JERF [ Jenny eats real food ]
**Thursday dance!**
Though I hate to shove my fabulous collegiate schedule in your hardworking faces, I am so ecstatic to be just two classes away from the weekend. Does anyone else feel as though this week was super long? February is just dragging!
Today I have some important matters to discuss with you, but first – guess what I did yesterday?!
Made a new lunch.
*yay me*
I basically just copied Caitlin’s lunch from the other day, subbing whole wheat pasta for black bean spaghetti and used mushrooms and frozen peas. With some crackers on the side…
I think I needed more hummus, it was missing the creamy factory. Regardless, it felt nice to “cook” and have something other than a sandwich for a change.
Which brings me to my next point…
The past few days I’ve been debating joining Bobbi’s 100 days of Real Food Challenge but I just can’t seem to come to terms with how I feel. Being an avid lover of lists, I’ve compiled a set of pros and cons.
Pros to the RFC
- Might save me money on groceries: While I knew produce can be fairly expensive, I already buy a lot now and just compliment them with processed foods. For example, take my breakfast from the other day for example.
Berries galore + a trader joe’s grahams. Rather than the grahams, I could have replaced this with a drizzle of honey and some flaxseed on my oatmeal. Make sense?
I also think I could start saving money by buying in bulk and loading up on simple foods like oats, nuts, and veggies.
- Loss the “calorie” mindset: A huge reason why I tend to gravitate towards pre-packaged foods is because they provide me with a number to go off of. Oh, a 170 calorie lunabar? That sounds appropriate for an afternoon snack. Instead, I want to be able to eat food for the sake of nourishing my body rather than being so consumed with numbers. Rather than, let’s say, a granola bar or bag or pirates booty, I think perhaps an apple with a handful of cashews and dark chocolate would be a good substitute.
- Inspire me to cook more for myself: Admittedly so, a main reason why I tend to stray away from recipes is because I can’t gauge the caloric content. Although it’s so much easier to grab a “400 calorie Amy’s meal”, I feel like I’m being deprived a bit. I see so many recipes around the blogosphere that I want to make and I hope that finding peace in real foods with help me to do that.
- Help me to get in more nutrients: If you follow me on twitter you’ll see that I sent out an SOS last night abuot needed to incorporate more saturated fats in to my diet. (Which, for the record, are not as bad as everyone thinks. In fact, they’re essential to the body). I’ve been feeling really lethargic and to be honest, a little unhappy, as of late, and I thnk this is attributed in large part to my diet and lack of certain nutrients. I think starting to eat real foods like butter, cheese, coconut, etc. should help with this.
Cons
- I don’t really have a strong opinion against processed foods, and I don’t really want to. I don’t want to begin labeling foods as “good and bad” or “acceptable and “unacceptable”. It would be easy to eat real foods when cooking for myself, but if I’m out with friends or family I don’t want to feel like I can’t have a a few handfuls of chips or a slice of birthday cake if that’s what’s available to me. Also, one of the fundamental rules of the challenge is to avoid food with 5 or more ingredients, but there are foods out there that I know are “healthy” and don’t necessarily follow this rule. Take my beloved Ezekial bread for example: it as *gasp* 6! I don’t want to start being a prisoner to food labels and ingredients list, religiously counting how many ingredients a certain product has.
Clearly the “pros” outweigh the “cons” but I also think the one hesitation that I do have towards joining this challenge is really significant and worth a lot of consideration. Bah, I don’t know what to do!
If you all have any advice/thoughts I would really appreciate it!
Oh, and don’t worry – if I do choose to undertake the real food challenge, I’m not planning on a blog name change. JERF just doesn’t have the same ring to it as KERF 🙂
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Hope you have the loveliest of days, beauties 🙂
peanutbutterandjenny.wordpress.com 
GREAT post Jenny!
I love the proactive approach you’re taking to your own diet. It’s great that you’re aiming for more whole foods, but I was especially impressed that you could also stop yourself and note that you don’t intend to start vilifying anything that’s from a package. Nice work, truly.
I think that striving to eat whole unprocessed foods for the most part is critical for a good healthy diet. I would suggest it as long as you wouldn’t get caught up in “not being able to” eat something because it is processed. I say that you are so far in your recovery that you would be able to take on a new challenge without going over the deep end, and well, you’re awesome so you’d totally be able to do it! 🙂 I think it does save you lots of money in the long run, but you have to be willing to put in more work because you do have to make your own “packaged” products such as crackers, breads, etc. I definitely fall short on the cracker route – the bought stuff just tastes so much better.
