Food and the American Dream

As I was writing a response to the article, The Pleasure of Eating, as part of my course assignment, my response evolved into this post that I think you all might enjoy. Let me know what you think:)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. A few years ago I would have started to read it then ignorantly turned my nose up to it, not understanding why this was relevant to me. Being that I felt “fine,” and “life was good,” I didn’t need to join any radical movements to change the world, and I certainly didn’t enjoy cooking or gardening.  I simply enjoyed and felt entitled to the convenience to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted without ever having to worry about a thing because I was a busy mom of three working on the American dream.

At that time I believed I was healthy because I was thin, I exercised and my blood pressure was good. Now that I’ve learned through personal experience that thin does not equal healthy, I have a new perspective on health and wellness and which involves where I get my food and how I prepare it. These are new concepts are now at the center of my attention whereas they used to be on the back burner. 

I definitely was a passive consumer just three short years ago, which made my transition to my necessitated new way of eating gluten free a very difficult one to accept. I have evolved quickly over the past few years and am slowly but surely moving closer and closer to a 100% agricultural eater. I would say at this time, I am 70% agricultural minded and 30% passively minded. I am passively minded in that I don’t participate in growing many of my own vegetables, or focusing much about buying organic or local produce. However this is something we plan to do this summer and I am really looking forward to it!

I love when the author says, “One reason to eat responsibly is to live free.” I never realized how controlled by food (and therefore the food industry) I was when I was eating processed foods. I remember picking up Lean Cuisines and thinking that those were healthy, not ever stopping to think about how the over processing resulted in the nutrients being zapped right out of the so-called food. Where I used to look at calorie intake as a good health predictor, I have shifted my thinking replacing vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats and proteins consumption in my definition of healthful eating. I was wrapped up in a vicious cycle where I enjoyed processed foods, then craved more of them. I was distracted by and tied to foods and I wasn’t gaining weight like some would, but I was suffering mentally and emotionally. I was diagnosed with and treated for mild depression and anxiety and often had mood swings and outbursts that I just chalked up to being normal. 

The author also makes another good point about the way our world has changed and how Americans are trying to live up to that American dream that I spoke about earlier. We are so busy working, taking our kids to a trillion activities; doing all of this to keep up with the Jones’ that, “Our kitchens and other eating places more and more resemble filling stations, as our homes more and more resemble motels.”  People are spending a lot less time at home. Many get home late, just to go to sleep then get up early the next morning to rush the kids out of bed and off to school while parents quickly go their separate ways to work. Children and parents buy their lunches in cafeterias or fast food eateries because they were so busy helping their kids exceed in life through extra-curricular activities and volunteer projects that they neglected to think about or have time to pack them a healthy meal. Once again, most of us are dependent on big business to fill our bellies, and unknowingly but literally filling our minds.

I have evolved leaps and bounds and I’m glad I did. My life is much more peaceful now. Not only are my joint pains, stomach aches and headaches gone, I am filled with energy and my moods are much more stable. On top of that, I actually enjoy grocery shopping and spending much of my time in the kitchen. It has really been fun as I learn to cook with different foods and herbs and not have to rely on prescriptions to feel good. When it comes to my family, I know that the time I spend cutting fruits and veggies and preparing lunches and dinners each week will reap long lasting health benefits and instill values and character into my children and generations to come as they watch me and help me with preparation. I feel spiritually rewarded now that I am more aware of the influence food plays on our bodies, minds and spirits and this has poured over to other areas in my life. 

Prior to being diagnosed with Celiac disease, I loathed grocery shopping and cooking because I never felt good after eating. There even came a point where I just wished I didn’t have to eat. The only reason I was eating was because I didn’t want to starve to death. How sad that is to look back and know how wrapped up in the cycle of the standard American diet I was; to the point that I looked great on the outside but on the inside I didn’t very much enjoy life at all and was slowly dying. I am thankful for my Celiac diagnosis and the light it has shed on health, wellness and life overall; for myself and for others. 

Oh, and about that American dream, I’m throwing it out the window.  I stand to create my own dream; one that is more real, more relevant and more rewarding to who I am and who I now know I was created to be! What's holding you back from creating YOUR dream?