Real Food is Really Good

Lately I've been looking into healthier food options.
We live in a world of drive thru's and packaged poison. I get it. It's easy, it's cheap, and hey most of the time it tastes pretty freaking good.
The downside? It is ruining our bodies and therefore our lives.

It takes TIME to research how to eat "right" and it is HARD to make a lifestyle change.
But you know what sucks more than the effort of figuring out how to be healthy?
Being unhealthy. 

I'm here to tell you what I've learned about food so far. Some of you might not believe me, some of you won't make the effort to change, but I PROMISE you that it's worth it.
I can't tell you everything I've learned in this one post but I do want to give you some of the most important points.

Ready? Okay!
(Hey, I was cheer captain freshman year. Give me a break.)

People assume that eating healthy means they have to give up things like bacon or butter. Well guess what! You don't (: Eating real butter over man made margarine is WAY better for your body BECAUSE your body knows how to process real butter. It doesn't know what to do with the chemicals that make up margarine.

This is true of All food. REAL food is good food! It's here on this Earth for us!
Nothing can compare to what nature already gives us. Although, there is a caveat to this. Some of nature's creations are not so fabulous. Do your research and remember: everything in moderation!

It basically boils down to this. When you go to the grocery store, read the ingredients on what you buy.
(Yes! EVERYTHING you buy!)
If you can't pronounce it and haven't cooked with it yourself, it probably shouldn't be going in your body.

I'm putting a list of good vs. bad fats & oils here so you can see what to look for on that ingredients list!

Good Fats & Oils

Palm

Coconut

Butter 

Ghee

Lard (from real animals, not that Crisco stuff!)

Tallow

Full Fat Dairy

Eggs, Meat, Seafood

Bad Fats & Oils

Margarine

Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

Man made trans fats often found in buttery spreads

(Just learned in my chemistry class that trans fat doesn't exist in nature!)

Canola/Rapeseed Oil

Vegetable Oil

Corn Oil

Safflower Oil

Sunflower Oil

Soybean Oil

(No form of soy has been proven safe!! Just fyi.)

Rice bean Oil

Grape seed Oil

By the way! Anything that says low-fat is most likely fake and has a ton of extra sugar and added chemicals to make it taste good.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather eat the fat (that your body and brain NEEDS) than chemicals.

The processing that is done to food is not good. Look for unprocessed food or unrefined foods.
Stay away from anything that says 'refined'.

Genetically modified foods are bad! They have been shown to cause cancer, infertility, auto-immune disorders, and gastrointestinal issues in animals. GMO's are made to yield more per acre and be resistant to pesticides. It makes sense, but it ultimately is NOT healthy at all. Stay away from GMO's for sure. They aren't real, so they aren't good.

Buy organic.

This seems like it would be super expensive. I'm not gonna lie, it usually is a bit more expensive, but not so much that it isn't do-able! Trust me, I'm living on military salary, if we can do it, so can you! Conventionally grown produce is treated with pesticides that are harmful. A lot of produce can be GMO as well. Buying organic means you are staying away from both pesticides and GMO.
Win win!

Try to minimize your wheat intake. This is BIG you guys.
Wheat is not considered to be "genetically modified" but it is genetically mutated.
Seems like the same thing to me but whatever!
The vast majority of modern wheat is one of the biggest perpetrators of our health.
There is also an ingredient in wheat that causes you to eat 450 more calories PER DAY!
The author of Wheat Belly explains why "wheat" is so bad here in this video.
There is also an article with more information and wheat free substitutes here.

Know where your food comes from. 

Buy locally as often as you can! Would't it make you feel better to actually know where your food comes from? It should. I'd much rather support Farmer Joe than Wal-Mart. 

I have so much more information to share!
I promise I will continue to keep you updated on my real food journey!
Here's some of my inspiration!

I do have a problem with this guy ^^. 

Organic milk is not much better for you than regular milk. Raw milk is best, but it is quite expensive. 

Try to find milk that is not pasteurized or homogenized! (Vat pasteurized is okay.)

Did you know that that majority of people who are lactose intolerant can have raw milk?

Pretty crazy!

Oh! We are also the only animal that drinks another animal's milk

We're a bunch of weirdos.

 So there. (;

Some awesome online sources for your real food journey!

Butter Believer Facebook
Butter Believer Website
I highly recommend watching the documentary "Fat Head" available on Netflix.

Grass Fed Girl
Balanced Bites
Grow Food Not Lawns


Please, please, please feel free to ask me questions!
I tried to give as much information as possible but I am always learning more!
Comment below, send me a Facebook message, text me, (call me, beep me)
if you wanna know more!
Thanks guys! (: