This is my kitchen...

How could anyone function in that room, let alone cook?

My entire first floor is being remodeled. We're putting in new flooring, a pass through, painting, taking out a pantry, putting in new cabinets and counter tops and doing some little here-and-there type things. I would be minimizing truth if I said I have trouble functioning in chaos. 
I don't do well with it.

In fact, I do everything in my power to avoid it.

I'm not sure what possessed me to take on this huge project. Maybe it was the hideous circa-80's cabinets, impossible-to-clean linoleum floors and ho-hum berber carpet which, in the dining room, is crusted with play doh and eight month old marinara sauce.

So in order to make my home warmer, child-friendly and representative of my incredible style I have decided to torture my inner child and ignore the fact that she has only recently begun to gain a toe hold on OCD.

She throwing a temper tantrum. 

The only room in my house that hasn't been turned upside down is my upstairs bath. Even my bedroom, which is normally a blue and white Scandinavian-influenced haven- has been overrun with tubs of summer clothes waiting to be changed out with the sweaters and wool pants. 

Needless to say, I've not been spending much time in my house.  I've cooked about three meals in the last week. It's difficult to organize a meal when a jigsaw is buzzing, the dust is flying and all my food and appliances are hidden in one of three huge Rubbermaid bins. It's  been fried eggs, sprouted toast, carrots and grass-fed sausage everyday, alternated with trips to Panera. 

So until my home feels comfortable again you probably won't be finding many recipes on Satisfied Belly. I'm sorry. I will post my regular Friday basics post. I may even have a recipe or two for that post, but I can just about guarantee the recipes will be simple. 

So, until Friday, I leave you with a request to pray for me...and my husband.

“Me too! Me too!” Ellie, age five, runs through the dining room.

They argue over who gets to get the spoon out of the drawer and who gets to take it first.

Cod liver oil.

They beg for it. They demand it. They miss it when I forget it.

They’ve been taking it for about a year now and I can honestly say it’s probably the best thing I’ve done for them in regards to protecting them against illness.
Grainne has been sick once this year. She developed a mild cold a month after I stopped giving it to them when I ran out and was saving money to buy a large order (the good stuff is fairly expensive for four people).

Ellie hasn’t been sick in forever.

When they seem to have a cold coming on, maybe it’s a sporadic cough or a bit of a runny nose, I double their dose and the illness never gains a toehold.

Our great grandparents were regularly given cod liver oil. In fact, this supplement has been used for hundreds of years.

I can’t guarantee your kids will think it tastes like strawberry or lime cordial (Mary Poppins) but they will get used to it eventually and may even beg for it like my kids…though maybe not since my kids have bizarrely un-childlike eating habits (can you say swiss chard [Ellie] or pate [Grainne]?)

Benefits of cod liver oil

Cod liver oil is high in EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DPA ( Docosahexaenoic Acid) which is fabulously good for your heart.  DHA is also one of the supplements formula makers use in their products. DHA is essential for the developing brain of a baby. Take your cod liver oil when pregnant and nursing.

It’s high in vitamin A which is essential for healthy eyes and improved immune system functioning.

Cod liver oil also contains vitamin D which is absolutely the most unappreciated vitamin. Vitamin D is needed for bone health. In fact, rickets is caused by a deficiency in vitamin D. Vitamin D is also necessary for immunity against illnesses. According to date collected by the National health and nutrition examination survey 9% of American children were deficient in this vitamin and 61% had insufficient levels.

Why is that startling?

Because Vitamin D is needed in order to store and metabolize calcium and phosphorous. It protects against colds and flus. 
It may protect against MS (multiple sclerosis), cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

Vitamin D can be obtained from exposure to sunlight (difficult to get enough from this source because many of us live in Boise or Toledo and don’t have access to tropical weather year round. Also, we’re all so sun phobic we slather chemical sun block all over our body and the sun is virtually impotent in its ability to give us our daily dose) or from food and supplements.

Great food sources of vitamin D are dairy products and bone broths. Pasteurized dairy products lose up to 66% of the vitamin so it is fortified with synthetic vitamin D. Synthetic vitamins aren’t used as efficiently as naturally occurring vitamins. They can also deplete your body of other vitamins. If you rely solely on synthetic vitamins (this is what is used in processed foods) you run the risk of becoming deficient in undiscovered components of that vitamin. Scientists are constantly “discovering” different vitamins, minerals and components of vitamins in our foods. It’s safest to assume a naturally occurring vitamin is a whole food, whereas a synthetic vitamin is a created chemical that doesn’t function properly.

