I Drank the Kool-Aid

11. the smell of lilacs
12. Birds singing in the morning
13. little boys prayers
14. homemade guacamole
15. little girls in their First Holy Communion dresses (especially my Goddaughters)

I Drank the Kool-Aid

Ok, my husband says "I drank the Kool-Aid". That is how he explains my new pseudo-obsession. I think I might be becoming one of those real food, crunchy, green-loving hippie freaks.

The truth is that once you have a child with a food allergy, or probably any allergy for that matter, the world starts to look different. I think its tough enough having your first child because you realize how unsafe your house is - knives on the counter, furniture with sharp corners, hard floors + high bar stools, etc. But when you have a child with an allergy even the food becomes an enemy. You go to a restaurant and you have to play detective to decide what food is safe for them to eat. You worry about social events - what will be served, will there be options for my child, will a tantrum ensue when I tell him he can't have that, will someone slip him food when my back is turned? I will admit we have declined invitations simply because I wasn't sure how we could safely handle the situation.

Its been over a year now and we feel much more confident to travel, go to a restaurant or attend a social event but that is only because I have done a lot of research and my son is a great communicator. He will point at milk and cheese and can say "That makes me sick." I can't wait till he is old enough to walk in front of me in line and say "Can I have that? Does it have dairy" Then again, it makes me sad that he has to say those things. Shouldn't he have the right to just be a kid and live life without cares and worries? Unfortunately, he can't. And I will admit his allergy is not even that bad. He gets hives and an upset stomach but at this point, we do not have to carry an epipen. Thank you, Lord!

So that brings me to why I wrote this post. For two years, I have had to worry about what I ate and my child. It has begun a slow process of why? Why are children getting more allergies? Why is it so common now? Why was it that 4 years ago I only knew one person with an allergy and now I know over 10 (that is not counting people I have met through the allergy itself, just people I happen to be social with). Why is their more autism, ADHD and behavioral problems? WHY??

As you start to read up on allergies you come across a lot of articles that try to point to the answers. There are many philosophies out there but they all seem to intersect in certain places, especially around food. This is not going to be a political post. I will just encourage you to read for yourself. (I am currently reading The Unhealthy Truth which is eye-opening and also a bit stress-inducing but good. I also would encourage you to check out Kitchen Stewardship and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. These at least tell you about one side of the information and link you to some great research.) But for myself, I do feel that there is probably a connection in our over industrialized, over processed society of convenience. Scientists are always creating something easier and faster to clean or eat. Is this really a good thing? I don't think so.

I also have a strong faith and that side of me likes to think that just because we can make it, doesn't mean its something God wants for us. He doesn't want war either but we create that and violence and weapons and drugs...ok, I will stop there. Just because we can create foods in a lab doesn't mean that is what God wants us to eat. I have this same mentality for meat. I personally think God wants us to be omnivores as long as we take care of His creation which means not cloning and adding hormones and junk to animals and treating them well.

For two years I have been thinking more about this and making little changes here and there but after a series of events the last few weeks, I have been reading a lot more. And analyzing and over processing all this in my mind. For awhile it was starting to take too big of a role in my life, in fact. Thankfully, God help me to see this and I am trying to back-up a bit. I am taking baby steps and only changing things as I can with A LOT OF PRAYER! If I wanted to make all the changes quickly I would be spending A LOT of money and time obsessing. I don't think God wants that either. I think He wants me to do the best I can. So hopefully I will start to blog a little about my changes, attempts and maybe recipes. Some of them even fit into my 2012 goals and some will become part of the goals. Here is what I am doing far;

- trying to rid my house of plastics! I replaced the family's water bottles to glass and stainless steel. The boys have been upgraded to drinking out of water glasses and eating off our regular plates instead of kids plastic dishes. I always tried to avoid cooking in plastic so that was easy. I am saving glass jars and bottles for freezing and storage use as well. I have stuff I need to buy but that will come in time.

- cooking with more coconut oil and getting rid of canola and vegetable oil.

- slowly replacing cleaners and hygiene items with "green" stuff as they run out.

- buying organic produce, especially if they fall on the "dirty dozen" list.

- cooking with more beans and lentils and less gluten.

I feel like I have been doing more but that is what I can come up with right now. I would like to tackle one thing each week and then hopefully share what happened. Hopefully I can help others a little bit with trial and error. Currently I am testing a green dishwasher gel by BioKleen. The jury is still out.

This will be an adventure, especially considering my very picky preschooler and skeptical husband. When I asked my husband what he thought of all this, his reply was "I think you drank the Kool-aid". I can see his skepticism as he had an aunt who severely restricted her diet many years ago. She also refused to see a medical doctor and it affected her health. I think there is a balance to this. It will definitely be very, tiny steps but I think it will be worth it in the long run. Even if the long run is 10 years from now.

I am not sure if this makes me one of those Real Food people or green or crunchy. I just think I am someone trying to do my best for the family God asked me to take care of.