My Food Journey

Even though this is a part of the cooking class, in a way, I decided to put it under seperate cover (doesn't that sound fancy!) That way if people just want to know about the cooking class, they aren't stuck in blogging hell with a super long story.

But my reality is that the cooking class is a small step in a longer journey.
When I was pregnant with my son, Asa, I couldn't have any dairy. It made me sick. The biggies, like cheese, milk, ice cream...basically direct products.. made me vomit. Sorry, there is no nicer word. If it was an additive, like in cakes, sauces, and breads, I would get severe heartburn. What this experience taught me was two-fold: food allergies suck and label reading is boring. But did I learn a lot reading labels. Most foods contain wheat, milk, and soy-three of the biggest food allergens around. I learned a lot of sympathy for people with allergies, sensitivities, and diseases (Celiac's Disease) because it makes eating extremely difficult.
My next step came in the form of a very active, little boy. A can of soup for dinner sounded great for me, but after kid came, I became something of a purist. Did I really want to feed Asa something that hadn't seen the light of day in...days? months? Was all the pre-packaged, pre-made, expensive food the best I could do? I didn't think so.
So here we are months later and I have done some research and investigation, not so much to upset the existing system, or to jump on some bandwagon and spout the latest gibberish. All I have wanted to do is eat cheaper, and healthier, and ironcially they are sometimes linked.
My theory was, the further from the natural source, the worse it was for you. In short, water is better for you than pop, pop is better for you than methanphetamines. Extreme, but it proves my point. If fruits, vegies, and meat came first, and are the building blocks of most foods, then they are the source I am talking about. It doesn't mean we have forsaken all that is bad in our house. The chocolate bars, with chemicals I can't pronounce, will go with me to the grave. Burger King is still on my list of places to eat. But what it does mean is I am searching for more recipes involving vegies (which are cheap), and fewer that use rice-a-roni as my starting block. Our meats are raised locally and hormone free-not cheap. I can now find healthy food in the grocery store, and actually use it at home.
So have I achieved my orginal goals? Are my meals cheaper? No. Do I feel better? Physically-no. But emotionally I feel a whole lot better. When I drove home from Pennsylvania, I saw feed lots of thousands cattle, and none of the cattle looked happy. I get great satisfaction nowing I am not perpetuating that system, to much (rmember my comments about Burger King). When I eat a carrot, I get happy knowing I am eating the nutrients as they were intended, and not added to water to make it "vitamin water" because the crap I could be eating couldn't sustain a fly.
It is also amazing to me what this journey has done towards my attitude about food. Truly, eating was a chore. At times it still is. But as I learn more recipes, get better cooking gear (which made a huge difference), and discover what other cultures think about food, I have realized that eating, at one time, was a social event. It was how people came together after a long day. Meals could take hours, and they were suppose to take hours so we could re-connect. And if food is good, you want to hang around hours and savor it. That slop from a can of chili does not inspire me to hang around for hours, and the beef stew from a can doesn't make me want to sit at all. but who can resist a pot of something that has been simmering on the stove all day? It makes a difference.
So through all my learning and self evaluation, what I learned most is that the minute someone offers to take me to a good resturaunt, I am there. But there will always be a time when I have to cook at home and when I do have to cook at home, the better I make it, the more I want to eat it. When I eat things that are good for me, I get a sense of pride, and I think that is something everyone needs a healthy dose of.