Reader’s Own “Food Rules” plus Book Giveaway Winner

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In my Beginner’s Guide to Healthier Eating, I asked for your advice or challenges transitioning to a healthier diet.

Reader’s Food Rules (and challenges)

Anne; “people need to start small and gradually change for it to stick.”

Lauren; “I find it challenging to eat healthy and clean on the go.”

Connie; “I find giving up foods my husband still eats to be the most challenging.”

Knocked up and Nursing; “I think my biggest challenge is feeding a large family on a budget.”

Jenn; “I’m finding it difficult to even know where to START!!”

Rachel; “I find simply eating real food helps. real milk, eggs, meat from our local farmer. sauces, soups, etc. are easy to make with a Vitamix.”

C. Fenn; “My advice is to focus on adding healthy food/habits to your life instead of focusing on elimenating food or habits. If you eat an apple for a snack you may not want 10 cookies.”

Colleen; “I’m a mess! My aunt has been telling me about WAP for years. Given the way my health is, I’m thinking she has a point.”

Shayne; “Farmer’s markets are great for local produce.”

Stephanie; “I have been in the process of changing my family’s eating habits. My children are somewhat reluctant and husband even more so.”

Pogonia; “my advice is to not obsess…take it slow and easy as you begin this journey to real food.”

Kara; “Staying in good social graces with my inlaws who LOOOVE to eat out, and finding something decent for myself is a big struggle.”

Mindy; “I find it hard to make sure my family gets real food, since I have been mostly disabled for the last year. I miss making things, like fermented foods, homemade auerkraut, cortido, etc. With 5 kids to feed I just simply cannot keep up with their needs, and the time and effort required to make sure they are eating only real food.”

Gayla; “Try to include as much “real food” in your diet as possible. Your immune system will thank you later.”

Joanna; “read labels and the fewer ingredients the better (you can mix ingredients together to make stuff on your own – you don’t have to buy it already made).”

Elisabeth; “We’re renovating our house and I’m finding it very hard to eat well without a kitchen.”

Tiffany; “My biggest challenge is finding real food – fresh vegetables, grass-fed beef and pastured chicken. It is much easier to find processed food!”

The Grecian Garden; “It’s so important for people to get in tune with what foods work for them individually.”

Liz; “The best advice is to take it one step at a time. I started by eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup. Went through the pantry and cleaned it all out. Then went the white sugar. And then avoiding all products that just list “sugar” in order to avoid GMO’s. We’re not on a no-GMO lookout. Each step gets you closer to the goal!”

Maureen; “My motto is “how far from the farm?”.”

Christy; “I started with real butter and got rid of all the bad fats. My family didn’t notice at all!”

Chelle; ”

Paradigm shift for me. Spent many years as a vegetarian, nearly vegan, in a quest for better health. That sort of eating required that I eat less and less to get to a healthy weight, till I was nearly starving myself.

Then a friend sent me Nina Plank’s book and I started to reevaluate my ideas on proper nutrition, which led to even more research (Weston Price, et al).

It’s a whole new journey for me, but I’m feeling well and energetic…

Food and nutrition have become such a passion for me!”

Ashley; “I am always looking for ways to eat better, including growing our own meat and vegetables. but sometimes you just have to buy stuff and knowing what to look for on food labels is so important!”

Annie; “I need guidance to get started. It’s not enough to avoid corn & gluten, but it is necessary for me.”

Sandra; “find a local farm to buy dairy and meat. talk to people about what you are doing — it is surprising how many people are interested in eating in a more traditional manner.”

The way I transitioned my family towards healthier foods was letting the bad stuff run out and never replacing them. For example, as the kids finished the cheerios and other cereals I thought were good for them, I started giving them other choices, and  told them ” I didn’t make it to the market” or “they didn’t have your cereal today” until they stopped asking. As they get older I educate them why I choose not to have these foods in the house.

Between birthday parties, playdates, and school celebrations, I feel my kids still get too much of the bad stuff outside of the house – and keeping that balanced is a challenge for me.

If  you would like to respond to some of our reader’s challenges or add your own advice please do so in the comments.

Winner of the Book Giveaway

The winner of Food Rules by Catherine Shanahan is Julie! Congratulations! Let us know what you think of the book.

For those that did not win, I would recommend adding Food Rules: A Doctor’s Guide to Healthy Eating to your reading list or as a gift to others who need a good introduction to healthier eating in an easy to read format.