What is Healthy Eating?

Friends! This topic has been on my mind since we moved to France and experienced some major shifts in our eating. I’m dying to hear what your thoughts are. I’ve had lots of conversations about healthy eating with dear friends — and dear relatives too. But the thing is, it seems like in every conversation, there is a point I realize we’re talking about completely different things.

In fact, I’ve made a little list, and for every item on the list, I can think of someone in my life who focuses on that type of eating. Some focus on a combination:
Vegan food.
Raw food.
Organic food.
Plant focused meals (not strictly vegetarian).
No snacking.
Locally produced food.
Sugar-free food.
Minimally processed food.
Michael Pollan food. (eat food, not too much, mostly plants)
Robert Lustig food. (sugar is toxic)
Gary Taubes food. (don’t eat sugar, but eat lots of protein)
Fat-free food.
Gluten-free food.
Lactose-free food.

My own definition of healthy eating is definitely a moving target, so I’m not really interested in what’s right or best (I suppose it depends on the person). I’m just curious. I’d love to know: Right this minute, what is “healthy-eating” to you? Has your definition changed in say, the last 3 years? Have you read anything lately that has you excited about healthy eating? Please share!


Image by Ez, from this post about Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

168 thoughts on “What is Healthy Eating?”

  1. I think the most natural thing is usually the better choice. So given the choice between butter and margarine, I’d go butter every time. With a burger, or a steak, I’d go steak.

    Other than that I think the key is lots of vegetables, and variety. A little of everything in moderation, and no food off-limits.

    I also make a point of eating consciously. Pay attention to what you’re eating, enjoy it, and stop as soon as you are full. This means scarfing in front of the TV is out for me. I just don’t pay enough attention to my food.

  2. My husband read Primal Blueprint and is convinced. Meat and plants. Minimal processed. It works for him! I just eat whatever he gives me (with a little extra dessert on the side).

  3. For me, healthy eating is knowing what is in my food. It might seem broad, but I’ve found that just slowing down to think about this has really helped and has cut out tons of junk I really wasn’t even aware of eating. I’m not saying I’ve dropped tons of weight or anything miraculous, but it most certainly keeps me from buying a LOT of things at the grocery store. What is also interesting, after making this adjustment in thinking, is seeing what my little one eats in comparison to others his age. Huge difference with processed vs non-processed! And, if I want to splurge with dessert, etc…I just whip something up from scratch at home. An easy, realistic move for our family!

  4. After trying many different diets (including all-raw) and seeing how they’ve made me feel, I’ve settled on vegan, low sugar, very little processed foods, low processed fat (oils, etc), and with a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. If you have a balanced vegan diet, you eat tofu or tempeh maybe once or twice a week, with lots of different types of legumes featured on the rest of the days (such as black beans, kidney beans, etc.). And of course a variety of vegetables in your daily diet. This way of eating just keeps the body’s systems going very smoothly with a lot of energy and regularity, and with low sugar and oils, there are much less unhealthy cravings to deal with.

    The best part is that the world is slowly coming around to plant-based foods (thanks to Michael Pollan and others), so it’s easy to have vegan treats regularly from many restaurants. = There are no feelings of deprivation since the foods you can make are just delicious and colourful, and eating this way is rewarding in other ways than just health – knowing what you are doing for the environment and for animals is wonderful.

  5. My greatest goal is balance and basics. I personally love fruit, I’d go for a green smoothie just about any time. I have to work harder for my vegetables, but feel that they are important. Meat and eggs are staples at our house, I try to eat lean meats, but am a sucker for steak and bacon. And when it comes to grains, I try to go with whole grains. I guess I am a believer in the food pyramid. I do have my upside down days though, like when I am presented with a bag of Cabury mini eggs.

