funky fresh kitchen challenge #1

yesterday i opened up heavenlyhomemakers.com in order to double-check the tomato soup recipe i was planning to make, and i discovered that september is the “month of the funky fresh kitchen” – a month of challenges, giveaways, and posts to help us all get a fresh start in the kitchen, with the goals of health & functionality. the first challenge was: “toss it out – make a switch!” the idea is to get rid of something that’s been lurking in the kitchen that is not good for you and replace it with a healthier option. the listed ideas include:

– replace sugary cereal with homemade granola
– replace bottled salad dressing with homemade dressing
– replace plastics with glass
– replace white rice with brown rice
– replace chemical cleaners with non-toxic cleaners
– replace boxed mixes with homemade treats
– replace chips with fruit
– replace sugary beverages with water

after taking a moment to reflect, i was so grateful to realize that over the last few weeks i’ve already taken the step to toss out several non-healthy items and replaced them with better options, including:

+ replace msg-laced soy sauce with traditionally fermented soy sauce
+ replace white sugar with palm sugar, honey, and the local equivalent of rapadura
+ replace semolina (processed white flour) pasta with brown rice pasta
+ replace pure white rice with a mixture of red (whole grain) rice and white rice
+ replace refined (heat-treated, bleached, deodorized) palm oil with homemade coconut oil

because of their absence, boxed mixes, sugary cereals, and bottled dressings don’t pose a threat here on this island (though i’d be lying if i said i wouldn’t be tempted if they were around). we very rarely have soda or pre-packaged snacks in the house – they’re more of a weak spot when we’re out and about…

my new challenge: when we moved here i made homemade cleaning products (recipes from “green up your cleanup“) with the exception of floor cleaner. i felt that making my own was going to be too much work and my ingredients were too expensive to have them all used up so quickly (remember: my entire house has to be mopped). but now, with this challenge, i’m going to look into making a homemade natural floor cleaner for mopping to replace my chemical-filled store-bought bottle.

the time frame for completing this challenge is september 7 – i only have three more days!

what about you? what will you toss & replace?