Well here it is already…March 1! Today is the day that we are going to make month long changes towards more ‘real food’ in our diets.
When I first posted about this personal challenge after watching ‘Food Inc.’ I never could have imagined the interest and enthusiasm that you all would come here with! I must say you have blown me away…seriously you guys rock!
So now its time to begin our little adventure…
We want to emphasize that everyone can get involved. We’re welcoming everyone into the challenge from fast food junkies to hard core granolas. Set your goals low or set them high, just set a goal. Your goal can be to give up soda for a healthier alternative like tea, or perhaps you want to make one meal from scratch each week. Maybe you’ve always thought about eating oatmeal every morning instead of cereal, or maybe you just want to learn to make a killer loaf of homemade bread. There are no hard and fast rules here, it is up to you to determine for yourself and your family what changes you want to make.
And we don’t just want to hear about your successes (which we certainly do) but we also want to hear what doesn’t work. Share what things are the hardest along with those that have proved easy. We want the food to be real but we also want the dialog to be just as real. Join us, it should be an interesting month!
So here are a few things we have in store for you…
Giveaways, we will have them weekly throughout the month. So make sure you link up and comment often!
Link Parties, each Monday we will put a way for you to link your blog posts here so we can all go and check in on each others experiences with the challenge
Recipes, we will have lots of those for you to try and would love to hear yours too.
Blog Roll, on our sidebar we will list all those that have decided to join us this month!
Let’s get this challenge rolling!
Here is our first Real Food Link Party…please join us!
Link to any posts you have that deal specifically with the food challenge.
This will remain open until Thursday morning March 4th
Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…
Join us, it should be an interesting month!
We would love to know…What are your goals for the Real Food Challenge?
Not Dabbling In Normal 
[…] Real! Food Challenge Posted on March 1, 2010 by jan I am participating in the “Lets https://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/lets-get-real-food-challenge-starts-today/s much as is […]
This is my first time on your blog…I found it from The Inadvertent Farmer. I love the idea, but not sure how much I will do. My goals are:
1.) Find a fairly easy bread recipe so I can make homemade bread and rolls
2.) Make a from scratch meal at leaste once a week
3.) Continue with my garden, make it a little bigger this year and find more ways to can/freeze items from it
I would love a really good bread recipe if you have one! Thank you for all of your ideas and encouraging posts!
Heidi
Heidi…thanks for coming over! I will get a bread recipe for you this week. Welcome to the Real Food Challenge…Kim
Did not find challenge until today. Was realy taken back by FoodInc. welcoming the challenge.
Welcome, welcome! Can’t wait to hear what you are changes are in store for you…Kim
Wooohooo! I’m excited!
[…] 1, 2010 by growandresist So, I’m doing this Real Food Challenge thing. Call me wacky. Or fringe-y. But I’m doing it […]
I like that…we’re all ‘wacky and fringe-y’! Welcome, Kim
You forgot “weird”. =)
I’m focusing on eating seasonally. And not just local seasonal, I’m going to buy some citrus and maybe some avocados, I’ll see what I can find.
https://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/real-food-challenge-chiots-run-is-in/
[…] 1, 2010 by chiotsrun Are you joining the Real Food Challenge? Want to add the button to your blog sidebar, or use the badge a blog post about the challenge? […]
OK, guys. You finally sucked me in. I am going to work on my breadmaking. (still don’t have the right combo of whole goodness and fluffy softness) It is so much easier just to buy a loaf…But I promise to try.
I added your button on my blog and will keep track of the progess of the group. Hope we all stick to it! It will be fun.
Great, can’t wait to see how it goes. I’d recommend getting the book: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
or for whole grains: Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor
Fanstastic! It took me a long time to get bread down and I’m not even geeky about it. I can’t wait to see how you come along. Jennifer
We’re all linked up and ready to eat! In general we are a fairly pure food family. We don’t buy crackers, cereal, snackfoods, etc. This month we’ll be concentrating on eating very locally, replacing dried pasta with rice, and getting off the market bought bread – local or not! I’ll be attempting Lavash for the first time on Tuesday. I’ve already given up take-away coffee and soda-pop for Lent. A big batch of homemade granola is in the works and we’ll be as seasonal with our veggies as possible.
It sounds like you’ve really thought this through! Welcome to the challenge!
Link added to MckLinky. 😀
My challenge will really start on the 4th. I have dietary restrictions today, tomorrow, and a doctors visit on Wednesday. After that it’s fair game though. Though any diagnosis given on Wednesday may or may not alter my diet. I’m hoping not, but anything is possible. 😛
Of course my kids and boyfriend have no excuse so they’re starting today. 😉
This is so exciting! My goal is to take a look at our processed food and choose one thing at a time that we can make ourselves. I started with granola, then granola bars, now I am thinking of my next item! I am going to link to you tomorrow in my Tree Huggin’s Tuesday feature!
