Day 9- The End of Diet Coke...

I would like to have a moment of silence please.  Yesterday I opened the last can of Diet Coke in my refrigerator.  I need a little time of mourning.  And I have a headache.

I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea, I don't drink regular pop (that's soda for the rest of you).  But I love me some Diet Coke in a cold can- or in a glass over ice.  Never in a plastic bottle.  I will miss you, Diet Coke.  I'm not buying any more pop, diet or otherwise, for the rest of the 90 Days of Change.

(sigh...)

Ok, so I'm not buying into that "Diet Coke causes MS nonsense" you get in forwarded emails from people (just check Snopes). But apparently Aspartame- the sweetener in diet soda- gets broken down into methanol in your gut which is then converted into formaldehyde.  Like the stuff they preserve dead things in.  That can't be good for you unless you're Joan Rivers.  Plus the phosphate in soda causes phosphate levels to rise in the blood and calcium to decrease- so it's bad for your bones. My habit is only one 12 ounce can a day- so that shouldn't be too hard, right?

So- will you join me and give up regular or diet pop (soda)?

(link to Simple Lives Thursday)

Day 8- Have Healthy Snacks Ready

Over at We Are That Family- there is a little blog carnival called Works For Me Wednesday (WFMW).  Go check it out for some great tips!

Here is my WFMW tip of the day.  If you want to eat more healthy- have healthy snacks ready.  Like washed fruit, and organic popcorn, and ice water in the frig.  It's so much less tempting to grab something "bad" when you have something "good' that's quick and easy.

If you want to read my whole blog from the beginning- go here.

Day 7- High Fructose Corn Syrup

Food Rules #4- avoid high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS is added to hundreds of foods- many you would not expect- like bread, ketchup, salad dressing.  No, it's probably not any worse than plain old cane sugar, but it is not a naturally occurring ingredient- it is highly processed.  On the flip side, beware of anything that is loaded with sugar, cane sugar or otherwise.  A throw-back Mountain Dew is not going to be any better for you than a regular one.

Here's some good advice from the Mayo Clinic:

• Limit processed foods.
• Avoid foods that contain added sugar.
• Drink less soda.

Here's a commentary on HFCS from Melanie Warner at bnet. Here's a propaganda website put together by the U.S.  Corn Refiners Association.  I think one of the biggest problems with HFCS is that it is cheap and sweet and added to lots of stuff you wouldn't expect.  Read the ingredients label.  I like this blog article by Wholesome Mommy on the different choices in sweeteners. This rule is difficult if you use any packaged food at all, even bread.  Watch out for anything labelled "low-fat" or "fat-free" which is often code for "more sugar added". I've been trying to be diligent about reading the labels, but again I'm not throwing anything away I already have- just trying to make better choices going forward.

HFCS-free lunch we often have- Jif Natural Peanut Butter, Smucker's Simply Fruit, on Arnold bread (Arnold's bread is HFCS-free but it does contain soy).  You can check out Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Do you avoid high-fructose corn syrup?

Day 6- Menu Plan Monday

I am just terrible at making a weekly meal plan, but no fear, there are some folks who are great at it.  Check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie for some great meal plan ideas!

Everyone should have one go-to recipe.  The thing you whip up for a potluck or when you have to bring a meal to someone.  Mine is the 1950's casserole dish-  Johnny Marzetti- (a.k.a. macaroni and beef). I use diced green peppers instead of mushrooms. This can easily be made with whole wheat pasta, grass-fed beef, and organic tomato sauce.

What is your go-to dish?

Day 3- Shopping Trip

Today I am planning to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  I say "planning" because it's a bit of a trip and some times the best laid plans- well you know!  Whole Foods has a pretty good web site- you can check their specials and they have printable coupons.  Did you know Trader Joes is owned by the same family in Germany that runs Aldi?  It's actually 2 different branches of the same family- one owns Trader Joes and one owns Aldi.  (I actually don't have very good luck at Aldi but I know a lot of people do.) One thing about Trader Joe's- a lot of their Trader Joe's brand items are actually made by mainstream companies like Frito Lay (Pepsi), etc.- that's why the prices are low.

