Yeah, so I have a couple other blogs already… one is private cause I have crazy ex inlaws that like to take my words out of context and twist my motives, so yeah, they don’t get access to my inner sanctum. Basically it’s a personal diary that I let a few select trusted loved ones in to take a peek at what makes me tick. I debated making it public, but honestly, there’s way too much private stuff, and I’m too lazy (and busy) to sift out the stuff I don’t want the general public reading.
Then there’s my PCOS one. It’s public, and relatively new, but writing about greenifying my life, and sharing my life story seemed just a touch off topic. I can’t disappoint or PO those who are truly looking for valid info on this condition. Aren’t I considerate? I know, I know. It’s all about my public.
So I guess you’re wondering what the heck this blog is going to be about… Patience… I’m getting there. It’s a long convoluted story.
When I was 2 years old (I told you it was a long story, so buckle up) my die-hard hippie parents moved to a commune in California and became fruitarians. Basically you eat a lot of fruit and not much else. My dad almost died of hepatitis. After this rather harrowing near-death experience, they moved to a more conservative lifestyle, which involved living in a school bus and traveling around Canada. My mom decided that being a vegetarian was extreme enough for her, and dad adopted his own strict diet of coffee, sweets (Tim Horton boston cream donuts were a main staple), with an odd meat and potatoes dinner thrown in for good measure. Ironically my health-nut mom was quite obsese and my junk-food-crazed dad was quite skinny. I always thought of them as Jack Sprat and his wife… Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean… so between the two of them, they licked the platter clean. Except mom was Jack, and she wasn’t lean. It really doesn’t work, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking of that nursery rhyme when I think of my parents.
Anyways, the point is that I was raised by a health freak mom who introduced me to many “health” foods such as air popped popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast flakes, and we considered trail mix a “treat” (raw almonds, raisins, unsalted raw sesame seeds, dried fruit, etc)… When I was 6 years old she gave up being a vegetarian too. She would go to a local Hutterite farm and buy fresh plucked chickens and eggs, and her all time favorite meal was cooked carrots, baked yams, brown rice, and roast chicken sprinkled with Spike seasoning.
I was the only kid in the class who brought homemade natural peanut butter sandwiches to school on whole grain bread with an apple for “dessert”. I envied my white bread-plastic cheese-potato chip toting friends their “normal” lunches… I turned up my nose at the raw milk from a local dairy farm that was served to me.
Around puberty I decided to reject my mother’s health indoctrination and adopted a finer diet that mainly consisted of diet coke, fat free artificially sweetened sweets, and “traditional” grocery market processed foods. For the next 15 years I nurtured an out of control binge eating disorder that centered around junk food and sugar cravings, alternated with strict diets of deprivation whenever guilt set in. Which was regularly. I went from a healthy 130 lbs in high school to over 210 lbs by the time I was 23 years old.
Even when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I refused to contemplate the damage I was doing to my health through the foods I was putting in my body. I brushed her concerns for my health off with humor and made morbid death jokes. She passed away in August of 1998.
Then when I was 26 years old I got pregnant. My whole perspective on life changed. I didn’t want my child to be subjected to my self destructive behaviour, so I started going back to the foundation of healthy eating that my mom instilled in me as a child – for him, not me. I started researching attachment parenting, and through that, kept coming back to a more natural whole food way of eating. I definitely wasn’t sold on the whole idea, but thought I could start working on taking small steps towards healthier eating.
When my son was 6 months old he developed severe eczema. I was breastfeeding him exclusively, so when he was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and asthma, I eliminated his trigger foods out of my diet. His problems improved dramatically, and when he weaned at 2.5 years old… Yes, I’m one of “those” freaks that did child-led weaning… I started feeding him really healthy foods. His diet consists of very little sugar, lots of whole foods, and I’ve gotten really creative with baking without dairy, eggs, soy, or nuts. To date I’ve mastered organic whole grain pancakes that are fortified with rice protein powder… pumpkin chocolate cupcakes that are to die for… and a chocolate birthday cake made with chickpeas and no eggs.
I was still drinking tons of diet coke at the time though, and my binge eating disorder was still rearing its ugly head on a regular basis, but I thought if I started with one small thing at a time, it would be a start.
First I worked on eliminating all the processed white flour out of my diet. I started buying all whole grain breads, whole wheat pasta, tortillas, and bagels. Once I adapted my palate to whole grains, I switched to whole grain AND organic.
Next I worked on the produce. I switched all the fruit and veggies I bought to only organic options. I found a local produce market that stocked only local organic in-season produce and started buying my produce there. Surprisingly I found the prices were quite reasonable!
It seemed as I started making these changes, that chain grocery stores were also getting on the organic food bandwagon, and started stocking more options at a more comparable price. I switched all the canned or jarred products I normally bought, such as tomato sauce and canned beans, to organic. I found the flavors were a lot richer, and I was enjoying my food more. What great satisfaction I got out of making a 100% organic meal for my family!
My midwife sent me an article about the evils of artificial sweeteners, and I took the initiative to do some reading up on it. I was appalled at what I was putting in my body in HUGE quantities! I was drinking 4-5 cans of diet soda everyday, not to mention the artificially sweetened diet foods I filled up on when I was trying to “diet”. I took a large garbage bag and cleaned out my cupboards, fridge and freezer, and went off it completely in all forms, cold turkey. Haven’t had anything with artificial sweeteners in about 2 years now.
Next I found a local butcher who only carried local hormone/antibiotic free meat and poultry. I couldn’t believe the difference in taste! It took me back to my childhood of farm chickens and beef that my mom would bring home. Amazing! I hadn’t even realized how different the meat tasted until I found the real thing again. I had a moment of epiphany when I stopped at a fast food restaurant for a hamburger, one that claims to use no fillers, and literally had to spit my food out cause it tasted like bleach! I can’t go back now.
The next hurdle was dairy. It is harder to find organic dairy products, but I have persevered, and I can say I’m only eating 100% organic dairy products now.
Recently I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries and my doctor put me on the South Beach Diet. I have to admit I’m already following it pretty closely, EXCEPT for sugar and the artificial sweeteners he advocates. I found an excellent natural sugar alternative, xylitol, and on April 12th I stopped eating sugar cold turkey. The first week was intense. I had migraines and I haven’t been that exhausted in ages. I felt like I had the flu or something! Once I got past the first week though, it got easier day by day. So, I said all that to say this. This blog is about my journey to going organic. It will include shopping tips, frugal shopping ideas, and recipes. It’s not just about food though, even though that’s been the main focus of my greenifying to date. Now I want to expand into broader horizons. I’m thinking of starting a container garden on my condo patio. Composting! Recycling! Becoming more efficient. Analyzing my carbon footprint and shrinking it.
Come back soon…
