Moving On

I've always been into eating rather healthy, but as of recent, I've been REALLY into it. I'm not exactly when spurred me on, but I know I was always aware of all the chemicals, additives, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, etc. that companies put in their products and pass as "food." We found out about Trader Joe's a few years ago while in Philly and they have signs all over their stores declaring, "No Preservatives, No Additives, No Artificial Flavors!" Maybe that started it all?

Anyway, I've been reading/buying/borrowing books by Christian doctors and/or authors. That (growing) list includes:

Eat This...and Live! by Don Colbert, MD
Holy Cow! Does God Really Care About What We Eat? by Hope Egan
The Seven Pillars of Health by Don Colbert, MD
What Would Jesus Eat? by Don Colbert, MD
What the Bible Says about Healthy Living by Rex Russell, MD
The Genesis Diet by Gordon Tessler, MD

I never really thought about what Jesus ate or what God's menu plans were for us, but there's a lot of info in the Old Testament that most Biblically-based nutritionist would argue still apply to us today. He, God, designed all of us, from Adam on down. And since he laid out Adam's eating plan of fruits and veggies (Genesis 1:29...and added certain types of meat, fish, and insects to it after the flood), I think a logical conclusion that could be drawn is: what was deemed good for Adam to eat by God back then is still deemed good by Him for us to eat today. It's an interesting fact that even though I've been to hundreds of church services in my life, I've never heard this topic of Biblical Food addressed. I'm not sure why since we eat all day, every day. Food is a big part of our life. And a big topic in the medical profession for the problems associated with overeating, etc.

It's a fascinating topic and I'm hoping to sum up all of the information I read into a healthy diet for us. There's definitely a balance to it; of course we'll still go out to eat. Not a lot, though. Of course we'll still eat some junk food, but not every day. The downside is that it's more expensive in the short-term to eat healthy (I guess there really is a price on life!) and also it's something I'm just beginning to learn about. That means I have to look up recipes containing all the new foods I'm learning about, so it's more time-consuming than eating poorly. I've discovered that there are so many good-for-you foods that your body needs to function properly on a daily basis that there isn't any room for all this processed, chemically-treated, nutritiously-void food that's cheap and easy to buy.

There are a lot of healthy alternatives that actually taste good. My biggest find yet is something called Stevia. Stevia is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener for hundreds of years. It's supposedly sweeter than sugar and the best part? No calories, no carbs, and it doesn't spike your blood pressure. I'm not sure why this isn't mainstream knowledge, but there's probably a cover-up conspiracy by the sugar companies lurking somewhere in there. Just kidding, I think.

There's so much I'm learning and there's so much more to learn...I even bought Tofu the other day. So that means that I'm now in the process of looking up Tofu recipes!