The Love of Food

For years I've been asked...

"How do you do it? How do cook and eat and live
with your diet?"

"You must have a sad life without sugar
and other processed foods."

"You must spend all your day in the kitchen!"

"What exactly do you eat?"

A smile always comes to my lips when I'm asked about my food. Yes, I don't eat sugar, corn, and limit my starch intake. No, I'm not a crazy fanatic, I've just learned that my body doesn't react well to sugar/starchy foods. I try to have a balanced meal of veggies, meat, starch, and fruit, without over-emphasizing any one food group. I eat healthier fats, drink milk and some juice, eat pretzels, crackers, and chips, and have found my life to be complete without snacking on junk food everyday or eating ice cream and cookies after dinner.

Changing the way I view my food and the importance of food in socializing and family traditions has been one of the major stumbling blocks I've had to overcome. When your body rejects such basic ingredients as sugar or corn or wheat or yeast (for those who have other allergies or intolerances), basic traditions established years ago are now in jeopardy and the accepted mindset of food comes crashing down. It's not easy to accept that you may never make sugar cookies with your children, or eat hot homemade rolls on Thanksgiving, or share the joy of trick or treating with your family. Even social events become a challenge when everything that is served makes you physically ill! Avoiding offending someone causes us to consume what our bodies can tolerate and we suffer in our effort to be "social."

In our fast-past world, home-cooked meals are a thing of the past. If you want to make meatloaf, tacos, or alfredo sauce, you either order out or buy a package from the store. Do you even know what ingredients are used to make some of your favorite packaged goods? When I began my diet, I was shocked at two realizations:

1) those who eat processed goods, consume an awful lot of stuff you can't even name, and it seems like corn or modified food starch is in everything!

2) once I learned what seasonings made what food, I found it so much easier & cheaper to make the food myself.

It's taken me the last couple of years to hone in my cooking skills and learn how to utilize basic, natural ingredients to cook yummy, delightful food that tastes mouthwatering-good. My road hasn't been easy, but I've discovered that many are on a similar path as me... searching, testing, trying, suffering, and finally succeeding in cooking delicious food that causes you to go back for seconds and thirds because it's SOOO good! :)

For several months, I have contemplated beginning my own food blog... a place where I can record recipes I create and to talk about my food life. It seemed like a good idea and maybe something I'd eventually get around to create. But in the last few months, I have found many others struggling as I have struggled, to find a better way of living. Most of these "others" have been dear family members and close friends that have been diagnosed with difficult allergies or have noticed a huge dip in energy over the past few years.

Making the first step-this giant leap into the world of homemade cooking-isn't easy. It's been one of the hardest journeys I've had to walk. But, I know it can be done and I've felt the benefit of living a life of increased energy and free of substances that are harmful and addictive.