  6. -More veggies
    -More fruit
    -More whole grains
    -Beans and lean protein
    -Minimal processing, but don’t feel bad if Cheez-its or Wheat Thins are calling your name
    -Focus on bringing out natural flavor
    -Paying attention to which foods make you feel good and strong (Greek yogurt, fresh veggies, eggs) and which ones make you feel crappy (too much cheese, too much carby-stuff)

  7. I got my Bachelor’s in nutrition and food science, and nothing I learned there led me to believe that any of those fad diets were the way to go. Everything in moderation, and stay away from trans fats!

  8. I try to feed my family organic non processed food. During meals like dinner I try to do more veg than meat. I do indulge on sweets every now. Things like ice cream, pastry. No diet sodas or high fructose corn syrup drinks. No artificial sweeteners or colors. No preservatives. I just try to keep things real. I love good food! I have been vegetarian (for 10 years) and been on a raw diet before. I don’t think I would go back to being a vegetarian but I do like to do a cleanse every now and then that involves going raw for a bit

  9. For my husband and I, healthy eating is eating foods that you have to prepare yourself. That means no hot pockets, or frozen pizza (unless you made the pizza yourself and then froze it). It means we eat a proportional amount of veggies starches, meats, fruits, grains, and fats. I do not care about using butter or olive oil unless it is real. No margarine for us. No “I can’t believe it’s not butter.” Only the real stuff from real animals or from real dirt. We eat whatever we like as long as it is all real foods. We also make all of our own breads and we try to buy semi-local produce from co-ops. I know “organic farming” is kind of a joke (what’s the standard anyway?) so we just try to eat a lot of foods that are in the original shape when they came off the plant, or as close to the cow as possible.

  10. Moderation in all things! To me, healthy eating is when you are conscious of what you’re putting into your body and you try to emphasize those things which provide your body with the best nutritional benefits. So, of course fruits and vegetables are high on the list… but so are grains, protein, dairy, and some tasty treats to round it all out! If you don’t ENJOY your food, you’re missing out on a great part of life!

    1. I agree with the moderation. When I’ve tried to cut out all sugar and stuff like that, I go nuts and am CONSUMED with sugar…until I let myself eat it again, and then I’m fine and go for days without thinking or eating it.

  11. I’d say for me, it’s about moderation. I try not to snack, but if I get hungry, I eat. We’re vegetarians, but I won’t play 20 questions with my host at a dinner party re: the sauce on the roast veggies because I’d rather not know. I love sweets, but mostly cake so I don’t keep it around much. Eating breakfast is my new fad – I used to skip it, but since we’re trying to conceive, I’m giving breakfast a go!

  12. i read “animal, vegetable, miracle,” by barbara kingsolver a few years ago and i think that it has had the biggest impact on my outlook on food. not because i have necessarily agreed with or subscribed to every aspect of the book, but because it has made me think about my food in a more conscientious way. i also really loved the book because it didn’t feel extreme at all. just a simple return to food basics. know where your food comes from and you will naturally avoid overly processed food, you will eat in season (when food is most nutritious), etc. i feel like eating should be an intuitive process and kingsolver seems to hit on this.

  13. I have alway considered myself a health conscious person. Yet when my son was 2 years old, we found out he was allergic to corn. Which means: corn, corn syrup, corn starch, etc. Our definition of healthy flipped upside down when we began to look into corn and all the transformation this once healthy crop has become. This food allergy has become a blessing in disguise— and changed our eating patterns from what I thought was all ready “healthy.”

    If you are at all interested in this: check out: King Corn, Fast Food Nation and Food Inc. (all on netflix) — it will just shock you how genetically modified corn has taken over our food system and changed the definition of “all natural.”

    1. Fortunately in Canada, we don’t have everything made of subsidized corn. If I see something with corn in it, it goes back on the shelf.

    2. So true! My daughter had an undiagnosed food allregy as a newborn and one of the eliminations we tried was corn. Although that didn’t end up being the allergen she was reacting to it was SO eye opening to avoid corn in my diet. It is in everything and very poorly labeled. I was worried I would starve when we tried that diet but, in reality, I felt healthier than I ever had before.

