I value healthy eating. I think it is really important that my family eats a well balanced diet full of real whole foods. I am really passionate about this. My pantry does not contain a lot of processed food. Our snack food is mostly consistent of Nuts, dried fruit, and whole grain crackers. Once in awhile I will throw in a treat for the kids and get some cheesy sandwich crackers or special cookies. I am even known to have ice cream in the freezer on occasion. You will see from one of my previous posts, that although I value healthy eating I also value treating my kids to help avoid an unhealthy obsession with food.
All that being said it has come to my attention lately that food has become an obsession in our country as a whole. And not just on the healthy side, but the unhealthy too. Did you know that America has been ranked among the most unhealthy first world countries in the world? We have the highest obesity rate amongst children (according to a 2011 study) and the highest obesity rate in people over 20 (also according to a 2011 study.) It seems that we definitely have a reason to be rethinking what we eat and how we treat food in our lives.
Since this study was released it seems that more people have become aware of how we need to redefine healthy eating in our country. There is a slew of information out there on what is the most healthy diet. We have, just to name a few, Paleo, Gluten Free, Atkins, South Beach, Raw Diet, the list goes on and on. Everyone is out there advocating for why their diet of choice is the best choice. As I am on facebook, food posts seem to have taken over. It's overwhelming trying to figure out what is best.
Then when you finally think you have found out what is the best for you, another post pops up about how that actually isn't healthy so you better stop right now or else your head is going to explode and you are going to die of heart disease. Ok maybe that is a little dramatic, but that is how it feels at times.
Don't even get me started on Organic food and Non GMO. These are all buzz words that go around like crazy and if you don't start changing your life now and eating only local, organic, NON GMO food you may as well kiss your healthy life goodbye. My head is spinning just thinking about it. Not to mention the fact that in order to eat this way you better be the CEO of some Fortune 500 company so that you can afford the HUGE dent in your income that buying all this food is going to cause.
Make sure you soak your own beans cause the ones in a can are bad. Please only eat raw nuts because the roasted salted ones will most likely rot in your stomach and you will eventually die. Oh and IF you should choose to eat meat make sure it is grass fed, free range, given massages daily and purchased from your local farm where you can get it fresh fresh fresh.
Ahhhh! Where do I start?!?!? How do I get healthy when we live pay check to pay check with 5 mouths to feed 3 times a day? Don't misunderstand me, I think that all these things are important. Yes I want to eat all non GMO, Organic, Local food, but I just can't. It is financially impossible for me to do so. So does that make me unhealthy? Does that make my family not as good as the family that can afford to eat this way? I should certainly hope not.
America is so spoiled. We have so much access to fresh food everyday. We can go to the grocery store and buy food to constantly refill our pantries and fridges (disclaimer: I do realize there are plenty of people that go hungry in this country, but please see my point.) Do you realize that there are third world countries where citizens live off of their weekly ration of rice and beans? There are children that have to travel miles just to get a cup of fresh water? They are doing their best to survive the harsh realities that they face every day.
We are over here sitting in our homes where we have running water, indoor plumbing, unlimited access to food and yet we are obsessed with making sure it is the "right" kind of healthy. Well guess what? Not everyone can do that. Some people are forced to eat the cheapest meat and the cheapest produce because that is the only choice they have.
Don't get me wrong, I do purchase some organic food, but only when I can. I do my best to find NON GMO, but its just not always possible. I even eat mostly gluten free because I feel physically better when I do. I would LOVE to buy the organic meats, but I also want to be able to pay my rent and utilities. When I think about those that have so much less than me, it really puts the obsession America has with food in perspective.
I am so blessed to live in this country and have all of the amenities that go with it. I don't ever want to feel like I am being crushed under the expectations of what I am supposed to be doing to be living healthy. I am doing the best that I can for my family. I believe that God sees that and in all His sovereign wisdom he will help keep my family healthy.
I am not saying all this to give people a free pass to eat fast food everyday and fill their pantries with microwave dinners and candy bars. I am just saying eat healthy, whole foods, make home cooked meals, but at the same time relax on all the other "standards" you have set before yourself. Do your best, but know when you need to put limits on yourself for the health and well being of your family.
Let stop putting needless pressure on ourselves and comparing ourselves to those that we think are doing "better." I believe that thinking is far more unhealthy that eating non organic food.
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