Getting to the Root of it All...

In-between feeding a very hungry child and juggling dirty diaper and bottle, I was able to catch an interview with Jillian Michaels from the NBC show, Biggest Loser. She had struggled many years with her weight and was telling how easy little life-changes can be and how great they add up to a healthier life (and a thinner waistline). Most of what she was saying were things I was already doing. I had maintained a size 4/6 for about 6 years and it wasn't until I was pregnant with our first child that I had ballooned to a size 10. I know what your thinking: a size 10? Who is she to complain about that?! I had spent the majority of my life grossly over weight, and when I started gaining with Ava, I became scared. I don't want the "mommy" figure--you know, the figure of the fertility goddess, with the huge boobs and equally big belly, butt and thighs. There's a lot of moms out there that gained more weight than they wanted, and continue to gain with each child they had. I desperately do not want to end up like the moms I have seen. So, when I heard Jillian talk about what our bodies were made to consume. It made so much sense! If we eat what we find growing in the ground, or dangling from trees, our bodies function as they were beautifully designed to. I'm quite sure there were no Cheetos™ or Twinkies™ in the Garden of Eden.

I had already switched to buying potato chips only made from potatoes and a touch of salt (and sometimes pepper), and even though Goldfish™ wouldn't be classified as "natural", Aaron still needed something fun for his lunch, so I switched us to the whole wheat kind. I have always eaten whole wheat bread, and instead of buying cookies from the store, I make my own, eliminating all those nasty "extras" and additives with names I can never really pronounce. I know there is a lot more I need to do for my quest of common-sense eating. And no, I am not going all organic, just trying to eat things I would find in nature and not in a processing lab but, I don't think I'm going to be as extreme as Alice Waters and the "slow food movement". This is just the first in a series I'm blogging on, sort of an introduction. I'll be sharing with you the ease and difficulties as they unfold.

My next task and blog will be on making my own pasta. Whole wheat seems to be all the rage in store-bought pastas; however, they're also very limited, I have only really been able to find whole wheat spaghetti and, well, I like variety.