Easy homemade real food diet recipes are currently increasingly sought after, especially because this is actually a lifestyle that has been practiced by our ancestors since ancient times. Real food nourishes your health. You may have your own definition of real food which will depend on what you want or need in your life. You may crave energy. You may want power. You may need balance or healing. Real food is food that has been refined or minimally processed, and eaten in its natural state. Generally nothing is removed from, or added to, the food ingredient in preparation.
Whole grain cereal products are made by grinding whole wheat. Our bodies are designed to digest real food. The best real foods are called Powerfoods. Real food is food in its most natural state, it is unprocessed or with very little processing. Real food doesn’t need fancy labels or packaging. Lemons are lemons. Onions are onions. Real food is whole food that sustains life.
Why Easy Homemade Real Food is so Important ?
What does real food look like? This is the basis of what real food is like.
Grass-fed animals, pastured meat: Animals that are raised and fed as intended when created, with grass beneath them and the sun overhead. We can use all parts of the animal, including the bones for a nutritious broth. Chickens, cattle, sheep and game.
Eggs: From pasture-raised chickens, roaming free with plenty of sun.
Fats: Natural fats that have kept families healthy for thousands of years, such as; butter from grass-fed cows, coconut oil, ghee, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, tallow, and animal fats.
Nuts and seeds: Whole grains and minimally processed with an emphasis on ancient grains and varieties; spelled, kamut, einkorn, even whole wheat. Also, ancient practices, such as breading nuts and seeds.
Fruits and vegetables: Preferably in season and grown as locally as possible, using organic practices. Includes lots of fresh herbs. Cooked, raw and fermented. If buying from a local farm or market, many farms are not certified organic but use organic practices.
Milk: Raw or pasteurized and full-fat from grass-fed cows, or goats or sheep. We only recommend buying raw milk if you know the source and have inspected the farm for cleanliness and safety. Pasteurized milk can be found in stores. We recommend avoiding ultra-pasteurized milk, as it has been heated to such a degree that it kills everything. Whenever you see the words low fat or fat free you know a lot of junk has been added to compensate for the loss of nutritious fat. Dairy products include; milk, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, kefir (fermented yogurt drink), cottage cheese.
Salt: Pure, unrefined salt that hasn’t lost its nutritional minerals.
Seafood: Raised in the wild versus fish farms.
Sweeteners: As close to their natural state as possible, such as; raw honey, pure maple syrup and minimally processed sugar.
Drinks: Water and drinks made with real ingredients, such as; tea, coffee, kombucha (fermented tea), milk (from nuts, seeds, or animal milk). Even wine and beer, and cocktails just pay attention to the ingredients and stick to making your own cocktails using simple spirits and fresh ingredients.
What is Not Real Food and Easy Homemade Real Food Recipes
What foods are not Native?
1. Real food is not a trend
While we may hear more about real food because of the internet, books, and documentaries, real food is nothing new. This is not a trend that will be popular for a few years and then be replaced by a new fad. Real food has always existed, since the beginning of time. This is the way generations before us ate, and the way future generations hope to eat will return. Highly processed foods, which lack nutrients and are made with manipulated ingredients, have not always been around. If anything, processed foods are something of a novelty. Now, there’s definitely something trendy about real food. Kale has been in the spotlight these days, along with chia seeds, cassava, almonds and cauliflower (cauliflower pizza). While blogs may make certain foods trendy, they are simply real ingredients that have been around for centuries.
2. Real food is not a crash diet, or even a diet at all.
A true food lifestyle is not about restricting food. It’s about saying yes to actual food (ingredients) versus something that tries to look and act like food. And here’s the thing, once you start eating real food, your palate changes and you realize how amazing real food tastes and how good you feel.
What is Non-Real Food
3. Real food is not about depriving yourself.
As Harry Blazer, a food and drink trend researcher says: Eat whatever you want, just cook it yourself. Highly processed foods have made it easier for us to easily reach for chips, cookies, muffins and other foods that would otherwise take a lot of time in the kitchen to make. Making your own meals means you may not be eating cake at every meal, it leaves you eating a wider variety.
There is an increase in real food establishments, making convenient choices made with real ingredients. This is both a blessing and a curse. We believe most of our food should come from home-cooked meals, made with simple ingredients. These authentic comfort food options are great and can be used to help simplify things, when needed. But we shouldn’t trade processed foods for more boxes and packages, just because we can. Real food is about taking responsibility for our food, and learning how to prepare food so that we can nourish our bodies with simple ingredients.
4. Real food isn’t about counting calories or losing natural fat.
Calories naturally occur in food, along with fat. We need calories and fat to grow. Because we eat a wide variety when eating real foods, we don’t have to worry about consuming too much.
5. Real food is not keto, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, or vegetarian.
It is a variation of the real food lifestyle and, therefore, should not be seen as the only way to enjoy the real food lifestyle. Those are the reasons why easy homemade real food recipes are increasingly popular.