One of the reasons I am so motivated to make my own baby food is that I am hoping it will change my wicked ways.   I love Fast Food.  I love Soul Food.  I love just about any food.  And that is my problem.  I give no thought to what is in the food.  My mind equates food to filling my stomach and tasting great.  It is a means to end my hunger; a way to make my taste buds happy.  But food truly is fuel.  And food can also contribute greatly to our global problem, depending on what kind you eat.  For a burger and fries there is an entire paper sack filled with more paper wrapping and cardboard containers.

Think fast food is the only wasteful food?  Any food that comes from the middle of the grocery store is bad for you.  They are processed, preserved, canned, jarred, pickled, contained in plastic, wrapped in paper or cardboard, and dressed in a pretty outfit.  Shopping from the outside of the store is my goal.  Starting with the fresh fruits and vegetables (organic when/ if possible),  then to the deli meats and cheeses, next to fresh seafood and meat, and finally- milk.  Our town has a great dairy that allows you a large glass container.  You can refill the container with milk instead of wasting packaging.  I would be all over it, but my husband cannot stand the way their milk tastes.

Speaking of wasted packaging, while flying home I read a really interesting article in Hemispheres magazine (by United Airlines).  They had an interview with a woman who runs an “eco-grocery store.”  Catherine Conway started this store which uses virtually no packaging and buys fair trade, local, and organic groceries.  The store has a BYOC “Bring your own container” policy.  You can buy almost everything in bulk and take it home in your own container.  This is pretty awesome.  Bulk yogurt!  I am all over it.  The store is in London but I hope it catches on.  Even though I use reusable totes I still have to buy a lot of packaged goods.  You can read the entire article here.

One of the hardest parts of eating healthy for me is understanding what healthy is.  Being diabetic while pregnant and seeing a dietician helped me in many ways but there is so much I don’t understand.  I get the “good carbs” and “bad carbs.”  I don’t understand calories.  Everything has them, how many in each thing is good?  I also eat meat.  I am clueless which cuts are the best for you.  I do know that lamb is good for you and delicious.  I hope that after I finish the book I am reading now that I can find a good one about food and actually read it.

Until then, I am visiting this site that my husband showed me last night.  It counts out in sugar cubes how much sugar is actually in the food you are eating.  If ever there was a reason to stop drinking soda, this is it.