Just recently, for close to four weeks I eliminated all sugar and gluten (grains, flour, etc) from my diet. My cravings were minimal and I enjoyed feeling my system regain balance. I was also able to recognize something I hadn’t before, at least on this level.

I already mentioned that I really didn’t struggle too much with cravings.  Sure, here and there I would want something that would take a bit of self-control and willpower to say no to, but for the most part it went pretty smoothly.

Until one evening.

Some stresses had been building up for the past few days, and on this particular evening I was feeling discouraged and very frustrated.  And suddenly, I was craving chocolate.  Ice cream.  Wine.  You name it, I wanted it.

I managed to not succumb to the temptations that were threatening, but it dawned on me how much food can be a crutch.  Or something we use to comfort ourselves. Or reward ourselves.  Or numb ourselves.  We feel a bit stressed or put under pressure, and it’s just knee-jerk to use food or drink for consolation.

I don’t think most of us are concerned about this.  So what, right?  Except when we turn to cookies, we probably aren’t turning to God who would love to have us bring our struggles to him in prayer.  We probably aren’t even turning to friends, which is also what God has provided for comfort, encouragement and counsel.

What’s worse is we end up subconsciously teaching our children this habit.  Lose a game?  Let’s all go out for ice cream.  Celebrating a birthday?  Let’s binge on fluorescent cake and chemicals labeled as candy.  Get all A’s?  Let’s splurge on sugary junk.

Our children get the message loud and clear.  Food, particularly the completely non-nourishing, disease-causing kind, is the perfect reward, comforter, and joy.

What if food was just food?  What if, when I did want to indulge, I based my choices on thoughtful consideration instead of ingrained habit?  What if I only enjoyed a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine when I simply wanted to revel in it’s taste?  What if I celebrated birthdays with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream?  What if a treat could be one hearty homemade cookie?

This has been a long, gradual change in our home, one that I often let slip and (even more frustrating) one that is constantly undermined by our culture’s mindless traditions and foolish patterns.   I’m trying hard to instill in my children a different way of viewing food.

But first I have to view it differently myself.

Come see me at the Real Food Revolution.

We broke open a jar of homemade pickles today and were so pleased to discover that they were absolutely scrumptious!  I can’t claim the credit, as Skylar and our sweet friend Grace are the ones who made them.  She just sent me the recipe, which is a family recipe of theirs.  (Thanks, Aunt Myrt!)

Pickle recipe for 1 quart size jar:

Sterilize jar and heat lids in hot water.

While still hot, fill jar with

• 2 cloves of garlic
• cucumbers (whole, spear or sliced)
• 1-2 heads of dill
• 1 Tbs of canning salt.

Boil 1/2 cup a.c. vinegar. Pour into jar and fill to top with boiling water.

Screw on lid and ring and water bath 15 minutes

(And now for the really hard part.)  Let set for 4-5 months before eating.

I watched a video last week, where Jamie Oliver reveals how elementary school children cannot identify vegetables. Notice their exclamation of horror when he first reveals the pile of fresh produce. Amazing.

It’s all part of his Food Revolution, his passion to revolutionize the way we think about food, particularly in regards to children’s diets. You can view the entire movie, Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food.

His main point was that while the home used to be the place where we learned about food, what is good and how to prepare it, we are now a culture in which people are consistently eating foods that are killing them and their children, and supposedly we have no idea how to stop that.

He proposed things like schools teaching children about fresh fruits and vegetables, changing school lunch menus, and placing a food ambassador in grocery stores.  From corporations to government, he recommended changes in the way we choose and prepare our food.

I admire his passion.  I don’t agree with his assumption that we’re idiots.

And then I read an article in the New York Times titles, U.S. Children: Generation Snack.

It states “we are raising a generation of snackers - kids who eat almost constantly throughout the day as they graze on cookies, salty snacks and fruit drinks.”

They found numbers that suggest “snacking has eroded meal time and that children are taking in slightly fewer calories during breakfast, lunch and dinner, when more healthful foods are typically served, because of their intense snacking habits.”

Oh, it’d be one thing if children were snacking on good foods.  Children are natural grazers, in fact.  But, no.  The article goes on to state, “Desserts like cookies and cakes remain the main source of snacking. Salty snacks like chips and pretzels have posted the biggest gains and are the second largest snack category. Candy and fruit drinks are also popular. One notable trend is that in the past few decades, fruit drinks have replaced whole fruit as a snack.”

Okay, maybe we are idiots.

I mean, how stupid does one have to be to eat frozen corn dogs and Little Debbies every day and then act surprised that they’re obese and diabetic? How ignorant are we that we feed our children sugary junk constantly, while still expecting their school performance to rise?

(Meanwhile, we take away their recess, and even if they do go outside, tell them they can’t run on a playground.)

I don’t know if more education is the answer though, at least in what I can only assume the education will be like.  The typical nutritionist in the U.S. still advises a low-fat, high-grain diet for children.  Sigh.

