Whole Foods - A Whole New Perspective

I found Sarah Adler through her blog, Simply Real Food and fell in love with her philosophy, recipes and humor.  She has shown me that I can eat incredibly well, be satiated, enjoy my food and lose weight.  It has nothing to do with cutting out the things I love, depriving myself, dieting or counting calories.  Which I have learned many times from experience is simply not sustainable.  And, it's no fun.  She has simply shown me another way to look at food.  Sarah believes in a whole foods approach - eating the foods our ancestors have eaten for thousands of years.  

Whole foods = fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, meats, seafood and dairy

I make my meals out of whole foods from these categories and no longer purchase or consume processed foods (for the most part).  I try to choose foods without ingredients lists.  If they have one, I go straight to it and see what it's really made of.  I go for foods that have less than 6-8 ingredients, with all ingredients that are recognizable, pronounceable, and are available in the super market if I wanted to recreate the food.  This makes it pretty simple.

Some other changes I've been making: 

I have cut out coffee in place of tea and have been sleeping like a baby.  On Sarah's recommendation, I have switched to full fat dairy and it's amazing.  At first I wasn't sure about this and was very concerned that I would gain weight, not lose it.  But I've done the research and I'm buying it.  Here is a great article, from one of my favorite blogs, Nourished Kitchen, about the benefits of full fat dairy.  

When I cook for myself, I purchase organic meat, dairy and eggs with no exceptions.  And I go out of my way to buy products from animals who were grass fed, pastured and humanely treated.  I no longer eat foods with refined sugar and opt for maple syrup, palm sugar and local honey.  I have given up canola oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil and many others in favor of extra virgen olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard and many others.  Want to know more about healthy oils, check this out.  Lastly, I have completely cut out non-fermented soy products.  That means soy milk, tofu, edamame and fake meats.  There are many reasons for this decision, but I think that Sarah makes the case most eloquently, so check it out here.

I think the biggest change has been really thinking about what goes in to my body and knowing that it has a real affect on everything.  We are what we eat.   I have felt incredible since I've made these changes.  I have been sleeping well, have so much energy, my skin is clear and bright and I just feel GOOD.

                                                                     WORD.