Changing the way we eat and drink...

thecj3man said:
I can honestly say, that I have 100% changed they way I eat. I used to eat for enjoyment...
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I still eat for enjoyment but I'm more conscious about what I eat and how much.
thecj3man said:
I have gone from 294# to 197# since June of 2022. I wont say it is the right way or the only way, but my body has responded well to getting rid of the crap out of my diet.
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Firstly, that's awesome! Congratulations!

In my experience, cutting 80% of the processed junk from my diet, my body and tastes have adjusted to realize the other 20% of 'treats' aren't all that great. Not to mention the heightened insulin sensitivity makes consuming the overloaded crap a much less pleasant experience.
 
RatLabGuy said:
and requires somebody in your home to make bread. That's not trivial.
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It's about 30 minutes a day of actual effort, not counting the time the bread is in the oven, which you can spend doing other things. Your kids can even do it, because mine do.

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The Hands-off Sourdough Approach For Extremely Busy People

Tired of sourdough ruling your life? This hands-off approach works perfectly with busy work schedules, no need to be chained to the kitchen with this routine
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How I Bake Sourdough Bread Everyday In LESS Than 30 Minutes

How I have streamlined the sourdough process to fit into my day. This method enables me to bake fresh bread every day even with a busy schedule
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I have a few other recipes I've found and tweaked that I'll post up later.

This is a winner: Chocolate Chip Sourdough Scones
 
shawn said:
That's why you get the kids to do it.
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I like this approach. All the agricultural related expansion my household is doing...read: mostly me in the labor end, has got me thinking I should have raised 10 children to do the chores.
 
I timed it today with the stopwatch on my phone... 27 minutes, including kid help.

4pm: Wash and dry the bowl and then mix up the dough. 264g water, 9g salt, 98g sourdough starter, 418g flour (half bread flour, half all-purpose), mixed with a spoon and then by hand to incorporate all the flour, wash hands: 11 minutes

4:30pm: I put the dough on a clean, damp counter to stretch it. Clean the counter, sprinkle water on the counter, take the dough out of the bowl to stretch/knead it, put it back in the bowl and clean the counter again: 1.5 minutes

6:30pm: While cleaning up after dinner, I clean the counter and stretch the dough, put it back in the bowl and clean the counter again: 2 minutes

7:45pm: Last stretch before it goes in the 'basket' (I use a bread pan with a tea towel) to proof. I had help from the 10 and 2-yo for this step, so it probably took a little longer than if I did it all myself, but the upside is I finished filling the dishwasher and started a load of laundry while they 'worked'...
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...clean the counter, dust it with a 1/2 TBSP of flour, stretch the dough, roll it to shape, place in the tea towel in the bread pan, clean the counter again: 9 minutes

9:15pm: After the dough sits out for an hour or so, I walk it to the refrigerator to finish proofing overnight, then clean up the flour I didn't realize the toddler dribbled down the front of the cabinet and onto the floor. :lol: Next I feed the starter for tomorrow, which is 55g whole wheat flour + 55g water, then stir: 3.5 minutes
 
justjeepin86 said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but idk how folks have the time to cook from scratch all the time. I'm effin busy. Between work, chores, shop time, booster club volunteering, and the kids sports, we don't have much time to devote to cooking.
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Same way my grandmother did it for 50+ years while farming tobacco, raising a family, church, etc. It's part of the routine and it's a priority. I plan it out (but not as much as some) and cook extra of some things so I don't spend as much time on every meal. I cook early some days so we can eat before leaving for some commitments or I cook later for arriving home a little late from other commitments. Or I make enough of something to reheat leftovers.
 
justjeepin86 said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but idk how folks have the time to cook from scratch all the time. I'm effin busy. Between work, chores, shop time, booster club volunteering, and the kids sports, we don't have much time to devote to cooking.
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It easily costs us between $60 and $130 each time we eat out, and it's no faster than eating at home.
 
trailhugger said:
Same way my grandmother did it for 50+ years while farming tobacco, raising a family, church, etc. It's part of the routine and it's a priority. I plan it out (but not as much as some) and cook extra of some things so I don't spend as much time on every meal. I cook early some days so we can eat before leaving for some commitments or I cook later for arriving home a little late from other commitments. Or I make enough of something to reheat leftovers.
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Does Shawn do anything, or are you the hero by yourself?

