The Wandering RD

Ahhh, summer’s here. It’s Week 2 and my kids act like we have all the time in the world. During any downtime, they’re lounging on the couch, trying to put off for tomorrow (or never) what they could do today. Then September sneaks up on them. Every. Year. And they wonder where the time went and why they didn’t do more during summer break. The point? It doesn’t appear to matter how old you are; everyone wants more time–that’s why it’s my main mission to save time with easy, real food!

I actually feel I should confess. I have a nutrition and food blog, but I usually hate reading food blogs!  Although I do love searching for new recipes to try, it’s a real time suck when bloggers share blow-by-blow random thoughts speckled with as many as 10 photos of the same food taken at different angles.

Pretty food is nice to look at, but dinner doesn’t make itself, am I right?!  I just don’t have time for that and neither do you, I suspect.  (And frankly, as a blogger I prefer to firmly plant myself on the side of the proverbial fine line where I am helpful, rather than a narcissistic oversharer.)

So, I instantly scroll down recipe posts, skipping all the commentary, to do my 10-second unofficial check of the recipe to see if it meets my criteria before I consider trying it.

My Recipe Checklist

What are my criteria, you may wonder? Well if you look at my Recipe Index, you’ll get the idea pretty quickly. But here is the unofficial checklist:

• All real-food ingredients
• No (or very minimal) sugar
• Grain free/gluten free (if possible, to minimize refined carbohydrates)
• Lower in total carbohydrate
• No highly refined oils (such as seed and vegetable oils, including corn and canola)
• Easy instructions
• Minimal time commitment (bonus points for under 45 min)
• Will My Family Eat It???

Perfection Is Impossible

Not too surprisingly, few recipes meet these criteria!  I realize my checklist is discriminating, but you should know I don’t follow these criteria for everything I eat. Technically, I do not have food rules; I eat everything.  And I don’t feel guilty when I choose to eat something that is outside of this list!  You shouldn’t either.

However, I don’t eat everything every day.  Most people’s idea of moderation is likely not cutting it for health.  I choose to eat lower carbohydrate, real (from nature) foods, 9 times out of 10, because I feel better eating this way—and believe it is the most evidenced-based way to eat for optimal health (more on that very soon, a blog post series is in the works!)

Plus eating easy, real food creates a path to simplicity in this overabundant, distracting life.  Literally–I don’t walk up and down the majority of grocery store aisles.  Figuratively–I try to concern myself with what’s important and disregard the rest because it’s how I keep my head above water!  I am known for saying, “I’m on a need-to-know basis and I just don’t need to know!”

So, when I am creating and sharing recipes to help you live a healthier lifestyle, these are my strict criteria to help you focus on what to eat more often than not.  Because anyone can easily use meal plans, order meal delivery kits or look up convenient, sugar-laden, highly processed recipes online.  But it is so much harder to find homemade, easy, real-food recipes that you can rely on for your day-to-day, non-diet meal planning for a healthy lifestyle.

Mission To Save Time

Because it is my number one mission to save time, I designed my site (which affects how you choose to get connected, see below) mainly to avoid wasting your time (and mine).  After all, if you don’t feel you have enough time, you won’t prioritize your family’s meals.  It is hard enough trying to cut through scientific jargon, mainstream media and popular culture to figure out what’s legit. So, when you take the time to pull up a chair to my table, I promise to always serve you the following:

• Easy, real food recipes that are as brief as possible.
• Recipes that are continually added to the Recipe Index, but are not posted—mainly so you are not emailed (read: bothered) every time one is added!
• One photo per recipe, just enough to whet your appetite (but not within the printable recipe; I’m saving your printer ink!)
• Evidence-based blog posts on a variety of nutrition topics relating to a lower carb real-food lifestyle—always summarized with a meaningful, practical “bottom line” and/or tips for moving forward.

Choose How to Get Connected

If you’re ready and willing to learn more, there are several ways to get connected with www.thewanderingrd.com, depending on which question(s) you want answered!

“What to Eat?”

If you want to cut to the chase and figure out what to eat (that is, what’s for dinner tonight?) here are some ways to get connected with www.thewanderingrd.com so you don’t miss when there are new recipes to try.

• Bookmark The Wandering RD’s Recipe Index in your Internet browser (and check back whenever you need a new recipe).
• Follow me on Facebook The Wandering RD 
• Follow me on Instagram @dvnorwood

“Why Eat Real Food?”

If you are looking for the “why” behind a lower carb, real food lifestyle (for people with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or anyone else) of course you’ll also find that at www.thewanderingrd.com! The best way to stay connected for this type of information is to subscribe to the blog via email, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss a post.

(On a computer, from the homepage, look just under my photo to subscribe to the blog via email. Or on a mobile device, click on the faint square with 3 bars at top left, click “Contact Me” and scroll down to subscribe to the blog via email.)

What’s Next?

A new blog post series is in the works starting in July to cover some big topics and make them easier to digest. Don’t wait–get connected so you don’t miss a thing!