Welcome to Live Simply, The Podcast. Today, on the podcast, I’m going to answer a common reader question, “How do I get started with real food when my family loves processed food?” I’m going to share 11 tips that have helped me tackle this very same question along our real food journey.
Want to Save This Article?
Enter your email & I’ll send it straight to your inbox. And you’ll get new recipes & tips each week.
Listen Here
You can listen to the podcast episodes here on the blog, iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.
Leave a Review
Reviews are critically important for a new podcast. Reviews tell iTunes that people are listening and also helps new people find the podcast. To leave a review, click on the button above and then click “Write a Review” (you’ll have to scroll down to see this option). Also, while you’re over in iTunes, be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified when new episodes launch.
Show Notes
- Episode 002: My Wellness Story, From Kool-Aid and Velveeta Cheese to Natural Wellness
- Episode 003: What Real Food Is, What Real Food Is Not, and What Real Food Looks Like
- Food INC
- Cooked
- In Defense of Food
- Fed Up
- Sustainable
- My Must-See Food Documentaries
- Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken Tenders
- Skillet Lasagna
- Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken and Veggie Noodle Soup
- Stove-Top Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Made Good Bars
- One Degree Brand Cereal
- Episode 006: Practical Steps That Will Help You Make The Transition from Processed Food to a Real Food Lifestyle
- Episode 004: Making Real Food Work with Taesha from The Natural Nurturer
- Episode 005: Raising Kids Who Eat a Variety of Real Food, Picky Eaters, and School Lunch with Taesha from The Natural Nurturer
- Green Smoothie
- My Favorite Containers for Storing Real Food in the Fridge
- Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crispy Treats
What’s your greatest challenge when it comes to creating a real food lifestyle?
The food budget?
Stocking the pantry?
Time?
For many families, family members are the greatest challenge. While the budget can be tackled and kitchen time reduced and conquered, changing the minds and taste buds of a family used to the addictive pleasures of processed food can be difficult and frustrating.
At the time of our lifestyle change, Piper (my oldest child) was a toddler. Yes, we ate “healthy” before he was born (if you remember from my story, I was actually a vegan), but much of our healthier eating revolved around processed soy products and nicely packaged organic food. I’m not sure if my constant paranoia over food (mainly animal-based foods) caused his pickiness at such a young age, or he was just naturally a “picky” eater due to texture issues. Whatever it was, he would turn his nose up at most of the new foods I wanted to incorporate into our real food lifestyle. And as a new mom, new to real food, I usually gave up on these foods and offered him bunnies or something that seemed more “kid-friendly.”
I knew cooking separate meals was not sustainable, so I decided to take a more creative and hands-on approach. I had to figure out how to make real food work with a husband that was used to processed food and a child that seemed so picky.
Now, let’s talk about practical tips you can start using on your own journey. These tips are gentle ways you can nudge your family toward loving real food, even if they’re really into processed food right now.
1. Communicate what real food is and is not with your family.
2. Talk about favorite meals.
3. Recreate favorite foods with real ingredients.
4. Make food enjoyable.
5. Introduce new food experiences alongside favorite foods.
6. Don’t give up! Be creative.
7. Model by example and encourage a one-bite rule.
8. Be prepared and make real food accessible.
9. Encourage participation.
10. Don’t stock processed food.
11. Realize that we live in a processed food world.
