For 14 weeks, the family and I are undertaking a Real Food Challenge (put forth by the awesome 100 Days of Real Food blog). I’m hoping to check in about any struggles and successes along the way each week. Our ultimate goal is to cut down on our dependence on processed foods and start using some cleaner fuels to energize our bodies. And stuff.
So, here’s how it works. I’ll get an email every Thursday for the next 14 weeks (the actual eating challenge will start on Sunday or Monday for 7 days, so there are a couple of days of grocery prep built in). Each email outlines the “rules” for that particular week. It’s up to each participant as to whether or not they’d like to try each week independently or build on top of the prior week. In other words, continuing doing the prior weeks while attempting the new weeks, if that makes sense. There’s also a very active Facebook group (I’ve actually joined an offshoot that’s super supportive and far more focused) that’s there to share, answer and support.
So, here’s how it works. I’ll get an email every Thursday for the next 14 weeks (the actual eating challenge will start on Sunday or Monday for 7 days, so there are a couple of days of grocery prep built in). Each email outlines the “rules” for that particular week. It’s up to each participant as to whether or not they’d like to try each week independently or build on top of the prior week. In other words, continuing doing the prior weeks while attempting the new weeks, if that makes sense. There’s also a very active Facebook group (I’ve actually joined an offshoot that’s super supportive and far more focused) that’s there to share, answer and support.
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Last week this week, yay!!!
Review of Week #13: This week was all about eating zero artificial ingredients. While we went out once or twice, all other meals and snacks were completely on-track. This is something we try to live up to, in general, but not 100%. Kind of like how we hit up Uno’s for a treat with the little guy this week. Not complete, but perfectly acceptable to me. 🙂
Week #14 Challenge: Our final week will be an interesting one, entailing eating nothing with more than FIVE ingredients (although a meal doesn’t count, as I see it). In other words, when you read the packaging, no matter the ingredients, there can’t be six or more.
However, we’re taking it a little more seriously. Clearly, we’re hoping the ingredients are all real. So, it’s kind of a combination from last week, but more challenging. At least we found a delicious 5-ingredient local bread!
Next week, I’ll check in about how we did and some of our take-aways from the past 14 weeks (holy crap). For now, here’s our meal plan:
Breakfasts: oatmeal w/berries; rice cereal; toast w/ peanut butter; yogurt parfait; eggs and toast; homemade pancakes
Lunches: PBJ; homemade soup; leftovers!
Snacks: yogurt w/fruit; fruit; carrot sticks; homemade banana muffins; home-popped popcorn
Dinners: Pasta w/homemade sauce; homemade chicken fingers w/veggies; grilled chicken on salad; grilled steak sandwich; homemade soup and sandwich; breakfast for dinner