I grew up in the prairies eating Shake ‘n’ Bake and Kraft Dinner for supper, downing penicillin for my ails, and intravenously injecting Diet Coke into my veins when the urge hit.
When I moved out west my family joked that it wouldn’t take long before I became a hippie, like all the other shade-grown, fair-trade vegans out here.
I laughed, but after a decade in the west, I can see that their prophesy had some validity to it. It’s taken a while, and I am nowhere NEAR the hippie that many of my friends are, but I have definitely taken steps in that direction in regards to the food we eat, what we do to treat problems with our bodies, and how we aim to live. I am now a near-vegetarian, our freezer is filled with local game and frozen produce from our garden, I use (mainly) green cleaning products, and seek the help of massage therapy and chiropractic care before popping a pain-killer.
I know there are still countless ways I could live a more natural lifestyle (stop drinking Diet Coke, get rid of those carcinogenic dryer sheets, stop using antiperspirant, etc.) but the way I look at it is this: if in ten years I have made this many changes, think of where I will be in another ten years. Years I know will be filled with continued education about environmental issues, nutritional knowledge and inspiration from others living a clean life.
Most recently, I decided to take my three year-old daughter to see a Naturopathic Doctor for her night terrors. It was my first visit in a Wellness Center and I didn’t really know what to expect. The doctor we saw was really great and recommended a few supplements she thought would help (Magnesium Citrate, Theanine, and a few splashes of Bach Rescue Remedy). Desperate for relief, I bought everything she mentioned, not sure if I was shelling out a wad of dough for snake oil. But after three weeks, Karenna has only had (*knock on wood*) one night terror, and it was very mild compared to what we had been dealing with. Snake oil? Maybe. But I’ll take another bottle, please!
Are there any natural choices you regularly make now that you never thought would be important to you? Are there things you would aspire to do (go vegan, give up gluten, become a yogi, stash some chickens in your backyard) but feel intimidated about the commitment it would take to get there? One website I find particularly wonderful is Oh She Glows. Tonnes of delicious recipes, honest stories of the author’s journey to health, and beautiful photographs.
Here’s to the little steps we take that bring us closer to where we want to be!
every single time this photo flashes across my screen…I’m howling! I’m more aware…I for sure recycle more and the odd thing is I’ve become way more aware of not wasting water! Everytime it’s runnign – I run to shut it off and picture kids Will’s age without water…weird the things that catch you.
Wow – that’s incredible and YAY.
I have also made many adjustments for the better and still have much more room for improvement. One of the biggest is the way I eat – I try very hard to restrict added sugars and have found that I’ve pretty much had to cut out most processed foods – they add sugar ti everything. It’s crazy!
I sure do like my vitamins and supplements too.
And I clean green as much as I can – I especially make an effort at work, being a janitor and all, to push healthy cleaning and recycling onto my clients.
We are heavily into a challenge of going lower GI with our diet. It’s been awesome so far. There are lots of other little things that we try and do, as well… recycle, buy local, etc…
i’m definitely more aware now that i have kids. i think i take better care of myself now so that i can have the energy to do stuff with them! i’m a total believer in oil of oregano to ward off evil germs. i smell like pizza but there’s worse things!
What a horrible picture! Ouch. I do try to do the natural thing as much as possible. I really found that when I went back to work after maternity leave it was much more difficult because I didn’t have as much time for cooking and baking. I’m trying to get back into it though.
We do get our beef from a local farmer. It’s not officially organic but the cows graze and are not given any drugs. We buy chicken from farmers of the PC brand without drugs. I buy local eggs. Produce is a lot more difficult in winter so I try not to stress over it and I buy organics for the dirty dozen.
We try to minimize plastic – it’s impossible to get rid of totally and it’s pretty handy. We use a lot of zip lock bags – but we wash and reuse them until they are falling apart.
Hmm. That’s it for now. Great post.
Darn. You should’ve waited another 10 years to have kids. Maybe I wouldn’t be the only birth-your-baby-in-your-tub-hippie here! 🙂
So glad to hear about Karenna’s sleep! I’ve come to the conclusion in the last 6 months that sleep is perhaps the major difference between tolerating your family or enjoying them!
ha! And you used to tease me about making my own granola. 😉
I’m so glad to hear about the improvements in Karenna’s sleep. That must be making such a difference in your days!
There are always things I wish I was doing better/greener/more naturally but like you said, we all do what we can when we can with the knowledge we have. One thing being buying our meat from a CSA instead of the grocery store. I’ve been meaning to start doing that for years!
Tracey, I was actually planning to try my hand at homemade granola this afternoon! If it turns out, I’ll mail you some. 🙂
Sounds like a really good way to go, Amanda – and YAY for (maybe) reducing the night terrors! I hope they’ll be completely eradicated from your life.
I might even eat your bean dip. Or your granola. Or whatever. 😉