We are on the same journey!

I have a colleague that had a dream about me the other night. She said that I reamed her for putting cheese on her sons plate. (Insert dream music) We were at a dinner of some kind where other faculty members and their families were invited. We were all filling our plates and then I let in on her and told her how unhealthy cheese is for her kid. I mean I'm definitely not afraid of confrontation, but I would NEVER NEVER do this. Ever. (For the record, my colleague knows I would never do this!)

For many reasons...

1) I LOVE cheese. I don't consume it on a daily basis, but I LOVE cheese. It tastes great.
2) My girls are allowed to have cheese on occasion.
3) People make their own choices for their own children and I respect that just as I hope people respect the choices I make for my girls.

I want everyone to know that we in no way know everything there is to know about health and wellness. We are seriously learning more and more as we go. This a journey we started just before Haelyn was born. We have educated ourselves in many ways by reading, watching documentaries, personal experiences, and talking with health professionals of all kinds.

Here are some choices we make on a routine basis.
1) Very Limited/No animal products.
Mostly because of the little to no nutritional benefits of such products and because animals are not treated humanely. Watch Food Inc. or go to this link www.walmartcruelty.com/ (there are many many others) for a little conviction. There are places, very few, that go about the process in a humane way. We are not animal rights activists or anything.

The no meat thing is a pretty big deal to us. There is a segment in Food Inc. that tugs at my heart every time I watch it. The first time I saw it I thought, "what are the odds that someone you know will ever get e coli"? Then, in October of 2010 my very own hubby consumed some of a roasted chicken from HEB and spent 4 days in the hospital with salmonella, c diff colitis, staph infection, and an unidentified strand of e coli. It was a very very scary time. He was ultra contagious, and I had to put on a mask and gloves to go in his room (I was 8 months pregnant with Hope). The nurse told me if he had been an elderly person or a child he would have probably died. Such a scary time for us. When I think back to it or talk about it I get a huge lump in my throat.

2) Very Limited/No processed foods and drink
This includes eating out, especially "fast food". We are going for high nutrients and getting the most from what we eat. The processing and preservatives take away from that.

3) Lots of fruits and veggies
For obvious reasons.

Now, as a disclaimer, so you won't be shocked when you see it...we still eat out. I will still have a burger from a place like BeeHive or Perinis. Mark and the girls will not, but I will. We like pizza, we like Mexican food, and we like ice cream. My girls are "allowed" to have those foods on a very very limited basis. Note the subtitle of this blog. We by no means expect anyone to do what we are doing in our family.

We are on the same journey of figuring out life, raising kids, being healthy, and honoring God while doing all of those things!! So...put a little cheese on the plate...it's no big deal!