Whole Foods Lifestyle - For me whole foods lifestyle means....

A brand new forum and new home for the Mediterranean Chicks :hug: I am so pleased just thinking of all the possibilities.

Whole foods lifestyle... what does it mean to you?

For me it means _____________________________________________

Lets fill in the blank.... and begin....

For me whole foods lifestyle simply means living naturally...

choosing or harvesting variety of healthy foods close to nature
cooking these foods for and with my family.. putting love into all that we cook
enjoying what we eat and looking forward to what we will eat

Most importantly for me it is a perspective on my proper place in nature.. constantly reminding myself that we are a part of the food chain.. and dependent upon our environment...

For me it means eating whole, untampered with, pure, energizing, good-for-me food. After eating like this, I feel more 'whole' inside and out. The whole foods that I am nourishing my body with is allowing me to work with my body, instead of against it with toxic food choices.

In a nutshell, living a whole foods lifestyle means being in complete harmony with my body. It means listening and responding to what it needs on a daily basis. It means respecting it, cherishing it, nourishing it, loving it. Things I've never done before! (Tearing up here.)

Giving my body proper nourishment now will enable it to give back so much to my life: energy, great health, great skin, healthy bones, longetivity, happiness, a life free of 'age related diseases', inner peace.

I owe myself, my family and my body atleast that!

**Thanks for this thread Jayde. It reminded me of what I was fighting for! My health, my life, my happiness!**

... eating foods as close to their natural state - as unprocessed - as possible.
... knowing where our food comes from.
... having a garden, or at least a good farmer's market.
... eating foods in season.
... purchasing foods grown by local farmers, instead of shipped in from corporate farms.
... educating ourselves on nutrition.
... seeking out local farms for meat purchases.

eating seasonally, locally, and naturally.
Eating foods that don't contain unpronouncable ingredients.
Understanding everything that's in my food, and what that can do to/for my body.
Eating for health and longevity, not just to lose weight.
Listening to my body and making eating choices that provide the energy and nutrition I need to live the best life I can.

staying away from the over-processed, nutrient-deficient, high calorie foods and eating foods that I can pronounce

staying away from the over-processed, nutrient-deficient, high calorie foods and eating foods that I can pronounce

Well said Margaret. I think the same way. Trying to get all the junk out of your cupboards and eating "clean food".

Also...trying not to eat stuff with corn syrup added. I can not believe how it is added to so many different foods!

One of my favourite quotes .... anything you do after you pick it ... is processing.

means to me, vitality and health. Natural vitamins

Darlene, my goal is to eat no foods that have any added sweeteners, especially artificial sweeteners. I avoid sugar and sugar substitutes. This weekend, I thought I'd hit the store and see if I could find a no sugar added juice bar as a treat for the hot days but I couldn't find one. I know I've seen them before but the particular grocery store I went to didn't have it.

Whole foods for me basically means eating basic good nutrition and avoiding processed foods. I'm wary on breads a bit but I do indulge in them once in a while if they are full of good ingredients. I enjoy eating the basics without adding salt or sugar. I also am trying to decrease the amount of meat I eat just because I know I can get good nutrition from veggies, grains, nuts and legumes.

To me a wholefoods lifestyle means buying fresh food form local sources as much as possible (organic when available and affordable), avoiding processed and packaged foods and fast food, I don't use splenda or "egg substitute" when I cook ( I use real eggs and healthy oils). I enjoy cooking in a healthy manner with fresh ingredients and feeling good about what I am eating. :)

I grow herbs, tomatoes and flowers in my gardens and don't use pestisides :D

I also think about what impact my lifestyle choices have on the environment and our natural resources and helping others - i.e. fair trade products, products that are not tested on animals and dealing with companies that I feel are in sync with my ideals.

I am against "frankenfoods" and the way some companies try to pressure farmers and our governments so that they can eventually control the world's food supply.

I am also concerned with the chemicals, additives, dyes, and hidden sugars in my food which is why I don't buy much packaged food. If there is a list of 20 ingredients (most of which I can't pronounce) then I don't buy it.

For me, it means paying more attention to my health and nutritional needs. I think it means additive free foods, and the fresher the better. My body just feels better when I eat this way. It also means being kinder to the environment, by shopping for local produce, and purchasing foods with minimal processing because that means it had less of an impact on the environment. I read that frozen fruits and veggies take 10 times more energy to produce than locally picked fresh produce.

Where has this section been all my life!!!

Whole Foods means to me:
Taking responsibilty for the consumption and production of foods
-being educated on the processes that gets food to my table
-being educated on natural and alternative sources
-from Phantastica-eating foods as close to their natural state - as unprocessed - as possible.
-bridging the connection between the benefits of whole foods and how much better it does my body and mind.
-foods with short (if any) ingredient lists. If it sounds man made, it's limited
-foods in the most whole, natural and untouched state :)
- a healthy disdain for the freezer section of my grocery store

One of my favourite quotes .... anything you do after you pick it ... is processing.

Good to keep in mind, SusanB!

Mauvaisroux, "Frankenfoods!" Funny.

- a healthy disdain for the freezer section of my grocery store

Well, to an extent. Many frozen fruits and veggies are better than what you can buy fresh some seasons of the year. I depend on frozen in the winter. I freeze what I grow, but some times I need more variety and then grocery frozen is very helpful. :) Of course, in the summer I am definitely eating fresh - either from my garden, a local farmer, or even the grocery.

Actually, I really enjoy organic frozen peas. They are pricey but I just stretch them out by throwing a handful into stir fries, curried veg dishes or morrocan veg dishes - they are great with potatoes and cauliflower and a bit of curry.

