He was right, it was profound and definitely got me thinking.
If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you give it a shot. There's A LOT of information to digest, but most of it good, easy to understand basic stuff.
The main thing I took away from the documentary is how the cancer rates in the U.S. are so much higher than other nations. Think about it, we eat a lot of junk. I'm not just talking about fast food, but all the pre-packaged convenience foods that claim to be healthy but have a list of 40 ingredients you've never heard of. We put a lot of chemicals in our bodies every day.
We had already made some changes before I watched the documentary. For example, a couple years ago we made a decision for our family to get all the High Fructose Corn Syrup out of our diet at home. Once we started reading labels, we realized it's in just about everything. We did our home work and found brands we like, and now it's second nature to us. I know my kids will get corn syrup in their diet when they go places (parties, play dates, school, etc.) but we choose not to have it in our home. It was an easy transition for us.
How about going even further? Could I do better? I gave it a lot of thought last night and decided to do some shopping today, to see what changes I could make in our diets, especially for the kids.
It doesn't take more than a minute in the grocery store to see why people are reluctant to go organic. Organic food is expensive. VERY expensive. How can I justify paying $4/pound for grapes when I know I can get them for $1/pound? You know I'm cheap...REALLY cheap. So for me the shopping trip today was an agonizing experience.
However, here's what I did...
Tia takes apple sauce in her lunch every day. It's her favorite thing in the world to eat. I figured that was the best place to start. Although I always buy natural/no sugar added apple sauce, I decided to go a step further and give organic a try.
Do you know how much it killed me to pay the same price for this 4 pack that I normally pay for a 6 pack?! I'm trying real hard to think of the long term benefits of eliminating the chemicals in our food. (inhale...exhale).
And since we use a lot of apple sauce at home with dinner, and we use it to bake with (instead of oil), I had to get a jar...
However, I have to tell you that when Gia tasted it she asked "Mom, did you make apple sauce today?". I told her no, I bought it at the grocery store just like always, and her response (as she was shoveling it in her mouth) was "Well, it's DELICIOUS!". I didn't taste it, I'm just taking her word for it. Looks like I'll be buying more.
So, what did I do about the grapes? Well, I just couldn't do it. If I paid $4 a pound for grapes, I'm sure I'd break out in some sort of hives. Have I mentioned that I'm cheap?
Instead, I bought the $1/pound grapes and washed them to death. I put them in a strainer in the sink and washed them about 4 times. In fact, every time I walked by the sink I'd spray them again and move them around. THEN, before I put them in the containers, I washed them AGAIN.
Now, I know the washing didn't do anything for the contaminated soil they were grown in, but at least I tried my best to get the pesticides off the skin.
Hey, you gotta' start somewhere, right?
Baby steps. This week it's apple sauce, maybe next week will be grapes.
How do you feed your kids?
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