Two Weeks. Unprocessed. - Overview & Day 1

Sometimes cooking for two people is hard. You know what I mean, right? When you're only cooking for one or two, it's hard to get the motivation to make something healthy in a small portion.

Sometimes cooking for two people is so hard, that I don't cook at all. Needless to say, my digestive system is taking a beating because I'm not cooking or eating like I usually do when we're cooking from scratch. Add the catered lunches I had last week for a work training, and you have a hot mess up in here.

*sigh*

But you know what this also means? This is the perfect time to experiment with a healthy eating challenge that will refocus my efforts to cook from scratch, get nourishment from good food, and 'vote with my dollar' by purchasing local, unprocessed food.

I am going to challenge myself to eating 100% real, whole foods that have no commercial processing. I am going to challenge myself to cook meals from scratch daily for 14 days, where the only 'processing' is the cooking that I do in my own kitchen.


1. I am going to grocery shop with great intention before starting this challenge. Tomorrow I will share my grocery list with you. I usually share my meal plan for the week on Monday, but I'm including that below, for your convenience.

2. I am going to shop at New Pioneer Food Co-op and Aldi. New Pioneer makes shopping easy and Aldi has a fantastic selection of unprocessed, organic food items that are affordable.

3. I am going to meal plan everything and share it with you. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snacks.

4. I'll write posts about every other day, sharing recipes and recapping my thoughts.

Without further ado, here's this week's meal plan, which is organized like my BFF (blogging friend forever) Michelle - -

Breakfasts will be a rotation of: 

• Steel cut oatmeal with maple syrup, dried fruit, cinnamon
• Homemade granola with plain or maple syrup sweetened yogurt
• Toasted homemade bread with home canned blueberry jam
• These pancakes, from The Easy Homestead

Side Note: Here's a great reason why I'm not eating cereal, and some additional unprocessed breakfast items from Homestead Wishing. 

Lunches will include the following, mostly made from leftovers: 

• This simple country omelet, from Better Hens and Gardens. 
• Baked potato with crumbled bacon, sour cream, and cheese
• Spinach or leafy green salad with onions, peppers, croutons, and leftover protein (like chicken)
• Hardboiled eggs, cheese stick, and handful of nuts
• French toast made from homemade bread, topped with maple syrup
• Leftover meatballs
• Leftover homemade pizza

Side Note: Here are some lovely unprocessed lunch ideas if you have lunch on-the-go, or another option if you have a bit of time to cook at home; both from Green Eggs and Goats.

Dinners will include: 

• Oven-roasted chicken hindquarters and a spinach salad with veggies
• Homemade pizza on homemade whole wheat crust with home canned marinara sauce, onions, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and family-raised ground pork
• Family-raised pork chop (glazed with homemade peach jam) and a spinach salad with veggies
• Meatballs with family-raised beef over mashed taters with pan gravy
• Apple butter meatloaf with family-raised beef and pork and a spinach salad with veggies
• Grilled cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit
• A dinner out with family or friends, where I'll try to order unprocessed off of a menu! 

Snacks will be a rotation of: 

• Stovetop popcorn
• Fruit
• Nuts
• This chocolate pudding from Herbal Academy of New England
• This hot chocolate from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Could you last two weeks eating unprocessed? What do you think would be the hardest part? 

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