The Journey to Healthy Eating Begins!

It may seem kind of nerdy to make my first post on our blog about food, but I thought it would be helpful for others to read. Several times in our marriage David and I have talked about how we wanted to eat healthier and we would make a few changes but then eventually revert back to our old habits.

Earlier this week we were perusing Netflix and came across a documentary entitled "Food Matters." We decided it looked interesting enough so we watched it. Afterwards we both looked at each other and said "Ok, what do we do about this." The documentary talked about how disease and sickness are so rampant in our country because our bodies are so depleted of nutrients. Many recent studies have found that by switching to a whole foods, fruit, and vegetable diet we can reverse many of the common illnesses in our nation. Even cancer!! God created our bodies to work best when they have adequate vitamins and minerals and are not being filled with junk!

The next night we watched "Forks over Knives." This is another documentary about the health benefits of eating only whole foods/grains, fruits, and vegetables. I recommend watching this documentary first! The documentary was very informative and not too "extremist" for me. The two main doctors that narrate this film have done extensive research for many many years on how meat and animal products are linked to negative health problems including cancer. They have also cured numerous patients of diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer by simply switching them to this kind of diet. AND these doctors both grew up on dairy farms eating lots of meat and drinking lots of cows' milk! Go figure!

My first thought after watching both of these documentaries was "What am I feeding my children? Am I harming them by what I'm giving them?" David and I both felt strongly that eating healthy needs to be a priority for our families because God has called us to honor Him with our bodies and they are a temple where He abides through His Holy Spirit. We need to be good stewards of our bodies that ultimately belong to Him! I also want to give my children every possible opportunity to live a healthy life!

I am very much a beginner at vegetarian and vegan cooking and eating so I decided to post our meals, recipe ideas, reactions, likes/dislikes, and successes and failures. Since David and I have both eaten meat and dairy products our entire lives we are going to ease into this new lifestyle. We have also agreed that we don't mind occasionally cooking with eggs or cheese in small portions and that when we go over to friends and families' homes or have people over we are not going to make a big deal about no meat and dairy. We don't want our new way of eating to become an idol or a stumbling block. Fellowship with others is more important than having a meal with no meat or animal products!

Now you may be asking some of the same questions that I initially did like "How will we get enough calcium and protein? Will this diet cost a lot of money?" Two quick answers that I've discovered: 1. When you are not buying meat and cheese and milk you have more money to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables! 2. Almond milk (which we all like the best!) has 50% more calcium than cow's milk and without the unnecessary hormones/steroids and there are a wide variety of grains (granola, oatmeal, etc), beans, and nuts with lots of protein.