Real Food???

Well since I left you all at the edge of your seats wondering what crazy new diet I am on (the real food diet/lifestyle) I figured I better explain. There is much confusion about what I eat. When I say that I don't want to eat animals that were treated cruelly, I do not mean that I am a vegetarian. If you ever asked me what I eat I may have said vegetarian just because it is much easier to say that than to explain what I really am. That, and if I really got into it your eyes may glaze over in less than 30 seconds. But since you are here, trapped (cuz it's not like you could close this page at any time) I will explain. I feel called to eat foods that honor the earth, the animals, other people, and my own body. In short I want to honor all of God's creation. There are too many people groups that have survived from eating other animals, so I am not about to tell them they were wrong to consume another life. Also if memory serves, it was God who killed the first animal to provide clothing for Adam and Eve. While not ideal, consuming animals is one way we have been directed to for our survival. Finally I really and truly believe that life comes from life. Even vegans are indirectly taking life to prolong their own. When a field is cleared to grow soy beans, the wild animals inhabiting that field are sacrificed-gophers, mice, wild birds loose their homes and shelter. So that said, I am not delusional to think that my life continues without costing another's, and I find a position taken by some Native Americans to be more in unison with my own, which honors and thanks the life given to provide for my own.

You are probably thinking that I really haven't explained what I eat. You are right. So let's get to it. I try my best (I am flexible with my diet, trying to accommodate as different circumstances arise) to eat locally, and organic, or at least pesticide free vegetables, fruit, and herbs. I try to eat pastured (as in raised on a pasture, grazing in grass), or free-range (yes there is a difference, and if you really want to know what that is, ask in the comments and I will explain) meats, eggs, and dairy. It can be tricky finding foods that meet these criteria, but I have had the most success at farmer's markets. Also, remember that I am flexible, so I don't starve because I cannot find food that meet all the criteria. Now regarding dairy, I try to stay away from pasteurized (please do not confuse this with pastured-these are two very different things) because it leads to stuffy sinuses, and allergy attacks, or sinus infection (I try to avoid gluten-and sometimes citrus-for this same reason). I do however, eat raw dairy, and have found that it doesn't have as severe an affect on me. WooHoo!!! Cuz I have missed my quesadillas.

I just recently bought some raw milk and it was nice to drink milk like that, it has been a while. I plan on making some gluten-free cookies this weekend and having them with a glass of cold raw milk. Yum!!! Funny how excited I get over simple things like that, since I have had to go without those things for a long time. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, indeed!

The REAL part of my diet is the idea that I try to eat as many whole foods as possible. No foods with scary expiration dates/preservatives, chemical dyes, high fructose corn syrup, or instant meals. The idea is that I would live a life style where I make most of my foods, like folks did in the preindustrial era. That is the REAL part of the Real Food diet. It is taking us back to our preindustrial revolution roots. I think the main words behind this movement would be simple, whole, balance, and quality. This is a lifestyle not simply a diet. It is one that seems to encompass all the elements that I value, and it leads me to a life that I am already striving for. A life of dignity, honor, balance, wholeness, truth, and love.

So I can eat pretty much anything, as long as it is organic, whole, pastured, preservative-free, natural, and locally grown. Luckily McDonald's and Taco Bell's menus are just that! *wink*

The Rain of Forgiveness

Recently the sky has looked like it was going to rain. I mean the sky looks pregnant with rain, and is seconds away from giving birth and ... and… and nothing. It is as though the sky is taunting us. Showing us something we need but can’t have.

Now when it comes down to it, I am a southern California girl through and through. I enjoy my fair share of rain, but I am not one of those people who claim to LOVE rain, who get all dramatic when the sky turns grey and act as though it is the perfect time to run outdoors and frolic in a field. But rather, I am one of those folks who enjoys the smell of wet asphalt, that nostalgic smell that recalls days in grammar school playing dodge ball during recess, I breath in that familiar smell and smile, and there might even be the slightest bounce in my step for those 60 seconds it takes me to walk from my work building to my car. And that’s all I need. 60 seconds.

I much rather observe the rain from indoors, nice and dry. I might open a window or sit under a covered awning to take in the scents that only come when it rains. Those smells that comfort you and reassure that mother nature is cleaning house and taking care of you in the process.

Now maybe this last metaphor is best understood by those of us who have lived in southern California. Those of us who have see the sky in a brownish tint. We, who have scanned the horizon and witnessed some of God’s magnificent design in nature and have understood the desire of many Americans to migrate to sunny southern California, only to have the glory of this place marred by the inches and inches of brown haze looming over our cities, even hiding our hills and mountains, as if to say “How mighty are you really?”

Oh that damn smog! I don’t know why, but it seems like this year more than any other, I have noticed it. I am sure it has always been there. But I never paid attention. For some reason God has opened my eyes to it and it makes me sad. And I feel guilty daily, as I make my 65 minute commute from home to work and back. Yes, I am carpooling, but I am still contributing to the smog. And there is no way out of it that I can see. It makes me sick. I must admit, every time I gaze at the horizon, I am tempted to hold my breath, and protect my lungs from that filth. I don’t take a breathe again until I look away; out of sight out of mind.

And I write all this to say, that recently it has looked like it is going to rain. And this year more than ever, I am yearning for that rain, that cleansing and forgiving rain. This is one of the worst droughts California has had in a while, and it is as if Earth knows it, and mother earth is withholding her forgiveness, waiting for us to wake up and realize how we are torturing the earth. This place where Christ walked, where God set foot upon, where God let the fullness of his imagination run wild. It’s as though she is waiting for a contrite and repentant spirit before she pours forgiveness and life down.

I want to make peace with the earth, but I feel so helpless. I want to be a good steward of this kingdom He left us, but I feel trapped in this capitalistic world. I cry, full of shame and guilt. Lord when you died, and you forgave us, did you forgive us of even this, the defilement of your land? May your GRACE stretch out even here, on this bit of soil I call home.