It Begins

Welcome to 2013, and welcome to my new blog!

I’m going to give a little background info as to why I started this blog. I lately have been a little bit preoccupied with nutrition and what I am putting into my body, and into my little boy’s body. (not that it has affected what I eat very much!) I think this preoccupation started a few years ago when I saw Michael Pollan (Author of In Defense of  Food) on Oprah. After I saw his interview I was intrigued, and a few weeks later Caleb and I (both being documentary lovers) sat down and watched Food Inc. We were both blown away, and motivated to change our eating habits. We talked about what we thought we could do. Well with the passing days and weeks that motivation dwindled and we soon slipped back into our old ways. However, something in my brain had been changed. I didn’t see the food we ate in the same light. And since then I have been interested in reading anything to do with nutrition and how our food is produced. I haven’t been obsessing over it, but I find when it comes to certain topics I know a little bit more than average people, just because it’s something I am interesting in learning about it. Did that change the way I ate much? Sometimes. I have gone back and forth with eating whole foods, eating Paleo, etc. all the while slipping back into old habits and patterns. (Think McDonalds and Diet Pepsi)

Lately I have been in a huge slump, basically eating whatever I feel like and paying the price when it comes to my energy and weight. Even though I have been eating whatever I feel like, don’t fret….I constantly worry about it. I worry about what the McDonalds is doing to my body, I worry about those couple of fries Lucas munched on, I worry about the chemicals added to some/most of our everyday foods, (chicken stock, bread, etc) I worry if I should eat bread at all, I worry if Lucas should eat bread at all, I worry about what sugar does to my body, I worry about artificial colors, I worry about my horrible Diet Pepsi addiction, I worry about all the treats I allow myself to have, I worry about dairy products (should we be eating them or not?). I obviously worry about a lot. I worry about anything I feed myself or my family that I know isn’t 100% good for us. And some things I just don’t know about! There is so much information out there it’s hard sometimes to know what to do. Paleo, Vegetarian,Vegan, Organic, Raw??? What is a person to do.

It seems that will all this worrying I would be a pretty selective eater…but I’m not. I eat whatever I want lately…and then pay for it not only health wise, but mentally with all my worrying! So I decided if I am going to spend so much mental energy just worrying, why not put that to good use and do something about it. I feel like right now is the time in my life to make some real changes. Lucas is young, and I make his food choices for him. I want only the best for him, and for us as a family. I want him to grow up in a family that makes good food choices and sets a good example for him. Lately I have been a horrible example and I feel like that needs to change.

 I have been following the blog 100daysofrealfood for a while now. I like the concept, and I feel the concept is pretty simple. (in theory) Here is her list of rules. It’s very similar to Michael Pollan’s rules: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.

What this means for our family is we will be cutting out anything processed. More than 5 ingredients? It’s out. Any ingredients I can’t really pronounce? It’s out too. This means we will be making mostly everything from scratch. (Have you seen the list of ingredients on the bread you buy from the store??) This will be a process, a lot of work, and I expect bumps, road blocks and lots of learning along the way. I don’t expect to be perfect at this, and I don’t think I need to be either. There will still be room for fast food occasionally, and perhaps the occasional treat from the grocery store, (rules on that to be decided!) but I want us to be making healthy food choices the majority of the time, eating at home more, and eating better.

I will be posting our family’s rules soon. Caleb is a stay at home Dad currently, which puts him in charge of the majority of the food prep. He is amazingly supportive and says he is along for the ride. I hopefully will be going part time at work in the near future and I’ll be able to be more involved at that point.

So why the blog? Mainly to keep myself accountable. But to also share my journey and learning with friends and family. (If I come to eat at your house, make me something delicious, our rules don’t apply if we are eating at someone else’s house. J )

So here it is, 2013 and the Dirty Work of Eating Clean!