  14. I found the website wordofwisdomliving.com about a year ago, and I love it. Each week Skip focuses on a healthy change and how you can achieve it, and it is good motivation for those who want to change bad habits into healthy ones. I’ve been eliminating refined sugar from my diet, as well as processed foods, and I know that my body appreciates it! I feel much healthier and I have so much energy!

    1. I second the Word of Wisdom Living blog!!

      I love learning about nutrition, so I’ve seen a fair amount of what is out there, but Skip has come at the whole thing from a different angle than anyone else. He really finds the point where science and tradition intersect, and it totally makes sense!

      I don’t know why I haven’t considered tradition before in matters of health (the very word seems to conjure up images of old-wives tales). But really, so much of what our great-grandparents ate was what has been eaten for centuries–it has been proven by the test if time. If we ate like they did (relying more on plants, animal products and sugar less) in combinatithe with the miracles of modern medicine (penicillin, peeps), we’d all be centenarians (at least a lot closer than we are now).

  15. At the moment I’m trying to move more towards Michael Pollan’s advice… starting with cooking more at home and signing up for our local veggie co-op program. It’s a start, at least….

    By the way, Gabrielle, this has nothing to do with the food post, but I was just wondering if you’d consider doing a post on the age spacing between your kids and how the dynamics play out. Our 2 kids are nearly 3 years apart, and my husband and I were just discussing the other night how long we should wait for the next one. Since you have various spacings between your kids, I’d love to hear your take on it. I know personality and gender also have a big effect on sibling relationships and family dynamics, but the spacing issue interests me. :-) Thanks!

  16. A definite obsession for me, thinking more and more about what I’m putting into my family’s bodies and the effect of it all. Over the past 12 months we cut out meat (because after following my mom’s high-protein dialysis diet, I just got so sick of it), have been gradually cutting down and on animal-based foods, completely cutting out processed foods and subsequently increasing veggies, fruit and whole grains. We feel great and I feel good that I’ve made fresh, homemade food a priority…even if it takes a lot of extra time! I truly believe that being conscious of what we consume is a large part of being healthy.

    Since the beginning of the year, I read the China Study, then saw Forks Over Knives. Both have been reinforcement that the place we’re at now isn’t so extreme and might actually be becoming mainstream.

  17. I have recently become very interested in corn syrup which is in many fizzy drinks and confectionary etc. looks like it has an adverse biochemical affect, does not register on appetite so people are happily drinking fizzy drinks and eating just as much food, which may explain some of the obesity epidemic. It is cheap and very sweet and widely used in processed food. For me healthy eating is loads of fruit and veg, organic eggs, fish chicken and meat and dairy, good dark wholemeal bread and olive oil, grains, beans lentils, oats, lots of good protein and some fat and small amounts of good slow burning carbs, less if overweight, simple hey !

  18. Oh man, I could talk in circles about this forever! Like you, my ideas about healthy eating seem to ebb and flow. I am an RN and just recently resigned from my job as a Diabetes Educator (to hang out with my boys and sew a lot:) so I have been learning and teaching healthy nutrition for a few years.

    I’ve gone through vegetarian and no red meat phases (8 years and every other summer), definitely am inspired my Michael Pollan, and have low-carb diet pounded into my brain. But above all, I think that healthy eating involves having a healthy relationship with food in general. Finding a balance between whole foods, fresh from the farmer (farmers market or grocery store…) and convenience foods that make life a little easier and allow time for things that might be more important than doing it all from scratch.

    My goal is for my family to love food, and enjoy a variety. I cook almost every day, but don’t wince at the thought of an occasional drive through (anymore–kids changed this one:) Not everything is organic, high protein, low carb, whole grain, raw vegetable goodness. But it all is conscious, moderate and makes us happy!