It just doesn’t seem like rocket science to me that children need whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), healthy fats and oils (real butter, raw whole milk, cheese, coconut and olive oil), seeds and nuts, and meat.  Salt should be real and unprocessed sea salt.

The Weston A. Price foundation has the best diet information that I know of.  Here’s a ton of articles specifically for children.

If you have no idea where to begin, Jamie Oliver’s own Ministry of Food isn’t half bad, either.

Another mom’s story of her family’s eating habit in Gradual Change.

Even if you’re the third generation of bad eating habits, there is a plethora of education, knowledge and resources at your fingertips.

There is no excuse.

If we’re not friends on Facebook, you may have missed out on some of my favorite recipes I’ve been posting on the Real Food Revolution, like Potato Leek Soup, Herb Bread, Cranberry Cake with Caramel Sauce, and Cranberry Chutney.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

I’ve got another recipe up at the Real Food Revolution!

It’s a yummy Summer Pizza, perfect for hot days.

Due to missing a couple weeks of ordering from my food co-op, this morning we had to make a dreaded trip to the grocery store. The ridiculousness of our food habits and system is astounding. I was freshly irritated by the vast amounts of dye, preservatives and poisons like MSG and Splenda. Not to mention that there is high fructose corn syrup in everything.

I couldn’t even bring myself to buy most of the stuff that I had on my list.

Robb and I recently had the opportunity to watch the movie Food, Inc. in Ann Arbor. The subtitle is How Industrial Food Is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer - And what You Can Do About It.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone. If you are passionate about food and its effects on health, like I am, you will enjoy it. But those who really have no idea about where our foods come from and why it matters should especially watch this!

Just one aspect it explores is the horrific effect of cattle “farms” feeding cows corn instead of pasture and hay as they were designed. When E. coli levels go berserk in the cows from eating such garbage, it gets in the meat through contact with manure during the oh-so-safe government regulated slaughtering. Yum.

But instead of changing what they’re feeding the cows or even how animals are slaughtered, they come up with the grand idea of spraying meat with ammonia. To kill the E. coli of course.

Sounds like a solution to me.

One thing I disagreed with is how they brought out the cost aspect of eating healthy. They did such things as comparing the cost of broccoli to a hamburger, and commenting on how much medications cost for a family struggling financially.

While it’s true that you can get a hamburger for 99 cents, or a taco for 79 cents, what that person is not taking into consideration is the long term costs of choosing the “cheaper” foods. Obesity and the related health problems, along with heart disease, diabetes, etc are almost always food related. Eating crap and then complaining about the cost of medications to treat the consequences of eating that crap is pure idiocy.

Plus, those “cheap” foods just do not fill you up like whole foods do. So you end up eating more of them, more often. Which also means more money spent.

Long story short, I did not have much sympathy for the family they interviewed. The man who was struggling to pay for basic living expenses as well as his diabetes medication, ordered a Dr. Pepper to go with his meal. Um, why not water? So they filled up on cheap hamburgers because they “don’t have time to make it at home” and that’s “all they could afford”. Hmm.

How’s this for just one idea: Spend a couple hours one day and make enough homemade tortillas to store in the freezer. They’re just flour, water, oil and salt. Easy peasy. Then, buy a big bag of rice and a big bag of dry beans. They are so very cheap! Soak some beans, then put them in a crockpot overnight with some of the rice. Place some tortillas from the freezer into the fridge. In the morning, you just grab a couple tortillas, pile on some rice and beans, maybe some toppings like lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc., a fruit (apple, pear, banana, etc) and BAM a fast, healthy, CHEAP meal.

But, whatever. I kinda got off on a tangent.

My absolute favorite part was at the end of the movie, when it pointed out how much we actually control what kinds of foods are made available to us. Through our food purchases, we send a message to the companies making and supplying food.

We vote three times a day. What are you voting for?

Here’s the movie trailer.

I’ve been invited to be a contributor to a great food blog that supports healthy eating and nourishing foods, The Real Food Revolution.

Carrien already has such an amazing resource for, as she puts it, reviving the lost art of nourishing ourselves.  There are some helpful posts on meal planning, reading food labels, getting children to eat, and how to make homemade yogurt.  Just to name a few!

My first post is a frugal but nourishing recipe and one that I’ve probably served if you have visited recently.  See ya there!

The wet chill in the air today makes it perfect for baking bread.

I used a little freshly milled kamut grains in the dough, and I’m eager to see how it turns out. A couple of us aren’t feeling very well, so I also have some nutritious homemade chicken stock bubbling away. It smells almost as good as the bread!

As I uploaded these pictures to put on the blog, this one kind of freaked me out.

What in the world?

Do my hands really look like that? I have to say, the bulging veins kinda made me cringe. Ew. I almost didn’t even finish the post, because really, all I can see now are protruding blood vessels.

Big blue veins on your hands are a sign of vitality and health. And elegance. Hm. Or was it absurdity?