I admit it whole heartedly... I my friends am what you call a food snob. I am well aware of it and embrace it as a defining character trait. My journey to becoming a food snob has been rather quick and healthy eating is something I have grown to become extremely passionate about. I have not always been a food snob, I was raised on home cooked, from scratch good ole Southern cooking. However, I never knew process food existed until my teenage years while visiting friends houses or grocery stores. We had hand peeled and beaten mashed potatoes almost every dinner, some sort of barbecued meat and veggies. My mom was and still is the BEST cook I have ever met and don't get me wrong I still will indulge in her home cooking to satisfy my Southern roots when I visit her. I mean who can resist fresh battered deep friend okra and from scratch corn bread? I am not writing this blog to start a movement or to criticize non food snobs, I'm simply writing this to educate my friends, family and acquaintances on why my family and I eat the way we do.
It all began when Ryder was eight months old and we introduced solids for the first time. I was a newbie to the food snob world but I did know one thing: I was going to make Rye's food from scratch. I knew that Ryder's body didn't need the added sodium and preservatives found in packaged baby food and if I could cut up a sweet potato boil it and mash it I would prefer to do that. After learning many tips and tricks for baby food making from my mom guru {like devoting one night a week to bulk baby food making, storing it in ice cube trays to portion size his servings and placing a baggie of two or three cubes on the counter to defrost while I made Trev and I dinner} I became more and more confident in my food choices for my son. One day while preparing a large batch of sweet potatoes it dawned on me... why am I so concerned with what Rye eats and not what I eat? You can say that is the moment my personal choices in food drastically shifted. Luckily I am married to the most easy going, go with the flow man and he was completely on board right away. He is a rare breed that doesn't have a sweet tooth and can and will turn down any mouthwatering treat at any moment.. I on the other hand...Although, I have recently discovered banana ice cream and will share that recipe on another entry. Within a matter of weeks we were full blown vegetarians and my husband a vegan even for a period of time. We became educated on where our food comes from, how the animals are kept and treated, which foods are beneficial to our bodies, that "fat free" and "low fat" where actually worse for you and how to read through ingredient labels to decipher what it is we are consuming. After a couple of months clearing our bodies and detoxing from meat and processed foods we slowly began introducing all natural meat back into our diets. Another thing I have learned is that you don't have to put a label on your eating habits {vegan, vegetarian, raw vegan ect..} Just listen to your body, shop the perimeter of the grocery store and look for food with the least amount of ingredients and once that you can pronounce.
Being a teacher I also know the direct correlation between food, behaviors and attention span in children. Every morning at school I take the first couple of minutes to discuss what my students had for breakfast, this can give me a clear understanding for behaviors they may exhibit during the day. If a child says they did not eat, my assistant and I feed them right then. Which leads me into why I am a raging food snob when it comes to Ryder. I have seen how foods can directly affect his mood, behavior and even worse his digestion. When someone gives Ryder something his body is not familiar processing he becomes almost immediately constipated. TMI I know, but it is a difficult situation as a mother to watch your child in so much pain and not begin able to do anything to help relieve it. I can remember right before I was in labor with Rye, my brother said to me "you know Kacey this is the only time you will be able to endure the pain for your child". I LOVE this reminder and as all mothers do we wish we could be the ones to experience the pain of teething, bumps and scratches, fevers, ear infections, heartbreaks and times of grief for our children but we can't. Which is why I am even more adamant at preventing Ryder from stomach and digestion problems from processed, nutrient less foods. Children have no say in what they are fed {for the most part lol} and if I have the power as a parent to choose his foods, he most definitely is going to consume the freshest all natural foods we can by. Often times people refer to the Standard American Diet that includes processed foods as the SAD diet and I think this acronym fits perfectly. Ryder will never know the SAD diet as long as he is under my roof and hopefully I can educate him too on why we eat the way we do.
Here is a list of approved foods for Ryder:
Cage Free Eggs
All natural oatmeal
Fage Greek yogurt with honey
Whole wheat bread {not white bread}
Any and all fresh fruit {not canned, packaged or pre-frozen}
Any and all fresh veggies {not canned, packaged or pre-frozen}
Fresh herbs {Rosemary, basil, oregano}
Quinoa
Quinoa Pasta
Rice
Lentils
Black beans
Veggie sticks
Almond butter
Three ingredient or less jelly
Pirate's Booty Popcorn
Fresh blended frozen banana ice cream
All natural Trader Joe's cookies
Green smoothies
Fresh juices fruits and veggies
WATER
Organic Horizon whole milk
Here is a list of food Ryder will not be eating:
McDonalds {NEVER EVER}
Any and all fast foods for that matter
Processed boxed foods
Frozen dinners
Processed cookies, graham crackers, cereal, crackers
Easy Mac
Butter
Anything with: high fructose corn syrup, artificial coloring and dyes, artificial sugars or sweeteners
Store bought juice
Non organic milk
Non Cafe Free Eggs
Soda
Powerade
Kool-aid
Capri Suns
Anything not on above approved list
{If you are questioning if he can have it, he probably can't so please don't give it to him or I will know soon enough}
I hope this explains my family's lifestyle in more detail and why I choose to be a food snob.
