It seems to me that in the past year, food has been the subject of more conversations I’ve had, heard, or read than possibly any other subject. I guess that’s natural, since we consume it several times a day every day of our lives and it has such a profound effect on our health and well-being. It also has tremendous financial and political implications that many people don’t think about or understand, but those issues are being pushed into the mainstream more and more. I’ve been fighting the pressure around me to change the way I think and eat for years, but suddenly that pressure feels overwhelming and I am filled with guilt.
All my life it was simply about not eating food that would make me fat. Discussion of weight was prevelent in my family growing up. We were restricted from soda and a lot of sugary sweets, and my mom didn’t use a ton of fat in her cooking, but we were encouraged to have dessert…often ice cream…every night. My dad especially was kind of known for his sweet tooth. He was not really heavy but probably not active enough, and he had a fatal heart attack at 49.
I have done my share of yo-yo eating and dieting, but I excercise a fair amount and have been pretty healthy for quite awhile. My kids are both healthy weeds and appear to have no developmental issues. But we are all addicted to suger and carbs. I have written here before about how terribly my kids eat. Alex will not touch a fruit or vegetable, so lately I have all but given up trying. My pantry is filled with processed food. My freezer is filled with convenience food. I hate to cook, and I’m really bad at meal planning. Time is precious to me and I’d rather not spend it cooking a big meal that will cause tantrums and chaos and nobody will eat, only to be left with a big pile of dishes.
But I’ve been reading about the damage that the blood sugar roller coaster may be doing to my body and my kids’ bodies, even if I can’t see it right now. And since my husband was previously diagnosed as insulin resistant, I am especially worried about him. I don’t care if he and I are a little overweight, but I want us to live long, healthy lives. And I don’t want to set my kids up now for health struggles much later in life. I’m still not convinced that its necessary to buy 100% organic, but I agree with the premise of eating more natural, whole foods. I envy my sister and friends who grow incredible veggie gardens or raise chickens for an endless supply of incredible fresh eggs, but those options just don’t seem practical to us. I haven’t yet found the kind of awesome local farm fresh produce we had in Pennsylvania.
So I feel pretty frustrated by all the moms around me screaming about organic, non-processed eating. I know they are just trying to do what they believe is best for their families, but I’m feeling like it’s becoming another one of those “mommy judgement” issues. And Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show, with all of its good intentions, didn’t help. Seeing him scream and curse about the kids brown bag lunches…exactly the things I feed my kids daily…really upset me.
But I see I need to try harder. I see that I need to work on breaking our sugar addictions. It’s just very hard, when there seems to be something wrong with every food you can possibly think of. Fruit still affects your blood sugar. Beef and eggs still have a lot of cholesterol…besides the issue of how most of it is produced. Most fish is farm raised and possibly full of mercury. We just can’t live on grilled fish and green beans every day. But I know I need to try harder.
Some related posts from my friends Kelly, JoLynne and Cecily.
Jamie’s Not So Awesome Food Revolution
Eat Organic On a Budget: 10 Steps to a Food Revolution In Your Kitchen