Three years ago I was a food junkie. By that I mean I ate junk for food. Much of my early life I spent naive as a consumer, assuming if the grocery store sold it or the restaurant served it, it couldn't be that bad for me. I cooked what I grew up knowing food to be. Thanks to the fast paced life of the american society and the influence of the middle class need to get a deal on everything (including nutrition), most everything I "cooked" started with me opening a box. Think of things like potato flakes, frozen dinners, pasta with a mystery packet boasting that all I had to do was "just add meat". My choices were dependent on the weekend coupons at the grocery store and quick cook times.
When I became pregnant with our first child, my husband started being very critical of what I put in my body (cheese in the can was heavily frowned upon). A very protective dad from the beginning that one. He was stuffing me with flax seed and fish oil, making sure I ate eggs every morning for breakfast and coaxing me into eating fruits and vegetables. This was a big deal for me at the time being I was a proud card toting member of the meat and potatoes club. At first there was contention. I had heard of the whole food movement but for whatever reason was offended by it, didn't understand it, and didn't see myself ever "being that way".
During my pregnancy I put on weight and watched my husband's belly expand as he sympathized with me. After our little girl came he asked me if I'd start going to the gym with him and I flat out told him "no". I've never been a good exerciser and didn't see myself being able to get into it with a newborn. I did tell him I would commit to start cooking healthier for us so we could at least begin cutting the poundage that way.
This started my food journey. The first stop was weightwatchers.com where I found a ton of great recipes. It was a good beginning because the food was simple and allowed me to utilize vegetables in ways I could tolerate them. I remember skipping over a delicious looking recipe several times because I had no idea how to find actual ginger in the grocery store vs out of the spice rack and I was too embarrassed to ask someone. Eventually I conquered that but it's a story for another day.
Having spent a few months in the kitchen my mind and taste buds began to evolve. I had a routine down. Planning our meals for the week each Sunday morning, printing a shopping list and only buying what we needed. This not only kept us eating from our kitchen every night but we started saving money on food bills (not by using coupons, but by eating what we bought and not throwing our $ in the trash because the food had spoiled). As a bonus we were less likely to buy junk food because it never made the list. The organization kept the cooking from becoming a daunting task and I was actually having fun (the glass of wine I drank while cooking definitely helped with that).
I was also getting hungry for more adventurous food and more information about the food I was cooking. I watched the documentary "food inc", which I definitely recommend. And read the book "Cook This, Not That". This book was a game changer for me and really started instilling a passion for food. Around that time, Jaime Oliver's "Food Revolution" premiered on TV and there was no looking back from there. I officially became "one of those people", and darn proud of it.
The bottom line is there are a lot of people making a lot of money off of the american society eating food from boxes. As we continue to eat this type of diet we see increases in cancer, autism, diabetes, etc. I am not saying food in boxes is the cause to all of this (I definitely don't have the credentials for that) I am just connecting the dots for myself, which is that I know it definitely can't hurt my family to refrain from that type of food. I've started this blog because I want to get in front of people letting them know it's time to stop eating the loads of crap we're being fed and start doing what common sense tells us. Common sense says it makes sense to buy carrots, peas, potatoes, flour, salt, and pepper and make a pot pie instead of eating one made for you who knows when, or where, loaded with those ingredients only those with credentials can pronounce.
On this site you'll find links to the expert's information so you can make your own informed decisions. I'll post my families weekly menus with recipes and shopping lists. I'll have my favorite kitchen supplies that have made my cooking life easier. As well as more.
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