Baby Steps: Moving A Family To Whole Foods - Part I: Unburying My Head

I’ve been a homemaker for almost twenty-three years. I have my own way of doing things, and really, I thought I was doing pretty well. My kids are healthy, thank God. I try to make sure our meals are well balanced, with meat, vegetables and fruit, and we’ve even been working on cutting down on our meat consumption. All in all, I was happy in my complacency and ignorance, much like that proverbial ostrich with her head warm in the sand.

As a homeschooler, though, I tend to encounter many different types of people. Homeschoolers by and large are usually more free thinking than the general public, and so although it’s certainly not the rule, they are often more proactive about making major lifestyle changes.

When we moved to Florida, I chanced to meet a group of other mamas who have made this kind of big change. They had done loads of research on a new way of eating. . that is really an old way of eating.

For a while, I smiled and nodded and tried to ignore it. They all used strange words, like “kefir” and “komboucha” and “soaking grains”. I had no idea what those words meant, and frankly, I didn’t really care to learn!

But then. . slowly. . .and somehow. . .it began to rub off on me. That’s the only explanation I can give; there wasn’t any dramatic conversation experience on my part. My most knowledgeable friend began leading informational cooking classes, and I offered the use of my kitchen for one of them. As I listened to her talk, I was horrified by some of the facts she shared. And at the same time, I realized that some of the changes she proposed really weren’t that extreme.

So we began to make baby steps. We didn’t toss out everything from the pantry. We finished what was there, and when we needed to replace it, we chose a healthier alternative or in some cases, we chose not to buy that item again.

I learned what kefir is and what it does, and what’s more, I am actually the proud owner of real live kefir grains. I’ve shared some with a friend, and I’m getting ready to send another batch to New Jersey for my sister.

Last week my knowledgeable friend—henceforth known as Lee—bravely allowed me to borrow her komboucha ‘mother’—the mushroom that will allow me to brew my own komboucha tea.

I’m still far from knowing it all, or even a fraction of all the wonderful information out there. But I’m learning, slowly and surely. Since my normal response to a new experience to write about it, I thought I’d document our little lifestyle change in this series of articles. You can come along as we take our baby steps toward a new way of shopping, cooking and eating.

I’ll be sharing information from the experts as well as links for you to do your own exploring. As always, I love to hear input about how your family might be making these sorts of changes. Let’s go on this journey together!


Tawdra Kandle is stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of four children who range in age from 9 years to almost 21 years. She and her husband of over 22 years live in central Florida, where he is in seminary. Tawdra spends most of her precious free time writing and reading, and she loves to travel. She is also a resident writer for Taking Time for Mommy. View more of her Articles HERE

Part 2 of the Whole Food Series!

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