Loving Food and Life

So I have been reading a book "Women Food and God" and though I do not agree completely with it (like the part where she believes there is no "One True God") she has some very interesting and insightful things about how women view food. For example...we use food to run away from our fears, secrets, pasts, hurts. etc instead of facing them. We don't really want to sit and confront ourselves because we are afraid of what we will find. A quote "Because when we welcome what we most want to avoid, we contact the part of ourselves that is fresh and alive." So thats what she said....this what I say....She Is Stinking RIGHT!!! Atleast for me the book has hit home in many areas of my life....hurts deep down from my dad dying, fear of losing someone else close to me at any moment, and just the general feeling that no matter what I am never going to reach the spiritual level that I should. So I use food to fill the voids and guess what kind of foods that would be...hmmmm....cheesy, yummy, fatty, greasy, warm, toasty, oozy, gooey bits of deliciousness!!! So the hardest part about getting rid of processed foods is the fact that I am getting rid of some of those before mentioned comfort foods. But this book has opened my eyes and I am putting some focus on why and when I eat. The author talks alot about how when ppl loose weight they are still miserable and gain it all back again....I do not want that to happen to me. I am not a miserable person, but I do have some things that I need to confront in myself and deal with pain instead of constantly running for the Hot Pockets or Soft Pretzels to ease it temporarily. Anyways....this is a little bit deeper than my usual food group stories. But I am learning that most women have this problem of running from themselves or their past and some run to shopping, tv or movies, and drugs. Me I run to FOOD!!!! So now I realize that I am not only learning to love food in a new way, but learning to understand myself in a new way too.

The Process of Processed Foods

So the journey continues and I am 2 full weeks into limiting processed foods and felt the need to share some things about it. One of the first things you should know is that you may go through a detox/withdrawal period when coming off food that your body is used to: rice, pasta, sweets, caffeine, pork etc. I personally went through this last week and it went like this: exhausted, cranky, headaches, and one day where everything I ate tasted terrible!!! You will get past these days although it feels impossible at the time. I will be introducing BROWN rice and WHOLE WHEAT pasta back into my diet at some point, but for now I needed a full detox period (atleast 1 month) Another thing is that it is a slow process: like I said in the previous blog, I am making as much as I can homemade (HM) - which right now is everything except for ranch dressing - I make my own but I use mayo in it. Eventually I would like to make my own mayo and then it really will be all natural. Oh and I also don't make my own tortilla chips to go with my HM salsa and HM refried beans (and I doubt I ever will, unless I win the lottery and can hire a personal chef)! So wherever you are in the "process" remember this: Every Little Bit Helps. When you prepare things from scratch there are so many health benefits and you recieve many more nutrients than if it came in a package!!! It does take time and plenty of planning ahead, but it is worth it for me and my family to be healthy. Hope you are all enjoying this process as much as I am!!!

Let's Eat!

Well, I am not a writer, but I am taking a shot at this blogging thing because of a passion of mine - FOOD!!!! Hopefully this will help and inspire everyone who reads it. And I am hoping that this will be a site I can come to for recipes and inspiration from all of you!!! There are a few of us that have started a "Food Group" in which we meet and discuss healthy lifestyle changes concerning food. So far, we have comitted to use very little/no foods that come in a box or can - eliminating preservatives and just plain junk that is put in our foods. Making everything from scratch allows you to control the amt of fat, salt, sugar, etc in what you eat. This may sound impossible, but we are all doing it together and encouraging each other along the way. Plus, we understand it is a process to be fully "junk" free. Some things I have done so far....Homemade Peanut Butter (Alton Brown's Recipe) and Homemade Refried Beans (Pioneer Woman's Recipe) - Now I dont mind my 3 year old wanting a PB sandwich every day, cause I know exactly what is in it and it is a wonderful source of protein for me!!!! I have so many things on my mind right now about food and what America has done to it, but that will have to wait for another time....I must go make ranch dressing now!!! I can't wait to see where this food adventure takes us!!!!!