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Thursday Three – Replacements

[ 4 ] 04/22/2010 |

About 6 months ago, I decided that I was going to switch from standard groceries to organic.  I buy organic almost exclusively now and have no plans on turning back.

One side effect, though, is that we’ve had to replace some of our best loved processed foods with their closest organic counterpart.  Some have been hits.  Others…not so much.

And that got me to thinkin’.  Besides going organic, there have been other things that I have found replacements for during this weight loss journey of mine. Here are three things that now have permanent residence on my pantry shelves as a direct result of trying to eat healthier.

  1. Brown rice – We love us some rice up in these parts.  We usually have it at least twice a week.  My husband, Dave, was staunchly opposed to brown rice because he said it never tasted quite done.  Now, he doesn’t even blink when the rice isn’t white.  I’ve been trying to mix it up just to see if there’s a big taste difference: long grain, short grain, sweet, wild rice blend. But unless it’s under extreme desparation, there is no white rice in our house anymore.
  2. Less boxed dinners – Quite often, I fell prey to the ease of boxed dinners like Homestyle Bake. I’m not all that great in the kitchen so I am drawn to meals where I have to do very, VERY little.  Now, I can’t even tell you the last time I bought a Homestyle Bake.  We are eating more freshly prepared dinners made from fewer processed foods.
  3. Fruits and Vegetables – We are eating so many more fresh fruits and vegetables now.  It’s an adventure every week to go to the store to see what new in season produce they are going to have.  As a result, the kids are eating more fruits and vegetables, too, because that’s what we have  in the house.  It’s a win-win situation. Plus, our store marks the food that are local (traveling less than 150 miles), so not only am I eating better food, I am helping support local farmers.  Another win-win!

What replacements have you made in your life?  It doesn’t necessarily have to be food…just anything that you do now that has replaced something from your non-healthy past. Tell us about it!

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Category: Thea, Thursday Three

About thea: 34 year old mother of 2 who is maintaining her healthy weight range, one week at a time! O.K.... Maybe every other week... View author profile.

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    We've made the switch to organic at our house over the past 5 or so years. I love to see that more and more organic items are available at the grocery store, too! If I can't find organic, I try to find all-natural products. I agree that not all the organic replacements are a hit, but we're finding our way around it.

    I don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup or mono-unsaturated fats (trans fats) at all. Just doesn't happen. My husband isn't quite as diligent, so when he shops sometimes those things find their way into our house, but I'm working on getting him brainwashed, I mean trained…..

    I've also stopped buying so many processed things. Of course, it's nearly impossible not to buy some processed things, but we are certainly eating more fresh fruits and veggies.

    We haven't completely switched to brown rice, but I do buy organic Texmati rice, which is grown in Texas, and similar to Basmati rice. It's yummy and organic!

  • lastminutemandy

    I've switched most of our food to higher fiber options – better cereal, bread, rice, etc. I thankfully did this when my kids were still pretty young, so they don't know the difference. When we get a sandwich at a store, they don't even know that white is an option. :D

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    My kids don't really know what white bread is either, and when they do have a choice, they always choose wheat because it's what they know! I LOVE that!!!

  • http://nothingbutchatter.blogspot.com/ kiminia

    Great Post!!! I made a post similar to this on my blog a while back… http://nothingbutchatter.blogspot.com/2010/04/g… is the link :) I have 2 kitchens to shop for/bake & cook in/keep stocked so I have one moving a bit ahead of the other but its all working!