Focus on Food

So, I've been neglecting my blog (Facebook addiction, anyone?) and I've lost most of my followers according to the stat program I use, BUT I've been promising a few great people I'd get it going again. I am changing direction a bit, however. I'm going to focus much more on nutrition and diet and how I get my children (and my hardworking husband) to eat so many veggies. It seems that is what people most want to know.

It has been fun to see so many people close to me change in little or big ways towards a more veggie life. I often answer the same questions over and over again (happily...I'm into it... Everyone who knows me knows this!), so I'm excited to share some resources and learn with others on the path to healthful living.

So tonight, for my first post since I quit posting, I have devised a little system for when I talk about what we eat. I will call these "basic veggie" (things anyone would be brave enough to try), "intermediate veggie" (getting braver) and "advanced veggie" (super brave things like funky-colored smoothies and such). Let's see if I follow through on this one.

I'm going to start sharing my favorite books, blogs, recipes, etc. I don't have a huge amount of time to devise recipes, so most of these will be stolen and credited appropriately. Occasionally (rarely?), I will come up with something of my own and share it here. Of course, parenting thoughts, home schooling thoughts, political thoughts and random whatnots will likely creep in from time to time.

My posts will stay stream-of-consciousness and probably will remain too long, but this is the one place that as a writer I don't have to edit myself (or be edited), so that's just how it's going to be.

Okay, that's it for the reintroduction.

The very first thing I have to say about eating a plant-based diet is that people are full of crap when it comes to "moderation.” (My one friend used to joke, "If you believe in moderation, then why is your ass so big?" That's funny, but kind of mean, yes?). Moderation is a little bit of this or a little bit of that. A good rule of thumb is about 5 percent to 15 percent of the diet can be crap. To me, moderation is eating freely at a party here and there or having one unhealthy dinner out every two weeks, NOT eating processed, dead food every day (or every meal!).

On the other hand, perfectionism (with which I'm far too closely acquainted) is one way to suck the joy out of your journey, leading to discouragement. You do have to know yourself. For some (present company included, although I've done well lately), having a little nacho fest is not going to throw them off course. For others, it takes one unhealthy meal for them to throw in the towel and go back to their old ways.

Last thing for today: Forget the Food Pyramid. It is pure stupidity. It is better than the old four basic food groups, but it is inadequate. Check out this vegan pyramid instead. I wouldn’t call it perfect, but it’s a huge step up.

Toodles!