This Mom's Food Journey

Welcome to the July Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let's Talk About Food
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about their struggles and successes with healthy eating. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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If my present self could go back 10 years to have a chat with myself, I am pretty sure my past self would be quite surprised. Not about some things; I always knew I would be a mommy. But I would be surprised that I am an earth hugging suburbanite, with a cosmetics and household cleaners conscience, a stash of cloth diapers and a fridge full of organic and/or local produce, grass fed beef and free range chicken and eggs.

Looking back now, I know exactly how I got to be this way. Growing up I was pretty ignorant about food. Not in a bad way, just in a  "kid way". My parents, specifically my mom, always tried to include us in food shopping, preparation and we always sat at the table to eat together. But childhood and adolescence is often characterized by the "in one ear, out the other" syndrome. So, many of the things my mom tried so hard to teach me, were not learned.

But then one day things began to change. I was finally pregnant. During the time I was trying to get pregnant, I remember reading it was good to eat a diet of whole, pesticide free (or at least low in pesticides), organic foods. So I did what I could because I wanted to do everything possible to be healthy and have a healthy baby. Back in those days, this consisted of eating a lot of veggies and fruit and whole wheat bread. Not much attention was placed on where that food came from. But when our beautiful daughter was born I knew there was no way I could ever knowingly give her anything that might cause her harm or damage her health. So I began buying organic, in spite of the price. Not everything I bought was organic, but everything I fed her was. For a couple of years we slowly added to the list of what we bought organic. We read more and learned more about food, but still we were just skimming along the surface.

Then my husband read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and that's when everything truly did change. I don't exactly remember why he read that book, but I do know that after he did he was a changed man; who then changed me. He kept on reading many more books and I read some of them too. Many of the issues raised in the books were things my parents had tried to share with me, but I suppose at the time I was not ready to take them in. But now I was. Our entire view on food completely changed. We began buying our produce and meat from our local farmer's market. We met and talked to farmers and learned about the agricultural climate and issues in our province. We grew our first pot garden (the kind where you grow plants in containers...hehe) with a few tomatoes, peppers and basil. The next year we started our first square foot garden plot. And this year we have our suburban garden mega box, which is growing bountifully. It is fun, we are learning a lot, but most importantly we are immersing our children in the world of conscious eating. Our daughter is so happy to help and she loves getting her hands dirty digging and weeding. She looks forward to our weekly trip to the market and gets excited when we receive our weekly organic CSA produce box. Rare is the time we buy out of season ingredients, but if we do, at least now we do so with the knowledge of what that box of blueberries has been through to get to our plate.

On the flip side, eating healthy, whole, organic foods is not without it's issues. First, there is the money issue. But if we are going to dish out the cash we choose to do so on food rather than on other expensive items. Then there is the fact that outside our little orb, many people are eating not-so-healthy foods that are made to look, taste and smell appealing. I know one day my kiddos will ask for the processed foods their peers eat and to drink pop and eat foods that resemble plastic more than they do food. But I hope that somewhere in their heart and mind they will remember what their Mommy and Daddy taught them about food; so that they may decide to continue down the earth hugging path.

I know there is still so much we need to learn and by no means are we experts in gardening or whole-organic-foods-local-eating knowledge. But we try our best and for us that means doing what we can to create a positive food culture so that our kids can grow up immersed in it and pass it on. Hey, if we can manage it then anyone can! My dream is that by the time my kiddos reach adolescence, it will be cool to grow your own food, cook from scratch, have chickens, eat less meat and shop local. I hope that one kiddo at a time, we can eliminate junk food. Forever.

This may very well be just a dream, but I have to try to make it a reality.

Hubby and Isaac Watering the Garden

Maddie Watering the Garden Before Bedtime (showing off her PJ's!)

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Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be updated July 13 with all the carnival links.)

