Cecily is napping, Aneliese is playing quietly, and I am sitting here sipping nettle tea while typing. A pot of chicken bone broth is quietly simmering on the stove as a jar of almonds soak in the cupboard and I try to track down some kefir culture. Tallow and pork fat sit in my fridge waiting to be rendered. Just a typical day in our little home.
Some of my friends, Lola, Beth, and Jamie have been blogging with great information about their food journeys lately and it brings my own food dilemma and journey to mind. I feel like I spend SO much time thinking about food and trying to make healthy choices. I have a weekly meal plan on the table waiting for the rest of the spots to be filled. And every when I feel like I have gotten to a place where I feel good about how we are eating, I realize that I am one step behind. I love good food and I love seeing the results of healthy eating. Sometimes I just wish it were easier.

We have almost entirely cut refined sugar out of our regular diet because I sweeten every thing either with honey, maple syrup (Canadian) and fruit with the exception being that I still use some sugar when I drink black tea. We eat mostly pastured organic meat. We eat a lot of great fats and our eggs are quality free range. Because of Aneliese’s celiac diet we now mostly eat seeds and nuts as opposed to grains. Our diet includes lots of fruit and vegetables for all of us but especially for the girls. And yet I always feel like I have some thing on my mind to research and figure out. What foods should we eat raw? Which ones will we get more nutrients from if they are cooked? Should I try the GAPS diet with Aneliese in hopes of healing her celiac disease? Is it worth risking it when she has gotten so healthy in the past months? Kefir? Cut out all grains? Find a raw milk source? Organic milk or no milk if we can’t get it raw? Where can I find the cheese that has no added color? What is Lacto-fermentation anyway? Do we need vitamin supplements? More meat or less meat? Liver??? How can I get more vitamin B from the foods I eat? Calcium? K2? And how about some energy please? And how can I do this all affordably in a way that takes care of the earth in which we live and those who are growing my food? And how can I be part of helping others to have healthy, quality food?

Mostly this is just a rant saying that right now I am feeling frustrated. I go through this a few times a year and I always balance out. But here is the thing, I really don’t want to spend as much time as I do thinking about what we eat. I see so many other areas in my life that need attention. The world is starving for more than just food. And yet, I also believe that knowledge gives responsibility. I am the main cook and grocery shopper. Because I know (to some extent) what is the best way for us to eat, I want and need to do that. Why does there have be more unhealthy options than there are healthy? It just seems wrong that I walk by aisles and aisles of what we call food when other mamas are trying to scrounge up anything just to fill their little ones hungry bellies.

Anyways. Here is my somewhat disjointed confession that I am floundering in the food department. And wondering, how on earth can I keep Aneliese healthy for two weeks of traveling? Now the effects of gluten in her system is so drastic from every day life that I really dread it. And the time for my food rant is over as Aneliese has found her way to my lap and Cecily is making waking noises. Plus, I finished my nettle tea!