Ch-ch-Changes

A quick note about me and what brought me to writing this blog.  I have always been a bit of a "tree-hugger," or at least I'd like to think so.  In the seventh grade I went through the entire (awkward) school year carrying around the same two disposable Poland Spring water bottles and refilling them so I wouldn't have to waste plastic.  Now that I think of it, that was rather unsanitary.  (GROSS!)  When I was 17 I decided to go vegetarian, but that only lasted for a year and a half - sorry guys, I like bacon too much!  It was all because of an Earth Day celebration that I went to where a bunch of militant vegans expressed the evil of all things carnivorous.  (You won't find that here.  I plan to tell you what I believe is best for me, not what you should do.)  That Thanksgiving was one of the worst days EVER, as I sat there with my gravy-less mashed potatoes and watched my whole family feast away on that delicious bird.  Beyond the whole no bacon problem, being a vegetarian just wasn't for me.  At the time I didn't like beans at all.  I thought - and still think - tofu is gross, and I wasn't supplementing my protein.  I gained weight from all the pasta I was eating and became really unhealthy from the lack of proper nutrition.  That being said, I'm still not a big meat eater.  I don't need to eat it every day.

Let's fast-forward a bit.  Another important point to mention is that I've struggled with depression quite a bit throughout my life.  I've been on anti-depressants for more than a decade.  One of my major goals - which you will read about in an up-coming post - is to say goodbye to these anti-depressants for good.  I'm smart enough to know that I can't just go off of them cold turkey, but I've read a lot of stories about people getting healthy and just not needing them anymore.  I'm not there yet, but someday I will be.

This brings me to the whole REAL FOOD revolution.  This may be a new concept for some of you.  Have you ever looked at the ingredient list of some of the packaged foods you eat?  Well, I started to, and it's a little disturbing.  Many of the packaged foods out there have more preservatives, dyes, and artificial ingredients than actual recognizable food ingredients.  Most of these things are barely pronounceable.  WHAT THE HELL ARE WE EATING?  I'm certainly not a scientist, I don't claim to be an expert in health and I'm not providing diet advice.  But I've found information that shows food dyes may be linked to causing ADHD in children.  And while it's not being sited as a cause, it is thought by some that dyes, preservatives and artificial ingredients may exacerbate the symptoms of Autism.  I don't have kids yet, but when I do, I don't want to take those kinds of risks with them.  And the sad thing is, if people aren't seeking out this type of knowledge, it would never be presented to them.  The only thing that is presented is commercials and coupons for the latest sugary breakfast cereals and fruit snacks.  These are the kinds of things that make a regular appearance in the Standard American Diet, AKA the "SAD" diet.  That's actually what it's called, and I think it's quite fitting.   

So, that's a heavily abridged version of what brings me here today.  I've spent the last few months slowly reducing the artificial things in my diet.  I'm far from done.  I'm SO far from perfect.  But I've always enjoyed the homemaker lifestyle.  In fact, it's a bit of a dream of mine.  I'm sure that seems a bit lame to today's average career-driven woman, but I'd be happier than a pig in shit if I could be a stay at home mom and cook everything from scratch.  My life is far from where I'd like it to be.  I'm dangerously close to thirty, not married, no kids, no house.  My kitchen is a nightmare.  Small apartment, no storage space.  But rather than waiting for the ideal situation, I'm going to make the best with what I've got.  I already have some interesting stories to share, so stay tuned!