• Welcome to Two — All About Food — In case you hadn't heard, there is a conspiracy afoot from the two year olds of the world. Shana at Tales of Minor Interest stumbled onto their newsletter!
• Four Seasons of Eating Locally — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has pointers for what fresh produce can be found year-round. (@MBJunction)
• Happy Families Can Have More Than One Diet — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now has figured out a way for her family to live happily as vegans and vegetarians with relatives who eat meat. (@DebChitwood)
• My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante prioritizes responsible consumer choices for her family.
• No Gluten — No Cry — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned to cook balanced meals when her son's food sensitivities prompted a diet overhaul. (@kitchenwitch)
• Try, Try Again — Stefanie at very very fine has become an enthusiastic consumer of locally grown food.
• CSA — Week 1 — Casey at What Love Is wants her children to know where their food comes from, so she joined a friendly CSA. (@CBerbs)
• Food: Parenting or Homemaking? — Michelle at The Parent Vortex sees food as part of a parent's nurturing role. (@TheParentVortex)
• 5 Tips to Help Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits — If you struggle with healthy eating, helping your child develop healthy habits might be a challenge. Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares five easy tips that will help your kids learn to make good food choices. (@CodeNameMama)
• Family Food: Seeking Balance Between Healthy, Sustainable & Affordable — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings has a whole list of ideas for how she can improve her family's eating, both now and into the future. (@sunfrog)
• Whole Foods in, Wholesome Feelings Out — Jessica at This is Worthwhile has turned her back on the processed, preservative-ridden food of her childhood. (@tisworthwhile)
• When to Splurge on Organic (and When It Is Okay to Skip It) — Becoming Mamas tell you what foods to prioritize when buying pricier organic food, and where you can find it cheaper. (@becomingmamas)
• A Locavore's Family Meal — Acacia at Be Present Mama tells a story in pictures of her family taking a trip to the local organic farmers market and then preparing a summer meal together with their bounty.
• Eat Your Food, or Else — Why should we not bribe a child to eat? TwinToddlersDad from Littlestomaks (Science Driven Real Life Toddler Nutrition) explains. (@TwinToddlersDad)
• Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild)
• Celebrating Food — Mrs Green at Little Green Blog believes in food as medicine and thinks it's worth paying more to keep healthy. (@myzerowaste)
• Oil and Yogurt — What have you been motivated to do with the current oil spill crisis? midnightfeedings has started making her own yogurt. (@midnightfeeding)
• Growth-Spurt Soup (AKA "Beannut Stew") — BeanMa has a special stew to help her baby through growth spurts that keep her up all night. (@thebeanma)
• Why I Love The Real Food Community — Much like many people who follow AP/NP values, Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! takes the parts of the "real food" philosophy that work for her family and leaves the rest. (@bfmom)
• Feeding a Family of Six — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children gives helpful tips for feeding a family of six.
• Starting Solids at 6 Months — Did your doctor recommend that you give your baby cereal? Sheryl at Little Snowflakes discusses how whole foods are so much healthier (and more delicious) than traditional cereal. (@sheryljesin)
• Am I What I Eat? — Andrea!!! at Ella-Bean & Co. has figured out a way to avoid grocery stores nearly altogether.
• Are We Setting Our Kids Up To Fail? — Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias found that cutting out the junk also transformed her sons' behavior problems.
• Changing your family's way of eating — Lauren at Hobo Mama has techniques you can try to move your family gradually toward a healthier diet. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Real Food — What kinds of fake foods do you eat? And why?! Lisa C. at My World Edenwild talks about why she chooses real food.
• A Snackaholic’s Food Battle — Julie at Simple Life wants to stop snacking and get into the old ways of cooking from scratch and raising her own food. (@homemakerjulie)
• Food, Not Fight — Summer at Finding Summer doesn't want her kids to grow up like her husband: hating everything green. (@summerm)
• How Do You Eat When You Are out of Town? — Cassie at There's a Pickle In My Life wants some tips on how to eat healthy when you are out of town.
• Carnival of Natural Parenting: Food! — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker hopes that by serving her children healthy, balanced meals, they will become accustomed to making good food choices. (@sybilryan)
• There's No Food Like Home's — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing revels in the Bajan food of her upbringing. (@BlkWmnDoBF)
• This Mom's Food Journey — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment made a journey from not paying attention to food to growing her own.
• Who Knew Eating Was So Hard? — The challenges involved in changing to healthier eating habits take on a whole new dimension when you have a child who has difficulties eating. kadiera at Our Little Acorn shares her own experiences. (@kadiera)
• Loving Food — Starr at Earth Mama truly believes food is her family's medicine and is willing to spend days preparing it the traditional way.
• Food Mindfulness — Danielle at born.in.japan details how her family spends money on each category of food. (@borninjp)
• Food for Little People — Zoey at Good Goog wants to bless her daughter with happy traditions built around good food. (@zoeyspeak)
• Eat Like a Baby — Have you been told that you should not equate food with love? Kate Wicker at Momopoly shows us why that's not necessarily true. (@Momopoly)
• Food — Deb at Science@Home tries to teach her children three rules to help them eat a healthy diet. (@ScienceMum)
• Healthy Eating Lactose-Free — MamanADroit gives us tips on how to eat healthy if you are lactose intolerant (or just don’t want cow milk). (@MamanADroit)