Bone broths (or stocks) are easy to make and super nutritious. The vitamins and minerals in a bone broth are assimilated easily. You won’t get the same benefits from store-bought broths which are mainly water and flavorings (including MSG.) I’ll speak more on broths in another post.

If you are interested in reading more about the benefits of Vitamin D you can check out this link.

What type of cod liver oil is best?

The best and most nutritious cod liver oil is made the traditional way.  Most cod liver oil is over processed and has lost its vitamin content. Some, but not all, manufacturers add synthetic vitamins in.

It’s best to take an unheated, fermented cod liver oil in which all the naturally occurring vitamins are left intact, ready to work wonders in your body.

The brand I take and recommend is Blue ice fermented cod liver oil. We get the chocolate gel, which tastes a bit like chocolate covered sardines. It’s not like eating imported French truffles, but it’s not as bad as eating Fear Factor bull testicles, either. You get used to it. I have heard that the citrus flavored ones taste better. You can also buy the capsules. 
I buy mine from here.  They occasionally have sales and I’ve found they offer the best price and great customer service. This can be an expensive supplement if you have a larger family. I give my girls 1/4 ts. for prevention (which is 1/2 a dose) and 1/2 a ts. when ill. A jar lasts the girls and I a month. Shane, my husband, who is a big baby and says he can't stand the fishy burps, takes the more expensive capsules- the recommended dose.

Cod liver oil has also been attributed with healing digestive problems (Grainne has always suffered from severe constipation and cod liver oil is one thing we do to keep her regular).

It’s been shown to help in the treatment of depression and anxiety. It can relieve the symptoms allergies and asthma as well as lower cholesterol and, if taken while pregnant, it can lower the risk of your child developing diabetes.

Anything else?

Make sure you take your cod liver oil with sufficient intake of vitamin K. Weston Price found that cod liver oil taken with high-vitamin butter oil from grass fed cows produced incredible reversals in illness and offered increased protection as a preventative measure.

You can buy cod liver oil combined with high vitamin butter oil (which is what we take in the winter, during flu and cold season) or you can secure a good source of butter from grass fed cows. I make my own butter but I have also used Organic Valley’s Pasture Butter. I get mine at Whole Foods.

Vitamin K can also be found in the fat from grass fed animals as well as cheese (from grass fed animals, of course) and goose and duck liver.  It’s a good excuse to eat foie gras with your crackers.  Let me know how it tastes. I’ve not been brave enough to try it yet!

I hope you are convinced on the health benefits of cod liver oil.  It’s an antique remedy for our modern problem of chronic illness. Mary Poppins was right about it…just don’t take it with a spoonful of sugar.

Why not? Well, you’ll have to tune in next Friday to find out.

If you want to know more, I found this article full of great information.

Before adding cod liver oil to your diet please consult your physician, especially if you are pregnant or nursing. I believe cod liver oil is safe for children, pregnant and nursing women, but I certainly only say that for properly prepared, fermented cod liver oil with no added synthetic vitamins.

To say I love history is a gross understatement. I devour historical novels and biographies at a disgusting rate. I impatiently waited a month for a special-order book from the library on the Victorian home. I dream of the day hoop skirts and ladies hats become stylish again and I would much rather watch Antiques Roadshow over Desperate Housewives any day.

When Shane bought me those books it was like getting a dozen roses, a diamond tennis bracelet and three pounds of Godiva chocolates all at once. With thoughtfulness and creativity like that it’s no wonder I married the guy.

He won brownie points for my last birthday when he bought me The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy.

I’m going to share one of my favorite recipes from that book today. Each Monday I will post on a historically accurate recipe from one of my cookbooks or Internet research. I’m not promising you’ll love these recipes, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll love the process of discovering them.

Since this blog is all about traditional, real foods and nourishing your family, it makes sense to look to historical texts to find inspired, delicious recipes. It’s also a great way to connect with the culture of humanity. Reach back through time and touch a moment when someone else, somewhere else provided a nourishing meal for their family.

So many envision people in medieval Europe subsisting on boiled turnips and moldy bread and, while I'm sure there was some of that, they had surprisingly sophisticated palates. Remember, the whole spice trade thing exploded during this time. Black pepper, cinnamon and saffron. Cloves, nutmeg and ginger. The scent of medieval cookery brings me back to India, with their sensual use of spices and love of flavor.

