Most people find that after a diet of frozen dinners and take out, along with white bread and lots of sugar, an instant switch to organic food is rejected by their family.
There is a huge selection of organic food available in most grocery stores now. You can continue to buy the same foods as you always have and get the benefit of organic products.
However, it is also a good idea to start moving your family to a higher fiber, lower protein and lower sugar diet if you can.
Start by gradually introducing more vegetables, preferably organic, into your family’s diet. Including salad with dinner can be made more successful by finding interesting dressings or adding things such as meats and seafood, cheese, croutons, beans, eggs, nuts and fruit.
Instead of going directly from white bread to whole wheat, try to make the switch more gradual by using a lighter wheat bread or oat bread. Once your family develops a taste for good bread, there are many to choose from. You can also make your own.
If you make things such as spaghetti sauce, stew and meat loaf, loads of vegetables can be included in the dish without affecting the taste and texture. Be sure to cook as many things in homemade stock as possible, cook the vegetables thoroughly and cut them very fine.
Baked goods such as cookies and other desserts, breads and quick breads like pancakes can be made more nutritious by mixing in a small amount of whole wheat flour, wheat germ or ground flax seed. Start small and work your way up to 50 or even 100 per cent whole wheat flour. Using unbleached white floor is a good start even if you don’t want to use anything else.
You can also add protein powder, powdered eggs or powdered non fat milk to most baked goods without adversely affecting the taste.
If you frequently eat desserts, switching to homemade baked goods is a start. Try to substitute fruit for sweets and try to steer your family away from commercial candy, which is pretty much all sugar. There are many homemade desserts which can be healthy ways to introduce better quality food to your family. Bread or rice pudding is very popular and is a healthy dish.
There are many choices in milk products today, including regular milk , which is produced organically. Your family will not notice if you switch to organic cow’s milk right now. You can gradually decrease the amount of fat in the milk that you buy. Almond milk and soy milk are also available. Be cautious with soy as it has been linked to digestive upsets, especially in infants.
While I am not a fan of flavored milk, using chocolate milk is a good way to get children used to almond or soy milk. It is very difficult to switch a child from cow’s milk to either substitute as there is a real difference in the taste. Again, gradual switching is likely to be more successful.
Organic fruit can be used like any other fruit, of course, but I have found fruit in the bowl usually stays there until it goes bad. Most families tend to like fruit already peeled and cut, so use it in salads or serve it after dinner instead of dessert. I’ve had good luck mixing fruit with cottage cheese or vanilla yogurt.
Homemade ice cream and popsicles are another great way to get nutrition into your family without their noticing. Make popsicles from organic fruit juice. Ice cream can be made with soy or almond milk and pureed organic fruits.
If you have family members which are affected by ingredients such as artificial colors and flavors, switching to organic foods may help reduce the stress on the immune system. Many people with allergies, asthma, sensitive stomachs, migraines or frequent headaches have found that reducing food additives helps.
