10 Days of Real Food

M 3.4.13

• for part of our Lenten promise, we decided to give up highly-processed foods, inspired by this blog, Lisa Leake's 100 Days of Real Food

Lent does not mean spring here, but flowers do remind me of it

• but after a few weeks, and digging a bit more on her blog, I realized that my real food rules were not quite as strict as the family's on the site [I figured if I was eating mostly whole grains, limited sugar, and freshly baked items (rather than packaged goods with chemicals and ingredients I didn't know), than I was doing fine]
• after reading the Leake family rules:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

• ...we decided to take part in the "10 Days of Real Food" pledge  and follow their rules more strictly
• so here we are, Monday, March 4th, day 1 of the pledge
• beforehand, I tried to stock up on items that adhered to the rules...lots of fruits and vegetables,  whole grains, homemade roasted chickpeas, granola (my favorite go-to granola recipe), bread, etc.
• I also planned out some dinner recipes for the week, suggestions straight from her blog like homemade pizza, chicken noodle soup, and mac and cheese
• Day 1 was a bit hard for Jake...he said he felt hungry much of the day, even with the snacks he brought with him
• his office offers a lunch catering service that is affordable, convenient and usually pretty good, so he had to talk with the caterers about his new diet restrictions to make sure he could eat what was being served that day...they agreed on at least having some salads available and simple grilled chicken breasts for him
• this was a little bit confusing for them to hear that Jake was on a diet, as they mostly associate diets with trying to lose weight; also they believed the meals they served were already relatively healthy...so what was wrong with them?
• he couldn't drink the coffee because it was made through a machine and he didn't know exactly what ingredients were being added
• he couldn't accept homemade baked goods that were offered by coworkers, since they likely contained white flour and sugar
• vending machines were out for obvious reasons
• he was not a happy camper after day 1...so we had to adjust a bit by sending him with more snacks and coffee made at home

Tu 3.5.13

• Jake pointed out to me that I was putting non-homemade bottled mustard on my sandwich for the next day's lunch
• I had done it yesterday too...so I technically cheated, but I really didn't realize it...no more mustard after today!

W 3.6.13

• on Day 3 I borrowed a friend's food processor (thanks Carolyn!) so I could make homemade hummus, energy bites, Lara bars, and pizza dough
• this was a good idea, because we had treats that lasted us almost the full 10 days

Sa 3.9.13

• on Day 6 we went to the organic market, El Galpón, to get some other pledge-friendly items like and organic chicken, quinoa, cheese, eggs, and produce
• we then attempted to eat out at a restaurant, Le Ble, in Chacaritas
• this part was difficult because first we had to analyze the menu to see what we could actually eat
• I was going into this thinking salads...well the options were limited, so we asked if we could have the fried chicken salad, but with grilled chicken...answer was no
• so we went with a chicken caesar salad and we asked if we could have the Tartine de Peras (pears, blue cheese, caramelized onions over bread) but with wheat bread...answer was no
• so we still ordered it and planned on not eating the bread
• what we got was two salads, one caesar, one with fried chicken...one of us opted not to eat the fried chicken, the other didn't want it to go to waste
• we didn't eat the croutons...but the caesar dressing probably wasn't within the rules...and we ate the wheat-looking bread from the bread basket, but not sure of ingredients...sunflower oil is often used here...guess we'll never know
• at least we could enjoy their huge fishbowl lattes though:

Su 3.10.13

• on Day 7 we ran the UNICEF 10k...again more challenges
• this time not necessarily food-related
• most races require packet pickup before race day
• this one did not, which we felt was convenient, as pick-up is usually on the outskirts of town
• so we arrived an hour early on race day, found packet pick-up, waited in line for over an hour, picked up the packets for "Martin, Alejandro, and Susana" (mind you there were just two of us, and our registered names were Jacob and Rebecca), received our shirts (first were given 3 smalls, then a small and a medium...we had ordered a medium and large), didn't have time to check our bags, so we started the race about 30 minutes late...equipped with super tight purple shirts, my pink draw-string bag, and Jake as Susana, me as Martin...all extremely unorganized

• it was all quite the sight...there were thousands of people there...and we didn't really train...the first 5k was too crowded to even try for a good pace, and I suggested we run home instead of completing the second 5k
• we finished, turned down the post-race Gatorade and sugary cereal bars (where are the bananas?!), then walked home past the alluring smells of the bondiola stands...none of which we were allowed to eat...grrr
• don't worry, we made a tasty rules-friendly, post-race brunch at home 
• then it was time to get to work on our enormous (10-pounder?) organic chicken

EEEK!!!

• I think this was my first time dealing with a whole chicken

• so after Skyping with both our moms, requesting Jake's assistance, and getting over the fact that the chicken's skin and bones felt like I was handling a corpse, we successfully seasoned, roasted, and pealed apart a whole chicken...and even used the bones to make a stock

• was hard work, but was also about time I take my culinary skills beyond America's favorite boneless, skinless, frozen bagged chicken breasts (that I love and miss so much)
• the rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying some patio time (little pedi/mani action here)

• we had a bird and chicks nesting on our patio for some time...Jake thought this was cool, I didn't like the bird poop that soon covered our patio because one of the chicks was stuck and couldn't fly itself out...

• as for the rest of our pledge...it seemed to go pretty well with the tasty chicken and soup to enjoy the rest of the week, along with our quinoa pasta, brown rice, cheese, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies
• I can't say that I really missed the packaged cookies, food dyes, or preservatives all that much (I did miss chocolate, and it was hard to refuse the treats students often try to force on you...and trying to find bread or crackers with less than 5 ingredients is near impossible...The Pick Market does have some tasty sesame wheat crackers though!) *also, not being able to order in pizza or sushi would've been challenging if we'd gone much longer than 10 days
• I'm not sure that we felt any major health changes in those 10 days, but I did at least feel healthier while not consuming added sugar...and I do believe that if I had done this pledge for longer, I would most likely feel more energized and have less digestive issues
• we are continuing to try our best to eat healthy and follow the rules when we can (may be easier/more comfortable when back in Chicago with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods!)...but it is challenging when eating out, travelling, and while living in a foreign country (I cannot resist empanadas and medialunas!)
• I think investing in a food processor while down here will be helpful, so I'm on the lookout 
• it was a challenge that gave us a different view of ingredients, preservatives, packaged foods and what goes into them...it was a difficult pledge at times, but definitely doable, and we'd certainly recommend giving it a try!

• p.s...I really can't live without french fries and chocolate! what would life be?!