I had to buy new pants.

I wasn’t even trying, but I had lost a few inches around my middle and my thighs. So when it started to become obnoxious to hike up my pants all day (but let’s face it, who wouldn’t prefer to have that problem instead of having buttons popping OFF their pants?), I bit the bullet and went to the store in search of new clothes. (Of course, being the bargain shopper I am, this required scouring the clearance racks for a while!)

My body was just responding naturally to changes in my diet (simple changes really, but ones that required an overhaul of our kitchen cabinets and a complete change in perspective). My family and most of my friends think we’re crazy (ok, they found us out. ha!), but I’m not complaining when I slide on pants that used to be tight on me, only to find they are now saggy and baggy. Kind of a nice feeling with bathing suit season just around the corner……just a thought.

I realized that the food most of us eat really isn’t food at all.

 It’s dead.

Or it concocted in a lab.

And it’s poisoning us.

When some people became enamored with money and power and the rest of us gave into our laziness, the government and big businesses took over our food supply, spraying poisons on our crops to create a larger yield, coating food with waxes to make it last longer and look prettier, and otherwise concocting chemical cocktails that are unrecognizable as food to our bodies.

And our bodies are suffering for it. More people die of heart disease than ever before. 1 in 3 people will die from cancer. 1 in 3 kids will get diabetes. Obesity is a huge (no pun intended…oh dear-that’s my father’s humor coming through) problem. But more on that later……

Back to the food!

Getting back to the root of things, from the beginning, God has provided us with all the food we need to sustain us, satisfy us, heal us, and even give us pleasure (I mean, come on, fresh fruits and veggies taste amazing!). He is Good and He knows exactly what our bodies need.

The changes we made came from The Healing Diet from Exodus Health Center. I also read The Maker’s Diet by Jordin S. Rubin. I give two big thumbs up to both of those articles/books. Now instead of cooking with rancid vegetable oils, I use olive oil, grapeseed oil and coconut oil. Instead of hormone-laced, antibiotic-filled meat, I eat clean, grass-fed, happy cow meat. Instead of bleached, super-blood-sugar-spiking, turns-to-sugar-in-your-body-in-4-seconds white bread, noodles and rice, I eat super-yummy sprouted grain bread and noodles and brown rice.

Now before you leave me shaking your head and muttering “yeah, that's all well and good, but I just can't afford to eat like that," be encouraged that if we can do it so can you!! I've found that when we trusted the Lord with our health and stepped out in faith that these food choices were honoring our bodies, we have always had enough (more than enough really). Plus, I've done all the leg work for you as far as bargains are concerned! So stay tuned for where to buy what at the best price and what's on sale this week.

I'll leave you with a recipe to try to whet your appetite for truly good food!

Berry Smoothie
-This is great for breakfast. It really gets your metabolism going.

1/3 can coconut milk (full fat....don't fret-these healthy fats will actually help you lose weight)
2 cage free eggs or 1 scoop protein powder
1 c. frozen berries (no sugar added)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Stevia to taste (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until frothy. Enjoy immediately, preferably through a bendy straw (only because they're more fun!)