Right off the bat, I'm going to make a painful and shocking admission: I'm not perfect.
In fact, in hindsight, I consider myself somewhat of a failure as a mother. No, I didn't drop my baby on her head, I didn't smoke while pregnant, and I didn't lose my child at a crowded department store. What I did was ignore my knowledge and best instincts - for years - in favor of convenience.
I skimmed the PETA brochures during college. I read "Fast Food Nation" in my twenties. I watched every news segment about packaged foods, E. coli, and the potential health dangers lurking in my fridge. I even follow Michael Pollan, food genius, on facebook. But still I couldn't get past convenience shopping and cooking - buying whatever meat and produce happened to be on sale at Super Target and shaping my family meals around those choices. I told myself, "at least I'm not just reheating frozen chicken nuggets and making the powdered mac n cheese," all the while knowing that I wasn't doing the best I could do.
But, after watching two documentaries recently ("Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "Food, Inc."), my husband and I had a collective epiphany about what we have been putting into our bodies and the precious bodies of our two daughters.
NO MORE. NO EXCUSES.
Will it be inconvenient to drive twenty minutes past Target to the closest farmers market or well-stocked natural foods store? Hell yes. Will it mean setting aside a bit more for our grocery budget? Absolutely. Is it worth all this trouble? In my opinion, undoubtedly so.
And now that I'm putting this in a public space, I have to hold myself accountable. Furthermore, YOU must hold me accountable. Because when it comes to the health of myself and my family, as well as the health of the planet I leave my children and future generations, it all starts with me. Small changes beget bigger ones, and I look forward to sharing my family's transition to a whole and healthy lifestyle with you.
In fact, in hindsight, I consider myself somewhat of a failure as a mother. No, I didn't drop my baby on her head, I didn't smoke while pregnant, and I didn't lose my child at a crowded department store. What I did was ignore my knowledge and best instincts - for years - in favor of convenience.
I skimmed the PETA brochures during college. I read "Fast Food Nation" in my twenties. I watched every news segment about packaged foods, E. coli, and the potential health dangers lurking in my fridge. I even follow Michael Pollan, food genius, on facebook. But still I couldn't get past convenience shopping and cooking - buying whatever meat and produce happened to be on sale at Super Target and shaping my family meals around those choices. I told myself, "at least I'm not just reheating frozen chicken nuggets and making the powdered mac n cheese," all the while knowing that I wasn't doing the best I could do.
But, after watching two documentaries recently ("Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "Food, Inc."), my husband and I had a collective epiphany about what we have been putting into our bodies and the precious bodies of our two daughters.
NO MORE. NO EXCUSES.
Will it be inconvenient to drive twenty minutes past Target to the closest farmers market or well-stocked natural foods store? Hell yes. Will it mean setting aside a bit more for our grocery budget? Absolutely. Is it worth all this trouble? In my opinion, undoubtedly so.
And now that I'm putting this in a public space, I have to hold myself accountable. Furthermore, YOU must hold me accountable. Because when it comes to the health of myself and my family, as well as the health of the planet I leave my children and future generations, it all starts with me. Small changes beget bigger ones, and I look forward to sharing my family's transition to a whole and healthy lifestyle with you.
It's so true (small changes beget bigger ones)! Thankfully, our farmer's market is practically in our backyard. The downside is that it doesn't open/start until mid-June here. : ( Plus, I've also learned that now that we only eat fresh, healthy,homemade foods- everything else tastes...well, just not so good.
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