  19. so timely! I recently started working with a new doctor because of some health issues I have been experiencing, and I wanted a more holistic approach vs. traditional medical approach (prescribing of pills). She has changed my diet entirely and it is working! A surprise to me, the best diet for my body is protein and veggies, no sugar, dairy, wheat, or starchy carbs… not the all veggie diet I assumed was the best diet for everyone. Seems that one diet does NOT fit all, and it is a relief to figure out, once and for all what a healthy diet is FOR ME.

  20. I find myself thinking about this fairly often as I plan, shop for, and prepare our dinners. It’s interesting to see the different “extreme” ways people change they way they eat. My BIL and his wife have tried all sorts of things over the years so I think it’s especially interesting to talk to them. I’ve found for me, as a Mormon chick, no matter what I read or what the fad is, I always end up going back to the Word of Wisdom and find I feel healthier when I exercise, eat more seasonally, and don’t eat meat at every meal. So to me, that is healthy eating; being thoughtful with my food choices and being moderate. It always rings true for me.

  21. I switched to a vegan diet just over a year ago and while my husband and kids aren’t vegan, we’ve all been buying and eating new veggies and whole foods that we’d never tried before. My goal was to feel good and inspire them so that they’d be aware of healthy options and be willing to try them. I think for our family it was realizing that there are alternatives to just doing what our families have always done.

  22. definitely michael pollan. nothing (great) grandma wouldn’t recognize. tons of fruits and veggies, with meat as a garnish more than a main event. locally grown/organic/etc is my preference! i love food a little too much, though, and i tend to have trouble with portions. this is something i am working on big time.

  23. I’m a vegetarian coming off a couple of years of being vegan. I eat mostly whole foods. I found that being vegan did not work for me. I had less energy and I did not like the rigidity of it. I found that I was often not eating in social situations or sometimes even pretending to eat. I found that even if I said I was vegan, people would specially cook vegetarian food for me and I felt bad saying no just because there was a tiny bit of egg or cheese in the dish. I eat mostly veggies, some fruits, legumes, nuts/seeds, whole grains, eggs, greek yogurt or kefir and a little bit of cheese on occasion.
    I guess some of the blood type diet stuff has rubbed off on me. I am type A and supposedly meat eating type A’s end up with more heart disease. That and the animal rights stuff keeps me away from meat. I do occasionally think of having a little fish but haven’t for years.
    I definitely think diet is a really personalized thing. The same thing doesn’t work for everyone.

  24. A few months ago we decided to try a plant-based diet (basically vegan). But after awhile I noticed that I was still using a lot of oils and I felt like even though we had cut out meat and animal products that there was still a healthier way. So then I started cooking without oils, cut back on added sugar, and pretty much eliminated processed foods completely. I noticed a difference in how I felt almost immediately, I feel great and have lost weight (even though that wasn’t the motivation for our change, it’s still pretty nice). I will say that we are flexible, definitely not rigid. We don’t expect my parents to cater to our eating style for family dinners, for example, but as long as there is a variety we can always find something to eat, or we contribute accordingly. We have three young children (10 and under) and we take their cravings and desires into consideration too. When my son requests salmon, I try to incorporate it into our menu — so far they have not requested any other meat besides fish! I thought I cooked healthy meals before we attempted this plant based diet, but now that we are eating so much more vegetables, fruits, homemade breads, and such I realize now that my definition of healthy has changed considerably. Last night we saw a commercial from a major food chain advertising their “meal box” (two pizzas, hot wings, and breadsticks) and I turned to my husband and told him I could never consider that “meal” and real meal anymore.

  25. reading these comments have been fascinating since i’ve been questioning all of the same things recently. we’ve always considered ourselves somewhat healthy eaters (as healthy as you can be with 3 teenagers)…but lately we’ve been researching and going further with it. right now we eat everything in moderation (no red meat though) and mostly snack on granola bars, nuts and natural air popcorn. we still have a long way to go though…baby steps, baby steps. even my teenagers are seeing how much better they feel after a day of healthier eating though.

