Starting this blog has been a long time in coming. Blogger tells me that I've been a member since November 2010. It means I've sat on this blog, and all the good intentions that come with it, for almost 8 months. Granted in that time period the holidays have come and gone, as have several birthdays, and finally, the most personally pressing, my wedding. But this busy-ness is a perfect introduction to this whole project. I can reflect back on my food decisions and patterns during those busy times to really figure out what works and what doesn't. Afterall, it's much easier to be mindful and thoughtful of what you're cooking and eating when you have the time energy to devote to it. Entering into present and future endeavors with a clear understanding of where you've been is key for growth of any sort. Even if it is a fledgling food blog.
I've stripped my main point down to the brass tacks here. If I eat like shit, I feel like shit. Plain and simple. Or is it? To answer that, no, it is neither simple nor plain. What I define as "shit" might be someone's day to day diet. What I aspire to, another person may consider that the norm. Food and food choices are highly personal and, ever increasingly so, highly political. What makes me feel like garbage (mentally, physically, emotionally or otherwise) might not affect the next ten people I see in the same way. But pinpointing what foods make me feel, for lack of a better word, good and what foods make me feel like trash is necessary. I can't clean up my cooking or eating habits without knowing what foods belong in what piles. You need to try on that dress from 3 years ago, looking at yourself in it from every angle, before deciding to keep it, donate it, or just pitch it.
So here we are, at the point where I'm looking at my culinary closet deciding what fits and what is beyond help and has to go. Will there be mistakes? Yep. Will there be set backs? Oh yes. Will I find myself eating gelato straight out of the freezer with the lights off because calories don't count in the dark? Probably. I want to sort through all the crap as best I can to live a healthy and fruitful life, and boy is there a lot of crap out there.
