So . . . What CAN we eat?

I am food-obsessed.  Anyone who knows me can tell you that. I love to cook, I love to write, read, and re-write recipes, I love to research food trends and fads.  And, obviously, I love to eat.  Recently I've gotten on a kick of watching documentaries about food.  Lately I watched "Food, Inc.". This movie really got me paranoid.  Then I started REALLY thinking . . .

Experts are all different.  And they have different viewpoints.  One expert says to not eat fat, one to not eat carbs.  One says to only eat whole, organic foods, while another one will tell you that processed foods are not only okay, but good for you.  There's the south beach diet, the Atkins diet, weight watchers, spark people, the grapefruit diet, the Eden diet, and so on, and so forth.  The point is they all say something different.  If you look at what all these doctors say and put it all together you are left with only one question.  So . . . What CAN I eat?

Bread and pasta are a given now days.  Unless it's whole grain, don't eat it.  So, no white anything.  Oh, wait a sec . . . Wheat gluten is bad for a lot of people now . . . okay, so only products made with corn, rice, or soy products . . . Oh, can't do that b/c all these farmers are using pesticides and genetic enhancement on their corn and soy beans! Hmm . . . well, meat isn't bad, right?

Well, for years "experts" have been saying to not eat fat, so we'll start with that.  No fat.  That means only lean meat such as poultry breast, lean beef, fish, and lean pork. Oops!  Wait, can't eat that because it's processed in factories that support cruelty to animals and their products are all genetically enhanced.  Leaves meat off the list. Fruit and veggies!  Surely THOSE are good for me!

BUT only non-starchy ones which leaves off potatoes, bananas, plantains, apples, corn, beans, and peas.  Oh, yeah, those silly pesticides are back.  And the genetic enhancements.  Well, dang, leaves off vegetables.

So, to solve this we can just eat all organic right?  WRONG!  Guess what?  Those "organic" companies are still allowed to use a certain amount of chemical pesticides, and for the ones that use only organic pesticides, well, some of those are just as dangerous as the chemical toxins!

So, that leaves us at square one.  What's a girl to do?

Some advice?  Fuggitaboutit.

If we spend all our time worrying about what we're eating and where it comes from, we'll go crazy.  I'm not saying that you should stock up on Twinkies and totino's pizza.  But I'm saying that when it comes to healthy food, you can't worry about that kind of thing or it will sabotage your efforts.  Great rule of thumb is this, "If it grows in the ground or you can pick it off a tree, chances are it's good for you."  That's a great place to start.  Focusing on that, and on the foods that God provided us is far better.  God gave us wonderful meats, vegetables, and fruits to love and enjoy.  He blessed us with the knowledge to create things such as flours and cheeses out of these.  Eat what God gave us.

Sure, you should still stay away from the really processed foods most of the time, but every once in a while a girl's gotta have a slice of Meat lover's pizza or a piece of four layer chocolate torte. If you eat well most of the time, and splurge every once in a while, you'll do so much better.  Don't limit yourself to what you can eat, what you should eat, or what you NEED to eat.  Focus on your hunger and God's bounty.