more information on our diet

Well we are five days into our whole food diet and I have to say, it's not been near as difficult as I thought. We have had a couple of small splurges, I have to confess, but overall we've been super healthy.

I wanted to clarify and break down a few of our rules. It's been really easy to do and maybe you can take some inspiration - if I can do it, anyone can!

Things we are avoiding: 
processed flour of any kind. Just because a label says whole-wheat doesn't mean that it is. I read ingredient labels thoroughly. Unless it is legitimate organic whole-wheat we do not eat it.

processed/refined sugar. Admittedly, a few of the groceries I've bought have had organic cane syrup which is pretty much regular sugar, but we're not eating enough of it to cause too much of an effect. Other than those small exceptions, the only sweeteners we are using are local, organic honey, pure maple syrup and fruit.

any dairy that is not organic, including eggs. as i believe i am mildly lactose intolerant we are actually really limiting our dairy intake altogether.

any meat that is not free-range and organic. since that gets expensive we are limiting our meat intake to only meal a week, on a weekend night when Alex doesn't work so we can sit down and eat dinner together.

any refined oils. we only use olive and coconut oil right now.

So with all those restrictions, what can we eat?

Fruits and veggies, unrestricted. We buy those as organic as we can afford. We've been eating salads, whole-wheat pasta with veggies, black bean burgers, bean-based mexican dishes with lots of veggies, lots of fruit as snacks.

Also, nuts and seeds! Almonds are my favorite and are a really filling snack.

Whole-wheat products. Also other grains (organic) like quinoa. I made a great vegetarian quinoa chili. Oatmeal for breakfast.

We're not restricting eggs so an omelet or fried eggs is a great meal. Mix plenty of veggies in and have some fruit on the side and you've got a meal full of nutrients!

So there's a little more insight on our new eating plan! We're not making this a "diet" - this is the way we want to eat for the rest of our lives. Not to say we won't have the occasional treat - moderation is everything after all.