Arsenic in brown rice! Plastics are hormone disrupters? Mercury in fish! Is organic really pesticide free? Mold in cantaloupe! And so many diets to follow- Paleolithic, blood type, raw, mediterranean, gluten-free, vegan, DASH, and more.

Some days, I find myself eating off the floor where the contaminants aren’t labeled and I can consider it free-range, organic, and homegrown. Is this the best diet? So much information is coming at me, and it’s valuable. But what good does it do if I am in the fetal position all day. And food happens everyday. It’s in the kitchen, in the car, at the office…well, on my shirt and in my hair these days. I want to be calm and capable. I want to enjoy my life. I want to eat food. Maybe ignorance is bliss?

No, I need a CTFD diet.

Over the next few posts, I want to explore a recipe of CALM:

Choose your battle- Trim down to a fight that packs the best punch.

Accept the situation- Observe yourself and be honest.

Let go- Dismiss that which serves no purpose

Make your move- It’s your decision.

 

I am excited about this blog. For the last 4+ years, I have kept my professional life on the back burner. A few things in the mix to keep it fresh, but mostly I am a mom at home. Kind of like a mini- vacation! Because staying at home is not really hard work, something of monetary value, contributing to the worth our nation’s future, etc.

Just checking to see if you are paying attention.

Being a parent is a HARD, constant job with lots of overnight shifts, but it is worth it. (And it pays about 20 cents per hour)

I do miss “working” – the focus of being at a job, working with others, using my brain to answer adult questions. Although, yesterday I did enjoy a nutrition consult with my 4 year old about protein sticks. All her babies needed protein sticks. Ultimately, this nutrition consult seemed more about the word “protein stick”, as it was fun to say, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that tree twigs have very little protein.

This blog will be my outlet to explore nutrition and feel my worth as a nutritional professional. There are so many topics I would like to explore:

• Sugar
• Probiotics
• Fats
• Fad Diets
• Soy
• Supplements
• Inflammation
• Organic Food
• Frequently asked random questions (FARQs): should I eat canned beans? why is everyone eating gluten-free? should I take Vitamin D? does red meat cause cancer?

As I explore these topics, I aim to provide accurate, evidence-based information. Honestly, with all the information out there, I get confused and swayed. This a good reset for me. Start with the information, assess, then choose the battle.

As a human being, I can’t do everything right all the time. But, I somehow expect this of myself.  And my husband!

Me: Don’t microwave that in a plastic bowl!

Him (in his cute German accent): calm the förk down

yes, CTFD  (and determine if it’s worth the stress)

)

 

For real.

My daughter says this when she wants to impress me or when she herself is pretty impressed. This happens every 20 minutes or so:

“Look! A roly poly, for real. It’s all rolled up so I am taking it on a bike ride, but I will bring it back to the garden so it can live.”

Her joy, excitement, wonder, and knowledge of simple things is light and fun.

For me, today was complicated. I could barely let a very proud grandmother feed my 14 month daughter a brownie. It had hidden spinach, blueberries, and oat bran! But my mind spun off on tangents: breast cancer, heroin addiction, cavities, and so on. Because it was a brownie and it was the first time she’s had a brownie, cookie, cake type of treat. She really liked it and I looked at the recipe to see how many grams of sugar.

For real, I need to calm the fuck down.

Having children puts a mirror in front of your face. I think this is why parents strive to be perfect. We are constantly getting feedback from the mini-me versions of ourselves and we want to get it right this time. Also, we are afraid to make mistakes and maim our children, somehow.  But, I am noticing, the most powerful, heavy influence on my children is my anxiety around even the simple things- buckling the car seat, talking with the cashier at the grocery store, cleaning up the living room for the 10th time. Really, anything small. So I ask myself, what about the big things?

The purpose of this blog is to begin a practice of viewing food, nutrition, and health with a simpler, calmer presence. I will put a nutrition hat on my anxious parent head and take a look. And so begins my self-prescribed CTFD Diet.

Let’s keep it light, fun and calm the fork down.