  26. I try to keep it simple. I avoid processed foods as much as possible- the chemicals aren’t healthy and it just doesn’t come close to tasting as good as the real thing.

    Another “rule” or guideline is everything in moderation. As I tell my six year old, it isn’t a treat if you have it all the time!

    And finally, we try to eat at the table (snacks included) and not while we are walking around. Not every event or errand has to be accompanied by food.

  27. Ditto to the balance and moderation. I like everything–meat, dairy, plants–and I’ll never be able to completely cut sugar. I like well-rounded meals with lots of nutrients, and I take it easy on processed foods.

  28. Such a great conversation! I have celiac disease, so for me it’s gluten-free, and for my family I aim for low sugar, high fiber, organic dirty dozen, hormone free, local when possible. That said, my husband and I have the tastebuds of five year olds, so there are a lot of PB&Js, mac and cheese, and pigs in blankets at our house. I just try to find a good balance.

  29. Such an interesting topic…lots of contradictory thoughts and research out there. We just watched Forks Over Knives and are planning to head towards a mostly plant-based diet. I’ve already started heading in that direction and feel SO much better. I have low blood sugar and always thought I needed tons of protein to control it, but I don’t! In fact, being “addicted” to too much protein causes my sugar levels to be worse. Eating whole foods that take longer to digest is what keeps my levels normal throughout the day and makes it unnecessary to snack…which used to control my life! Anyway, I’m just glad that people are so much more aware of this topic these days. Heading towards “health” regardless of the definition is always a good thing as long as its not extreme.

  30. Great question! I always choose organic when possible, steer clear of GMO’s, and because of celiac in our house don’t do wheat and gluten. I didn’t really think I could get much healthier… but I just finished reading The Beauty Detox Solution. It has really changed the way I eat. I’ve been having smoothies (kale, spinach, banana, etc) for breakfast each day, a kale salad (w/tomatoes & avacado, etc) for lunch, and whatever I feel like feeding my family for dinner. I feel SO much better – adding all these greens into my day has made a huge difference!

  31. I love to eat local. If its fresh I say go for it. Less is more, when it comes to processed foods. I think when it comes to kids sharing the opportunity to taste new things will only enhance their palates, but I really do believe they are done eating when they say they are done. I love eating fresh and local because it enhances the entire eating process, you begin to think of food differently, and meals become a communal pleasure.

  32. I learned a lot from reading Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman. Great book. The thing I had never thought about before was nutrient density. How foods with more nutrients per calorie are actually going to fill us up better. Because your hunger is turned off when your body gets the nutrients that it needs, not when your stomach is full. That is just discomfort. You can keep packing in the junk until you want to burst and you will still be hungry and wanting more because you’re not giving your body what it needs. And your hunger will stay turned off even when your stomach is empty…until your body needs more nutrients. For instance, did you know that broccoli has more protein per calorie than red meat? The most nutrient dense foods are green leafy veggies, but others are great too. I try to have a big green smoothie every day (Greensmoothiegirl.com is great) and feed my family whole organic foods as much as possible. We only eat meat sparingly and avoid dairy. These changes have cured sleep apnea and eczema in our family. My husband lost fifty pounds and we are rarely if ever sick anymore. We used to think we couldn’t afford to feed our large family this way. Now I know we can’t afford not to. I really believe that chronic diseases–including cancer–are preventable with great nutrition. (Bonus: we buy fewer beauty products and deodorant because they are just not as necessary anymore)

    1. Hear, hear! Dr. Joel Fuhrman (and Dr. Esselstyn too) is amazing – definitely a great lifestyle to aspire to! Congrats on your hard work and doing such a great thing for your family.

