100-Day Real Food Challenge

rBGH. BPA. GMO's. Infected Beef. 280 million eggs recalled. Children hitting puberty as young as 7. Child Cancers on the Rise. Autism Rates Sky-Rocketing. Aspartame. Fluoride controversy. Silly Putty ingredient found in McDonald's chicken nuggets. Obesity Rates out-of-control.

These are just a few of the headlines we've read over the past several years. As a mom, every time I read one I am scared to death. What am I really feeding my kids?

Five years ago we bought chickens and began eating fresh eggs. A few years later we put some cows in the backyard and filled our freezer with fresh beef. We drank organic milk but that was really about it. I'm the type of person who has a tendency to stay away from market trends. And that is what the whole "organic" movement seemed like to me. Like a fad, similar to the diet crazes we see so often that usually leave people broke and still overweight.

But the more and more headlines like those above that appeared, the more suspicious I became. A friend of ours recommended a movie called Food, Inc. My husband and I rented it on Netflix and by the time it was finished I vowed never to eat fast food, or non-organic food period, again.

For so long I simply put my trust in the people in charge of approving or disapproving of the preservatives and other ingredients added to our food. But that trust is no more. I cannot begin to under$tand how the$e thing$ are approved. From now on, I will decide what goes into our bodies.

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress with the decision to challenge myself to 100 days of eating real food. I was turned on to this idea by a blog I found called 100 Days of Real Food. Then we ran across Food: The Ultimate Secret Exposed. I decided that from now on I will take better advantage of our local Farmer's Markets and pay better attention to what food stocks my pantry. Since organic food is slightly more expensive than non, we'll have to cut out some of the "snacks" and eat less often. Which also works to our advantage.

I'm being realistic about the challenge and am not expecting to cut out all processed foods right away. It will take time. It will be the most difficult for me because I am the big junk-food junkie, with my secret stash of Butterfinger's and Lindor truffles. So often I blame the way I feel on my thyroid and other factors but in reality I think diet plays the biggest role in how we feel.

I will consider the challenge successful if I can cut out 75% of the garbage. That means no more fast food, all organic fruits and vegetables, no more frozen pancakes or other products that include more than 50% of unidentifiable ingredients. Whole Foods Market here I come.

So why not join me on the journey? It begins September 1! Are you game?

Natural Homemade Facial Mask

Peach-and-Honey Facial Mask

This revitalizing peach and honey mask is almost good enough to eat. But what you'll really love about it is how it leaves your skin feeling soft and supple.

Ingredients:

• 1 large peach or nectarine, skinned
• 3 teaspoons honey
• A pinch of lecithin powder or 2 tablespoons yogurt

Directions:

Mash the peach and honey together, add a little lecithin powder or 2 tablespoons yogurt until you have a workable paste. Pat evenly over your face and neck and around the eyes. Lie back and relax for about 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, pat dry, then tone and moisturize as you normally would.

From the California Tree Fruit Agreement

Which Foods Should I Buy Organic?

Here's a great little cheat sheet to print out and keep in your purse. It lists the "dirty dozen" and the "clean 15"

Workers for the Environmental Worker's Group (EWG) found that people who eat 5 fruits or vegetables from the dirty dozen's list will consume approximately 10 different pesticides daily. People who eat from the clean 15's list consume less than 2. So this list can help consumers limit their dietary pesticide intake.

Click here for more articles from EWG.

Food, Inc.