I'm really appreciating the encouragement and support we've received so far on our Whole Foods Challenge! Thank you so much!
There are a few questions that have come up, both in comments and in "real life" so I thought I'd share a few more thoughts at this initial stage.
Budget
It's more expensive to eat better. Organic meat costs more. Organic food costs more. Buying produce can be expensive. So this was a big concern for us.
After all, I work only part-time for a non-profit (which doesn't exactly pay the same bonus I used to get at the soul-sucking Bank of America) and Brian, while able to support our family well, isn't exactly bathing in G-notes either. We are on a tight budget and have depleted our savings while putting Brian through grad school.
So we are tracking our budget while on this challenge. Typically, we spend about $550/month on food total. We want it to be closer to $400. (And this is in Canadian dollars for my American readers - and our cost of living is a bit higher. Food is another thing that is much cheaper in the States.)
I actually found it to be cheaper to eat this way the first week. I planned the meal, went to the store and only bought what was on my list. It was really weird to go past every single boxed item and not make a single impulse purchase. I pretty much stayed in produce and the bulk section (where I bought the beans and rice etc.). It came out to about $100 on that bill and that was with some "start up expenses" like spices.
Brian's Thoughts
A few people have mentioned "Yeah that's great. But what does Brian think??" I totally get that. He's my American midwestern man - he loves beef and grew up in a land where its a matter of pride that the bovine population is corn fed (which is not natural for cows). He loves a good supper, loves to eat and can't imagine being vegetarian. And he's a 6'5" man doing manual labour. So it's a natural question.
We've slowly made changes together (whole grains, minimizing processed food , etc.) and came to this decision together. We have been tired and worn out, feeling like we needed some changes. He's like me - he wants to do this, knows we need to do this but still knows it's going to smart a bit in places as we adjust.
(He's a huge proponent of and participator in many of my more extreme ideas around breastfeeding, babywearing, family bed, birth etc. He embraced my natural cleaning stuff and was very adamant about making sure our meat and dairy were organic and cruelty free. He has big concerns about the affects of antibiotics and hormones in meat and dairy. He's already in a different place than most people realise.)
So as I did some more research, we talked it over. The final straw was when we watched "Food Inc." (if you haven't watched this yet, YOU NEED TO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW).
After that, he was in. He has been pleasantly surprised by how full he has gotten on our first meals (we had bean and quinoa chili last night). And while watching hockey last night, he munched an apple instead.
I'll let you know how he feels about being primarily vegetarian in a few weeks.
Time/Convenience
This is the biggest one that has me a bit freaked.
I've never soaked beans in my life.
So the idea of having to plan that far ahead for meals is a bit weird. But I'm game to give it a try and see if there is a huge difference. I'll let you know how this transpires in particular, if I find it more or less work than how we used to eat.
Joining the Challenge
I had a few folks say that they were ready to join the party. So if that's the case, just add a link to your site below in the comments (if I knew how to do a MckLinky, that would probably be easier...) and I'll put together a post with all of our links so that we can find each other. Even if it's just two or three of us, I'd love to read your thoughts and then we can encourage each other. (You don't have to do it the exact way we are. Create your own whole food challenge for your family. But if you just want to share your thoughts or experiences or expertise on the topic, it would be great to read.)
Also, a big thank you to Stephanie at Metropolitan Mama for featuring this challenge in her Tuesday Tours of the Web.
