I want to thank Stephen Tremp, L. Diane Wolfe, Michael Di Gesu, and Alex Cavanaguh for hosting this blogfest. Eating healthy and trying to live a healthy lifestyle is something I feel very strongly about and I wish more people would take their health and diet more seriously. Most of what I'm going to say are things that people reading this blog already know, which is why I'll try to keep this short because YOU know what's good for you and what isn't. But what baffles me is despite this knowledge, many people still choose to eat foods that are destructive to their health and the environment. Why? Why do that to yourself? Is it a false sense of security in modern technology that makes you think if you get sick, there's a pill you can swallow that'll make everything all better? You have to know that in the long term this is crazy thinking. Right? On top of that, a lot of people who don't value their health are folks I know, they are people I care about, people I consider my friends, it may even be you and you know what? I'd like you to stick around for as long as possible and in the best possible condition. Seriously.
I grew up on a western diet, and having lived in the States for almost twenty years (I now live in France), I'm convinced that the western diet promotes obesety, lifestyle diseases, and puts the planet at risk. One of the problems is that people on a western diet eat too many animal products (by a factor of 10) and don't eat enough plants. Plus, they eat far too many calories than necessary, and most of these calories are absorbed from foods that promote diseases instead of preventing disease. While I'm mostly concerned about people living in the States, the trend is spreading world-wide and is showing up here in France.
Bottom line, if you want to live longer, in a healthy body, and in a healthier environment, your eating habits must change. And for change to happen, you must make life changing decisions. Getting on a diet is not going to cut it because diets don't work. If you're serious about improving your health and leaving behind a postive impact, you must be willing to change your behavior and your philophy about food. I've made a lot of changes to my eating habits since moving to France. I buy organic (about 80-90% of everything I buy is organic), we have a vegetable garden, I don't own a microwave and haven't used one in over a decade (shocking I know, but you can survive without one). I cook our meals and have reduced our consumption of red meat. Plus, we don't eat meat at night. Another important thing is EXERCISE. I just recently started exercising six days a week. Anyway, I'm not going to detail all the aspects of my eating habits because it's not perfect and I'm not perfect however, I will leave you with this one piece of advice for those willing to change their eating habits and get healthy:
INVEST IN A SIMPLE STEAM COOKER
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| My steamer and cast iron skillet. |
It doesn't have to be fancy with a lot of buttons that'll eventually break down. Simple is best. A steam cooker is easy and versitile. I make soups in it, cook vegetables in it, and use it to reheat the occasional dish. This is a picture of mine and I use it practically every daily. For cooking vegetables, all you do is put about 1/4 water in the bottom, place your vegetables in the basket on top, cover, and steam cook your food for a few minutes. Vegetables taste different when they are steamed--they taste good, they taste like vegetables! <===this is a good thing!
Your health is important people.
You are important.
Get healthy.
