Simple Steps: Nourishing Food: The COGBB Scale

People ask "Where do I start?" alot when it comes to healthy eating. After all, we are all busy and most of us are on a budget. There are lots of books and blogs out there that talk about eating healthy. But often the ideas seem too complicated to be attainable. I am here to help you take some Simple Steps, like I have had to do (and always will).

Just educating yourself about healthy eating can be a daunting task. Realizing that you need to totally overhaul your entire diet and the food you feed your family can be nothing short of overwhelming. I tend to be an All-Or-Nothing type-o-gal so it is important for me to stop, breathe, take stock - then realize that some changes cannot be made in one day. Yes, I have been there.

At the same time, I am a mother of six, a homeschool mom, and married to a man who has a (more than) full time job in hi-tech but likes to pretend that we are full time farmers. And I do not choose to look the part (at least I try! not to!). I am out to conquer stereotypes. This takes added energy (Just writing it all out like that makes me tired. Please hold while I go pour myself an Earl Grey).

I have read and researched healthy eating for years. From the time we started our family, I have been pretty conscious of good eating habits. But it was about six or seven years ago that I really made it a hobby. I guess you can tidy up my feelings about food by saying "If it wasn't around a couple hundred years ago, don't eat it". However... I live amongst the human race,with a family to feed, in a culture of fast and processed food, and I'm on a budget. So, frequently, I don't follow my own rule. I am very busy and don't always have make the time to do everything perfectly every time. So I have my very own nutritional scale.

Crud (trying not to use the other word anymore)
Okay
Good
Better
Best

We try to eat from the bottom up. You know, like the food pyramid. Heavy on Best, light on Crud. Though we tend to be heaviest on Good and Better.

I don't often remember to soak my grains and I don't frequently roast my own nuts. But hey, at least most often we eat whole grains rather than processed flour, and snack on fruit or nuts rather than chips.

Getting raw nuts, soaking them, then salting them with sea salt and roasting them myself is Best.

I am not that organized.

Store bought, processed nuts, loaded with salt, are Good-Better, while regular potato chips are Crud.

See what I am getting at here? Make small changes where you can.

Your first Simple Step is to think about what meals you prepare and what snacks you have on hand, then rate them on my COGBB Scale. This takes no money out of your financial budget. But it does take some exertion out of your energy and thought budget!

I gave you one idea above. Can you think of one idea of something that would be easy to upgrade -- even one level? Leave a comment for others to think about if you wish.

(Stay tuned for an easy and economical food switch.)