Planning

Planning has always been my favorite part of any event in my life, be it a new exercise program, new haircut or "getting ready to clean the house". I plan so much and for so long I either become bored or exhausted. I do the same with cooking. I plan menu after menu, shopping list after shopping list and then usually say, "Let's order a pizza".
I am really, really trying not to do that this time, but I can already feel it creeping in, the excuses, the procrastination. I can't let it derail me though, I'll work through it and maybe I'll pick up some skills along the way to use in cooking and life.

I think it is really interesting that I know where I will be having dinner in mid-July. (it is my boyfriend's birthday) I can narrow it down to one or two places. I have no idea however, what I will be having for dinner tomorrow night, because going food shopping is not in my weekly or even bi-weekly repertoire and as result I have no food in the fridge.
I have such great intentions. But I think we ALL know what that gets us.
Maybe I need to back up a little bit in this experiment and acknowledge how much of a beginner, or as I like to call myself a "re-learner", I am.
Food for thought.

Night Shift

Good Morning/Night?
Just getting off of night shift and I am HUNGRY!!! I am also tired. Never know when to eat or sleep on this shift. Can't be good for me. The worst thing is I always crave McDonalds on the morning after night shift. Pure Evil!

So, I'll go to sleep, even though I am more hungry than tired.

What's a girl to do?

Omelettes

I had today off so I made myself one of my favorite breakfasts, an omelette! A little crumble of free range bacon, a slice of Swiss cheese, sliced tomatoes on the side and a cup of coffee. Scrumptious.

Since the majority of my omelette eating experience has been in diners, I used Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook as a guide. I have never been great with eggs, they really elude me. Especially if I want to add stuff like veggies, the end result is usually to liquidy. Jamie's cookbook's are great, very easy going.

This really held me over until dinner which consisted of a really fabulous BLT (left-over bacon) on sprouted grain bread and organic tomato bisque. ( not homemade from scratch unfortunately), for dessert I had a single serving Cherry Garcia.

I can't say that I noticed any miraculous recoveries from any of the things I usually feel in a day, but what I did notice was a connection to my day that I didn't feel just yesterday. A connection to myself, by taking care of myself in a very simple way. It was very interesting and I almost didn't buy it for a minute but there it was.

More next time.

Thanks for checking in. : )

The Experiment

Easing in to my little experiment here, I thought I would share the issues I would be mainly focusing on throughout the next year. On any given day I have back and neck discomfort, knee and other joint pain, fatigue, acid reflux, allergies, and my favorite; memory fog! Memory fog, for me, can also include a lack of concentration, lack of interest, and a general scatterbrained-ness.

I don't think any of my complaints are uncommon or severe, although I have noticed all of them are getting worse at an alarming rate. I feel so many people out there have these very same symptoms and more. There may be a common factor here, a common cause. With few exceptions we are all eating the same food. Could it be that simple?

Ask any doctor, nurse or pharmacist: Where do medications originally come from? They would have to tell you the origin for most if not all prescription medications are plants, flowers or food, or a chemical that already exists in our bodies. Something living that is now chemically reproduced in a lab to treat acute or chronic disease. ***

So, could food harm us as well? Could food that is void of practically any nutrition make us ill? Seems possible, if not probable.

Over the next year I will be reserving my dining out experiences for very special occasions, incorporating cooking at home into my daily routine and evaluating if this does or does not help the discomforts I mentioned above.

Stay tuned.



*** Please do not make changes in your medication regime without the supervision of a prescribing professional. That is not the intention of this blog. Thank you.

Getting Here

The decision to start this blog seemed almost like a fluke, a very rash, quick decision. Looking back though it seems like the most natural thing to do, a very natural progression I guess.

I have never been skinny, but have never felt unhealthy until the past several years. Which is so odd to me, because I feel like I don't do any of the "fun" stuff I used to do. You know, chain smoking, drinking and never getting enough sleep. Now I try to eat organic, usually get more than enough sleep but feel like I could always take a nap (and usually do), I don't smoke, and rarely drink. I have never felt more unhealthy!

So what's the story? What's the reason? Or reasons? That's what I intend to find out.

I plan on taking the next year (possibly more) and re-structuring my eating habits. Mostly seeing how not going out to eat as frequently and cooking at home instead affects my health: physical, emotional,spiritual. Possibly my financial health as well.

I'd like going out for dinner to be what it was intended to be, a treat. A special occasion reserved for a really fabulous restaurant with outstanding food! Not a way of my daily life. Mundane restaurants with so-so food.

I think my overall health and well being may just improve as a result. Let's see!