This soup is no exception. I love chickpeas, but I have to admit I've only ever used them in traditional Greek recipes. My experiences with them have been limited to hummus and falafel. I've recently learned the Greeks do have a chickpea soup called revithosoupa and I plan on making it one day soon.

For now, you'll have to satisfy yourself with this version. Redolent of cinnamon and rich with herbs, I don't think you will find this meal typical of most meatless entrees. This dish is filling and, served with a salad and some soaked cheesy, garlic bread (recipe coming!) makes a terrific, easy midweek meal.

 To make eight platefuls: take a libra and a half  of chickpeas and wash them in hot water, drain them then put them in the pot in which they will be cooked. Add half an ounce of flour, a little good oil, a little salt and about twenty crushed peppercorns and a little ground cinnamon, then thoroughly mix all these things together with your hands. Then add three measures of water, a little sage, rosemary and parsley roots. Boil until it is reduced to the quantity of eight platefuls. And when they are nearly cooked, pour in a little oil. And if you prepare this soup for invalids add neither oil nor spices.

Chickpea Soup Serves 6

(Inspired by chickpea soup from The Medieval Kitchen)

3 cups dried chickpeas

2 TB. flour (I used sprouted, but it's such a small amount you can use white)

8 cups chicken or turkey stock (or use water for a vegetarian version)

3 TB. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 ts. ground cinnamon

1 ts. Pepper

1 ts. dried rosemary

3 TB. fresh sage

5 TB. Fresh parsley

Salt to taste

Wash bean and soak in warm water overnight (if you add a pinch of baking soda it will help with the after effects some people experience when eating beans).

The next day, whisk together the flour, oil, pepper, and cinnamon and rosemary in your soup pot. Drain the chickpeas and add them to the pot; mix well with your hands.  Add stock. Bring to a boil, skimming any scum that rises to the surface.

Simmer for about two hours over low heat, until the chickpeas are tender. When done add herbs and simmer an additional fifteen minutes. Add salt to taste.

Ellie enjoying her third bowl of chickpea soup

It’s time-consuming and confusing when you first start changing your diet. There is conflicting information to wade through. Learning how to cook a new way. Figuring out where to shop and how to afford it. Wondering if your kids and spouse are going to think you’ve lost your mind and demand take-out.

So, in honor of all of you that want to eat traditionally, locally, organically and healthy, I’m going to give you a hand.

It’s all about taking it a step at a time. Unless you’re obsessive like me, it’s going to be hard to implement all of this at once. What you can do, though, is implement one small change weekly.
Each Friday I will write on one thing you can do that week to move forward on the road to a nutrient dense diet.

Some of the topics I will tackle are:

Grass-fed and pastured meats

The mind-bendingly incredible egg

Raw dairy

Fermented dairy

Lacto-fermented foods

The benefits of soaking grains, nuts and seeds

How to sprout

The benefits of grinding your own flour

Healthier sweeteners

The truth about cereals

Nuts for coconut

Healthy seafood choices

Cod-liver oil primer

Eating healthy on a budget

If you have any subjects you would like to see me address please email me at kimatsatisfiedbellydotcom (it should be up by tomorrow).

I’ll post on a subject each Friday and, sometime over the weekend, I’ll post a recipe using that subject matter as a basis.  Then you will have the whole week to implement that one change. By the time the series is over, you’ll have radically altered your diet in a painless process. Look forward to this series beginning next Friday.

I am also planning two other regular series of posts. On Mondays I will post a historically accurate recipe take from one of my historical cookbooks or online research. Since this blog is all about returning to the healthier, traditional foods of our ancestors I think history is the best place to look for fabulous recipes.

And finally, my friend Don suggested I talk a bit about where I get my food. I will set up a resource page, as well as post occasionally on eating well in Cincinnati. I plan on featuring interviews with local farmers, advice on where to find the best meats and produce and reviews of health-conscious restaurants.

I'm really looking forward to reaching people with this information. I think most people want to eat healthy but it's intimidating and overwhelming when you realize nearly everything eaten in the SAD (standard American diet) is making us sick. So, stay tuned and I'll see you Monday with a yummy medieval soup that will make your taste buds juggle and joust. 

