Unhealthy?

I've been reading Real Food: What To Eat And Why by Nina Planck and it's been interesting to say the least.  I've had an easier time both weight and health wise since I switched to eating things like real butter and I never really understood why....I just kind of thanked my lucky stars.  When my cholesterol levels came back pretty much perfect this year I literally bragged about it to G for days.  We both laughed because I'm so much healthier now than when I was obsessed with food in a negative way, avoiding fat and drinking skim milk.  I think what it comes down to, and what this book seems to be really emphasizing, is to eat a very well balanced diet.  Plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, sprinkle in protein and fats. 

So last night we were discussing what to have for dinner.  We had run to a local organic market down by base and come across some local eggs.  They were beautiful and so we picked up a half dozen.  We knew we wanted to base the meal around them, and so I came up with this:  A plate of fresh baby spinach topped with mushrooms that had been sauteed in bacon fat and a fried egg.  A couple pieces of homemade bread toasted with our lovely Kerrygold butter rounded it off.  Hot tea helped make sure everything digests properly.  It was delicious.  And the good news is that we have plenty of all of the ingredients left to make it again soon! 

I can tell you that it was not an unhealthy meal.  Eggs are actually quite good for you, namely for containing lecithin which helps you metabolize cholesterol.  Mushrooms and spinach are low calorie but nutrient rich (everything in this meal aside from the bread was completely organic....I'm not huge into that movement, but since I'm not a fan of pesticides we've been eating more of the types of foods that the pesticides affect the part you eat.).  The homemade bread was the whole wheat bread I make to keep on hand.  And the bacon grease was from the jar I keep in the fridge from when we cook our all natural bacon (not organic, but no hormones or antibiotics or nitrates).  Basically I used a little to add some bacon flavor to the meal, almost like a warm bacon dressing, only the only real "dressing" was the runny egg yolk.   Bacon fat is mainly unsaturated, but even saturated fat can be good for you....they help keep your cells strong (thereby allowing your body to fight infections) and are necessary for calcium absorption.  This simple meal is one that many calorie counting/fat avoiding people would have looked upon in horror, but in actuality it was delicious and nutritious!  

EDIT:  I was watching a t.v. show and saw an ad for some sort of "Light and Fit" yogurt.  I used to eat that sort.  Less calories, lots of sweet fruity flavor. Unfortunately I can assure you they're crap.  Nonfat milk means runny, so they add modified food starch.  They know you want it sweet so fructose (a fruit sugar) is added, even though the fruit should naturally have plenty to flavor it.  And then there is sucralose (Splenda) which I used to think was not good (as in, unnatural) but harmless, but the more I read about it the more I think I don't want it in my body.  


I am not a huge fan of Greek yogurt.  Let me backtrack and say that I go through periods where I love it and then I go through periods where I don't.  It's extremely tangy and can be a harsh change.  We do get it sometimes but have found that getting cream top plain yogurt (as in, very full fat) goes over better.  I simply add some fruit (fresh or frozen) and a drizzle of honey and find it delicious.  When you're switching from extremely processed foods to more natural it can be jarring, taste-wise.  However in my child nutrition class in college I learned that it takes trying something 20 times in a period of time that is less spread out to get your taste buds to acquire a taste for something.  So if at first you don't love it, eat it anyways.  And again.  And again.  I promise this method does work and in no time you'll be eating super healthy things that you used to dread.  Which is why I find my mouth salivating at the thought of broccoli and brussels sprouts.