labels, food, and children

[Guest guest]

I had a bunch of posts set aside to respond to, but now can't remember where

they are, so here's a few thoughts:

 

A- I like the 80-10-10 way of living, not because it's " sold " or " preached " by

anyone, and not because I'm a militant soul (lmao at the thought), but because

(as I said previously), it's working for my son, and because it feels a very

simple and good way to live.

 

I enjoy the simple things in life - a rain dance on a hot, dry day, then dancing

in the rain when it comes; playing with my son, visiting gardens, swimming, and

so on. We rarely watch tv, and even if we do, it's mostly for the music. I love

crafting, and reading, and interacting with people. There's so much I want to

learn for myself, and teach my son. These things all take time, in between the

sleep that my son and I need. Before I found out about raw eating, my son's

meals were cooked or fruit, my meals were usually out of a tin (soups and

things). After I found out about raw, I went from about 20 minutes of food prep

a day, to several hours of food prep a day.

 

I was very relieved, for this and several other reasons, to find out that there

IS another way, that complex recipes are not required, and in fact that whole

foods are optimal. I see absolutely no sense in cutting and blending and tearing

food apart, only to put it back together again with several other foods that

have also been cut apart, just to make it look like the foods I'm trying to get

away from in the first place, whether I'm craving those foods or not. I would

far rather grab a hand of bananas on the way out the door to the park, than

stand in the kitchen for half an hour wrestling with ingredients.

 

I don't want food to be a huge part of our lives, there's so much other living

we have to do. I recognise that food is necessary as fuel, and yes, it's nice to

enjoy what I eat, which is why I choose things that taste good as they are, but

I don't see that my emotional or social wellbeing should revolve around food. In

his book, the 80-10-10 Diet, Doug Graham points out some 30+ other aspects of

health, food is just one small part of it.

 

I am thankful, that health does not have to be a struggle (beyond the breaking

of addictions), that it can be simple, and can take place in the background, as

I'm resting. I'm grateful, that there are people willing to share this

information with me, and explain it to me, so that I don't have to spend hours

each day either preparing food, or searching for information about it. I don't

see it as a set of rules to be followed, or a narrow path to be walked. I feel

liberated, knowing that I don't need to be tied to the kitchen, or the dining

table, or perform an elaborate balancing act so it doesn't all come crashing

down around my ears.

 

All that said, it doesn't bother me one way or the other if someone else wants

to spend those hours in the kitchen, or enjoys brewing up potions to treat

various symptoms that crop up from time to time. If you find enjoyment in that,

that's great. But if someone asks how to fix a problem, I'm not going to suggest

a bandaid solution, I'll suggest removing the cause - that's me, that's how I do

things, and I know others are like that too.

 

2- I don't like labels, whether referring to myself or others. Someone will

always find a way to make a label into something demeaning, derrogatory, or

downright damning. I'm seeking health, nothing more, nothing less, and I don't

need to put a label on that.

 

C- Every INFANT (ie baby, not child of 4+ years) I have seen, has always chosen

fruit over the other crap their parents are trying to shove in their faces.

Every single one, from the babies in my new mother group, to the children of a

guy my mother works with, to random kids at the shops, to my own neice (everyone

thought it was hilarious that her mother was feeding her spaghetti, and she was

alternating mouthfulls with her fruit, and how horrible it must have tasted),

and of course, my son.

 

After the child has been on processed foods for a while, a few months to a few

years, just like adults, they become addicted to it, and begin to make choices

favouring the cookies, the sweets, the sodas, and other crap. Hence, we often

see toddlers and older children choosing those foods.

 

If the addictive foods are taken away, yes, the child will kick and scream (much

the same as most adults, just louder ;o) ), but eventually, once the addictions

and the habits are broken, then real foods again become enjoyable. It may still

be a difficult choice between real foods and whatever the addiction was, for a

time, but the results of poor choices will soon serve as an incentive for better

choices.

 

fini (yes, I know latin too ;oP)

 

Caron

 

 

[Guest guest]

I loved your entire post, but the following statement really spoke volumes )

 

~Sarah

 

Caron <carongroups wrote:

 

<I don't want food to be a huge part of our lives, there's so much other

living we have to do.>

 

 

Sarah