Baby Steps

I know many people like to dive into new adventures, but I have found that both my husband and myself get overwhelmed with sudden, major change. Therefore I’ve decided we are going to start with manageable steps. There are a lot of terms out there for eating healthy, but above all I like “Clean Eating”.
I’ve read a lot of about CE thru blogs, articles, studies, etc. One theme that rang throughout is that CE is definitely up to interpretation which, frankly, I don’t think is a bad thing.No single person or way of thought is the be all, end all. However, go too far off the path and you enter the forest of disillusion which I’d like to stay out of. Way more interested in making it to Mount Healthy!So here is my definition of CE. It’s simple.

Buy local, buy organic, buy whole, buy superfoods.

Local:Eat what’s in season for your location. The more local, the fresher…the fresher, the better! However, I’m a Vermonter and I know that for 5 months of the year, there isn’t a lot in season. Therefore, I will rely on my friendly organic farmers of New Zealand and Chile from time to time. 

Organic:This is simple. Don’t put chemicals in my food. Don’t put chemicals in the ground my food is grown in. Don’t put chemicals into the yummy animals I eat.

Whole:Refined carbs, sugars, and grains are a thing of the past.

Superfoods:Identify the foods that provide the most bang for the buck and integrate them into our daily diet.So that is my simple start. No, I’m not throwing away all my non organic items yet. But everything I buy going forward is going to follow my guidelines. And yes I will allow some cheats, but will strive to find healthy alternatives to the food I tend to cheat on. 

Down the road
While Baby Steps is the name of the game for now, I do have future goals out there as a dangling carrot to work for. 
Chemical Free House- All clean, whole foods in my fridge, freezer, and pantry. Currently we have switched over to Seventh Generation for our cleaning needs, so we are already making steps toward that.  
Juicing- When funds allow, I will be purchasing a juicer and plan to join the green juice craze!
Buy cows- Well not live cows, but the goal is to but sides of beef from local, organic farmers. Same goes for chickens.
Become a baker and candlestick maker- I aim to eventually make all the baked goods we consume and even make our candles. Love having candles lit, but I want to be breathing in natural scents.Learn to Can- We’ve had a wonderful garden over the past few years and I want to enjoy the harvest all year round!
Holistic Healing- If all hell broke loose tomorrow and our medications were no longer available to us, could I naturally heal my family? That may be a little extreme, but I want to become less dependent on the pharmaceutical companies and turn to mother earth for our medical needs.
Bye Bye Plastic- Eventually swap out all my plastic containers with glass.