Eat Real Food Challenge, Final Day
Well, I did it. Two weeks of eating nothing but “real” food. Not very hard, it turns out. In fact, it was pretty easy and interesting to try out new ways of eating lunch, for example. Here’s the final day wrap-up and some observations.
Breakfast: poached egg on rye toast, coffee with half-n-half.
Lunch: homemade potato-leek soup; a couple of handfuls of trail mix and soy nuts while on a hike with friends. You know, it just now occurred to me that the few peanut butter chips and chocolate chips that were in the trail mix were not “real!” I actually screwed up on my last day–ha! Also had a beer.
Dinner: More potato-leek soup, Ryvita with cheddar cheese, more Chardonnay while watching “Marie Antoinette.”
Final observations: the first one being that as I said before, I’m going to keep this up for another couple of weeks, just not blog about it anymore. After all, I’ve reduced my writing to keeping a laundry list of food and I’m getting bored by it.
As I suspected, I didn’t find this Challenge so challenging that it made for very interesting reading (or writing). But I have learned that it is very possible to do this as a regular way of eating for life, but ONLY IF YOU LIKE TO COOK. Which I do, so hurray for me. For those who don’t like to cook, this challenge would be somewhat difficult and/or would reduce them to eating the same things for all meals. Part of the Michael Pollan article end bulletpoints were to be an omnivore in the true sense–eat lots of different foods–and if you don’t enjoy cooking or trying out new foods, this challenge would not appeal to you.
I learned that making corn tortillas is not only easy and fun, but are far superior to storebought tortillas. I know the same would go for pasta so that will be my next venture! After that, I’m going to grow and pick my own rice in my new backyard rice paddy! (kidding, Barrett!)
I learned that I don’t need a meal in the traditional sense for lunch and in fact, much more enjoy snacking on cut veggies, fruit, cheese, and a bit of protein throughout the day. I am not ravenous for dinner when I get home from work. I will be keeping that up.
I learned that fat-free half-n-half really is mostly sugar and filler and I will not be buying it anymore. The same goes for any substitute dairy product, like reduced-fat cream cheese or low fat yogurt. No.
On the same note, I learned that substitute foods–low fat, fat-free, high fiber, etc.–are not necessary if you learn to eat smaller portions and eat more slowly. I’ve known this for many many years but to actually put it full into practice was mindblowing. Like every woman in this country, I’ve had a bad relationship with real food crammed down my throat by the various food corporations, spurred on by hundreds of contradictory articles and “studies” telling me why I should not be eating this particular food or why I should be substituting for that food or why this certain food is the new “miracle” food of the year. It’s all a load of crap and it angers me. Buy fresh & real, eat fresh & real, period.
I’m sure I’ll think of more but I have a lot to do today, so off I go on errands! Thanks, everyone, for your comments during the past two weeks. I’d love to hear any of your “real food” stories, especially you, Jeci!
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Glad to hear that the making of the homemade tortillas wasn’t as difficult as you initially thought it would be! And thanks for all the valuable tips! While, as you are painfully aware of, I don’t enjoy cooking, I can at least try to go with consuming more non-processed foods.
It’s been enjoyable reading your challenge - I’ve read each day, I just haven’t commented each day.
I’m totally with you on the “Buy fresh & real, eat fresh & real.” I’ve thought that for a long time. We don’t eat much in the way of prepared foods, but you’ve made me think more about the ones that we do - my biggest example would be the occasional frozen WW meals I eat. Part of the problem for me - and many people, I suspect - is a lack of time. However, probably once you get a few things down pat, you use less and less time to plan lunches & dinners.
Thank you for sharing your challenge!
Nice work, Shannon! Thank you for inspiring me to eat better. I have lost three pounds eating real food. Three pounds and I still eat pie! I love you, real food.
And to focus on what’s totally important and relevant here: What are corn grits? We just don’t eat grits, corn or…otherwise(?), in Canadialand. You have piqued my interest, as they are apparently some kind of breakfast food made of corn and involving butter. If it tastes anything like, oh, cornmeal muffins with butter, than I want to be start me Jeci’s Canadian Corn Grits Company and introduce grits to Canada and retire next year.
Wait, Husband is saying grits are polenta. Really? For breakfast?
Yep, Jeci, he’s right. Corn grits are the same as polenta! I should say, *real* corn grits are. You use the same grind of dry corn (medium, as opposed to a fine grind, which gives you the masa harina flour to make tortillas) for both grits and polenta, although the amount of water you add and then what you do with them afterward is different. The brief time that I lived in Alabama when I was 9 years old introduced me to grits, but they were the instant white corn grits from Quaker. That’s what I’ve been eating all these years until I recently started buying Bob’s Red Mill corn grits. To my surprise, I discovered that they also were the same as polenta, which I was also unfamiliar with. Not many people outside the South eat grits either–in fact, most people I know either don’t like grits (not sure why, they’re pretty harmless and even bland) or have never eaten them before. Give corn grits a try if you can! You can salt them, butter them, put hot sauce on them, even a poached egg.
RE: “After that, I’m going to grow and pick my own rice in my new backyard rice paddy”
wait, when you said mentioned starting a “japanese garden”, I thought you meant a place to meditate & play that dramatic bamboo flute music you hear in samurai flicks.
oops.. delete “said”.. sorry.
Hope I don’t talk like I type.
Bravo to you, Shannon! You’ve proven that eating “real” can be done, is actually really *good* food, and you’ve seized some solid, logic-based guidelines for cutting out the BS that industrial agriculture has sold to us for (several) generations now. So do you feel any better physically? Are there any changes from the past couple weeks that you’ve noticed? I’d expect that you’d be feeling more healthy, rested, energetic, better all around, etc. [Like - exactly opposite to how Morgan Spurlock felt the first few days of his McDonalds binge for SuperSizeMe?]
Bin, I actually haven’t noticed any significant immediate changes as far as feeling more energetic and rested, due to the fact that I have been rather lazy and hibernating these days. But I do feel healthier and as I’ve mentioned a few times, not eating as much or wanting to eat as much.
Congrats on finishing this experiment. I know I couldn’t do it, as I cannot cook worth beans, but I admire you so much for taking up the challenge. As for what you’ve learned, you’re so right. Portion control is everything (something I struggle with myself) and as long as you can eat good, “real” foods in moderation, you’re on the right track.
I am directly responsible for: “a couple of handfuls of trail mix and soy nuts while on a hike with friends. You know, it just now occurred to me that the few peanut butter chips and chocolate chips that were in the trail mix were not “real!” I actually screwed up on my last day–ha! Also had a beer.”
I did it, Shannon. I effed everything up for you.
That’s what you do, Jud. You keep it real, uh, I mean, fake.
I’ve loved reading about your challenge! And you made corn tortillas!! How fabulous is that??? I think you did better at this than when I tried to go vegan for 2 weeks! I thought all your meals sounded delicious. Especially the corn grits! Love those things. Makes me reconsider eating oatmeal each morning.