Food!

I’M BACK!!!!!

I want to talk about food. And I know what you are thinking… what does food have to do with the (home) education of Baby Girl?

It has everything to do with her education. As Americans, we have horrible food habits, and it shows. This includes me. Over the last six months my A1C (a measure of diabetes) has shot up from 6.4 to 7.9. When I received this information from my doctor, I was in shock, and I knew something had to be done. But what? That same day I was shopping in Publix when I saw (and purchased) a magazine titled “The Complete Guide to Reverse Diabetes.” This 95-page magazine rocked my world. My doctors had always told me that diabetes, once diagnosed, was irreversible. The doctor’s job was to “manage” the disease. But according to several articles in the magazine, there is potential for me to reverse the diabetes.

It’s no easy task. Essentially it comes down to stuffing oneself with the most nutritious foods while avoiding foods with very little nutritional value. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the author of several books on the subject, recommends a vegan diet. He lists these as the twenty-one most nutritious foods on the planet: Kale, Watercress, Collards, Bok Choy, Spinach, Arugula, Romaine Lettuce, Brussel sprouts, Carrots (or carrot juice), Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Red Bell Peppers, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Blackberries, Leeks, Raspberries, Blueberries. And the list goes on from there.

When I read Dr. Fuhrman, I realized for the first time how my own diet included very few highly nutritious foods. I jumped in with both feet, into a vegan diet full of most of the above (I cannot eat Red Bell Peppers) along with all the nuts and seeds I could pack in.

My goal is to eliminate my diabetes and lose up to 30 pounds.

What does all of this have to do with Baby Girl? Our public school system provides almost zero education on healthy eating. The regular diets of my former students were/are horrible, full of candy, chips, sweet drinks, white bread, pizza, etc. There is no nutrition in any of those foods, or very little. School lunch is deplorable. And we wonder why they tire quickly and have no mental stamina?

Baby Girl’s parents are already doing a super job with her diet. She gets no sugar and lots of “whole foods.” When at my house she eats the same foods I do; most recently she LOVED my Roasted Tomato and White Bean soup. I have to admit—It was really good! She also loved my black bean and raspberry brownies (actually, it’s Dr. Fuhrman’s recipe). See photo above. Food and a nutrient rich diet will be a large part of Baby Girl’s science curriculum!

I have a confession to make: switching to the vegan diet, and searching recipes, has led me to foods I never would have considered in the past. Delicious, healthy foods and all kinds of spices I have never cooked with before. It’s been an amazing education for me, and I know I can stay on the vegan diet because the foods are so much more flavorful than those I ate previously.

I would love to hear from you ALL about this topic, so please leave comments and/or questions! And please subscribe if you haven’t already.