Bring Back the Pre-Junk-Food Era Diet

Recently, I saw an article online about how a family in North Carolina broke its junk food addiction. After 100 days of eating “no refined grains or sweeteners, nothing deep fried, only local hormone-free meats, and organic fruits and veggies, and absolutely nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package with more than five ingredients listed on the label,” their palates had changed to the point where artificial food actually tasted bad.

This article made me think about how fortunate I was to grow up on a farm in Minnesota in the 50s and 60s. In those days, we didn’t have any of the fast-food options that are available today. Instead, my mother worked hard to serve us fresh, homemade food. We had fresh-from-the-chicken eggs. Our milk was direct from the cow – no store-bought milk for us. We butchered our own free-range, hormone-free beef, pork and chickens. My mother had a huge garden where she grew beautiful organic vegetables. She spent hours canning produce for use throughout the year. She also purchased big boxes of fruit in season and canned those as well. And our treats were all the most delicious made-from-scratch cakes, pies and cookies.

Obviously we’ve come a long way in the food world since the 50s and 60s. We now have access to so many “convenience” foods. However, a lot of these foods just aren’t very good for us, nor do they taste as good as they should. But, as the family in North Carolina has found, with a little imagination and conscientiousness, you can break the junk-food cycle and provide your family with a good, healthy and tasty diet.

Sharron