Since I was seven years old, I've had an insatiable desire to be a doctor. I started college as a biochemistry major and later switched to biology when I transferred schools. I was overwhelmed with information about what your body can do. Everything that happens in your cells, how your systems communicate and work together to perform simple and complex functions, and the speed and accuracy of all of this. Once you see what happens inside all of us, all the time, it makes you wonder why we all aren't just walking blobs of cancer all the time. I have such respect and awe at what the human body can do.
Growing up, I had an exceptionally average childhood. By this I mean that my parents cooked dinner every night, and it wasn't tofu with a side of alfalfa sprouts. I had sugary cereal or pop tarts for breakfast, and brought my turkey sandwich and Hostess Swiss Rolls for lunch, and had the standard meat, starch and vegetable dinner. I also had (okay, HAVE) a sweet tooth that can't be satisfied. I was always thin and never really had to try for it. I played sports my whole life (but was never really good at them) and stayed pretty active. When I went away for college and started cooking for myself, I had a roommate that was basically anorexic and obsessed with calorie counting and working out. I supplemented her eccentric diet with peanut butter and Twizzlers. Not a good idea. I felt horrible. All the time. I had no energy and I started gaining weight.
When I came back home the next year, I started eating healthier and started being more interested in nutrition. I read a couple books and started toying with the idea of being a vegetarian. It really wasn't possible in a house of carnivore's on a college student's budget. When I moved out of my parent's house and had more control over what I ate, I followed a mostly vegan diet with a little dairy and fish every once in awhile. I was the healthiest I had ever been. I had so much energy, I never got sick, and I felt good. I love to cook more than anything and it was easy for me when I didn't have to worry so much about bills and work and school and everything else.
A year after slipping away from my super healthy life, I've never felt worse. I feel tired all the time, I have no motivation to work out, and I get sick a lot more often. I still try to be healthy, but I would love to be back to what I was. Settling into my new house and putting away all my kitchen gadgets has rekindled my desire for health. I crave healthy food and cooking, and I'm so excited to resume my healthy lifestyle. With everything our bodies do for us, it's a shame for us not to do right by our bodies.
Growing up, I never cared about the high fructose corn syrup I was drinking or the red food dye I was eating. I never knew what trans fats were or where BPA lurks in our food. I never knew what all these chemicals and artificial dyes and preservatives did to our bodies. Now that I know, I make conscious choices to avoid these products and keep myself safe.
Being healthy makes me feel better, not just lighter, but cleaner and more alive. It takes work. Stopping by the drive through is a lot easier than buying ingredients to make a healthy meal, but in the end, if we want our bodies to be good to us, we have to be good to them. And, with a few shortcuts, healthy cooking and living can be easier and tastier than you think. I'll be using this blog to show you some of my shortcuts, recipes, and tips for a naturally healthy life. Enjoy :)
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