TarynTumbleson: DAY EIGHT…. Whole Foods ROCKS!

Day eight… Whole Foods rocks!

My mom and I were out the door bright and early for an appointment in the cities. We ate our homemade granola bars and I had a babybel cheese with some water to drink. Probably not the best choice but we were in a hurry. We are planning to make a commitment to be better breakfast eaters as we know how important this meal really is.

For lunch we ate at Whole Foods in Edina! We are now in love with this place, in awe of the amazing selection and healthy food choices. Although there were many things we could not pronounce we enjoyed lingering and reading labels and ingredients. We were amazed by how busy the place was and we really wish that we lived closer to a Whole Foods store. We built our own salads with romaine lettuce, spinach leaves, kale, all natural Cardini's caesar dressing, crumbled hard boiled eggs, walnuts, teriyaki chicken, and shredded carrots. To drink we had Izze sparkling Clementine and shared a cup of fruit that contained mangos, raspberries, black and red grapes, and cherries. It was very good and filling! We really enjoyed the environment and it was nice not having to cook. Meanwhile, back home the boys ate leftover pizza, chicken enchiladas and fruit.

We really enjoyed our shopping experience at Whole Foods and although were a little lost finding some of the items, we were able to get some of those hard to find things we can not find locally. The cheese selection alone was overwhelming! After about 2 hours at Whole Foods and spending less than $150, we were on our way home.

We snacked on raisins, triscuits and shared a Lemon Lara bar with water.

For supper we made the Breakfast Casserole Bites (100 days of real food website), No-Oil Mashed Potatoes (from Whole Foods website under the recipe tab), organic black grapes and sweet corn on the cob w/unsalted butter and no salt. All of us enjoyed the entire meal except the potatoes. They had a lot of extra ingredients (cloves of garlic, unsweetened almond milk, nutritional yeast, low-sodiumn vegetable broth and granulated onion.) For all the work and expense for the extra ingredients we were hoping they would taste better than our classic potatoes. Regardless, we decided with all the different potato recipes out there, this one was not a keeper. The Breakfast Casserole Bites were very good, easy to prepare and can be frozen after cooled. We didn't have any foil muffin cup liners so we generously sprayed each cup with organic canola oil and that worked great.

We were excited that our new silicone ice pop makers arrived in the mail today! (see picture) The options with these things are endless! We filled one with greek pineapple yogurt and pieces of fresh strawberry, 2 with organic 100% apple juice and 1 with organic lemonade. We also put black and red grapes on skewers and tossed them in the freezer for a snack tomorrow. We have some warmer days ahead and think they will be a good treat!

We tried to snack on the Easy Cheesy Crackers we made last night… and that is a no go from all 5 of us! We will be searching for a new recipe because this family REALLY misses our cheeze-its!

A FEW THOUGHTS FOR TODAY…. 1) I'm tired! 2) I want a Whole Foods in Fairmont… think that's possible? 3) Meal planning is getting much easier! Knowledge is power. We have learned a lot about food and it is much less intimidating to make good food choices. 4) My palette is definitely changing…. Tonight after basketball I thoughtlessly bit into a freezy pop (full sugar) that my coach was handing out. HOLY SMOKES… it was tart and tasted like a spoonful of liquid sugar and I only took one bite. (Please forgive me blog followers!)

One thing our family is going to permanently change after this challenge is our bread choice. I did a little research to make sure this is a good and necessary change. We used to eat a lot of white bread and also whole grain breads. Here is what I learned. (I hope I don't bore you if you already knew this, but I never took the time before this to figure it out.) There are 3 parts to a wheat kernel (also called a wheat berry): The BRAN is the hard outer covering of the wheat kernel (high in fiber and nutrients). The GERM is the nutrient-rich embryo that will sprout and grow into a new wheat plant. The ENDOSPERM is the biggest part (83%). It is the "insides" of the kernel and is mostly starch.

Basically, white bread is made from refined flour meaning that the wheat and grinds used has been milled so that the bran, germ and endosperm are removed and much of the wheat's original fiber, vitamin B and iron content are removed. Manufacturers are able to re-add b vitamins and iron but the dietary fiber is lost and not replaced.

From everything I have read, it appears that wheat bread and white bread really are not very different. Wheat bread is made from wheat flour, which is made with milled wheat. It no longer has the bran or germ of the whole grains wheat, which holds the important nutrients found in whole grains.

Multi grain bread means "made with whole grains." If the ingredient list does not include whole grains as the first few items, multi grain bread can be made with more than one type of milled grain and may only contain a very small portion of whole grains.

"Unbleached" or "enriched" while flour does not mean it is whole wheat flower…they have just refined white flour with a fancy term. Also, just because bread appears brown, it does not mean it is made with whole wheat.

Whole wheat bread still contains the bran, germ and endosperm of the wheat grain. As a result, the appearance of the bread is brown. Overall, whole wheat is a better choice as it is higher in fiber, vitamins B6 and E, magnesium, zinc, folic acid and chromium. I have learned to look for the word WHOLE wheat flour, not just wheat flour.

Bottom line….READ the labels! We are shocked now when we look in our pantry at the food we have been eating. Always check for "100% whole grains" on the label. Whole grains are very good for us. They contain more antioxidants than some fruits and vegetables, can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are full of iron which is needed to carry oxygen in the blood, has lots of magnesium and can help with weight lose as whole grains tend to be heartier and more filling than refined grains.

THANKS FOR READING and LEARNING with me!
Taryn