Real Food

So here’s the deal with REAL FOOD.  I do have a science background and Craig is always gently letting me know when I get a bit carried away with my big words and long explanations.  He laughs as the pitch of my voice goes up with excitement at each new discovery.  So I promise to keep all that jazz to a minimum and just share the basics to start.

While in Uganda we ate pretty much local food.  Some gracious missionaries had left a few familiar items in the pantry of our house, but for the most part, we shopped at the markets and I learned to cook what they were cooking.  (I do realize that what we call “local” is still far from what the majority are able to eat on a regular basis.)  It was amazing!  Fresh…oh so fresh that you had to use it in 3 days or less because it would go bad.  This is truly tree-ripened produce here.  The colors, smells, and tastes were so vibrant and beautiful.  Everything was in it’s natural state, or very close to it.  Just the way God made it.

And our bodies responded.  We felt cleansed from the inside…and no, it was not from a parasite.  We managed to keep clear of those for the most part.

So when I came home I started researching and God led me to a style of eating called Real Food.  Basically this means, eating food that is not processed, modified, genetically engineered or altered, grown and raised as naturally as possible.  It was fascinating to me.  I shared all I was learning with Craig and he said our family should jump on board and begin moving in that direction at once.

The fish house at the local market in Mbarara

Delighted with the green light to forge ahead, I read as much as I could and began replacing items in our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator with the REAL equivalent of what we had been eating before.  I would love to be able to purge and make the full switch overnight, but we agreed that we need to be good stewards of what was already provided for us so we are finishing what we have already on hand.

The benefits…where to begin.  I plan to highlight specific areas of nutrition and food groups in several upcoming posts where we can get to a few more details…without too much science, I promise.

But let me say this…our family has not been sick since we returned from Uganda…not even the new little ones who had NEVER been exposed to all our American germs!  I believe foremost that is GRACE because God knew I probably couldn’t handle a household-illness right off the bat.  But I also believe that our bodies are responding to the healthful, whole food diet, and this is a definite blessing!

The recipes I share will encourage the use of whole, real, and raw foods as our family continues down this path.  Feel free to join us, or substitute whatever ingredients you are comfortable with.  Hopefully you will enjoy learning right along with us!