  33. I’ve been thinking about this a lot too. As far as I’m aware, a gluten-free diet will only make a difference if you have a gluten sensitivity! I try to eat things in moderation, and try hard to make our food from scratch when possible. We eat minimal amounts of processed foods, and when we do eat them, it’s things like Triscuits that are at least full of whole grains. My husband needs a lot more protein than I do, so on weeks when our meals don’t have much protein, I’ll buy him some deli meat to snack on. Our snack foods tend to be things like cheese and crackers, fruit, or a handful of nuts, though I’m also a sucker for Goldfish crackers and often have them around. I think we do fairly well in terms of eating healthy food. There’s always room for improvement, of course!

  34. Lots of saturated fats, (butter, coconut oil and pastured meat fats), grassfed meat, yogurt, cultured veggies, greens drenched in butter, cream, coconut milk ice-cream, and that’s just the beginning!

      1. We’re just starting this after reading tons of medical studies, then Sally Fallon/Weston Price, more medical studies and then just LOOKING at my own great grandparents and grandparents who were farmer’s who ate like this normally. Their own grass fed beef, their own garden vegetables and some of their own fruit, much bartered from others, lots of butter and cream and milk. They are all still ALIVE past their 80s, active and healthy and can bend over easier than me in my 30s and can carry heavy loads, all are of normal weight (while my husband and I are overweight after being very “health” conscious vegetarian/pescatarian for YEARS), my Papa just now had to get some dental work and none ever had crooked teeth or cavities, and they look fantastic. It’s really amazing to just pay attention and see what all those medical studies confirm. (and I mean studies not paid for by diet companies or big pharma)

  35. to me it would be more from a “source” and less from a box – ie: the horribleness that is hamburger helpers and it’s cohorts. but i am a baker at heart so……..don’t touch my baking supplies!!!! just more of a leafy dinner with lean protein, at least three vegetables {steamed, roasted, raw} in different colours that are not covered in a cheese/butter sauce,less butter/fats, lighter condiments, less salt, less white bready-style foods……..that way we can enjoy a dessert. it all comes back to dessert. and make it with butter not shortening **shiver**.

  36. Great post to think about! My definition has definitely changed in the last few years as I’ve gotten married, started cooking, been pregnant, and now have a baby. Right now we’re focusing on eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, moderation of sweets, no processed foods and harsh chemicals (like aspartame), and being conscious of calories and fat. My main goal though is to make sure that each day has some fruits and veggies, not too many chemicals, and lots of water!

  37. i’ve really been trying hard to eat healthier since i’m breastfeeding and trying to lose the baby weight (which seems pretty impossible right now for me!), so it’s amazing how much better i feel when i eat lots of fruits and veggies, lots of protein (not necessarily meat all the time), and less refined sugar. a few weeks ago, i had a bad eating day sugar-wise and it was astounding how crappy i felt all day long. i couldn’t get rid of that headache for days. i wondered if this was how i usually felt before i started being more conscious about my eating. i’ll never do that again! for me, it really makes a huge difference if i have some sort of protein with every meal. more energy, less headaches, no 3pm crash.

  38. I used to be a really unhealthy eater. The best advice I ever got was to only buy foods where I knew what each ingredient is, and to minimize the number of ingredients.

    So for example, buy peanut butter that is made of peanuts and salt. Buy butter that is cream and salt. Same with bread and all the rest. If something has more than six ingredients, don’t buy it.

    It’s so simple, and I still do this today and it really works!