Thanks for starting this!
Suzy
So glad to have you here, Suzy!
What a fun idea. I am pretty real food friendly already but can certainly improve. I think i will focus on breakfast food for the month of march. I just started making my own yogurt with organic milk and love it. Let the real food begin!
The next step is cream cheese from your homemade yogurt! Happy to see you here and look forward to your seeing your progress!
I’m in! Woot! I made a lot of progress last month and look forward to continuing similarly this month. Thanks for setting up this challenge. I find that checking in regularly keeps me moving forward. And I look forward to learning from some of you who have been at this longer than I have.
We are in as well. I made homemade yogurt in the crockpot and lived to tell the story! Tomorrow I have a post at Homemakers Who Work -a beginners tutorial to crockpot yogurt!
Kris
I’m so in. This is right up my alley :o) I’d like to try some homemade tortillas, and I plan to start purchasing local raw milk to try some of my own homemade dairy products – those are the things we buy most that we don’t already provide for ourselves.
Fun times ahead, I look forward to reading more!
I’m in. I’m not sure what else I can change but I’m in! I don’t buy anything processed but I’m sure you’ll give me lots of ideas of new things to make. 🙂
I’ve been hedging, but we’ll do it. I just sat my husband down and we made a short list of our house rules. It’s not too far from what we already do, but I think it’s good to be mindful of why we’re making the choices we make. I think it will be a bigger shift for him than me and I am interested in how it will go.
Thanks for pushing us all to make positive changes!
I’m a new reader to the blog, but I’m in! I love this idea!
I bought a sprouting bag and am cutting out the non-local produce a little at a time. Also found a place nearby for eggs, until we get our own chickens.
The only thing I’m struggling with is soy cheese: I love it, even though it’s processed and really not healthy for me. 😦
Every little step can make a huge difference in so many different aspects of your life. Welcome to NDiN!
[…] want to play along? Drop by and join in the challenge. You can also access this blog via my […]
I’ll play along! I just finished up the 28-Day Challenge at Nourished Kitchen.
We watched Food Inc last month. I am going to aim for more made from scratch meals, maybe 3 a week. I will work using free range meats and use more of the deer in my freezer.
We’re in, and we’ve linked up!
Thanks for the inspiration, and for the resources. 🙂
[…] are almost constantly on my mind, I haven’t kept track, which made me feel at a loss. The challenge over at Not Dabblng in Normal is a great occasion to take […]
I’m in and am excited to read/share ideas!
I’m late, but we’re going to make some changes this month—we already cook most of our food, but we need to eat lighter and healthier, so that’s my focus for March.
I love it! I just posted last month about some changes my family has been making towards organic and whole foods. This challenge is a great reminder and a great way for me to keep working on it! Thank you for the inspiration!
I’m blogging about it today!
Over the past year, we’ve already made significant changes in our household that are in-line with the challenge, but I’m determined to get more hard-core this month.
Thanks for the push!
We’ve made great strides toward eating more whole foods over the past several months and already feel better for it. My goal would be to continue along that vein and try to push the bar even harder. Support from a group like this is always helpful. 🙂 Good luck to everyone.
Nancy, Great to have you on board! Looking forward to seeing how this works for you.
I’m in! Button’s on the blog! Looking forward to the discussion. You’re tailor-made for me; I’m such a hard case I make my own soda pop! (And thank you to Unearthing this Life, which is where I found out about you.)
btw, your McLinky widget says “list closed”?
Just added the button. I’m in and excited.
I have been a part of the Dark Days Challenge and was starting to wonder what I would do to keep me going once it ended…this is great and I love I can customize it to where we are in our journey. What I really want to do is try my hand at preserving/canning, etc but I’m not sure if that will happen this month so my official goal will be similar to some others I saw. I can make a loaf of bread, but nothing special and I would like to expand on our products. I will try my hand at crackers, english muffins, bagels, tortillas and try to cross these things off my grocery list, as well as mastering some bread.
I see I am late to the game, is it to late to officially join the challenge?
-Brenda
Nope, it’s never too late! Thanks for joining us.
[…] March 6, 2010 by Unearthing This Life Since we’re focusing on the Real Food Challenge this month, all of us here at Not Dabbling want to provide as many recipes as we can, ranging from simple to advanced. Each of us hopes that all of you can find something new to try that you can incorporate into your own Challenge. Also, make sure you post your progress with the Challenge here by Sunday. Everyone who comments or links on their progress will be entered for a chance to win a copy of “Food Inc” – the film that prompted this Challenge. […]
All righty, better late than never. 😉
Although we do pretty much eat real foods & I do all my baking from scratch, I have a list of things that I’ve been meaning to work on. Like: Try new bread & cracker recipes- I’m stuck in a bread & cracker rut, always making the same kinds. Make cheese for the 1st time. Figure out what else I can do with my homemade yogurt besides just feeding it to the kids for breakfast. And, pressure can up a bunch of beans! So, I’m in. 🙂 Thanks!
