it's 2014 - let's get real

gotta send 2013 out with a bang, right!?

the first pic was taken in 1997ish and the second two pics were taken in 2010.  (i had my mom show the kids my blond pics the other day at dinner and they all asked, "who is that, grandma!?"  HA!)  let's get one thing straight - i have always been comfortable with myself.  i've been an athlete my whole life (go NUSB!), gained and lost 150lbs through three pregnancies and was quite content at 148lbs (it was my college weight!).  i was and still am a human garbage disposal.  i will always love food.  i just didn't really care what i was putting into the kitchen sink.

until my neighbor went to a nutritionist one day because he needed to eat healthier and gain.some.weight.  i asked for the information he brought home because i had never been to a nutritionist.  that was over three years ago... tommy was about to turn two.  i started to clean up my eating because my friend and neighbor shared his "water-drop".  mark, thank you for that epic conversation on our beach.

the picture of me lounging in "eddie" the airstream was taken by my lucky bunny.  she and i will never forget that moment:  "click" - she looked at me and said, "we are changing.your.hair".  then she pulled up this weird website called "pinterest" and showed me a picture of this gorgeous victoria's secret model with dark "ombre" (what!?) hair.  i remember reacting incredulously to the idea of changing my locks.  slowly then, over the next two years, i began to evolve, inside and out.  hellerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  yes please.  thank you.  really!?  will do.  love you.  (i smack her around sometimes too:)

so now you know a little prelude before i found my rope and swung into the mullies.  how my personal success with real food + golden friendships (oh chimmie you're a HUGE part of this too!) gave me some gumption when i had to drastically change abbie's food and eventually my entire family's food in sept/oct 2012.  it's a good story.  it led me to become an ambassador for the food revolution.  it's a story full of messes and successes (you wouldn't believe how real food has helped my parents!), of blunders and bloopers and it certainly has been worth it.  we're still evolving, back pedaling and lunging forward.   i hope you enjoy my new guest post for the food revolution blog entitled, "the evolution of a food revolution". 

water-drops make waterfalls.

sliding doors happen so many times in a life, every blink one takes.

do i jump or not?

should i or shouldn't i?

regret reigns when you stand still and let the world spin you on a collar.

bring it on babies - 2014 is ours to embrace.  find someone lovely who wants to ride on a bright yellow tandem with you.

7+7=14

2014 is my double lucky number and i hope it's yours too.

become a food patriot and join the food revolution.

unplug yourself from the matrix - your butt and brain won't regret it.

i love this article via foodday.org on making good food resolutions that you can actually accomplish.

and here are my top 7 real food "rezzo's" to chew on for 2014:

1.  pitch out the artificial colors & artificial preservatives.
overwhelmed with the amount in your fridge and pantry of these little bombs?  start with a category: condiments, sauces, jarred items, dressings etc and then to a perishable category.  when you run out of something, replace it with a brand that's clean.  take it slow or fast, whatever you can handle.  need a structured plan of attack?  this 6-week plan is awesome and you don't have to be battling with ADHD to try it!

2.  limit processed foods (aka the middle isles of the grocery store) & eat unlimited vegetables and fruits (organic when you can).
easier said than done with the vege - i've been at it for over a damn year.  not giving up...  the taste buds and preferences take time to evolve.  strive to eat 90% real, whole foods that come from the ground, the water or the trees.  it's not about perfection.

3.  know how & where your meat/poultry/fish is farmed so you can buy the best quality available (no antibiotics please).
yup, it's more expensive.  so we eat less animal products.  it has been eye opening and an adventure learning to cook more vegetarian and vegan meals.  who knew that plants=protein too?  jeeesh.

4.  be a nerd and educate yourself.  (read robyn o'brien's "do-onething" & the food babe's investigation page.)

5.  cook & play like there's no tomorrow. (make sure it's to loud.bad.ass.music whenever possible.)

6.  feeling pretty good with your real food?  look at your household chemicals and beauty products next.  meet saferchemicals.org to help you get your other cabinets in shape!

7.  love love love this article by kris karr... take in 2014 with "ease" and let go of monstrous resolutions!

there's no if.and.buts.about.it

happy.best.new.year.of.your.life.

to the mullies we go...

xoxo



ps

i just thought of peter pan and wendy flying when i typed that...  so silly i know...