For me it is getting yummy natural foods that I don't have to feel guilty about eating.
Putting stuff in my body that it can easily process and use to make it function better
Really fighting not just the battle of the bulge but the battle of poor health.
Knowing that these foods are the best that I can possibly eat.

Absolutely ladies- I certainly blend frozen fruits into my juices and stuff. I guess I just mean that I don't build entire meals around the freezer section. Frozen dinners, pizzas, the usual suspects, ya know what I'm sayin'?

Oh - processed frozen foods! :) Totally agree. In fact, I have some lean cuisines in my freezer that have been there over a year. Guess I ought to throw them out, eh? :rofl:

Really fighting not just the battle of the bulge but the battle of poor health. Knowing that these foods are the best that I can possibly eat.

Touche!

Right Junebug! I can't stand the taste of frozen meals -blech! :p

I do however buy plain frozen shrimp, the organic peas and the good shrimp dumplings (frozen) from a chinese dumpling shop near my house. The only things in them are the shrimp and rice flour, some salt and 2 other ingredients - they are awesome and they are steamed not fried. :)

For me it means striving to eat more nutrient-dense, less-or-minimally processed foods. I balance this against time constraints and my other obligations/chosen activities in an attempt to achieve balance among all the ways I am working toward better health in my life.

Eating to live, not living to eat. Feeling the best I've ever felt in my life.

For me it means striving to eat more nutrient-dense, less-or-minimally processed foods. I balance this against time constraints and my other obligations/chosen activities in an attempt to achieve balance among all the ways I am working toward better health in my life.


"....an attempt to achieve balance among all the ways I am working towards better health in my life..."

B-A-L-A-N-C-E

I want it to be my middle name. :D

"As close to the way it grows as possible" has been my motto for awhile now. :) I'm still struggling to find an affordable source of organic meats, but my local farmer's market knows I'll stop by on saturday and pick up my fruits&veggies.

Whole foods to me also means lessening my negative impact on the environment, and recycling what things do come through my house (hubby is following his own way of eating, which involves some packaged snacks). I wish I could have a garden and grow my own veggies. We're in a condo in Southern CA, though, and what little 'soil' we do have that I can plant in is actually sand. I need to investigate planters! :)

I love everyone's ideas on this subject! I find them very informative and it's good to meet some like-minded people. :)

I'm bumping this up for new members who have recently joined us. I think it is wonderful that so many of us see this as more than the foods we eat. Whole Foods Lifestyle is how we approach living.

I think it is wonderful that so many of us see this as more than the foods we eat. Whole Foods Lifestyle is how we approach living.


Illustrative point:

I went to a birthday party last night, and had half a bottle of alcohol (about 8 ounces of Smirnoff Ice) and some crackers (processed food). I was okay with it, and I had a good time. We got home and I went to bed.

This morning I woke up and ALL I could think about was "detoxing" and getting on my treadmill, and getting back to my healthy life! I was (and still am) completely focused on giving my body the foods it needs to "clean itself out", and resuming my drive on the healthy lifestyle highway. So far today I've had an apple with peanut butter, walked on the treadmill for 5k (just shy of 58 minutes), and am sitting here eating a banana.

In the past I would have had more to drink, definitely more to eat, and I'd have spent the day after sitting around the house being lazy. As it is, I'm actually thinking I'll get back on the treadmill later this afternoon for another 30 minutes! :lol:

I don't know where that other person who would have lazed around today went, but I'm liking the person who's living in her place! :)

Yes, yes, yes, mousie! Sunday (yesterday) we went for a family outing to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and I treated myself with all the wrong things! I started the day off right: whole grain bread, kefir, mixed nuts. But then we went to Bob Evans. I wasn't even trying to eat off balance, but was unsure of what to eat. I got the Monterey steak dinner (sirloin with sauteed mushrooms and onions, topped with cheese, grilled veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots and onions) and a baked potato with a smidgin of sour cream). I scraped off the cheese and ate all of the rest of the meal. I drank unsweetened iced tea with lemon. I didn't think it was too bad until I got home and looked up the calories: 1000 (appx)! Then we went to the boardwalk and everyone else got pizza and soda or juice. I didn't want that and looked and looked for something that would satisfy me. I ended up eating a cheeseburger. Then it was off to Wawa for a 22oz iced chocolate mint iced coffee and a jalapeno pretzel. I must have consumed like 2100 calories today and not too many SuperFoods at all.

I don't feel like a failure, but I feel like I mistreated my body yesterday. I didn't show it the respect and the love that it deserves and can only get from good, healthy whole foods. Eating that crap feels like I am abusing my body and it really hurts afterwards. But, it was the only time I've done that kind of damage in the 16 days that I've been eating Super/whole foods.

Today, I am back to respecting, loving and nurturing my body the way that it should be. And believe me, this won't happen again. The after effects are really crappy. I need to better plan our outings. It was a spur of the moment thing and I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet, so I had nothing to pack for my snacks. Lesson learned...

Oh, and did I mention the two handfuls of caramel corn??? Now, usually I'd have eaten half the container, but two handfuls were plenty. I can atleast be proud of myself for that!

Well, these thoughts couldn't have come at a better time. I went to a baseball game yesterday and had beer and pretzels and hot dogs. Yuck! I did not feel well last night. I don't feel guilty but I do feel ready to get back to "normal" today and eat something nourishing.

Yuck! I did not feel well last night. I don't feel guilty but I do feel ready to get back to "normal" today and eat something nourishing.

:hug: I'm NOT alone! I feel better already after having whole grain bread w/blueberry spread and some kefir! Back on track! The train won't stop running here! :carrot: