A few years ago, we were just like any other suburban family – eating the standard American diet. I thought I was making healthy choices when shopping for my family, until one night when I watched a TV show titled, “Where Our Food Comes From”. I realized that many of the foods I thought were healthy were actually highly processed.
The show sparked more research that eventually led to an overhaul of my family’s diet. I realized that it just made sense to understand what I was putting on the table for my family – and be able to pronounce every ingredient in our food. As a mom and a wife, I decided to take charge of the fact that am the biggest influence on our family’s food choices and get us started eating “real” foods.
As a little motivation, I decided to make a pledge that my family would only eat non-processed foods for 100 days. It wasn’t easy at first. We live in a world where grab-and-go processed foods are the norm and resources on how to make healthier choices are hard to come by. But, we wanted to prove that a typical family could survive – and even thrive – on a “real” food diet. I had no clue this little idea of mine would eventually turn into a blog read by millions and a New York Times bestselling cookbook!
We have always been an active family, but once we cut out highly processed food we started taking exercise more seriously as well. While I’ve been running to stay in shape for years, it does get a little monotonous after a while so earlier this year actually I picked up my bike again and am so glad I did. It honestly feels like a treat on the days I get to bike instead of run for exercise – I love it!
The other great thing about biking is that it’s something I can do with my whole family. We don’t all necessarily go at the same speeds all the time, but it’s a great way to get out and do something active together. We’ve enjoyed teaching our children about the importance of real food and exercise and look forward to seeing how they continue to incorporate these healthy habits into their lives as they grow older!
