Real Food Eve

Tonight at dinner we were talking with the kids about starting the 10 Day Challenge tomorrow and Charlie said, “I’m kind of nervous.”

I’m right there with ya, kid.

As the clock ticks down towards midnight and the start of our 10 days of eating real food and ONLY real food, nervous is the only word to describe how I’m feeling. It’s not that I am nervous that I, personally, can handle the challenge. I’ve been through much longer and rougher stretches of self-deprevation (surviving four pregnancies without wine makes this look like child’s play). I’m nervous because I am largely responsible for helping my family successfully complete this challenge.

We’re all in this together—Kyle, Charlie, Sophie, Oliver (didn’t think he’d get off the hook, did you?), and I. 

gratuitous baby photo...couldn't resist

But I’m worried that I’ll panic when it’s 4 p.m. and I haven’t figured out what we’re having for dinner and raid the freezer for a frozen pizza, or Sophie’s pleas for Goldfish for an afternoon snack will get so desperate that I’ll give in, or that I’ll just flat run out of ideas of what we can eat. Turns out that was exactly what Charlie was worried about. When I asked him what, exactly, he was nervous about he said, “I’m nervous that we won’t know what to eat for breakfast and lunch.”

We had a big discussion about what foods are real and what aren’t real. They were both very relieved to find out that most of their favorites made the list—grapes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, sushi (yes, Charlie made sure that was on the dinner list for at least one of the 10 days). They even had a pretty good idea what was NOT on the list—pretty much every dessert, Goldfish, flavored cream cheese, and the crackers and “cheese” Grandma Perkins sends them in the mail…

So their nerves were calmed a bit after our discussion, but I’m still a little on edge. I know how much work this is going to be and how much time and planning it will take. But I’m competitive and I don’t like to fail. So I’ve been doing some prep work to try to maximize our chance at success.

SNACKS: This is a big weak spot for Team Reese when it comes to real food. It’s not like we eat pork rinds and Little Debbie Nutty Bars (at least not most days), but the “healthy” pre-packaged snacks we eat don’t qualify as real food. So long, veggie chips, honey wheat pretzel sticks, and Wheat Thins. We’ll see you on the other side. I made about 6 dozen whole wheat banana mini muffins to pack for Charlie’s lunch and to eat as snacks. Also made some regular size banana muffins for my regular size husband. I’m planning on making some mini zucchini muffins tomorrow, as well as some Larabars and granola. Again, these will help ease the panic when I’m starving and multiple kids are screaming.

PEANUT BUTTER: This is a staple for us. We don’t eat cold cuts, so PB&J is our go-to sandwich. Even the Natural Jif peanut butter I use is off limits because of the added sugar. I found a super simple and yummy recipe for homemade peanut butter which I made today. 

sous chef Sophie supervising the peanut butter makin'

Simple ground up a 16 oz jar of peanuts for four minutes in the food processor. Added a tablespoon of local honey and voila! A beautiful 16 oz jar of yummy real peanut butter. 

a pint of peanut buttery deliciousness

I keep it in the fridge. I have never tried this before because A1.) I HATE stirring peanut butter and B2.) I HATE gritty peanut butter. This stuff is very smooth and it doesn’t separate at all in the fridge. Is my excitement over this discovery coming through the computer screen? I’m practically giddy about this one.

 BREAD: This is the trickiest issue for me so far. Our wonderful nanny Jill is doing the 10 Day Challenge with us (misery loves company!). She is perfecting a 5-ingredient whole wheat bread recipe, and she was nice enough to let us in on a loaf. It was yummy. So, Jill, you’re my fall back. But I did find a bread that will work today at Harvest Health Food Store in Hudsonville (I don’t want to burn out Jill on the bread making). It’s from Little Rooster Bread Company, which happens to be the bakery at the farm where we get our grass-fed beef and pork, Lubbers Farms. Love that place! 

hallelujah, we found bread

Haven’t tasted the bread, but it looks yummy. Unfortunately, after perusing the shelves at Harvest Health (with three kids in tow), I wasn’t able to find any tortillas or bagels or pitas that will work. Ugh. This really stinks. We eat quesadillas at least twice a week. And bagels and pita bread are staples too. I can get through 10 days without them, but it won’t be pretty.

DAIRY: Only full-fat dairy products in the challenge…darn. I’m embarrassed how pumped I am about a whole-milk cappuccino tomorrow morning. We’ve been eating full-fat plain yogurt for a while now. I’m planning on making a big batch of my yogurt tomorrow so we’ll have plenty on hand. I'm beginning to sound like one of those doomsday preppers, aren't I?

DESSERT: The only sweeteners we can use are honey and pure maple syrup, so most desserts are out. I’ve got some homemade yogurt and fruit popsicles in the freezer for the kids, and there are a few good looking desserts on the 100 Days site I’m going to try. Charlie insisted on dinner tonight because, “I have to go a whole 10 days without it!” Oh, the injustice!

CHOCOLATE: Let’s not talk about it.

JUICE: I’m still a little unclear about what is ok here, but from everything I’ve read, I think 100% real fruit juice is acceptable as long as there are no additives. So, we’ll keep drinking OJ at breakfast in moderation.

So we’re wrapping up our last day before we start the 10 Day Challenge. You’d think we were a family on death row—ordered pizza for dinner tonight, but only ordered a medium instead of a large since we knew we couldn’t eat the leftovers tomorrow. Stuffed our faces with chocolate afterwards to the point that I have a stomachache. No apologies. 

At the end of the the next 10 days, I'm hoping for several things:

A1.) I hope that my husband still likes me.

B2.) I hope I still like my kids and they still like me.

C3.) I hope I am more mindful of the food I put in my body and the food I give my family.

D4.) I hope my kids will understand better what is real food and what is not.

E5.) I hope we will eat more real food and less processed food from day 11 forward.

F6.) I wouldn't mind shedding a pound or two for all this effort...

Here we go…