I don’t know how to roll out a blog.  I’m not even sure that I really know how to write one.  Indeed, according to Malcolm Gladwell’s model I have about 9,999 hours to go before I get to the magical 10,000 hours.  But I’m leaving my comfort zone behind, and I’m going to do it anyway.

(Should I say something like “Welcome to by blog?”, prolly, but I’m going to skip it.)

Over the past couple of years, I’ve become more and more interested in the foods I – and since I do most of the cooking, by extension my family – eat.  I can’t exactly put my finger on why.  There wasn’t a big eureka moment.  And I don’t have a clever anecdote about how I came to see the healthy food light.  As is sometimes the case with major sweeping changes, it’s probably been in the vague peripheral for quite some time, and has come into sharp focus for quite a few different reasons.  The first being that as I near my late thirties, I see quite literally the consequences of the lifestyle choices made by my parents’ and grandparents’ generation.  It becomes very real when you experience the power of life and health issues increasingly linked to food because they concern people you love.  The second being that I have my own kids, and I would hope to prepare them to be the best versions of themselves that they can be.  Not just about food issues, but certainly including them.

As I got to learn more about the food that the majority of people eat,  or what people think is food, I was flabbergasted.  I’m not a conspiracy theorist at heart, but I do believe that the truth about what is marketed as food, and what is encouraged by governments as “healthy” eating, is a completely biased, lobbied and financially backed system.  Which is bad news for us consumers: you, me, our partners, parents, kids, friends, etc.  This means that no one is looking out for our interests.  Things like health and well-being are not in any way linked to tangible rewards for companies that produce food.  The one and only objective is to be profitable.  “Let ’em eat cake” crap,  so other people can make a buck.

There has to be a better way.  Right now, it’s really not so easy to eat good, real, sustainable foods.  You have to do a lot of self educating to properly sift through the false information (marketing tricks, yes, but also government issued / expert-backed recommendations) that freely circulates.

When you feel informed, you’re in for some work.  It takes planning and time to change your habits.  I’m a full time working mom.  And I am not going to lie, there are at least three nights a week I want to break open the shut-your-pie-hole potato chips and Coke and pop a frozen pizza in the oven.  After a long professional day and in the midst of multiple kiddie breakdowns, it’s not always easy to psych myself up to dirty the kitchen and deal with complaints.

We all come with different baggage, contexts, priorities, etc., so my goal here is to judge you when you aren’t like me, and then preach at you until you change.  Oh, wait no, that’s not it. 

I’m hoping that this space will help other people find it easier, or tastier or healthier (or all three!) to eat real, whole foods in a way that fits in their lives comfortably and gracefully.

Now Stick a Fourchette in It, ‘Cause I’m Done!… For today!