Enter the fig.  Dried figs are nature's perfect snack. A serving contains more calcium than milk, is chock full of potassium and magnesium and offers enough fiber to keep you satisfied much longer than a typical energy or power bar.

These treats are full of nuts, seeds and fruit. They're easy to make and even easier to take with you.

Use soaked and dried "crispy" nuts, if you understand what that means. If not, use plain old raw nuts and keep tuned for the benefits of soaking nuts, seeds and grains.

This is my first post for The Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter Thursday. If you haven't already, check out her blog. It's full of information and fabulous recipes. 

Fig power bars

2/3 cup cashew nuts

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

12 dried calimyrna figs (or another variety. It's a heaping 1/2 a cup worth)

1 TB chia seeds (optional)

2 TB raw honey

1/2 tsp. sea salt

In a food processor bowl combine cashews and sunflower seeds. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Process figs in food processor until they have become paste-like. Add nuts back in, along withthe chia seeds, honey and sea salt. Process all ingredients until well combined.

Dump the mixture onto a double width of plastic wrap. Fold the sides of the plastic wrap around the mixture and, using your hands, press evenly on the top and sides until the mixture forms a log.

Place in the fridge for a couple hours until firm. Remove and slice.

Shoes. I love pointy, high-heeled, ridiculously impractical shoes.

I don't wear them much anymore, because it's difficult to chase a toddler in them, but whenever I get the chance, I put on a pair of strappy red stilettos and pretend I'm still cool and stylish.

Everything else in my life is shaped by my need for order, practicality and sensibility.

Food and nutrition aren't exempt.

I was just coming off an unsuccessful attempt at raw food veganism (which I don't recommend you try unless you aren't concerned about starving your nursing child) when my friend Katie introduced me to a book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

I glanced through the book and quickly decided she was crazy. Katie and Sally Fallon, both.

As a nearly life-long vegetarian, I was aghast at the blatant approval of meat.

As a fat-phobic "health nut" I was disgusted by Fallon's obsession with fat.

I've been told before, though, that I can be a bit rebellious.  I love the idea of going against the grain and riding a new wave.

That night, as I lay in my bed trying to fall asleep, I mulled over the daring concept laid out in Nourishing Traditions.

The USDA was wrong.  The dietitians and nutritionists, though well-intentioned, were misguided. The data and studies showing animal fats were responsible for heart disease and high cholesterol were flawed.

All night, I tossed and turned wondering if I was wrong. The next morning I stumbled, bleary-eyed, to my computer and did a google search on traditional diets.

What I found left me staring at my tall glass of soy milk glassy eyed and bewildered.

How it all started

Nourishing Traditions is cook/dietary book based on a book written by a Cleveland dentist named Weston A. Price. Eighty years ago, Mr. Price became concerned by the increasing numbers of patients with tooth decay and deformed facial structure. He set out around the globe, trying to find out the cause and prevention of these problems.  Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is the result of his research.

In his book Price documents his travels throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe and the Pacific, taking pictures and notes as he goes.

He was impressed by the native people with their straight teeth, wide jaws, strong bones and good health. He found that the people who ate traditional foods retained their beauty and health, while the people who ate a modern, processed diet rapidly developed cavities, decay, tooth loss and even bone loss.

Within a generation or two their children had lost the distinctive ethnic features of their ancestors- wide bridges, high cheekbones, well-defined palates- and had developed the pinched nostrils, small jaws and crowded teeth of his patients.

The two brothers on top display the reality of a traditional vs. a modern diet quite well. The brother on the left ate a modern diet.

The young boy on the left consumed a modern diet. The girl was raised on a traditional diet.

Unfortunately, despite being one of the most famous and thorough epidemiological studies of all time, very few people are aware of his research. Dentists of decades ago were required to read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Today they have never heard of him.

So, what did the traditional societies eat?

I'll give you a sampling of diets Weston Price found traditional people eating.

Inuits: Whale blubber, whale meat, caribou meat, seals, fish.

Scottish: Fermented oats, offal, raw dairy

Masai: The blood, meat and milk of cattle

South Sea Islanders: Seafood, pork, coconut, fruit

Switzerland’s Lötschental valley: Raw, full-fat dairy (cheese, butter, cream, milk), rye bread, veal

These people ate raw dairy products from cows fed on grass, eggs from pastured chickens, meat and animal fat from grass-fed animals, fermented grains, organ meat, seafood and seasonal, local produce. Price found that isolated people living on a traditional diet consumed four times as much calcium and other minerals and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods.

