Eating organic

[simmo39]

but still consuming artiicial sweetners? Does anyone do this?

I know I have done, especially when Jamie Oliver was running his series on chickens and how they are bred. We bought organic chickens after watching but still bought other foods with artificial sweetners. Should it be all or nothing?

I think it's hard trying to get everything right. All we can do is try our best and do what we can. I buy some organic food but not everything, I have to admit but I do also (when I'm not only eating Go Lower food!) eat food that has artificial sweetners in too.

Have you ever checked out the concept of 'clean eating'? It's a pretty popular idea in America at the moment... Starts with the basic premise that the food you eat should be in as close to its natural state as possible... i.e. we transform it into a meal ourselves rather than paying a factory to pump it full of extras (like salt, sweetners, colourings etc)and package it up as a done deal.

It can extend (although it's not mandatory) to choosing organic foods over conventionally produced... which is where the chickens come in.

Personally, I've found that a 'cleaner' diet has a dramatic effect on body-shape since the absence of factory nasties really reduces retained fluids. And health is improved because less-processed foods are much more nutritious.

Hi Chil1234, I think that sounds great in theory and I would love to be able to do that but in reality I find it really hard to find the time to make everything from scratch every day. What with the kids and I work from home it's hard fitting everything in.

You don't have to make everything from scratch every day. I work full time and I'm a mother. So something I do, for example, is make a large quantity of a bolognese sauce or chilli-con-carne at the weekend, freeze it in portions and then I have my own 'ready-meals' for a busier day mid week. A big pan of fresh soup once you've made it will keep in the fridge quite happily for a day or two. Packed lunches can be put together in the evening rather than sitting watching TV

Many fresh, healthy meals are very quick to make and cook. No-one's suggesting spending hours making casseroles and complicated, fancy dishes. Simple stir-fries, for example take minutes. Pasta dishes - by the time you've cooked a little fresh tomato sauce the pasta is about done. Grilling a simple chicken breast or a piece of fish... 10 minutes? Steaming some fresh or frozen veggies... 5- 10 minutes? Salads don't need any cooking at all... just a little chopping and arranging on a plate.

A big reason why a lot of people are overweight and unhealthy is because they rely too heavily on 'bunging something out of the freezer into the oven to "save time"' and end up with a very poor diet as a result. Clean eating requires a bit more effort but it's worth it.

I understand what you mean, I think doing a LC diet helps me keep to a 'clean eating' plan. A lot of my diet is grilled meat and fish and fresh vegetables, they are just the low carb ones.
I don't know about you Mummymels but being on Go Lower is making me really think about what I eat and what I have eaten in the past, and I am now at the stage where I am starting to cook a lot of my own meals from scratch for myself and my family.
Pre packed foods have so much salt in them soemthing that is a big concern for me having a toddler.

Almost all packaged food (even sweet foods) contains a lot of salt to give it a shelf-life. Short-term a very salty diet can lead to fluid-retention, temporary weight-gain and make cellulite worse than it might be. Long-term, of course, a very salty diet is a contributory factor in developing high blood-pressure.

There's nothing wrong with the occasional short-cut, of course...convenience foods have a place. But they shouldn't be dietary staples and, all too often these days, they are.

Chil1234 ? I am definitely not a take it out the freezer every day kind of person but I would say I am somewhere in the middle. I do a lot of the things you mention but just not every day. I work for myself so my evenings are never just sat in front of the TV unfortunately!

Simmo ? Yes the Go Lower meals do make me more aware too but I have to say that I never put salt in anything I cook myself.