Family develops healthy eating habits

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY

Evelyn Winnard got serious eight years ago about the foods her family was eating. Concerned about the amounts of saturated fat, sodium, sugar and additives being ingested, she set them on a path to healthier choices.
“We have seen the results of the changes in our diets,” said Evelyn Winnard, whose family is starting a vegetable garden to supplement their food supply. “We feel so much better and we have more energy. We don’t have to go to the doctor.”
Her husband, John, added, “My energy level has picked up tremendously after we quit eating meat. Our minds are much clearer.”
Even their 14-year-old son, Tom, has had fewer problems with asthma since the family stopped using dairy products. He does not miss fast food or soft drinks.
“This is the way we’ve been eating most of my life,” noted Tom, a freshman at Valley
View Seventh-day Adventist School in Bluefield, W.Va. “I like it.”
Mrs. Winnard added, “Good nutrition begins at home from Mommy and Daddy. Mom is usually the one in the kitchen so she is responsible for the way the family eats. It’s not an easy thing to do. You have to educate yourself. The Internet is a great tool for finding resources and applying them.”
According to her, she began slowly incorporating the changes to her family’s diet. More fresh fruits and vegetables were added as meat products, processed food, white sugar, saturated fats and carbonated beverages were removed.
Reading more about nutrition and collecting recipes helped her in the quest for a healthier lifestyle. The availability of more health foods and ingredients made cooking easier for her.
“King’s Produce in Wytheville is such a blessing,” Mrs. Winnard said. “It carries a good selection of things for preparing wholesome meals. Walmart also is carrying health foods now. I go to Christiansburg once a month to get what I need, too.”
According to her, the cost of groceries for the family is much less than what it used to be. While some supplies are costly, she said, others aren’t that expensive.
John Winnard pointed out the family’s eating habits also are based on their religious beliefs. They adhere to Old Testament dietary laws.
“Man’s original diet was plants,” he said. “After the Great Flood, there was no vegetation for awhile and man ate meat. Our churches have always emphasized the importance of what you eat. Now, other churches are getting into it. The medical profession also is now stressing the importance of healthy eating habits and their effects on the body.”
The Winnards estimate at being 80 percent of the way to becoming vegans – distinguished by not using any animal products. They consider themselves vegetarians at this time.
“The key thing is balance,” John Winnard said. “Balance is very important. It’s really a choice that you make.”
The family does not snack between meals or eat two hours before bedtime. Because of digestive concerns, the Winnards do not drink water or fruit juice with their meals.
Still settling into their new home in Bland County, the Winnards are beginning a vegetable garden. They plan to grow kale, mustard, spinach, bell peppers, soy beans, cucumbers and potatoes.
“You can taste the sweetness of fresh vegetables,” Mrs. Winnard said. “It’s amazing how different food tastes after you change your taste buds.”
She packs her husband’s lunch with supper leftovers and other foods she makes from scratch with all natural ingredients. Sometimes, she prepares lunch for her son to take to school.
John Winnard is employed at Volvo Heavy Truck Plant in Dublin. He is a product preparation engineer.
The Winnards are active members of the Wytheville Seventh-day Adventist Church. Evelyn Winnard helps with the church-sponsored healthy cooking classes each month.
“People are much more conscious about the foods they eat,” she commented. “Even if they aren’t vegetarians or vegans, they are concerned about food. They know what they eat does affect their health.”
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or wquesenberry@wythenews.com.