And one that has many opinions, I am sure.
I personally, for our family have decided that it is better to eat rather than not eat and to eat as healthy as food as we can on the income God has provided for us. We do eat things that are not healthy for us sometimes. But I was thinking today about how Elijah ate the food the ravens brought him and how gross that was, and how he did not get sick, at least that was mentioned and God had provided it to him. God sometimes has dropped food in my lap that we do not normally eat, but we pray and receive it with thanksgiving and I think that makes a difference.

As for some of the diets that are out there, I have had friends who did some of the healthy eating things with all raw foods etc. I know three people personally who were actually dying slowly of starvation, where their body was not working correctly on those type of diets. From what I have read, they are great for a short term of detoxing and getting cleaned out, but not long term.

I think there are foods that are in the bible which Jesus ate and other people that are healthy for us. I try to eat as many whole foods as we can.
There are alot of foods mentioned in the bible which many health food people say are not healthy for you. Two I can think of right off are milk and honey....God blessed the children of Isreal with milk and honey and yes, it was not just goats milk, but cows and sheep too they drank. Both of those are touted as being bad for you by many people. I agree that the processing kills some of the good though!
anyhow, too long of comment!

I was at a Shonda Parker conference recently and she said something that really hit me. She said "It is not what we are putting into our bodies that is so bad for us, but that we are not taking in enough of what is good. Some bad will not kill you, if you have enough of the good stuff!"

I think you have to have balance. So many people go to extremes when it comes to food and eating healthy. They go over board in one area and ingore others. We need balance. This is the main problem I have had in reading healthy living type books. There seems to be no balance. Especially when dealing with medical and food things. They find one area or thing they like or agree with and ignore all other facts. I think this applies to the raw diet thing. Yes, raw foods are healthy but not eating all/only raw foods. Lots of raw foods mixed in with other foods is more realistic of what we need.

I try to eat with the seasons... I think nature has made it that way. Have you ever eaten corn on the cob in January????It is just nasty... Corn on the cob is supposed to be eaten in the summer. But we have become a people of, "I want what I want when I want it". So there is corn on the cob in the supermarkets in January.
I don't think our bodies are set up that way... and every thing is portion control.

Sue

Honestly, healthy eating is something that I struggle with, in a variety of ways.

First, I have to admit, that a lot of times a fast food burger, or a bag of chips, or a pint of ice cream just sounds good. I've switched to eating Weight Watchers ice cream bars, but I have to wonder, if I'm really do myself any favors. Sure, it's low in fat in calories, but those had to be replaced with something, likely some bizarre chemicals. Maybe I would be better off having a small amount of real ice cream?

Second, and this may be the biggest one, is time. I work full-time, and it's a real struggle some days to put a healthy meal on the table. It involves a lot of planning ahead a preparation the night(s) before. And while this certainly isn't all bad, it's still something I struggle with. In general, you can't come home at 5:30 and throw together something healthy.

Third, is cost. Often times, it IS cheaper to buy some pre-packaged, processed junk. Were I a SAHM, I think I could probably work to plan and prepare frugal, healthy meals, but at this time in my life, time is at a premium. At 9:00 at night, I'm thinking about bed, not preparing a menu and shopping list.

Interestingly, just the other night, as I was preparing something not-so-healthy, I was thinking, "I need to start using Tammy's recipes more often. Her's are always healthy!"

for some people eat vegetarian or vegan and if you are very careful get enough of the right proteins.
I do not like meat that much, so we eat very little of it, we do eat it, but low amounts of it. We try to always have complete proteins though.
When I was pregnant with my second son I basically ate vegetarian and no milk as well. When he was 5 months old I broke my foot in a fall that should not have broken my foot. After 4 weeks, it was not healing still. The x-ray revealed a depleted bone. The foot doctor told me that the only time he sees this in a young person is if they are vegetarian, don't drink milk and eat green leafy vegetables. It does not happen all the time, but the ones that it does are that group of people.
It makes me more careful, although I still can go without meat much of the time, I try to be careful about getting the vitamins I need so I do not break bones.
My uncle is a very healthy vegetarian though and I know it is possible!

Our family has come a long way since my husband and I first got married and I knew next to nothing about cooking except what my mom and grandma cooked. Most of the time it was almost from-scratch, home-cooked meals with a lot of convenience and not-so-healthy foods thrown in. As we got older (we've been married 25 years) we noticed, after much research, that there was a better way to eat so that we would feel better. We eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, lots of beans and rice, and not as much meat and dairy as we used to. I also bake with whole wheat and rye flour more than white and try to stay away from too much sugar. I know we could do better but we have decided that we would do the best we could with God provides for us. I also frequent the farmers' markets in season and freeze as much food as is possible. I just believe that the closer it is to the way God made it, the better it is for us, but at the same time, living within our means. Right now that rarely means buying organically unless we can grow it ourselves. I agree with Elizabeth, above, that when we are given the privilege of being in someone else's home, we should be as gracious as possible about what we are served. Everybody is different about what they like to eat and it is just one meal.

Tammy, I love your site. You've taught me so much about how to eat in a balanced way. God bless.

DarcyLee
http://in-this-season.blogspot.com

I grew up in a home where eating healthy was good. Alothough most foods were prepared and some were garden grown. we try not to eat fried foods. we eat baked. As for eating out when your working full time it is hard to come home and cook. We do eat out and sometimes fast food. I know that is not good for us. I'm working on changing it.

sandra

I've been there. When I was thought to have celiac disease I was so worried about getting one drop of gluten in my system for fear of getting sick that I didn't eat many meals because I wasn't sure yet what I could have. I got pretty sick and dropped the little weight on my frame that I had and could not afford to lose. The worse my health got the more and more I avoided "bad" foods thinking they were causing it. I LOVE food and would have never thought I would be linked with a disease like anorexia since I don't have a body image problem and want to GAIN weight; however, my anxiety for my health had gotten out of control. This was also during a time that I was having cysts tested to see if they were cancerous and I came across the "raw food diet" and the many testimonies that they would reverse or greatly help cancer. So I stocked the fridge with fruits and veggies but that was all I would eat since I was avoiding breads for gluten and meats for the hormones that might promote cancer growth. At one point, I was only eating fruits, veggies, rice, beans, and nuts and was down to 93 pounds. That was two years ago and eventually our finances required that I stop spending so much on tons of organic fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, etc. and my husband was tired of me eating like a rabbit so I started cooking everything from scratch and really educating myself on how to cook nutritious meals without gluten and that don't have high hormone content as I still am prone to fibroids, though praise the Lord, they aren't cancerous. I weight is back up to where it was before at around 105 which is my normal for my 5 foot petite frame but I would love to gain some more. Just wanted to add my story since I have been there and it does happen and the fear of "SAD" (Standard American diet) foods and their effects on the human body can get out of control.