Just Do the Very Best You Can

Watch this: 



This video is very funny, but it does bring up very serious issues for me. 

Look around us.  It's clear.  Something we are doing or not doing is causing an obesity epidemic, and an increase in other major health issues like heart disease, diabetes and autoimmune disorders that now seem to be spreading around  the world.  Whether processed foods are the main culprit or not is still not quite clear, but I think we can safely assume stripping whole foods of all their nutritional value then adding unnatural ingredients back in for the sake of longer shelf life can't be right.  Pumping hormones and antibiotics into cattle and chickens and expecting no impact on the humans that consume the products made from those animals also doesn't seem to make sense either.  Not to mention, these food and farm factories seem to be polluting our water systems and even the soil that produces the rest of our food supply.  Combine that with the over use of chemical pesticides...well, that seems like a big mistake to me, too. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming

On the other hand, some mothers are so stressed out about their kids diets and childhood obesity that they are literally starving those kids.  There's been some cases in the news lately about this that got me wondering; What messages are we sending to our moms out there, that some of them are afraid to feed their kids at all.

Eating is a major part of our lives to be enjoyed.  It shouldn't be a source of stress and anxiety. But we can't enjoy our life to the fullest if we are not healthy, and if our environment is not healthy, either. So maybe it's best that we make an effort to shop for and cook real food that credible doctors and scientist tell us is probably the best way to ensure good health and appearance.

I'm not an expert in nutrition or environment. I'm just a mom and a concerned citizen trying to do the very best that I can for my family and my community, but after much reading and consideration, I've decided the best route for me and my family is to cook as much whole, organic and natural foods as I am able to do.  And I also choose to teach and encourage others to do the same.  Here are some things you can do: 

First, if you are not a good cook or you can't cook at all, try your best to improve that.  It's not as hard as you may think. Find someone to teach you or teach yourself, but, you should definitely learn to cook; otherwise,  it will be very difficult to get away from using processed foods.

When planning your meals for the week, plan at least one vegetarian meal.  In our house we do Meatless Monday.   http://www.meatlessmonday.com/history/

When you go shopping pay attention to food labels on processed foods. Look for items that are generally low in ingredients and  foods that have less salt, sugar, trans fats and preservatives.  Try your best to pick fruits and vegetables that are in season, grown locally or organically when possible and when you look in your cart you should see every color in the rainbow. 

When preparing food, if you notice that your plate looks mostly brown and beige then you are probably not getting enough vitamins and nutrients in that meal.  Make sure your plate always has some some green, yellow, red, orange and purple fruit and veggies added to it.

We all have those guilty pleasures, things we like to eat just for enjoyment that has absolutely little or no nutritional value.  For me it's pop tarts.  In my completely humble an non-expert opinion, I think it's probably OK to go ahead and enjoy those once in awhile.  If you are in general good health and eating a healthier diet the rest of the time, then your body can probably handle the occasional pringle, twinkie or soda pop.  The key word here is occasional.  But in my opinion, homemade desserts and snacks taste so much better.

If you are an extremely healthy eater, a vegetarian, a vegan, a gluten free or raw food fanatic, I bow down to you.  That's amazing.  Continue to do what you're doing and teach and encourage others, but also, please remember to be kind and considerate while doing so.  We should all eat with thought for our health and the environment, but still be considerate of each others feelings and beliefs.  Everybody is different and what works for one may not be the best for someone else.  Also, if you offend someone while trying to teach them, it will probably result in the person rejecting the message along with the messenger. 

To everyone,  just do the very best you can while doing what you need to do to enjoy your life.  :)