The beginning

I suppose I'll start at the beginning, well, at least at the beginning of this recent adventure. It all started with a book. It was a book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The title, Skinny Bitch, is what caught the attention of my friend, Kelli. I would have never opened the cover of the book if it wasn't for Kelli. First of all, I am not trying to be skinnier. Second, that title is offensive! I do not think that people should strive to be skinny and I definitely don't think that it is okay for women to call eachother by that word.

It was the change I saw in Kelli that made me want to read it. She started talking about what kinds of things are in pop and and how taking OTC medicines isn't always the best idea. I was intrigued. (FYI, I will refer to the Skinny Bitch as the book from now on in my blog posts) I read the book in 2 days. It's not a lengthy read, but I still felt like that was an accomplishment since I have 2 kids who prefer that I read Freddy Rides a Bike over and over again. To give you an idea of how much of an effect this book had on my life, from the start, let me tell you that I was feeding my family meat twice a day every day and since the day I began reading the book, we have been vegetarian. I am trying to be a vegan, but that will take some time. I avoid dairy as much as I possibly can.

Why in the world would I want to become a vegan, you ask? Yes, I am from Ohio and yes, I was raised on meat and potatoes. My favorite meal was a sweet bbq pulled pork sandwich with a loaded baked potato (w/bacon, butter, cheese, and sour cream). Oh, don't forget about the pop that I was drinking and refilled at least twice. I thought that people who were vegetarians were people who loved vegetables and were addicted to crack. Just kidding about the crack. Turns out I was the one with the addiction-to junk!!

The book is not going to turn everyone into a vegan. It will inform you of what you are putting into you body when you eat. Everyone who I know who has read it can't help but change their way of eating, for the better.

I quit eating meat and drinking pop immediately. I have decreased my junk (chips, candy, desserts, dairy) by at least 90%. I feel really, really good. Not only am I doing the right thing for my body to function well, but I am making an amazing impact on the environment!!

I used to consider myself somewhat "green," but I had abandoned many of my green practices when we moved across the state around 4 months ago. I was so into adjusting to our new life, that many of my green convictions temporarily got lost in the shuffle. The thing that is amazing to me is that in my 28 years, I never even thought about vegetarianism or veganism as being something that would help the environment. Now, I can't believe how uninformed I was!

I'm not going to ramble on today, but I am looking forward to blogging about what kinds of food my family now eats and also about environmental effects, shopping on a budget, being a vegan parent, and the serious health problems that can arise from eating junk.

Stay tuned.