Three years ago when we brought our oldest son home from China we found ourselves faced with figuring out how to deal with his eczema. Everywhere I turned for information seemed to confuse me even further. Some experts touted withholding milk products. Others urged us to stay away from white flour. Yet another expert loudly proclaimed that food had nothing to do with the rashes and painful itching. All of these opposing views led to many interesting diet experiments.
My son is now 4 years old. He shot out of toddler hood with a major growth spurt and a lessening of the eczema. While the nearly invisible bumps and overall itchiness remain, his itchy patches have narrowed to a few stubborn locations. True to eczema's normal routine, he has developed asthma and continues to experience stress induced itchiness. And I still have no clue if it was diet, aging, or a combination of both that helped him through it.
While I was experimenting with these diet restrictions for my son one thing became clear. Why was I only concerned with our eating habits because of the eczema? Why were we not always choosing the whole foods path? I began to test the waters, sticking one toe in, trying new recipes and changing the way I shopped for food. Along the way I discovered that my whole foods experiment was so much more than I originally thought. Soon I found myself daydreaming about farmer's markets, locally grown foods, making my own granola. And so it began...
Here is what I have learned so far:
So far I have learned that there is an art to making perfect granola. Too long in the oven or not enough honey and it is way too crunchy for my tastes. Thankfully I have one of those husbands who will pretty much eat anything, so my granola experiments are not a total loss.
I have learned that Greek yogurt is amazing and can be used in so many ways. Why is this stuff not everywhere?
Thanks to an unfortunate diaper bag incident I am now painfully aware of the differences between organic fruit snacks and those you find in the cereal aisle at the local grocery store. After leaving fruit snacks in the car during the hottest week of the year so far, I found myself in the grocery store with a very cranky Matthew and in great need of a yummy diversion. The first bag I opened were "gummy bunnies", as Matthew calls them- organic bunny shaped fruit snacks. The poor little bunnies were completely melted together into one large, colorful bunny ball. The "gummy fire trucks" that I bought at the grocery store were fine. Totally fine. Not melted together, not even sticky. They were fine. Good Lord. How many preservatives must be in these things? Those organic bunnies are expensive, but so worth it.
I also learned that my "it must be nice friend" will never "get it". We all know someone who doesn't understand or agree with the lifestyle we have chosen. I can think of a few examples myself of times I heard what a friend was up to in his or her life and I would think to myself, "That's not the choice I would have made." Second guessing our friends and family is practically a national pastime. But then we sometimes have those people in our lives who seem to want what we have, may actually ask us our advice on how to achieve whatever it is we are accomplishing that they wish they had in their life, but who refuses to actually make any substantial changes in order to get it.
Recently my "it must be nice" friend said this to me: "It must be nice to have the time to cook organic meals for your family. I would love to do that, but I just work too many hours." Now anyone who knows me knows that I put in a lot of hours at my job. I can barely find the time to do laundry. My to do list is as long as anyone else's. It is all about priorities. Oh, and by the way, my "it must be nice" friend, get this. First of all, I am rarely cooking organic. There is a difference between organic and whole. And while it is more time consuming than ordering take out or opening a box of preservative laden food for my family, it certainly is not impossible. Proper planning and the desire to make a difference in my family's life is all it takes.
I have learned that my family can afford to eat right, even with the addition of our second child.
I occasionally post recipes of my successes (after many failures, I assure you!) and a friend recently suggested I start a blog so others can try their hand at creating their own versions of these meals. While I am flattered, I must state, loudly, that these recipes are what works for me and my boys. If you do ever decide to make a meal I have suggested, please, please, please put your own spin on it. That is the fun of cooking!
And one last thing I have learned. I have learned that while I can attribute some of my recent weight loss to eating out of box, (my most recent weight loss is due, 100%, to that month I just spent in Russia...), I still feel so much better. So much. And I don't think it is all the actual food, although I know that has it's place. It is the planning, the shopping, the chopping and cooking, the enjoyment I get from spending a few hours a day away from the crazy, fast paced, media heavy world secluded in my kitchen with my boys. Who knows, maybe this is just the beginning. Maybe other, bigger changes are right around the corner for me and my boys...
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