Can’t wait to see what you decide!
I think it sounds like a good plan, and I definitely agree about not getting too hung up on the processed food thing. Life happens, you know? You just do your best and 6 ingredients vs. 5 isn’t a big deal.
i think you’ll find what works best for you 🙂 It’s always good to get back to basics every now and then and get reacquainted with food and find new flavors.
For me, it’s been SO important to take judgment off of foods. That means limiting to eliminating any sort of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ label. It’s helped me tremendously in terms of being more flexible and less critical over what I eat. In a sense, it’s helped restore some normalcy around food and meals– less judgment, for me, means less power. Clearly, the list of pros outweigh the cons, but I think it’s also important to consider the quality and power of each statement– not just the quantity… Does that even make sense? haha
tons of love and good luck!! ❤
I agree that whole foods “might” be cheaper. Although what you save in cost, you lose in time. Ifi am too tired, I tend to reach for nuts (basically the only things in my house that are quick and heavy therefore making me feel full) . But in reality nuts can cost upwards of $10/lb… which makes those $5 packages of sunshine burgers look cheap 🙂 I say the cutoff for ingredients should be 7 not 5. 5 seems kind of limiting whereas 7 includes breads. Which would be cheaper to make ourselves but more time consuming.
Jenny…I completely understand. I too was a little worried about putting labels on foods, but after reading Michael Pollen’s book and doing some research about sugars and preservatives, I think it will be so worth giving up a a some foods that have 6 ingredients (unless they are all real food) for only 100 days. You have to do what’s best for you 🙂
For me, I just abide by, “is it tasty and decently good for my body?” I don’t much mind processed foods, and I know that if I told myself, “OK, we’re eating nothing but real food now,” I’d either want processed food or feel bad about it if I ate it. That’s just not worth it to me. Mostly real sounds good, though 🙂
I think you’re amazing for taking charge of your food intake! LOVE YOU! xoxoxo
Your lunch looks great! I’ve never mixed hummus and pasta, though have had hummus with barley and quinoa. Good luck with deciding about the challenge! 🙂
I agree with Rebecca, above, about taking the judgements off food. I don’t think you eat so much processed food that it would make a significant difference to you (but obviously I only “see” your life via your blog, so I can’t speak for you here). On the cooking/nutrients front, maybe you should set yourself your own challenges and go for it here – it could be as simple as ‘cook one new meal a day’ ; or as complex as making yourself a one-month calendar with a different challenge on each day, like ‘bake fresh bread’ (though obviously you do this anyway…), ‘cook with an ingredient you’ve never used before’, ‘make a whole raw vegan meal’ type thing. That’s a way to mix things up without risking restricting/obsessing over your diet in any way, maybe?
I know you have a history of eating disorders (like me), so it might be dangerous. Although the “challenge” might work for some people, I decided not to join because I know myself and I know that it would become yet another food-related thing to obsess about..
But regardless of what you decide, I’ll back you up 100% girl!
Jenny, I must divulge my secrets.
Bulk will save your LIFE!!
Did you know that you can buy 2x the amount of wheat germ for just 1.19 per package, or 3 pounds of oats for just $3.00. And by the way, if you still have an obsession with the gums (guar, xantham), they only cost about $5 when you buy in bulk instead of $11.
Seriously!! You have to start buying in bulk! It saved me so much money!!
And as for your challenge-I totally understand your fear. I am hugely opposed to not eating things that I can’t “count.” For example I would LOVE to eat at the Whole Foods Hot Bar, but I am kind of terrified b/c I have no idea how many calories are in anything! Still I am going to challenge myself this weekend for my birthday by eating there!
Good luck with your challenge!
I liked the sounds of this challenge…until I got to the five ingredient rule part!I don’t think 5 is a magic number…I mean, if it’s got 10 good ingredients, where is the harm in that? (maybe this is just coming from my “throw the kitchen sink in a dish” ways, though)
I think it would be a great way to get you to focus more on the food than numbers, though. Maybe you don’t know how many calories you’re putting in your body – but at least you know you’re making it with lots of wholesome foods 🙂
So I guess I’m 50/50 on the idea. I think it’d be a great challenge to loosely follow, but not one to necessarily be too strict about. We’re young – having a night (or twenty) out where we just “go with the flow” and eat whatever we’re served will not kill us 😉 Heck, it probably won’t even dent us.
