Lisa’s story (in her own words):
At the beginning of last year our eating habits were just like those of any other average family. We thought we were making fairly healthy food choices, although we certainly didn’t mind the occasional fast food meal or bag of chips. Then came a series of events, including an Oprah show, a book by Michael Pollan, and the documentary Food Inc., which forever changed the way we looked at food. As it turned out, a lot of what we thought were “healthy” food choices were actually highly processed and not the best choices at all. So not only were we motivated to cut out processed food, but we decided to inspire others to follow suit with a blog about our journey called 100 Days of Real Food (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/).
In May of 2010 our typical suburban family (including our 3 and 5-year-old daughters) pledged to go 100 days without eating a single ounce of processed food or refined ingredients. We set some ground rules (including no white flour or sugar!) and started sharing the highs and lows of our journey online. We also invited our growing group of dedicated readers to join in by taking a 10-day real food pledge. Everyone thought whole, organic, local, non-processed, real food sounded great, but that it would be too expensive. So based on their feedback we took another 100-day real food pledge in October except this time we did it on less money than we’d have on food stamps!
Before starting our first real food pledge we felt like we were a fairly healthy and active family. We wanted to cut out highly processed foods because we thought it was the right thing to do. So you can imagine our surprise when we experienced so many amazing changes to our health since our switch to real food, including…
• Our youngest daughter’s constipation went away completely
• The same daughter’s mild asthma and wheezing disappeared
• Neither of our children have missed a single day this school year due to sickness
• Overall I have more energy and need less sleep
• My husband and I both lost a few pounds
• My HDL (the “good” cholesterol) jumped from 52.9 to 79, which is almost a 50% increase!
Check out our blog if you are interested in learning more about our journey. It is updated regularly with tips, recipes, and other resources. Here are a few highlights of what you can find on 100daysofrealfood.com…
• Earth Fare “Real Food” Cheat Sheet – A list of all products at Earth Fare that don’t break our “real food” rules!
• 100 Days of “Real Food” Mini-Pledges – Weekly real food pledges where readers are challenged to cut out processed food one step at a time. So far we’ve tackled fruits & veggies, beverages, and meat.
• Recipes – Try out our signature recipe for homemade “Granola Cereal/Bars” or one of our reader favorites for “Whole-Wheat Macaroni and Cheese.”
2011: Keeping it Real
Want to learn more about “real food?” Join Lisa Leake, 100 Days of Real Food Blogger, at the Charlotte Earth Fare in Ballantyne for a discussion about her family’s journey to cut out processed food. Those who attend this free event will receive a real food goody bag.
When: Thursday, March 31 or Wednesday, May 4, both at 10:00 A.M.
RSVP: Call the store at 704.926.1201 to reserve your seat…space is limited!
You can share YOUR story with Earth Fare’s readers by clicking here.
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Hi. Thanks for sending the coupons, but I can’t print them! When I click print coupon, nothing happens. If I select print from my toolbar, it will print, but without my name (the space is blank.) This has happened every time since you went to the new coupon format. Am I still able to use the coupon, without my name on it? Thanks.
@Mary, you can still use your coupon. If you’d prefer not to print at all, just write down the PLU number and expiration date.