New Year, New Blog

It's that kind of morning...the kind that's quiet and doesn't have a "to-do" list.  The twinkle lights are lighting the rooms, the coffee is hot, Daisy, my rescue buddy, is warm and by my side and I am thinking of the new year.

What do I want to do professionally?
How can I get back to the peace I found near the end of chemo?
How can I make the world a better place to live?
Who do I want to draw closer in 2018?
What are my priorities?
What will I learn this year?
How can I make more time for reading!?
Will I ever remodel the master bath?
And what kinds of things will I cook!?

It all comes back to food!  I have strayed tremendously this holiday season.  And I am feeling it.  I have moved back to 90% Paleo - I still know myself well enough to not even try and avoid a home-baked cookie or treat!  But I am no longer buying any "crap" for my family and we are eating our fruits and veggies again.

We have committed to a January Whole30.  The hubs, the boy and I will be starting on January 2 and Peanut will begin on the 4th.  She has a 'thing' that would just make her resent the experience, so she will start when school is back in session.  Lucky for her, she is so active with dance and just being a teen that she sees and feels the effects almost immediately.

And I have talked to so many people who want more info about clean eating, and Paleo, and modifying recipes and shopping for healthy, real food - so I'm giving a blog another shot.  And let me apologize right up front!  I have learned that I cannot support and maintain and pay attention to two separate website, blogs, emails, etc.  So, I'm putting it all here.  I promise (from now on) only to share Paleo and clean eating info, tips, recipes, etc on my Wildflower Kitchen site - then if you want to read about anything else that I felt was blog- or photo-worthy - it will be up to you.

But I find it healthy and wonderful to journal and I find the process to be more positive and more thorough when I am sharing with others...and although I don't expect this to attract a million followers, I am always aware that others can see and read what I write.

I am also aware that I am the most average woman of a certain age (56) and I adore food and cooking and eating and experimenting and therefore will probably never be the super-fit, super-lean person that gets featured in Paleo Magazine.  BUT, I am a Paleo success story.  Yes, I have lost 80+ pounds and I look so much better than I did 3 years ago, but I also sleep like a baby, I have minimized joint pain (it actually nearly disappears as long as I stay strict to my Paleo diet), I no longer have headaches or migraines, I finally have a healthy relationship with food, I am no longer addicted to sodas and sugar, I have eliminated bloat (hallelujah!), I have energy to spare, I am okay with having my picture taken with my family, I can shop in the "regular size" departments, my skin is brighter and clearer, my hair (after 16 weeks of chemo) is coming in strong and curly and I know it shouldn't matter, but it does!!!  So many benefits and the only "trade-off" is not eating foods that I can't digest and once I gave up for a few months, I don't really miss.... easy for me to say, right?!

I know so well how difficult it is to sacrifice - even if the sacrifice is good for you.  Our diets and the foods that we are fed, given, served and offered at every turn are designed to make you addicted to them in many instances.  The people who manufacture them are very wise, are well-funded, have one common goal - to sell more of their products.  And the doctors who should be telling us about the true impact of certain foods - well, they are more comfortable with prescribing medications and touting new drugs and treatments instead of giving more natural, foundational treatments a try first.

(here is where I tell you I am not a doctor, have absolutely no formal training in diet, nutrition, medicine or really anything that makes me an expert!...heck, I'm not even a trained chef!  I am just a mom of  children I  want to live their healthiest life, the daughter and granddaughter of strong women destroyed by Alzheimer's, a breast cancer warrior - just one year out of treatment, and a proud citizen of this planet with hopes for less chemicals, less destruction, more nature and more community coming together)

So, this is the beginning of my 2018 - a few days early - as I prepare to get back to Paleo, get back to preparing healthy, real food meals for people who want a convenient Paleo option, get back to recipe testing and sharing and get back to joy and peace and health in the New Year.

Feel free to join me - you can like my Wildflower Kitchen Facebook page for menus, recipes and links  to blog posts that have to do with Paleo eating or shopping and some links to the super-experts articles that we all might need to read.

You can follow this blog as well if you'd like to just keep up with what's going on in this very average woman's/mom's/daughter's/wife's/volunteer's/creator's/painter's/rescue dog mom/DFWer's/Earthling's life!  (I promise to add pics in the future, but my phone is charging across the room and my dog is situated just perfectly on my lap and I don't have the heart or inclination to move her - perfection is rare and I choose (in the spirit of my New Year) not to disrupt it, but to embrace it!)

Happy Healthy Early New Year everyone!