Welcome to my first blogpost EVER. I've had several friends and family members ask me to please start a blog and share some of the useful information I have learned over the last several years. So here we are! The name 'Covered In Butter' probably seems a little unusual. But it comes from my belief that many of the diseases in our current society have come from the fad of low to no-fat diets. Many vitamins and minerals in our diets are FAT Soluble - meaning they have to have an accompanying fat molecule to be properly absorbed in to the body. When we eat good, natural sources of fats, our bodies work much more smoothly, resulting in better gut function, silky hair, strong nails and weight loss. Fats that encourage weight gain and toxic build-up in our bodies are margarine, soybean oil, canola oil (sometimes known as 'vegetable' oil that ironically doesn't actually come from a vegetable at all!), safflower oil, etc. Believe it or not, fat really is good for you. Some of the best sources of good fat are organic butter, real olive oil, coconut oil, real lard and tallow, ghee, naturally occurring fats in grass fed beef and pork, free range chicken, avocados, wild caught fish, nuts, etc. If you would like more of the science behind these findings, please visit http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/good-fats-bad-fats-separating-fact-from-fiction.
SO . . . . . . . .
The real reason I started this post is because today, while sitting in a 'Juicing for Health' class, I unexpectedly came to a new realization. After showing these delicious recipes on juices and smoothies, the teacher further showed us how to make them 'kid' friendly. She did this by adding more sweet, cool whip, chocolate chips, or artificial colors. It was fun, but it started to bother me. I tried to imagine myself modifying every single meal my family eats to make it more appealing to my children and my head started to spin in circles. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. We somehow have gotten stuck in the mindset that children only desire unhealthy choices. We assume they would rather have things like frozen pizzas, suckers, cookies, donuts, mac&cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then I also realized that we spend SO MUCH TIME and MONEY catering to these philosophies. We buy special foods that are pre-packaged, over-processed and full of artificial ingredients. Often, it is merely out of convenience. Guess what, folks? We are creating a monster. Do we really believe that we can continue to feed our children junk and just hope that someday in the future, they will make healthier choices? Not likely. Taste buds are formed early on. Some even speculate that the amniotic fluid infants drink in the womb even contributes to how their taste buds will form.
So why would a silly Juicing class bother me so much on a personal level?
First, a quick back-history. My first child naturally gravitates towards healthy foods. She loves veggies and would munch on them all day if we let her. She makes great choices and when realizing that grains upset her digestion, completely gave them up. When others asked why she wouldn't eat crackers, bread or donuts, she would say 'It makes my poop stuck.' You may laugh, but I thought all children came this way. Then we had my next boy. He is my sugar baby. He craves sugar and carbs like it is an addiction. He has recently had compounding health problems that are complex and downright scary. When I found out that Sugar and Wheat were 2 of the worst offenders to his body, we had to immediately remove them. Unfortunately, I had been catering to his wants the last few years (because it seemed like the easier thing to do at the time). Always adjusting and modifying and allowing him to eat as many carbs as he wanted. But most of his 'nutrition' came only through wheat and dairy because that is what he preferred. The phytic acid in the wheat were stripping him of all of his trace minerals. The sugars were overloading his pancreas and kidneys. It has been a domino effect and his poor little body was malnourished and full of toxins. Well, that was a few months ago. I knew we had to change things and do it quickly.Through doctors counsel, homeopathy, and nutrition, we are turning his health around.
The first things I did was stop making or buying bread and other wheat products like crackers, cereal, etc. I have followed a 99% grain free diet for me for about 3 years now (with amazing results by the way) , so it was easy for me to have a grain free kitchen, but I knew it would be harder for my kids. Because - again - I had catered to them. I started replacing all of our store-bought convenience foods with our own convenience foods. I realized that the main reason we eat so many carbs is because they are EASY. I filled the cupboards and fridge with our own 'easy' foods. Such as:
Jerky
Dried apples
Egg muffins
Sprouted corn tortillas with nut butter or melted cheese
Almond or coconut flour muffins sweetened with raw honey
Homemade fruit-snacks (So easy!)
Greek yogurt sweetened with stevia
Popcorn
Green Smoothies (recipes to follow)
Homemade Popscicles
Lacto-Fermented Lemonade (sounds weird, but it is tasty!)
Homemade Horchata
Cottage cheese and home canned peaches
Sundried Tomato dip with sliced veggies
Cut up fruit
Diced Cheese
Nuts (my kids favorite is pistachios)
Homemade Protein Bars
Devilled Eggs
Soaked Oatmeal Bars
The occasional sprouted wheat or einkorn bread (NOT a staple anymore - usually a treat or accompanying a hearty soup)
etc, etc, etc
Doing this purging of junk food from my cupboards made me realize how much money we spend on fake food. By fake, I mean this - if you do not know where it came from, what processes it has been through, or can't read some of the ingredients, then I don't consider it 'real' food. Then as I've found delicious replacements, I've learned that REAL food is both affordable and can be easy. It really is amazing what kinds of opportunities open up when you QUIT BUYING JUNK. At first my son was a little objective to some of his options. But here are a few things we've done that have made the transition surprisingly smooth:
*The rule at our house is that you have to try one of everything on your plate - no exceptions
*Food is never a punishment or a reward
*I try and model a positive and grateful attitude about the healthy choices we have
*I let my kids choose which veggies and fruits we get at the grocery store (unless we are getting a bountiful basket - then they help me put them away and we learn the names of each item. My son usually asks that we go through them at least 2 or 3 times)
*They get to help in food preparation
*The veggies they don't care for, like spinach and kale are staples of our popsicles and smoothies
*Having the attitude that they CAN (and will) make good choices and that they are expected to eat what everyone else eats. The only exception to this would be a food allergy, but we've been able to get rid of most of those through homeopathics and developing a healthy gut flora (more on that later)
This specific child used to cringe even at the sight of vegetables. Now he knows that he is expected to try them and usually eats them without even a reminder. And he is often surprised that many are not as bad as he thought. He used to only eat sweet potatoes and 'candied' carrots. Now he is developing a taste for cucumbers, celery, winter squash, potatoes, and others. The list of 'non-offenders' grows slowly, but his attitude towards food is changing. I let him take charge in many ways (choosing between healthy options, of course) and he loves it. I am really proud of him. Some of my friends giggle at me because my kids (ages 6, 3 and 1) know the difference between organic and non-organic, what toxins are, what colors of produce means in relation to what it does for your body, etc.
What does all this amount to?
Here's the bottom line - I truly believe that our children are a lot smarter than we think they are. Do your research and share it with them. Tell them what sugar does to their body. Explain to them how healthy food makes us strong, fast, smart, etc. Children won't always make the same choices as their parents, but they almost always adopt the same attitudes towards life in general and specific things also. Let's arm them with the knowledge, good attitude, choices, and direction to succeed!
