If I think of what has changed in my lifetime alone… think of how much has changed – with technology even.
What about food… think of how our food has changed in the past even 20 years. Both my husband and I grew up with a mom who made a LOT. I remember back in the day mom made all of our halloween costumes, she made my grade 8 grad dress too, even some for my close friends at the time too!
What has happened in the last 30 years that has switched everyone into do-er’s ?
What is so important that we cannot take the time to make a home made meal with real ingredients? Why are so many people saying “I don’t have time…”.
This realization last week of receiving my food allergy/sensitivity results has really had me thinking. As I blogged about earlier this week, this news hit me really hard. I felt myself getting angry and thinking how “unfair” it was that I “couldn’t” eat all the things I was told I had issues with.
Then it hit me… I realized as I went to the grocery store and began reading the labels and then the past two nights looking online to place our online grocery order (honestly so quick, easy AND only have to cover my face to go in to pick up and get out and can breathe freely again… which is important especially for anyone with anxiety), the labels can be helpful but also not. I felt like I was researching some big thing last night as I could NOT find any info for this one brand of Feta cheese – zero ingredients or info on the product. Hint… search for Goat and the goat feta, cheese and yogurt will come up!!!
As I looked through products, look at recipes I could feel myself calming, I could feel my shoulders beginning to drop back down, my tongue lowering from the roof of my mouth. I actually said to myself, this is us being reminded to take a step back – one little whisper that’s been knock, knock, knocking for a while now. I somewhat feel like a baby horse that’s just learning to get its legs under it.
When I was at first upset because I “couldn’t” have pizza or pasta or fettucine which I love… or cheesecake (which my daughter is incredible at making).
I was then reminded… almost everything I am showing an allergic reaction to could be considered highly processed… also packaged. Ive noticed in the past couple years alone that the old cheddar cheese we were buying, was not like it used to be at all. We purposely were buying the old cheese because the medium that we bought many years ago was feeling like rubber and not like cheese should, this was how the old cheese is now feeling and the “better” brand names too.
So what is it that “convenience” is doing to our health?
Sure to make spaghetti its super easy to go home grab a box of pasta and a couple jars of sauce, cook up some ground beef and mix it all up… Or to be able to literally go anywhere out to eat… I was thinking of this at lunch today, my husband joked with me and said how the questions I will be asking, that many of the waitresses and even owners wont even know the answers most likely – its truly sad that food has come to this where you literally have to dissect the labels and then hope that the company was actually truthful and put on what IS actually IN the product…
What if this is what I have been meant to learn this entire time.
Take a BIG step back from life as we know it, even more than we have in this past year and a half. To stop thinking of having to do this and that and get back to the simplest times in life. I know when this faded for me, when we went through infertility I lost a big piece of me, my heart and soul and then to be blessed with two amazing children in less than 18 months I will be honest I was not thriving, I was surviving, in silence.
We need to ALL speak out more about HOW we are feeling, about making home made meals, spending time as a family in the kitchen, but not just in the kitchen also just within the home space – living in peace and organization. Clutter is visually so daunting which can completely affect one’s ability to think properly and do more from scratch because you are already feeling in overwhelm. I get it! Trust me!
What if this past year and a half, although has felt like hell in moments, has also been an opportunity for spirit and the universe to remind us how much power we hold within ourselves. That we truly DO have more than enough time and resources. We can thrive AND survive the best we have ever! What if we involved our families MORE in the meal planning, prep and tidy so that the weight doesn’t fall on one person. This we have been doing for many years, but more so especially since my husbands accident. (Truly grateful for the teenagers not being toddlers at this time 😉 ).
What if making spaghetti meant planning to make the sauce first before cooking some gluten/corn free pasta (hint – there is a corn in a LOT of things…).
I understand for me eating out at a restaurant, its going to be tough… Especially given that my body cannot properly digest re-heated starches! There is one restaurant I know I can eat fries at, thankfully they are local AND honest when they told me their one kind of fries are blanched but the fresh cut fries aren’t … Im here for that! Real potatoes and cooked in real time! I get the concept behind blanching, however again this is where “convenience” comes in, no one wants to wait, they want to order and have their food instantly…
All the while SO many people are either having issues with their health that is food related OR they are somewhat numb to their health and think their body responses are “normal”, I am not ignorant to admit that was me.
The next time you go to pick up that convenience meal at the grocery store or when you are out to eat – I dare you to put a bit more into the thought process… of what you are ordering, of how you feel after you eat, of how long it took to cook or prepare (if at home).
And… if you hear a woman in a restaurant asking if something is gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, tomato free, corn free, etc etc… kindness goes a long way! I remember when I first began my GF journey and going to a restaurant, the people we were with were joking (in their mind) by saying “its fine just order whatever you will be fine”, because I was asking the waitress various questions and she was newer and didn’t know so she had to go ask. My husband piped up and said he would rather I ask now and be comfortable later vs not asking and just going with the flow and being in horrible pain and discomfort later…
But truthfully, that did used to be me. I didn’t want to ruffle feathers, I didn’t want to upset anyone, I literally put my health and how I felt completely on the back burner and lived through years and years of pain, discomfort and it was like an awful yo-yo battle with my weight and energy.
Last week I felt so down about this, however in a week I have been able to navigate this shift, I know it wont be easy everyday, I know I will feel challenged as soon as I leave the comfort of my home and what I KNOW there for my nutrition, I know I will feel challenged eating at someone else’s house or at a restaurant. But… its MY health and no one knows it better, than I do ❤ I am truly excited to share about this. To share my journey and enrich the lives of others who have potentially been suffering in silence, like I did for years!
You are worth SO MUCH MORE than the convenience of anything or anyone!
Your Life As Art Essentials 