Like many others, the pandemic brought about for me a whole new way of thinking about food for our family. Panicked that my babies wouldn’t be able to have sandwiches I learned how to make bread. I instantly started upping my gardening game, reading up on canning and preserving. But….. here’s the thing …I don’t live on a farm and I don’t even have that much property. I live in the suburbs where most don’t put these priorities high on their list. But that didn’t deter me. Plot twist—-after getting Covid, and almost dying and suffering for two years after with long Covid that no one could seem to figure out, healthy eating became more of a necessity. Because the doctors told me so? Nope. Because my immune system had become so weakened that my body was reacting to everything… Yes, I mean as if everything was a threat. Even mild sunlight exposure caused my body to produce histamines and hives that lasted for days. I actually walked around with a dry loofah attached to a necklace if you could believe that I was that itchy. I had to replace all my clothes with cotton and linen, go for hours and hours of treatment, therapies and tests upon tests. I spent a lot of time indoors last summer and since I’m generally a very active person, I decided to put my energy into learning how to make starter. Boom. It was an instant obsession and a beautiful new hobby. I started off wanting to make sourdough bread (since I had only learned how to make artisan bread with commercial yeast during the pandemic ) but I learned so much more about the importance of what we put in our bodies. This was such a therapeutic experience for me. It helped me to think about my healing in a whole new way. It helped me to consider that providing “healthy” for my family means more than just organic. And of course, everybody is always excited for fresh bread right out of the oven. That gave me the opportunity to talk to my children about the differences between store-bought bread, and what I was making. I noticed my 15-year-old daughter taking a whole new interest in health and nutrition. We spent a little bit more time together in the kitchen and for that, I am extremely grateful. If you have teenagers, you know what I mean. The point is, homemade is always better because you know exactly what you’re getting. Before I started down this road, I thought the food choices I was making for my family were the best, but that was silly. We never really doing anything “best” because we’re all on this journey to continue growing. That said, keep doing what you’re doing. Commit to small changes for your family and keep at them until you’re satisfied.
When your children see that you are committed to lifelong learning, you’re modeling the greatest example. Sometimes teaching our children is intentional and sometimes it’s very unintentional, but make no mistake, they are always learning from our example. So, if you’ve just started down this journey with me, my best advice is to be intentional. Pick one thing… just one— even if it’s a new recipe! Pick one thing and commit to getting better at it. Let your children see you working on it. Talk to them about it. Get them involved because a life where children and parents grow together is the best homemade there is. ❤️
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AuthorA Spirit -filled Christian, wife, mama of 2, artist, entrepreneur, educator and student... always growing . Archives
March 2023
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