Edit...I think the way you eat is great, i just don't know how to do it. I'm the one that cooks in my house.
 
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justjeepin86 said:
I think the way you eat is great, i just don't know how to do it. I'm the one that cooks in my house.
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It really comes down to repetition to make it a habit. Make a list of dishes y'all enjoy that you can either make quickly or that you can double up for leftovers on busy nights.

I have a steady rotation of meals that are easily modified with whatever meat or veggies are on sale or in season, we eat salad with most meals (fast and kids can make them), and most meals take me 20-30 minutes to prepare. 'Taco Tuesday' is a thing for a reason. :lol:

Kids are responsible for getting the table set while I cook and helping clear it after. They also help chop veggies and are learning to cook simple things (and not touch the edge of a hot pan).
 
trailhugger said:
It really comes down to repetition to make it a habit. Make a list of dishes y'all enjoy that you can either make quickly or that you can double up for leftovers on busy nights.

I have a steady rotation of meals that are easily modified with whatever meat or veggies are on sale or in season, we eat salad with most meals (fast and kids can make them), and most meals take me 20-30 minutes to prepare. 'Taco Tuesday' is a thing for a reason. :lol:

Kids are responsible for getting the table set while I cook and helping clear it after. They also help chop veggies and are learning to cook simple things (and not touch the edge of a hot pan).
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Had a guy that works for me help us on “taco Tuesday” chicken in the croc pot with a jar of salsa. 8 hours later it shreds with tongs…
 
trailhugger said:
It really comes down to repetition to make it a habit. Make a list of dishes y'all enjoy that you can either make quickly or that you can double up for leftovers on busy nights.
.
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Another problem that's not mentioned, is getting everyone on board. Even my wife complains when i try to get on a health kick and eat better.

Also, during the fall, we are out 4-5 nights a week. Anything can be worked around, but i just don't know that it will happen.
 
Maybe she needs to watch Jody's movie?

Fall is a ways off, start small, keep at it. Even if you can't get to 80/20, it will make a difference. I'm pulling for ya.
 
justjeepin86 said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but idk how folks have the time to cook from scratch all the time. I'm effin busy. Between work, chores, shop time, booster club volunteering, and the kids sports, we don't have much time to devote to cooking.
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Stay at home wife. This isnt meant as sexist, but shes the best damn investment I ever made! Add in homeschooling a special needs kid and theres no other way it would work.
 
trailhugger said:
It really comes down to repetition to make it a habit. Make a list of dishes y'all enjoy that you can either make quickly or that you can double up for leftovers on busy nights.

I have a steady rotation of meals that are easily modified with whatever meat or veggies are on sale or in season, we eat salad with most meals (fast and kids can make them), and most meals take me 20-30 minutes to prepare. 'Taco Tuesday' is a thing for a reason. :lol:

Kids are responsible for getting the table set while I cook and helping clear it after. They also help chop veggies and are learning to cook simple things (and not touch the edge of a hot pan).
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This! We (read - my wife hog ties me and interrogates me to get the info) sit down and plan our meals for the next month on the 15th. Then my wife and her mom go to Sams the last week of the month and do a joint shopping trip. We eat probably 4 nights a week at their house since they live 3 minutes away. We eat a lot of crock pot and air fryer meals. No, they arent as healthy as some folks here. But its healthier than eating out, or out of a box every night. Doing it this way also works well with us doing a monthly (mostly) cash budget. All the bills are paid on the 1st that can be, cash pulled out for groceries and running. Only thing we use the debit cards for is unexpected stuff and gas. But thats a whole other thread lol.


Ill add to that, I eat the same thing for lunch every day. 1/3 lb of hamburger with rice, black beans, and cheese. Its cheap and thats enough for lunch and an afternoon snack.
 
I end up eating out alot for lunch at work. schedules are so hectic sometime i will have lunch that i brought in the fridge at work for a week or two. so i like eating at home. we do a mix of crock pot meals and pretty fast stuff to cook. Ive been working everyday on our house till dark and im usually not eating till 9 or later. we have crock pot korean BBQ with some wild pig i still had left from last year and home made lo mein. and we had enough left over for lunches for a few days.

My biggest complaint is my wife likes to use canned chicken instead of getting a rotisserie chicken or boiling/grilling chicken for it to go into another dish.
 
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