(p.s. as for grahams – there’s been a recipe floating around for making your own grahams and I am dying to try it. maybe you could give that a go, too?!)
100 days is a long and big time commitment. I dont count my calories but I do like to eat as least processed food as possible… Maybe you could just have a goal of eating whole foods 6 days a week? Or start with a month and see if you can go from there!
Hi Jenny,
I absolutely see the value in eating more whole, unprocessed foods, but for the sake of a sane/healthy attitude towards food, and your quality of life, I do not think you should take part in this challenge – at least not completely. Labeling foods as “good” and “bad” could completely undo all the hard work you’ve put into your recovery. Why not just challenge yourself to eat MORE or MOSTLY whole, unprocessed foods, but also allow for birthday cake, or fun dinners out with friends. A truly healthy mindset towards food accommodates for LIFESTYLE along with health.
Best of luck!
Katie
I’m all about everything in moderation… so that goes both ways.. overly healthy, and overly unhealthy. Do a mix to make you AND your body happy. No reason for extremes 🙂
I don’t really have a strong opinion against processed foods, and I don’t really want to.
I love it. and I completely agree.
even though I AM trying to lessen them. because everyone else apparently thinks it’s important. 😉
maybe just challenge yourself to ditch the processed SNACKS! that’s what i’ve been doing as of late, and it’s a great way to sneak in some coconut/protein – though actually your luna replacement idea of a piece of fruit, some nuts, and a little chocolate is one of my FAVORITES. plus then it’s way easier to join in on the fun meals w/ friends and not get too caught up in the restrictive aspect of only eating “under 5 ingredient foods.”
I don’t know much about the challenge (clicking on the link after this) but if it gives you added pressure to go along with your schoolwork, then I don’t know if it’s a good idea. You can always have it in the back of your mind and see how much that helps you incorporate more real food.
Don’t ever swap out those TJ Grahams!!! Are you craze??
I totally agree with your desire to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, but I think the idea of a “challenge” can be difficult- especially the 5 ingredient rule. Why not make your own challenge to yourself to replace one processed food per day with a whole one? You’ll still probably notice the difference in the way you feel both mentally and physically, but without feeling like you can’t eat a processed food if you really want it. It’s better to focus on what you CAN eat, not what you CAN’T, nameans jellybean?
A good challenge, and I’ll admit I haven’t read into the details at all, but what if you simply tried to recreate some of your favorite processed meals on your own, even if some of the ingredients happened to be processed? Simply taking the time to make everything on your own will force you to remove the number issue, because you can focus on feeling full and satisfied. Leftovers last for a few days in the fridge and many days in the freezer, too! Weekends good for cooking.
I’m a fan of make-my-own trailmix from the bulk bins. I can get a fruit, a fat, and a protein in all sorts of combos! I also like the snack-size containers and zip lock baggies.
The pros you list are all good ones, but the con is really important. There are some processed snacks/breads/whatever that make your soul happy, why give those up? Balance… Elusive balance. Restriction of anything = not so fun!
Difficult! Once again, like with many things in life, it will all be about the balance.
Most important thing: you have to remember that no food should be off limit. Especially with your (and mine) history. I love whole foods, but hey: a chicken nugget (with many ingredients my “grand mother doesn’t know”, like Pollan says) is GREAT and delicious as well. Please remain aware.
Besides that: I love the fact that you wanna “challenge” yourself a little with not only eating snacks you know the nutrional values of. (And you’re good in challenging. I never forget the first time you had a milkshake/fries and you mentioned it to me…) There are many options though: I did the same thing myself. Grab a sandwich that’s made for you in a nice store/restaurant. (not at starbucks or something, where you can find the values). Buy a de-li-cious brownie in a bakery. And yes: grab a handful (or two) of nuts and don’t worry about the amount.
Did I mention I’m proud of you? No really girl! xxx
Hey Jenny! I don’t think you should focus on this challenge. I know no two people are similar, but where I am in recovery, I couldn’t handle another challenge or having to analyze what is or isn’t in a food. Let’s be real…your food intake is AWESOME and way healthier than the average American. I think its so freaking great that you want to incorporate more whole foods, but maybe do so in a less structured way and make it less “official.” I don’t think the added pressure is worth it, honestly. And like you said, there are plenty of processed foods that are still healthy for you and are DELISH!!!!
