caramelize then toss in the steaks, pan should be at a medium high heat, around 5 minutes per inch per side of the steak for medium. Even faster, and tastier on a grill.

If you are pan frying, once you are about 2 minutes out from being done, throw in a teaspoon of butter and continually bast the steak with it. IF I'm doing this on a grill, I just wrap the onions and peppers in some foil and throw a little butter, garlic, and spices on it, same as if in the pan.

I grow "heirloom" veggies in a hydroponic set-up. I buy eggs from local farmer. I stay away from red meats, but still buy chicken from the supermarket. My homeowners association will not allow animals, and I'm not much of a slaughterer, so I will have to figure out an alternative.

I have lost a bunch of weight, and feel great. Natural's the best way to go baby!

Originally posted by Vinny5036
Overweight people didn't really exist until all the additives, preservatives, and processed sugars became common place.

I hate to nitpick but obese & overweight people have been around about as long as people in general have been around, long before HCFS and simple sugars were found & used in foods. And for the most part Obesity has historically been viewed as a sign of wealth and prosperity... They definitely existed.

Not saying it's good, just saying people need to check their facts

It's really uplifting to see your thread, even though it should be a normal thing for EVERYONE to live and eat naturally and organically. I made the step and personally lost more weight then i thought possible, and every day popping something in the oven over the microwave feels so much better. I could go on and on about how much healthier you will be switching from prepared foods to growing your own or preparing your own from local sources.

I'm also very happy that we are all starting to really open our eyes to self-sufficiency and sustainability and maybe if SHTF we'll really have to put our skills to the test.

reply to post by Vinny5036


I did that three years ago after the birth of our daughter. Never crapped so healthy in my entire life. Organic and locally grown and raised. Only way to go. Look into what you buy though. You would be surprised at the amount of subs that monsanto has its hands in. Just cuz its organically grown doesn't mean it was not gen eng'd.

Originally posted by phishyblankwaters
reply to post by Vinny5036

 

On a similar note, if you are eating natural, any ideas for some good recipes? Take care all!

Glad to see more people moving towards this, natural + local is sustainable as long as we all jump on board.

a few things off the top of my head....

When I pick up a nice ribeye from our meat guy, I'll chop up some fresh rosemary and thyme, preferably grown myself but I've had little luck growing rosemary. Sprinkle a little of that on either side of the meat with some sea salt, I like the large rocks in a grinder, and black pepper from a grinder.

Little bit of olive oil, or butter I guess, in the pan, toss in a lightly crushes clove of garlic, some onions or shallots, peppers and mushrooms if you like.Let the onions start to caramelize then toss in the steaks, pan should be at a medium high heat, around 5 minutes per inch per side of the steak for medium. Even faster, and tastier on a grill.

If you are pan frying, once you are about 2 minutes out from being done, throw in a teaspoon of butter and continually bast the steak with it. IF I'm doing this on a grill, I just wrap the onions and peppers in some foil and throw a little butter, garlic, and spices on it, same as if in the pan.

Man, does that ever sound delicious. We eat red meat, but only about twice a month (which KILLS me). I LOVE a good steak, and if I had my way I think I would eat steak about every meal of the day. I realize that red meat isn't the best of choices for us as far a protein source goes.

Here's a super fish recipe for you if your interested:

Choose a fish of your choice: We prefer Black Bass or Talapia

In a bowl mix the following: Clove of finely chopped garlic, two tablespoons of unsalted butter, finely chopped shallot, some thyme and rosemary, and about 3/4 cup of finely chopped or ground walnuts or pecans or a mixture. Mix it all up so you can pat it onto the fish, not too dry of course so add butter as you need to

Butter the pan you want to lay the fillets out on...

Lightly coat the top of the fish with mayonnaise (we use the olive oil version) for the coating to stick to

Spoon on the mixture covering the entire fillet and gently pack it down on top

Put in the oven for about 25 minutes on 425 or until the crust is crunchy and browned up..salt and pepper to taste

This is a very nutritious way to cook fish and the taste is out of this world...we actually had this last night. Simple and easy. Goes good with some fresh cut asparagus drizzled with olive oil and chopped fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme. Add some corn on the cob and you'll be in heaven!

Vinny

Once in a while our supermarket will have organic chickens, with no antibiotcs etc., but they cost almost twice as much. I stock up then though, cause they don't have them very often.

I get farm raised butcher chickens from time to time, but they're hard to get sometimes.

Oddly enough, I just got back from the slaughter house where I picked up some 'no additive' beef a friend raises. I almost gave up on beef as the stuff from the supermarket would make me sick/feel funny. The difference is very pronounced not only in taste but texture too and no odd side effects of course.

Last summer I made a few pots of beef vegetable soup with it along with locally and naturally grown produce, it was remarkable. -Don't forget to use good water too, it's important.

Congratulations on shifting to natural foods. You speak of missing red meat in your diet. In my natural foods family, we have found that when we include bean dishes often (which are a natural source of high protein), those are quite a good substitute for red meat. In addition, we take supplemental vitamin B-12 (a vitamin that normally only exists in significant quantities in red meat). If you use supplement B12, make sure it's methylcobalamin, which is the form of B12 that is most easily assimilated. Jarrow is the brand we use, but there are a number of good manufacturers. If you do sometimes eat red meat, make sure to not microwave it -- seems that microwaving turns the meat's natural B12 into an analogue form that not only cannot be assimilated by the human body, it interferes with the assimilation of real B-12. So be careful out there.

The best natural foods cookbooks I've seen recently are from Bryant Terry, a chef who was trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City (that institute was founded by Annemarie Colbin, PhD, a nutritionist and natural foods cookbook writer herself). His website is:

www.bryant-terry.com...

Bryant's first bestseller cookbook went where no cookbook has ever gone before, into the Vegan Soul Kitchen. Half of the recipes in that book became my instant favorites, and the others I haven't tried yet. Examples include a slammin' good recipe for sweet potato "fries" and cooked greens to die for. His latest book is The Inspired Vegan which also has many wonderful recipes. (On his website, just click on the word "author" to see the list of his books.) You don't say what region you're from ... those cookbooks are published in the USA so the recipes are decimal, not metric.