Eco-Friendly Family
Food questions
Can you all share with me what you generally eat for breakfast/lunch/snacks/dinners? All you EFFers seem to come up with awesome ideas and healthy things I've never heard of! We're changing our ways of food up---wayyyyy less processed, more home-cooked/fresh. I'm in the process of finishing a bunch of stuff up in the cabinets in order to facilitate this change. Any shopping tips? Recipes? THANKS!!!!! 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Food questions
breakfast - oatmeal, can add coconut milk or other things to make it more exciting
lunch - lately i'm in to greek yogurt with flax seed meal and honey on it. usually that and a sandwich. i did the whole making my own bread thing but it's just too time consuming for me. DS gets cubes of cheese i cut from a bigger block, fruit, etc in his lunch.
dinner is my challenge. i'm trying to come up with meals with less or no meat in them. most of our dinners are freezer meal type things made with chicken.
St. Tropez Chicken (freezes well before baking)
Citrus Grilled Chicken
Tequila Lime Shrimp - garlic, olive oil, tequila, lime juice, avocado, tomato, etc in a fry pan.
Baked Salmon - tons of recipes out there for sauces
The easiest thing i did was think of a few ingredients i liked, and then enter each one into the search function at foodtv.com. then i sorted recipes to give me easy, highly rated ones and i would try a new one every once in a while.
Breakfast = Scrambled egg or egg whites with tomato, onion and spinach Home made yogurt with berries and agave or honey Fruit smoothie with banana, rice milk and mixed berries.
Lunch = Big salad with greens, red pepper, fresh basil, tomatoes and cucumber, sunflower seeds, and a vinaigrette that I make. If I'm particularly hungry I'll add some chicken or fish. I usually have some fruit on the side as well. Homemade soup which is usually bean based with loads of veggies (very kid friendly) and a piece of bread.
Dinner = Varies quite a bit but it's always a grain of some kind (brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc) a protein (usually chicken or fish) and a vegetable.
Snacks are nuts, fruit, (for kiddos it would be ants on a log, cut up fruit, carrot sticks and celery with hummus,
General tips:
**figure out what's most important to you--do you really have the time and energy to make your own bread/yogurt/jam/beans/whatever, or would you be better off figuring out what pre-made products fit your budget and offer the best nutrition?
**pick your battles--you will be miserable and your family will hate you if you decide to cut out HFCS, GMO corn, palm oil, and meat in one shopping trip. Again, what's most important? Do you have specific health concerns or restrictions? Are you looking to go local? Organic? Avoid certain fishing strategies or meat from animals raised in particular ways?
**Don't be afraid to shift gradually, and don't feel like you're only doing your family good if you trash everything that's unhealthy/mean/not-EF/etc and replace it in one fell swoop.
**get input from your family. "I feel strongly that we need to change our diet. What are some things you've heard of and would like to try?" gets others involved but also gets across your point
Shopping tips:
**have a budget and stick to it. Give yourself extra time the first few trips so you can play with options, and don't wind up going "this is way too expensive, we'll never make it work" and then quitting.
**know the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 when deciding on organics. There are multiple smartphone apps, and printable versions, that are great for quick consultation.
**stick to the outside of conventional grocery stores--that's where you'll find produce, meat, milk, eggs, and cheese. Only go down the aisles that you know have the grains you need to avoid impulse buying.
**once you know what you and your family like, try to buy in bulk when possible. It will be cheaper, you can use your own containers for storage, and you'll be able to control what you're getting and how much.
**avoid Trader Joes until you know more about what you want. It's fabulous and wonderful and exciting, and they do have some great stuff. But a lot of their stuff has things we were trying to cut out, and label reading only to find out that a place with the health food vibe still stocks palm oil and GMO soy can be really depressing as you're starting to change your diet.
I'm sure there are more. But those are the first that come to mind, HTH!
Mother's Day, 2011
Breakfast: Organic oatmeal, drizzle of organic maple syrup, organic peanut butter or agave nectar and half a banana.
Lunch: Usually leftovers from dinner the night before, or a bowl of veggies and hummus, sometimes in a pita pocket.
Dinner: Weekly staples include:
Stirfry (edamame, broccoli, carrots, green beans, corn, soy sauce) with brown rice.
Vegan taco soup (recipe: https://angelmovedtotexas.blogspot.com/2010/08/amazing-taco-soup.html)
Big salads with lots of leafy greens, organic veggies, light dressing and some grilled vegan chicken substitute on top.
Burritos: Using leftover rice from the week, leftover vegan taco soup (reduced to a thick, chili like texture, and extra beans)