Growing up, I ate a lot of real food, including vegetables fresh out of the garden.  My parents taught me the basics of cooking.  So, while I had a good start about eating and cooking properly, it all went downhill as I got older.  I didn’t have time to cook, working and going to school, so I started eating a lot of foods from packaged mixes.

In my mid twenties, I started cooking more, trying to be more healthy.  I bought organic food, and when I bought packaged foods and mixes, I tried to get the organic brands.  I learned about sustainable farming practices and tried to support those who grew and raised their food with these sustainable practices.

Then a few years ago, I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  I learned just how broken our food system is.  From there, I went down a rabbit hole, and I’ve never fully come up.  I read Steven Pratt’s SuperFoods Rx, I read books on “paleo” eating – eating as our ancestors 100,000 years ago may have eaten.  I read books about sugar addiction.  I read books that talked about Weston A. Price’s research and the continuing research of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  I read about the “Slow Food” movement.

In the end, I’ve taken something from all of these. I cut out nearly all industrially processed foods.  No pre-made mixes, no box of cookies.  I’m not perfect though, and I may occasionally turn to a box or mix. When I do, I always check the ingredients to make sure they are in line with my food philosophy.  Since eating this way, I’ve lost weight, gained energy, and improved my immune system function.

The best nutrition comes from real food.  Not fancy supplements, not denatured foods that need vitamins and minerals added back in, not in foods created in an industrial system, not derivatives of food, not “foods” made in a lab, and not foods that have had their genetic code modified in ways beyond traditional trait selection.  Our diet and our world is not perfect, so sometimes we need a boost in the form of a supplement, but it should be as close to a real food as possible.

There are a few things I avoid – artificial sweeteners, partially hydrogenated oils, non fermented soy, and vegetable oils (canola, vegetable, corn, safflower, cottonseed), but mostly, I feel that the food I eat is completely non restrictive.   I eat meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables, and grains.  I make sure to include fats in my diet too – butter, coconut oil, and olive oil in particular.  I even eat sweets; I just watch what kind and take care not to eat too much.  And I find the less I eat them, the less I want to eat them, and the sweeter and more flavorful other food becomes.

• I believe that real food is food our ancestors have been eating for hundreds or thousands of years.
• I believe sugar is a treat, and should not be eaten with every meal or even every day.
• I believe in eating the most nutrient dense foods as much as possible.
• I believe that eating this way does not need to be overly complicated, take too much time, or be difficult.
• I believe this is how our bodies are designed to eat.

I hope you find something in this blog helpful or inspiring!