I don't count calories, I do not *do* fad diets...but I am convinced there are certain foods and ingredients that should be avoided as much as possible. So as our family has worked to be healthy and wise stewards of this life we have, we are big label readers and have tried to avoid certain things in the process. I am the one that is pretty particular in this area. Mike will eat healthy most of the time, but he does enjoy things like meat eater's pizza and things like that which is fine. Also, I am not as strict with my kid's menu. I do mainly provide healthy meals, but occasional treats are okay for them. I don't rule out everything for my kids...just try to eat healthy most of the time, with sweet or high fat things in moderation for them. My breakfast and lunch menu is somewhat different from what I make for my kids. For example, if I make chicken strips and fruit for my kids for lunch, I may have a fresh spinach salad and a steamed veggie like squash or broccoli instead. For breakfast, I may have Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with organic skim milk and banana and my kids may have waffles and fruit. This is because I think my kids should have a little more substantial meals, while I try to eat VERY healthy for most of my meals. It works for us.

Here is the list of food and ingredients that I look out for and try to avoid or,at least, limit in our family.

1) Monosodium glutamate...a very bad artificial seasoning that has lots of bad side effects...like headahces, fatique and is just not good for us at all. This is why I like Pei Wei...healthy chinese food with no MSG!

2) Aspartame...an artificial sweetener that is in lots of yogurt products, diet drinks(Diet Coke), crystal light, sugar free gum, and lots of things! For yogurt, I buy Dannon all natural or organic brands. Aspartame has been linked to brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, and neurological disorders. Our country consumes a lot of this stuff. Stevia is a better natural choice...but once I have eaten with less sugar in my diet, I have seen that I don't desire things to be so sweet anyway.

3) High fructose syrup. I am amazed at how many breads and cereals have this listed high up on the ingredients label. One thing I read about this highly sweet syrup is that it actually makes you more hungry after consuming it, plus it is not natural. The one thing I have not been able to take out of my family's diet is Aunt Jemima's syrup! I love pure maple syrup, but my kids do not like it...so I do allow that one bad thing. It is very high in high fructose corn syrup and I cringe whenever I get it out.

4) White Sugar...I limit this--it is hard to completely avoid it- especially with kids. But we do try to use pure sugar cane instead of the processed sugar. My husband loves sweet tea, so we have sugar in our home and use it sparingly. Recently, for my mom's birthday, I had a piece of lemon ice box pie...afterwards I felt very wiped out. When we do without sugar and then add it back in, we realize how bad the stuff is for us because we see how bad it makes us feel. I was sick.

5) Sodas, carbonated drinks, and high sugary drinks. I have never kept soft drinks in our home and recently had this confirmed with a doctor who said carbonated drinks such as cokes and sprites are really bad for you. Also, they contain about 10-11 teaspoons of sugar in each can. Now, I never drink soft drinks, but my bigger girls have a coke every once in a while. If they are at a youth function and want a coke, then that is fine. Afterall, at some point, they will be making these decisions for themselves...so I have to let them decide on things like this. Hopefully they will make good decisions in regards to their health. My little kids--never have had it and probably will not until they are teens and then still limited. It is just not good for them.

6) White flour, white starchy foods...now this is not completely avoided at our house, but I do limit its use. We do have bagels some(especially Panerra Bread)...muffins occasionally and potatoes. I think as long as the other ingredients are okay...no high fructose corn syrup, etc, then we will have white flour baked goods sometimes. My kids love muffins and we had those for breakfast yesterday with some fruit.

7) Caffeine....this has been a recent thing that I have completely taken out of my diet and limited it with my older girls. They can have it at times...I am fine with that. I was having heart palpitations a while back that I think was hormonally related, but caffeine can make it worse, so no more for me! I have been caffeine free for a while now. My heart palpitations are much better, but I am still checking everything out. (I have also had a saliva test done recently to check for hormonal imbalances. I have not gotten the results back yet, but am curious to find out. Have any of you done this before?) I do still enjoy decaf lattes and decaf green tea some, though! : ) Caffeine is really not good for women for many reasons and I feel so much better since I have become caffeine free! I actually have more energy.

8) High fatty foods...we do limit these a great deal. Not because any of us need to lose weight, but because being healthy and taking care of ourselves is important. The main healthy fats that we consume are extra virgin olive oil, raw organic nuts and seeds, eggs, and essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and 6 found in walnuts, salmon and other fishes. We eat a lot of chicken and fish for lean protein choices. I do have red meat some and buy the leanest ground beef and cuts of roast that I can find and for steaks we mainly buy filets.

9) Fried foods...this is a biggie for me. I do try to avoid these kinds of foods at all cost. Especially fast food restaurant type foods. When I am on youth retreats, I pretty much have to eat what is served, but that is because I need to eat and that is all they have...so at times, I can not stick with the healthy diet. I am not such a stickler that I can not vere off a little bit...but for the most part, I avoid these. Now, my husband loves fried foods and he still eats things like fried chicken, fried shrimp and things like that. Especially if we are eating out. It is fine as long as it is not all the time.

10) Red food Coloring and just food coloring in general.

11) Sodium Nitrite...the artificial chemical that is added to hot dogs, bacon, and some lunch meats. We try to limit this as much as possible.

Do I ever splurge? Yes! When I do, it is usually Mexican, like chicken fajitas and chips and salsa or spicy veggie and chicken pizza! Yum! My next post will be on what I do eat! Which is a lot! I love the topic of food!