Well … McLinky is closed .. so I’ll just have to add you to my blog roll and check back daily. Suffering from hives for the past 3+ years has been horrible. But … since chucking processed foods out the window and reclaiming the kitchen as a wholesome place to work .. amazingly … ALL of the allergies have vanished! But now … I can no longer eat out or I’ll suffer hives all over again. Excited to see where this challenge takes everyone. Last week I made cultured buttermilk and sprouts.
How wonderful! We have been making many new food choices lately… for us this means leaving behind the vegan lifestyle we have lived for the past 17 years! Big changes! Love what you are doing here and look forward to checking in again. Here is a link to my most recent food ramblings… http://heirloomseasons.blogspot.com/2010/03/vegan-journey-pt-2-one-small-change.html
[…] 9, 2010 by growandresist I’m 8 days into the Real Food Challenge. And what I have to say is this: my kitchen is a frickin’ disaster. I have cleaned […]
[…] Baba A Louis Bakery Bread Book by John McLure. I know, I am supposed to working on bread for the Real Food Challenge, but I couldn’t just let that maple cream go to waste! I used 50-50 whole wheat instead of […]
[…] a sickening, sickening, scary film and seems to be virally popular in the blogosphere with the Real Food Challenge and lots of other good […]
**to make as much of my family’s bread products by my hand
**continue with gardening organic
**master canning/preserving
**continue with chickens/guineas and add more to the flock for meat…..add ducks as well
**find a local farm for my family’s beef consuption
I’m kinda late to join, but JUST heard of this!
After reading ‘Plenty’, I definitely want to try eating more locally grown or produced foods! I can’t commit to a strict 100-mile diet like they did, but definitely can go to the local farmer’s markets more often. (I live with 3 guys, I can’t force them lol)
Goals for 2010:
– I would like to start baking all my own bread, and no more buying bland store brands. (perhaps if I get good enough I’ll venture out to rolls, crackers, tortillas…)
– Start a garden (I’m trying!! Some things are growing) and save seeds from the heirlooms I’m going to grow.
– Learn how to can/preserve (jams, jellies, sauces, etc)
– Choose local farms/farmers markets over grocery chains.
– Make my own butter, enough vanilla extract to actually last the year, cheeses… there’s more I’m sure 🙂
I’m not very good at blogging, but I’ll try to keep up!
Thanks for joining, even if it is a little late. I think many people will be continuing the to focus on eating Real Food even after the month of March ends.
[…] of us here at NDIN have continued on by still eating the same types of foods as we did during The Real Food Challenge. What I want to know is who of you out there are continuing to live the Real Food lifestyle, and […]
[…] or going cold turkey on fast food. Recently, I watched several bloggers take part in a “Real Food Challenge“, which involved a variety of ways to alter one’s relationship with […]
[…] month of March is almost over and the Real Food Challenge at Not Dabbling will be coming to an end. Most of us however will be carrying on trying to change our diets. We […]
I so want to start being agressive in taking back the time to start preparing and eating real food but I think to myself, “Can I really do this?” I need regular encouragement that “I can” do this. No one around me is into health only what is fast, easy and tastes good. Geez!
I know I’m a bit late, but I added your “Real Food Challenge” button to my site. Hopefully people will discover this blog as I have, and find it to be a wealth of information and help!
[…] Here at Not Dabbling, we’ve been discussing whether or not we’re going to do the Real Food Challenge again this year, it seems like a lot of you are interested in it. If you’re interested in […]
Hi! I just found you and this sounds great!
I am trying to learn more about real food and how to change my family’s diet away from SAD. I have to go EXTREMELY slow or my family will revolt! So I am focusing on one change a month. So far, I have drastically reduced drinking Coke. Instead of daily (and I mean ALL day!) I only have 1 glass after work so only 2 times a week. 🙂 I have started buying natural feed eggs (wow are those some orange yolks!) and switched us to organic non-homogenized milk. Trying to figure what March’s change will be. Suggestions? 🙂 Looking forward to learning!
I am planning on eating all homemade foods, everything will be made from scratch and out of my home stocks, no store visits for the month.
Real food! I always say let’s eat what our grandmothers ate: it sure wouldn’t be Cheetos and Twix.
I’ve started dabbling in ‘wild food’ recipe-creating, so I hope you do stop by this blog
http://www.foodlanguages.wordpress.com and have a look at the recipes listed.
By the way, the link that says share a link and view the entire list of entered links seems to be broken . . . ?
Thanks for sparking a great themed month!