Big Change

My dreams lately focus on a giant, sloppy layer cake chasing me down the street, covering me with great gobs of pink frosting.. Maybe I was a dessert in my past life. Or maybe our recent change in diet has something to do with it...

We have taken the plunge. Organic all the way for us. For the past couple of months I have wavered back and forth over the issue. Never sure if I could truly believe all I was hearing about hormones and GMO's and the affects on our bodies. And I think part of me didn't want to go through the hassle of overhauling our whole way of life. So I dipped a toe in here and there, organic milk, no more beef, a few changes to vegetable and fruit choices. Nothing major.

But after several conversations with neighbors, some exposure to a documentary called Food Inc. and much research on the topic I realized we had to make some changes. We can't afford not to listen to the research and truths raised. We may not see what's going on inside our bodies, what the hormones and steroids are doing to our organs, but that doesn't mean nothing's happening.

Shockingly many of the ingredients in our everyday products, from a box of graham crackers to the vanilla extract we flavor with contain ingredients that are causing cancer in rats. Tumors, organ failure and cancer, if there is even a possibility that the things I'm putting in my body could cause any of that then I'm done. It's over. It's not worth it to me.

I was fearful to see how the changes would go over with the little folks here. They're definitely used to raw veggies for lunch and fruit smoothies for breakfast but just about every snack food they love; Sugar Free Fudgesicles, Nilla Wafers, even Animal Crackers got the axe. No more occasional stops at McDonald's or Taco Bell. More beans and veggies, no more Kraft Mac N Cheese. Bye bye hotdogs and french fries, hello homemade bread and quinoa.

The grocery shopping became increasingly difficult the first couple weeks, then as we settled in we were good. It was working. We sleep better, feel better, look better and most importantly of all we know that we're not putting hidden fats and hormones and junk in our bodies. To take it even further we found a study by the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic detailing that those who eat a virtually meatless diet are healthier and on average live 40% longer. Who wouldn't want that? So out went the meat (except for the occasional salmon) and in came other sources of lean protein.

Is your body really a temple? You have to treat it that way more than just on Sundays, more than just according to your religious practices. Go big. Go simple. Sounds oxymoronic but so true. Take the big step to purify. Send that cake back where it belongs...