I haven’t commented in a while because I’ve been supaaa busy but I’ve been reading and still really enjoying your fabbity fab blog 🙂 I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this one, hope that’s alright. Personally I don’t think the challenge is a good idea in recovery. Though you’re definitely right that sometimes packaged food can make for simple calorie math in terms of mentally “knowing” (as opposed to physically craving or desiring) that a certain food is appropriate to eat for snacks/meals, I think that the focus on limiting intake to unprocessed foods with 5 or fewer ingredients could be a little dangerous. Like you said, it could lead to feeling like you “shouldn’t” have something, which I have personally found to be really triggering. I know you’re really smart about recovery and you do an amazing job of it, but I think maintaining recovery is contingent upon feeling like you CAN eat anything you want in moderation. Or at least that’s been key in my own recovery. Whenever I start to think too much about eating unprocessed I really have to step back and look at my motivation for doing that- is it a backslide into my orthorexic-tendencies that accompanied my eating disorder as a whole? I’m not suggesting this is what the challenge would be for you necessarily- just sharing my personal experience 🙂 Good luck with whatever you decide!
What a neat and definitely difficult challenge! As a fellow college student I totally understand your pros and cons. Sometimes it is just wayyyy to difficult to skip out on the goodies my friends are eating and I shoulnd’t have too! In the end just do what’s right for you! Good Luck!
I agree that you shouldn’t be too foccused on numbers. Calorie counting is actually not good for yoou. Only people who are gaining or losing weight should be doing it. You should not avoid something just because you don’t know the calorie content of it. That is unhealthy.
Jenny, this post comes at a perfect time. I have been feeling this exact same way about the foods that I eat too. These past few days have been really hard for me because I have been struggling with relying on the same pre packaged foods that I ALWAYS eat. The other day I just got so sick and tired of being dependent on knowing the exact amount of calories that I am eating, and not really enjoying the food or going with what I am craving, but just eating it simply because I know how many calories I’m eating and they are “safe” foods. I always gravitate towards those 100 calorie packs, but in reality, it’s all about portion control. So instead of having a 100 calorie pack, just have handful of regular chips!
I recently(as in today!!) am starting to TRY and move away from eating the same foods that are “safe” to me. I always gauge the amount of calories I am eating for each meal as well, and it really does drive me mental. It’s so restricting and really takes a toll on my emotions! Just like you, I’m so sick and tired of not being able to snack on apps at a party, or constantly analyze eating a piece of cake. I just want to do it!!
Even though it will be hard, I think you should TOTALLY go for it. It will be hard, but I think that you and your body will benefit from doing this. This post was actually really inspiring to me since today was my “official” start day to try and stop calorie counting like I said that I do above.
I don’t know if you should do the challenge, but I definitely DO think that you should try and start implementing those points that you lined out. 🙂
I considered this too but decided 100 days was too long for me. I’ve done it for weeks at a time and had great results, but I think after 100 days I will start to feel deprived and go a little crazy thinking about what I’m eating. I dont think it would be good for me and my recovery state.
“A huge reason why I tend to gravitate towards pre-packaged foods is because they provide me with a number to go off of.” Ahhhh I know it girl! Here’s to REAL food though!!! Love the post title 🙂
I agree with Chelsea 10000 percent. Having to know the calories of everything is definitely not good for your body and health. You should eat/make something because you actually feel like eating it, not because of the calorie content. What’s the point of counting calories anyways? Is it really necessary? How will it benefit you? Like I said earlier, I can see why someone overweight or underweight would temporarily be counting calories because they have goals to reach, but someone at a healthy weight should not be counting calories. Period. Further more needing to know the calories of something is classified as disordered eating, as people with Anorexia tend to do that. Yes I know, it’s a super long post, but I just felt like I needed to say this 😛
Oh and by the way I also think tha tyou should not do that 100 day challenge. It is also unhealthy, believe it or not. yes, you’ll be eating whole, natural, unproccessed foods, but your body actually needs some processed foods. It’s about balance. Depriving yourself of the stuff you crave or enjoy is not right.
I think you know what you need to add (and maybe eliminate) to your diet in order to feel more energetic and lively, without a set of guidelines telling you how. Remember every single person has different needs, so a certain way of eating can in fact be detrimental in some ways to people while being great for others. If you like the bread you buy and feel energized and good about eating it, then eat it!!! If you feel lethargic and tired after eating a snack of pirates booty, sub it for something more ‘real’! I think you know just what you need to do for yourself, and the con you mentioned (and what it could possibly lead to) I think outweighs some of the potential benefits of eating 100% real foods..
just my opinion!
