You ARE What You Eat

Do you know what you are eating?  

Sure, you know it's a cheeseburger and fries, but do you know how it was made and what is really in it?  Do you know how the animals were treated?  Well, that's another story... don't get me started :)  I think that there is an immense amount of truth in the statement you are what you eat.  What you eat is one of the few choices in life that you have complete control over on a daily basis.  Most people in America don't take advantage of this choice- I know that I don't! 

Stephen and I just recently signed up for Netflix and there are tons of documentaries and I have found that I absolutely love documentaries.  I have been watching all of their awesome food related movies- Food Inc., Food Matters, Forks Over Knives.  These documentaries have vastly changed the way that I look at the food that eat, where my food comes from, how it's made and the nutritional value of the food I choose to put in my body.  The power of nutrition is amazing if you utilize it.  If you visit Kroger, Walmart, Food Lion or any major food store you will see overwhelming choices of food.  I mean, if you want to buy something simple like cereal you have so many choices you can hardly look at them all!  Fruity pebbles, Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Rice Crispies, Kashi and the list could go on for another 10 pages and this is just for cereal.

One of the most important take away messages I got was that processed food is generally almost always not good for you.  What counts as a processed food?  In my research I have come across many definitions and descriptions of what a processed food actually is but I am going to define processed food as anything that can be bought in the store that doesn't look like its' origin.  If it doesn't look like it was grown in the field then it has been processed in some manner.

My husband and I are embarking on a 2 week journey where we will be cutting out all processed food in our diet starting Monday. This is going to be tough for both of us!  Do I think we will continue to eat this way after the 2 weeks are up?  Probably not completely.  But I know that we will learn a lot and take away valuable lessons about our personal food consumption and I am almost absolutely certain that we will physically feel better.

We sat down and made a list of things we can and can not eat over the next 2 weeks with very few exceptions.  Feel free to join in on our adventure and I will keep you updated on how our 2 week journey is going!  I have listed below our "Can" and "Can Not" eat list below for your enjoyment/sympathy!!    

Can Eat

Fresh fruits and vegables

Eggs

Dry beans

Rice

Deli meat or whole (turkey)

Can Not Eat

Anything packaged/boxed

Anything canned

Pasta

Bread/flour

Anything frozen

Chocolate/refined sugar

Restaurant food

Notable Exceptions

Cheese

Almond Milk