Spring resolution

There probably comes a time in every older person's life when the doctor gives an ultimatum. Do this-- or this will happen. Stop smoking, start exercising, lose weight, etc. Well, it happened to Fred. He was told he is "fat and out-of-shape" and must start eating right and getting some exercise. Fred protested to the doctor, "But I had a broken leg for four months!" No excuse.

For the record, Fred does not look overweight at all and he is so strong and active. But the doctor must have given him a dire warning (that he did not share with me) because he has immediately changed his diet and we also got a treadmill and have been using it faithfully. I too need to do some weight-bearing exercise with my old bones. So we have a new resolution this spring to become healthier.

With the urging of my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, I have been reading about nutrition and a different way of looking at the food we buy. Stacia gave me Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle about the author's year of exclusively living off the fruits, vegetables and animals she raised on her farm and what she bought from local farmers. It is a fascinating book and I have learned a lot. Adding to this knowledge, one of my sons recommended a DVD called Food, Inc., and it was very eye-opening about the way food is produced in this country. As I watched it, I made a list of companies we will boycott from now on.

Our environment is killing us. From the pollution in the air and the water, to our furniture and carpeting, to our food we put into our bodies every day. Some things we cannot control, but we do have a say in what we eat and we can make better choices.

Since my Christmas "angel" warned me about eating too much sugar more than a year ago, I have really cut back. (By the way, if anyone remembers that story, this woman with stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosed two years ago is doing quite well.) But what else? I have been gluten-free for about three years now. Unfortunately I have only half-heartedly tried to make any other lifestyle changes. It's time!

Fred recently went to a wellness seminar and told me about some wacky ideas for diets. I don't go for the fads. Here is my food philosophy: God created many good foods on this planet for us to eat. If we stick with those--meaning God-created, not man-created--and eat those foods as close as possible to the natural form, we'll be doing well. Stacia also gave me a cookbook called The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. Simple food. That's key to me. I am simplifying our meals. So what are we eating?

1. Only organic milk and yogurt.
2. No more nutrition-less bread that is full of preservatives. Liana and Fred love store-bought potato bread. No more of that! I am making homemade, whole-grain bread every other day in my bread machine. Liana, who would never eat whole grain bread before, likes this! (Thank you, Dominic.)
3. Less meat because I am looking for organic, free-range meat and it is expensive.
4. More beans, more vegetables, more fruits. This spring we will find local farmers selling produce and buy from them. And of course, we are planning our own garden.
5. Whole grain pasta for Fred and the girls. Arielle and Liana protested at first, but now they eat it.
6. No more plain white Korean rice that we all love. I've been making brown.

Those are my small steps for now. We have a long ways to go but maybe it is not good to overwhelm my family all at once. And walk, walk, walk on that treadmill. I love it! Books on tape are my motivation. I'm happy to spend half an hour listening to a good story.