Completely balanced list. I agree about the losing the calorie mindset being healthy. But completely vilifying anything that is not completely natural is slightly obsessive. The good thing about the challenge is that it is only a 100 day thing. That’s enough days that you don’t have to follow it perfectly to get the benefits out of it, and in the long run it will probably make you more aware and conscious about natural whole foods, without having to do it 24/7.
That’s just my opinion, but I haven’t done it myself so I’m not speaking from experience.
xo
i should have consulted your blog before making my dinner pancakes. they sucked and i was dissapointed haha so sad that i threw half the batch out. fail mayj fail
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to eat more whole, unprocessed foods, but maybe just don’t turn it into a challenge. Buy more fruits and veggies and less processed foods, but don’t focus on rules, especially the 5 ingredient rule, which I know would drive me crazy. Setting rules just gives me cravings for whatever I can’t have. Indulge if you want, and then go back to eating whole foods the next day.
Girl you have to do what you see fit and best for YOU. It sounds like there ARE lots of pros and that this challenge could help push you out of your comfort zone and more into the realm of real, whole, not number-centric food and recipes. Also, cooking for yourself WILL reduce your grocery budget, period. So maybe just try it for 10 days. Or a week, or 3 days. Whatever. See how it’s going and if you dont like it, bail.
Or just even reduce your consumption of processed foods. That is me. I am not a purist but most things i eat ARE from scratch and the items i make them with include real foods, but I am not opposed to say doctoring up a can of soup for instance. Processed meets homemade 🙂
last comment just went into moderation…darn. I didnt even say anything that good 🙂
I think that getting away from the calorie mindset is pretty important. I’ve definitely experienced that. If you don’t want to commit completely, make an effort to limit processed foods. I follow the mindset of: busy days I can supplement with some processed foods. If it’s the weekend or a low key weekday, I try to have mostly whole foods because I have the time to prepare it.
Hey Jenny! The 100 day challenge sounds like a great idea, but I understand that it might not be the best for someone in your situation. I was thinking, why don’t you make up your own challenge? I bet readers and other bloggers would love to participate. You could set up a challenge a day, and/or different goals that pertain to the pros you wrote about above. It’s great you want to start focusing more on nourishing your body and mind (whether that means eating whole or processed foods) and moving away from habits that might inhibit this. Good luck!
Ahhh it’s crazy how complicated something so simple as food (basically our energy in order to exist as humans) has become. I think eating real/wholesome foods is the best thing for our bodies, but in this day and age it’s sometimes unrealistic to expect that that would be all we should eat since with time constraints/busy-ness sometimes it’s WAY more practical (and completely ok) to grab a pre-packaged bar or eat something out of a box, which I think could also be perfectly healthy.
It’s tough (having recovered from anorexia), but I have learned to listen to my intuitions/cravings and realize that sometimes the reason why I’m craving a cheesy slice of pizza is because I didn’t eat enough fats/carbohydrates that day or sometimes I just want to eat loads of veggies, probably because my prior meals were rather veggie-less.
It’s tough to ignore the messages about food we get everywhere, but ultimately such a simple thing shouldn’t be so complicated 🙂
Hey Jenny!
I’m a college student too (for a little while longer at least!) and last year alomst everything I ate was ‘processed’ (and by processed I mean microwavable/pre-packaged). For example, I ate A TON of bars, forzen meals, microwaveable rice/veggies/oatbran- you name it, I put it in the microwave.
Now that i have a grocery budget, I find myself cooking more, which has been extremely helpful in terms of thinking about nourishing my body vs. caloric value.
To save time/energy, I do a lot of cooking on sundays to get me through the busy week. Example: I’ll make a big thing of rice or quinoa and divide it into single servings for easy dinners. Or I’ll make a batch of muffins, or roasted veggies, etc. That way, I always have food in a hurry!
Hope this helps and good luck!
I have been feeling like I have been eating TOO MANY processed foods lately and feelings so BLAH and icky (great adjectives, I know) but after I read the challenge, it seems TOOO HARD. I think I am going to try and eliminate many processed “junk” while not setting myself up for failure. I am going to try and incorporate MORE REAL FOODS (CERF style 😉 ) but I am not going give up my beloved almond breeze because it has more than 5 ingredients.