A bit more about yesterday's post on fast food. There are a couple reasons- I think- not to eat fast food.  First, most of the menu is fried. Food deep fried in oil is just not that good for you.  Second, I think the meat- especially the beef is suspect.  According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser,  McDonald's is the largest purchaser of beef in the world.  That means beef producers pretty much produce beef to McDonald's standards- for just about everyone- including schools.  A couple things make me uneasy about this beef.  First the way the animals are fed and raised on "factory-farms". I am opposed to any kind of growth hormone given to cows.  Second the way they are slaughtered and processed.  Because there is a great risk of E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, the beef is treated with ammonia.

A bit of a disclaimer here.  I am no expert on whole food, organic food, or anything else.  I am just posting things I am trying.  I'm not telling you what to do- you have to make your own choices.  I'm not totally on board with the whole "organic" thing.  I want to eat more vegetables, fruits and healthy meats- and way less packaged foods.  I also want to support local farmers when I can.  I have not cleaned out my refrigerator or pantry.  I can't afford to do this right now- so we are eating our way through some packaged stuff now.  But as I shop and replace things- I try to make better choices.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend! If you are looking for some frugal pantry ideas- check out Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom (a terrific blog).

Day 2- Fast Food

The basic thesis of Michal Pollan's book- Food Rules is: "Eat food, Mostly plants, Not too much."

I'm not going to pretend to change everything all at once, and I wouldn't even try.  But I am going to start one of Pollan's Food Rules right now- #20 "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car." In other words- no more fast food.  I will admit right here I love fast food.  It's cheap, it tastes good, it leaves you wanting more.  But then you feel kind of awful after you eat it.  This is going to be one of the hardest rules to follow for the next 90 days.  I'm pretty sure I can do it for myself, but it might be a little harder to get the whole family on board.  The one thing I will really miss is McDonald's french fries.  I actually had a small order on Monday to say goodbye.  Isn't that pathetic!

There is this scene in the movie Food Inc. with a family going through the drive-thru and the mom says if she has a dollar she's going to get her daughter a double-cheeseburger because you can't even buy a bunch of broccoli for $1.  That's the truth and it's really kind of sad.  Plus you have to wash and cook the broccoli.  And let's face it- plain broccoli does not taste that good. (I'm just being honest!)  Not eating fast food is a lot more work and a lot less convenient. If you plan to follow this step with me, try watching Super Size Me with Morgan Spurlock.  The guy eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days with some alarming results to his health.

I'm pretty sure I'll end up breaking this rule somewhere along the way.  There will be this day we're in a hurry or something.  I also think some fast food may be ok.  Like a salad, or fruit, or yogurt- (or Chipotle LOL!).  But I'm going to try to go cold turkey for now.  I should also note that we eat a lot of processed foods in general- even when I "cook" a lot of time it comes out of a package.  So even a little change is going to be big for me.

Do you eat fast food? Or do you never touch the stuff?

Day 1- Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks- you've heard about the massive egg recall from two Iowa egg "farm-factories".  The conditions at the farms were found to be terrible.

One change I have already made this summer goes along with Pollan's rule #15.  "Get out of the supermarket whenever you can."  I have been shopping at farmer's markets all summer.  You can't get everything there and I don't try. But I get fresh locally grown produce and sometimes farm-fresh eggs. You can also find farms that sell eggs.  Or I will buy organic eggs at the grocery store.  I like Eggland's Best Eggs- they often have coupons in the newspaper. Yes, they are more expensive.  I will pay about $3.00 a dozen for farm-fresh eggs. When you crack them open, the yolks are orange-yellow not pale like the grocery store eggs.  That's because they are full of beta-carotene.  My daughter says it's because the chickens ate their vegetables!

Do you eat local farm eggs? Where do you get them?