Lisa Leake: Do you know what’s in your food?
In a world cluttered with “advice,” Lisa provides a clear vision of food and how to be truly thoughtful about what you put into your body. She advocates eliminating process foods and replacing them with “real” food. On her blog, she outlines a 100-day real food challenge. I recently caught up with her:
Q. What was the tipping point for you to want to eat healthier?
One night I was watching an “Oprah” segment about “Where our food comes from” with (food author) Michael Pollan, and a huge light bulb went off in my head because I realized I had no idea and that might be a huge problem! I went on to learn that many of the foods we thought were “healthy” were actually highly processed. So I immediately felt compelled to make some serious changes!
Q. What kind of changes have you seen/felt since eating “real” – non-processed – food?
Finally! A cheese stick made for grow ups. @OrganicValley #ExpoWest2015 pic.twitter.com/gtNNhlPY6z
— 100 Days of RealFood (@100daysrealfood) March 6, 2015
Q. Was it a hard transition for you and your family? What were the challenges to switching your eating habits?
Yes, the transition was really hard at first! I basically had to relearn how to grocery shop and cook for my family. Once we got the hang of things we figured out it wasn’t as difficult eating at home anymore – the problem was when we left the house. We quickly realized we were one of the few seeking out the real food in a processed food world!
Q. What is your advice to those who don’t like to cook or don’t have the time? Is it possible to eat “real” without being a gourmet cook?
There are a lot of simple meals that are “real,” such as scrambled eggs with fruit and whole-grain toast (breakfast for dinner) or spaghetti made with grass-fed beef, organic jarred sauce and 100% whole-wheat noodles (and a big green salad on the side, of course).
It’s certainly more effort than, let’s say, ordering a pizza, but you have to decide that your health is important enough to make this change a priority. The majority of my recipes (both on my blog and in my cookbook) are honestly pretty straightforward because we are a busy family too, so I totally understand the need for things to be quick and easy.
Warmed up with a bowl of this yummy cheeseburger soup tonight. What did u have? http://t.co/4CCu8CHory@kitchenstew pic.twitter.com/A6VeCJVNtx
— 100 Days of RealFood (@100daysrealfood) March 5, 2014
Q. In your 100-day challenge, you limited recipes to no more than 5 ingredients. What is the logic behind that?
We really just needed to draw the line somewhere and inspired by one of Michael Pollan’s “food rules” the thought is that the fewer ingredients the less processed it probably is.
Q. Best advice for eating out but wanting to stick to the regimen?
Well, the first thing you can do is pick the right type of restaurant. We like to eat at places that feature local, seasonal fare and that make their offerings from scratch (like salad dressings and soups). The only way to know is to ask questions.
Q. What is your favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack?
My favorite breakfast is homemade granola cereal with whole milk and berries. I’m not a big sandwich person so I’d have to say leftover homemade soup (like Potato and Cauliflower Chowder – what I had today actually) along with my favorite “salad” – Caprese.
I honestly don’t snack all that much, but I’m a big fan of having Cashew Cookie Lara Bars (made with only 2 ingredients) stashed in my purse just in case hunger strikes. For dinner all four of us are huge lovers of Mexican food so I’d have to say homemade tacos complete with local, pasture-raised pork and made-from-scratch corn tortillas – yum!
Fresh salsa with local tomatoes, cilantro, onion, gp & garlic made in a #vitamix. Yum! pic.twitter.com/EtYLD2g8G2
— 100 Days of RealFood (@100daysrealfood) July 19, 2013
This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Lisa Leake: Do you know what’s in your food?."