Our family table...

It may sound corny, but I really and truly love feeding my family. Becoming pregnant with Emaline started me in my own personal food revolution. My diet changed when I was expecting her and my eyes have been opened more and more to the issues surrounding food in America. From the time I saw that little blue line on a pregnancy stick I knew I wanted my child to have the best I could give her, no matter the sacrifice it meant for me. I began on a quest to learn about where my food comes from, whats in it and what my body, my husband's body and my child's body needed. There is a lot of valuable information out there, but a lot of differing opinions on what we should and should not eat. All of my life I have been able to read a cookbook like a novel, pouring over delicious sounding recipes and noting things I'd like to try. Feeding David and Emaline a meal that they enjoy and that is packed with healthy nutrients gives me and honest to goodness rush. I feel like I am helping to sustain them and nourish them, and I am! Simple, whole, unprocessed foods that taste delicious are good for the body and soul. I wish I could say that our diets are free from anything processed or not organic, but they are. Our wallets limit us in this area, and so does convenience. Emaline doesn't get processed foods (at least not often under my watch) but David and I enjoy a good soda or snack food from time to time! As for organic, well I try. Truth is most days we can't afford organic meat. This means we go without meat quite often or have it as side dish sized portion, or we eat non organic meat. Sigh. Too bad good quality meat isn't available for most people because of price. My parents are generous though and give us a great deal of the meat they buy locally. They buy an entire cow and pig each year and David and I reap the benefits of that!

I find it fun, almost like a game, to come up with nutritious and tasty meals that everyone in my family will like. What I've decided is this: eating is a joy and a gift from God. It is a form of celebration and togetherness. Breaking bread or sharing a meal is Biblical and a central part of community, and I'm so thankful for that. Food didn't have to taste good, it didn't have to vary in color and texture, and it could have been something God never even created. I like to think he gave that to us as a gift. This gift is to be enjoyed with gusto and thoughtfulness. For so long I have eaten in shame and with no thought to what I was actually consuming, but no more. Changing the way I eat does not mean that I enjoy it less, in fact for me it has meant the opposite! I'm thankful that God was thoughtful enough to bless us with tasty food. He loves us, oh how He loves us.