There are a few critical pieces of information you should know about me before delving into my blog. The first is that, I am by no means a nutritionist or any kind of a food expert. Everything you are about to read is my story, and nothing more. There will be opinions galore, but they are simply my opinions.
I should also mention that I am a vegetarian and have been one for quite some time. My loving and supportive parents always encouraged their children’s sense of individuality, and when I proclaimed my desire to be a vegetarian at the ripe age of seven, they supported my endeavor. I am sure that on some level my Mother expected I would soon grow out of that phase.
I am a vegetarian for one simple reason: the idea of eating meat or poultry just grosses me out. For my body, it just doesn’t seem natural. I do not believe that vegetarianism is the appropriate diet for everyone. I never really cared for meat, and at this point in my life, I don’t anticipate ever having that craving to chomp into a hamburger.
You should also know that I am a busy 28 year old living in Brooklyn NY. I work a veryfull time job and I manage to keep myself rather busy outside of work. For all intents and purposes, I am a rather average twenty-something year old. I openly admit to being a Blackberry addict, I have a Facebook page, I am always on the hunt for a bargain and I love watching Hulu while doing dishes.
This project is not some self-righteous attempt to brag about how healthy I am and I certainly am not trying to come off as preachy or judgmental. Instead, the idea for this project was born after I became increasingly fascinated (read: obsessed) with how our our relationship with food has changed so drastically in a rather short amount of time. Food was once a life-sustaining gift that was appreciated and respected, but to many people, especially those in the go-go-go, consumerism-driven American lifestyle, it has become more of a to-do.
In the past, I’ve used the same excuses that I have heard many other peopls say. I insisted I was too busy to go to the market, or that the fresh fruits and veggies just spoil and it’s a waste of money, or that I can’t drag myself out of bed in time to pack a healthy lunch but in the end, I realized that an excuse is an excuse regardless of how you try to spin it. I had to own up to the decisions that I was making. I couldn’t find the time because I didn’t want to find the time. The reason fruits and veggies would spoil before I had a chance to eat them was simply because I wouldn’t do anything with them. Let’s be honest, hiting start on the microwave is a heck of a lot easier than preparing a fresh meal from scractch, but trust me it’s a lot less rewarding and it will eventually do damage to your body. It’s not always easy, but I had to make the decison to change my life.
I figured, what better way than a cold turkey detox from what I refer to as factory food.
I am set out to prove that once you start eating healthy, delicious food, there is no turning back. Once I started actually doing the research on all of those chemical compounds that I was willingly ingesting, and understanding how much of our food is literally created in a lab, I could not look the other way.
I have a very black and white personality. Once I knew the information, there was no turning back. I am out to see just how difficult it is, in this modern society to locate, prepare and enjoy real food while living a life jam packed with activity and chaos. There will be no more excuses. For one year, I bid farewell to the many things that I have taken for granted and get back to my roots, if you will..
Farewell delicious blue corn chips, know that you always have a place in my heart.
Farewell pasta sauce out of a jar and dried whole wheat pasta. How I will miss the comforting clatter-clatter-clunk of you spilling from the top of the cardboard box and into my pot of boiling hot water.
Farewell, chocolate, farewell.
But I am certain that there are many fantastic things on the horizon for me.
(Hmmm, I bet I could make my own blue corn chips!! Oh yeah this is going to be awesome!)