We made some small and some not-so-small changes including:
--swapping organic coconut oil in replace of canola and olive oil (in cooking and baking)
--no processed foods at breakfast (no cereal or frozen waffles) instead we eat eggs from our chickens with bacon from US Wellness Meats, homemade oatmeal or homemade pancakes with fruit and pure maple syrup
--no processed snacks -- instead of goldfish and granola bars we eat fruit (bananas, apples and oranges are favorites this time of year), carrot sticks, nuts (like almonds or cashews), organic yogurt, cheese sticks, trail mix or dried fruit
--no dessert or treats except at special occasions like birthday parties (and even then in limited quantities) -- the kids really look forward to their daily gummy vitamins, which are now a huge treat!--instead of gummy vitamins from the grocery store, we order Smarty Pants Gummy Vitamins from Amazon
--we even switched to Tom's natural mouthwash for the kids (to avoid artificial colors and flavors)
--ordering all of our meat online from US Wellness Meats
--using only pure, grass-bed butter (again we can't find this in the grocery store and order it online)
The kids have been surprisingly open to the healthier options and there hasn't been much complaining.
My son has crazy "grumpy" episodes and we think eating less sugar and processed carbs has helped. We also--knocking on wood while I type this-- haven't been sick since we starting eating healthier (and using the coconut oil). Coincidence?
More ideas we may implement in the future:
-rice instead of pasta
-no more jelly (even organic jelly often has sugar as the first ingredient)
-eating only sprouted whole grains
-raising a pig for our organic meats (although I have to admit I haven't had much luck getting goat's milk from our goats who have now become lovable pets)
...and we'll see what else I come up with!
