Day Five. Journey to Freedom

I walked right past this fresh bread at 
Trader Joe's this morning.

 I did want it just a wee little bit.
But I didn't give in. 
And it wasn't even like I was DYING for it.
I just thought, 
"Ohhhh. Hello lovely. You might taste good right now."
 
Surprises

  * These delicious carrots are WAY tastier than little pre-packaged bags of carrots.
 I didn't even really like carrots before Monday.
{ although I have been known to dip the odd baby carrot into a pile of ranch dressing }

  * It's time consuming to cook this way 

(or should I say more time consuming than I'm used to) 

but the meal at the end of the prep time is SURPRISINGLY delicious.

 I'm really shocked by that to be honest.

* When you don't give up when you feel like giving up, 

it's a very rewarding feeling. 

I went to Whole Foods today and wasn't overwhelmed. 

Not even for a second. 

And last Saturday, less than a week ago, 

I thought that would never be the case.
That place was daunting. 

* I have never {should I be ashamed?} cooked with bok choy, 

parsnips, daikon, quinoa, lentils, radishes, fennel bulb et cetera.

 And in five short days 
 I've cooked with all those things successfully. 

 Sort of takes the fear out of unknown ingredients. 

I think I'm game for anything now that I've done this.

And when I didn't know how to cut fennel this morning I just googled it

and some little lady on the East Coast showed me how.
Brilliant.

And, as an aside, 
fennel (also known as anise) tastes and smells like black licorice.

Which I DESPISE.

So I left it out of my portion of the recipe and included it in Jack's. 

I can't even tell you how fragrant it was to cut into the fennel

and SMELL the black licorice. 

This might be your new go-to veggie 
if you're into licorice. 
It might make you feel a little sassy.
 

And while we're on lunch today.
BUCKLE UP BABY.

This was - BY FAR -- my favorite.

Could eat it every day.

SO tasty.

Wild Rice Pesto with homemade pesto and chicken.

TO.DIE.FOR.

I can't even tell you how delicious it was.
I'd serve it to you if you came over for supper.
In February that is. 
I'm not serving anyone supper until this detox is OVA.

* I have thoroughly enjoyed reading blogs and Facebook threads 
on clean eating and healthy food information. 
Surprised by how these resources have helped ease me into this lifelong journey.
Have found Clean Program Blog has GREAT recipes. 
[ where I got today's pesto wild rice recipe ] 
And Food Babe and 
Against All Grain 
are both quite helpful and fun to explore.

* Kids don't know better so if you feed them healthy 

and don't give them a choice they eat and like it. 

[ I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule, but in general, I think it's true? Maybe? ]

 Ours certainly haven't been 100% thrilled with everything, 

but there have been several flavours/meals where Jackson (my picky eater) 

has actually said it was very yummy. 

That has shocked me, too. 

I figured I'd be fighting to get this goodness in him. 

Not so.

* I heart Whole Foods' creative team. 
I'm a big fan of this fish.
Made of plastic bottles.

Spotted it INSTANTLY when I walked into the store.
Just made me happy.
The fish guy behind the counter really didn't know what to do with me 
when I took out my camera and snapped a shot of this guy.
Oh well.

* A lot of times, 
hard things in life are in my head 
and if I just get past that, 

I'm good to go. 
Like the Diet Coke thing. 
And the running thing. 
And now this food thing. 

* This journey has been exponentially easier by having Jack along and doing it with me. And Cleary is doing it, too, so we touch base throughout the day to share how it's going and what recipes we've tried. And Catherine, too. 
And then, Facebook/Blog encouragement has been wonderful. 
Sure does make life easier when we don't do it alone. 

I'm pretty sure that was -- and is -- God's design. 
In community. 
Together is better.

  * Tracking everything on my little Excel spreadsheet is super helpful because honestly, 

I can't remember what we had two nights ago and whether we loved it or just liked it 
or what. So it's helpful to just quickly throw those details down 
on paper because all the days start to run together.
Excel is my friend. 

  * And last, but certainly not least, 

I have been surprised by the fact that I'm not consumed with wondering 
IF I am losing weight. 
As much as I would love to drop a load of weight, 
this really isn't as much about the weight loss as it is 
about the FEELING healthy and GETTING healthy bit. 
I think the weight will be a natural bi-product and a bonus.

I said to Jack today,
 "If someone told me that I had to eat this way the rest of my life
 or I would die instantly, 
I could do this. 
It's VERY tasty. 
And fresh. 
[ and yes I would miss bread and pizza and French fries,
but overall, I could do this. ]

More prep time to be certain. 
Much more. 
More time consuming recipes. 
But TOTALLY do-able for the long haul.

 For me, the learning curve has been VERY steep,
but I'm grateful that this is happening in January, 
the slowest month of my business. 
I simply could not learn all this and 
research all this in the height of my busy photography season.
So God is good in His timing.

He knew when I could do it. 
When I'd have the courage to face this monstrous mountain of baggage. 
He knew what program I needed to be on. 
He knew I'd need Jack beside me to encourage and keep me focused. 
He knew. 

And I love that about HIM.

 And I still get tripped up by His flowers every time 
I wander through the floral department.
HE IS GRAND IN HIS CREATIVITY!
And colours.
And textures.
And smells.
And shapes.

 What a gift these flowers have been to me along this journey to freedom.
Unexpected beauty in unexpected places.