  39. What came to mind right away was home-cooked meals. Yes, that means no canned goods (or at least very few of them) and working with what is in season at the moment. That means listening to what God ( or mother nature, however you look at it:) intended for us to eat during that season.
    I grew up in Europe, and my parents always cooked all of our meals from scratch. Everything we ate was super fresh, straight from the local market (farm-run market). And no, I do not cut anything out of my diet; I love to eat all vegetables and most meats, and we just focus on how we cook and integrate them in our lives. I cook with olive oil, I cook good balanced meals, I have my kids snack on nuts and raw fruit and raw veggies. We do love our dips and I am ok with that. We do like our sweets and I am ok with that too:) Food is such an important part of our lives and I believe that it is to be celebrated, and most of it has it’s own place. You just have to know how to “leave” it there and for those occasions. So sure, dad did bake brownies last night and we cuddled together on the sofa catching up on American Idol, and we loved it. And yes, we do go out for gelato and we love that too. We just try to remember to eat well on a regular basis and to celebrate with sweets when it is appropriate to do so.

  40. Great question! We try to buy local whenever possible and have reintroduced some meats since we learned our son has a dairy allergy. I try to avoid processed food when possible but it’s not always feasible.

    Although I was a vegetarian for a very long time and then off and on again for the past five years, I don’t like restrictive eating. I think it was Julia Child’s who said something to the effect of “Everything in moderation.” I think that is a good way to eat food. Try to be mindful of what we are consuming on an environmental level (local foods, organic, no hormones and pesticides, or fillers), but avoiding something for a dietary purpose seems silly.

  41. To me, healthy eating is consuming small portions of mostly unprocessed foods at regular intervals during the day. I value foods that did not have to travel far to get to my plate, something I learned from reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. I also value scheduled meal times, so that we never get that “I’m starving and will eat anything and lots of it” feeling. I love to cook and it is a joy to me to feed my family food that I believe is keeping us healthy.

  42. The Word of wisdom!!–including eat less meat and more grains and exercising. Provident Living has a calculator for your weight, age, BMI that will tell you how many servings of say, vegetables you should be eating.
    All things in moderation–including portions. I think some of these diets are good, but too extreme and not sustainable–especially for a family with growing and changing needs. Eat a variety of foods prepared a variety of ways. (I think I read somewhere that when you cook carrots it releases a certain vitamin in huge quantities. Something like that? All raw doesn’t mean all good.)

  43. I think as a working mom, I do the best that I can.
    I can’t afford all organic, all natural, all farm-raised, but I can manage to make some meals from scratch each weekend.
    I try to keep apples and bananas available, but I’m not going to lie and say my kids don’t enjoy gummy snacks, because they do.
    It’s a balance. If I tried to strictly follow some diet, I’d rebel and feel suffocated. So I do my best, which includes a can of Diet Coke each day and a cookie.

    1. I think I can most relate to your comment. I try my best, but it’s about balance. And for me to stay balanced I too have a diet coke about one a day. :)

  44. My view has definitely changed since I had my last baby. I’m a runner, and I used to eat a no-sugar diet and felt great — but I lost plenty of weight. And while that was wonderful back then, I definitely lost from my bust line first.

    Now that I’ve nursed two babies, I just don’t think I can afford to lose any more weight from that region! So I’m back on sugar and still running to keep in shape (and to maintain my weight).

  45. this one is easy for me. i have to eat gluten – free–therefore, so does little guy and my husband. most gluten free things are very low processed items with hardly any preservatives at all. in fact one of the stores i shop in won’t even put it on the shelf if it has preservatives. so……mostly fresh fruits and veggies, and very little processed food along with chicken, meat, fish, eggs….etc. i don’t go all out organic or anything, but i like that we don’t eat “box” or “frozen” meals.

  46. I don’t think God meant eating – something we all need to do – to be complicated. It’s not rocket science. I think he gave all we need in the world around us, animal and plant alike. I try to keep my food choices simple, meaning as close to nature as possible. This can still yield amazingly satisfying and complex meals.

  47. We strive for, but don’t always succeed in, the following: all things in moderation, locally owned and grown, organic when possible, avoid processed foods, made from scratch, made with love. It believe it is about balance and enjoyment. I can’t say we never indulge in McDonald’s. Sometimes we have soda. Some weeks my kids eat too much pizza. But we try to make up for it and we strive to enjoy meals.

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