Cleaning Out My (Pantry) Closet - Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids

I just did a review of my pantry. And I was pleased. I thought I’d have to throw out a lot of junk, but I didn’t. None of my foods had high-fructose corn syrup. There wasn’t much “junk” other than a few packages of organic cookies, some marshmallows I bought to make rice krispie treats with, and fruit leathers. And probably 25% of my pantry I made myself from our garden or local farm produce – canned jams, sauces, salsas… I did find some canned soups that were high in sodium, but… overall, not bad.

If I think back on the first few years of marriage, our family has come a long way with regards to our diet. I used to buy a lot of processed/seasoned foods to help speed cooking along. But a couple years ago, I got ahold of this great cookbook – The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. That book, along with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, changed our eating habits. Over the past 5 years, we have visited farmer’s markets, subscribed to a CSA farm share, and begun buying organic, all-natural and/or local foods as much as possible.

The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook has great tips a “clean-eating” lifestyle, along with tons of unique recipes, my favorite being the stuffed peppers, which I lovingly call “Confetti Stuffed Peppers” because there are so many colorful ingredients like carrots, butternut squash and black beans! Yum! (And they freeze well so I make a ton!).

Last year, I got the Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids book – and it renewed my interest in cleaning up my pantry, because there’s an awesome pantry list included right in the book. I noticed more changes I could make to keep a better pantry. Like including more whole grains and a variety of rices. Fewer white potatoes (oh dear, my weakness!), and of course, seriously reducing sugar intake (another weakness!).

This book is more a discussion of why it’s important for kids to eat “clean,” and how to make it work than an actual cookbook. But there’s a good-sized recipe section with kid-friendly foods like PB&J, Mac & Cheese, and Sloppy Joes – with a twist to make them healthier! And chapters on children’s health, clean-eating on a budget, and even how to have a “clean-eating” birthday party! Which is coming up for us in just six weeks!! After all, does my one year old NEED super-sugary frosting just because he’s one? He will be fine with a dollop of lightly sweetened yogurt-cheese frosting! Trust me, he’ll still have fun smashing his cake!

It’s hard restructure your eating habits, because it isn’t always convenient or cheap. But neither is getting sick. So my focus for health this year is to start with what we put in our bodies, and keep the pantry stocked with “clean” food items. One of the best ways to encourage my family to eat healthy is to simply NOT stock my pantry with unhealthy items! Then, I’ll be prepping meals that are healthy from the start!

I can’t wait to go to the grocery store next week… I’m looking forward to trying out Tosca Reno’s recipe for homemade granola bars!

Tosca Reno is on Facebook and Twitter!

How do you keep your family eating healthy? Any recipe modifications to share?

DISCLOSURE: I did not receive samples for this review, and I received no form of compensation for this post. All opinions here are 100% my own.

Yum

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