And So It Begins...

Me, a small town country redneck raised on chicken fried steak, fried potatoes sweet tea and all things white, sugary and greasy is aspiring to turn vegan. Oh the irony! My BFF growing up was vegan. I always thought she was a little crazy for that (love you Val!) but in reality I was the crazy one... or my parents since they raised me.. we'll play a little pass the blame lol. But seriously, people haven't always ate animal products since the beginning of time. Where did this mind set come from that a human can't be healthy without consuming dead flesh and cow milk puss? I remember seeing a family at the park when I was in high school who were raising their child vegan and I seriously thought that was child abuse lol. As a kid, my brother and I could finish off an entire gallon of milk in a day between the both of us. I really don't recall ever drinking plain water.

I googled "redneck food pyramid" and this popped up lol. Looks surprisingly similar ;p

When my first child was approaching the age of solids, I decided I had better figure out how to give him the best head start on nutrition and started looking into home-made baby food and the current nutritional recommendations eg. no juice, no sugar, later solids, etc etc etc. You'd think it would just be common sense, and really it is, but first you have to get past the preconceived brainwashed ideals of what "healthy" is. When you step back, clear your head and look from a clear view it really is so obvious. Ironically, the Bible even tells us what healthy eating is. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and grains (or something along those lines). I love this clip.  My aunt and I were just discussing this. I don't think it is a sin to eat animal products and I don't think it's the end of the world if you do so, but all things in moderation. What us southerners eat, or what WE ate growing up is by no means moderation. Not to mention the dairy and meat you buy in the grocery store is LOADED with poisons. Hormones, pesticides, genetically modified organism. That cannot be healthy for anybody.

I have heard a million times that cheese and yogurt and eggs are some of the healthiest things you can give your child. I mean we've all seen the commercials right? It very well may be if they aren't getting human milk, but mine was, so he really did not need any of that. He did not need any other milk, or cheese, or yogurt or any animal products. I also let him teethe on beef jerky (the real kind, not Slim Jim). The more I learn the more I want to...

...but as the saying goes "when you know better, you do better". I really thought I was doing the best I absolutely could. sigh.. so I now have a child who is addicted to cheese and yogurt and has a strong aversion to all things green.

I have been slowly learning more and more about nutrition and natural healing. Over the last 2 yrs I have gone from eating "sugar-free" and "fat free" items to buying organic of the same, to getting rid of boxed processed precooked foods, to cutting way down on our meat but still eating lots of cheese and yogurt, to now trying to wean off of all things animal. Don't get me wrong, we still go to Sonic, eat frozen pizza and I still crave Coke like there's no tomorrow, esp since I had my second (high needs) child lol. It's very hard to find time to fix healthy meals with two kids to care for, but every little change helps. Just because I "fail" at one meal doesn't mean I can't start over again. It's not a diet, it's a way of life.

The better we treat our bodies, the better we feel and act. I for one am absolutely 100% positive that I can tell a difference in the way I myself feel and the way my toddler acts between real whole foods and junk food/chemicals. Around the time I got pregnant with my second, I had started really bearing down on eating just whole natural foods. DH would actually complain that all I bought was produce hehe :)  I take that as a compliment. No white flours, white rice, processed boxed foods. I make my own deserts with honey or agave and whole wheat flour, no sugars or artificial sweeteners and we drink water. Lots of water. The funny thing is, I actually lost about 25-30lbs from the time I got pregnant to after I gave birth eating this way. Believe me, I had no intention whatsoever of trying to lose weight, I was simply trying to be healthier for my children's sake. That was a great surprise ;p

OK let me stop talking already, point of all this being, when I finally came to the realization that ultimate health is a vegan diet it occurred to me that I really have no clue where to start cooking without animal products. I don't particularly care for the "feaux" meats. Grody! Maybe my taste buds will change to accommodate that later on. I created this blog as a way of getting ideals and recipes with reviews on vegan meals. I am not vegan (yet) so a lot of these posts are going to contain some animal products but we're getting there. One step at a time.

Hopefully some of my super healthy mammas will jump on board and share some of their healthy vegan recipes and meal ideas. If you would like to contribute, message me with your meal plan or recipe you've tried with your review and a pic if you so choose to txabarnhill@yahoo.com. I'd LOVE to hear your ideas!!