What did they not eat?

Price found that people who left the traditional diets of their ancestors and turned to modern food developed modern diseases.

These people ate sugar, pasteurized and condensed milk products, refined flour and processed convenience foods.

Prior to the turn of the century the average consumption of sugar per person per year was five pounds. Today it is over 145 pounds! I'm supposing most of that is in the form of high-fructose corn syrup which is pumped into soda and processed junk food.

Traditional people didn't eat high-fructose corn syrup. They also didn't eat soy burgers, canola oil, genetically modified skinless, boneless chicken breast, carrots grown with fish genes, and milk from cows confined to fecal-filled pens that has been pasteurized to death.

My end of story

I took Nutrition and Physical Degeneration out from the library and as I flipped through, I saw picture after picture of glowing, beautiful, healthy, vibrant people.

Our own society stands in stark contrast to this. Each successive year reveals an increase in physical deformities, learning and mental disabilities, poor bone structure, failing eyesight, bad teeth, disease and illness.

The leading causes of death prior to the turn of the century were all communicable diseases. Tuberculosis, cholera, dysentery, influenza. Today the leading causes of death are environmental in nature. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer.

Very few people developed diabetes and cancer 150 years ago. Heart disease was unheard of. Yet they ate massive amounts of animal fats, meat and raw dairy.  They consumed enough cholesterol in one meal to give a dietitian a panic attack. The trainers on the biggest loser would keel-over if someone declared the food of our ancestors health food.

Despite the fact that I had been eating a low-fat, soy-filled vegetarian diet for years I could no longer pretend it was a healthy lifestyle.  I had been confronted with the unvarnished, and quite sensible, truth.

That day I ate a bowl of full-fat, cream on top, organic yogurt and haven't looked back.

Perhaps we need to re evaluate what we have always thought. Perhaps we need to ignore the advice of the USDA and sold-out government organizations, the advice of malnourished nutritionists and, instead, listen to the wisdom found on the pages of history's cookbook.

I'm sorry.  I forgot to warn you. 

Creme fraiche is incredibly difficult to find and very, very expensive. 

When I finally found it at Whole Foods I bought one tub as an extravagance and resigned myself to insipid, watery, too-tart sour cream the rest of my life. 
But then I discovered something wondrous.

You can make it yourself!

You can culture a lot of dairy products yourself. Yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, cultured butter and the pinnacle of dairy-nirvana...creme fraiche!

Five reasons to make creme fraiche

1) The French originally made "fresh cream" by taking unpasteurized (or fresh) cream and letting it sit out for a day or so until the beneficial bacteria multiplied and produced a thick, nutty, slightly sour-tart condiment that elevates even the humble potato into something magnificent.

2) It's much thicker and much milder than commercially prepared sour cream.

3) you can impress guests by saying, for instance, "Would you like a bit of homemade creme fraiche on your split pea soup?"

4) It won't curdle when you use it in soups and sauces because...well, it just doesn't.

5) It's cheap and easy!

How to make this fabulous food

Take a dollop (about a tablespoon or so) of your ridiculously overpriced creme fraiche from the store and put it in a clean pint-size mason jar (any glass container will do).

Fill the rest of the jar (about two cups) with good-quality cream (raw, pastured, organic...as long as it's not ultra-pasteurized!) and stir to incorporate.

Cover with the lid and sit it on your counter for 24 hours (or a few hours more if you don't use the heater because your husband/wife/significant other freaks out about the cost of energy).

Put it in your fridge. 

There you have it. 
What are you waiting for? Go make a potato or something.

Five ways to "wow" with creme fraiche

1)  Roast some potatoes with olive oil and herbs. Toss with creme fraiche before serving.

2) Mix a tablespoon or so into your eggs with some chives and scramble.

3) Whip with a bit of maple syrup and vanilla extract and serve with fresh berries.

4) Use in place of sour cream on your burritos, fajitas and tacos.

5) Make a big batch and churn into cultured butter.

One more thing. Once you begin using creme fraiche, you'll forever turn your nose up at commercially prepared sour cream.  You may even carry a little container of it with you when you meet up for Mexican  with friends. You will certainly catch your three year old sitting in the fridge with a spoonful of creme fraiche in one hand and a pat of cultured butter in the other. Don't worry. It's good for her digestion. 

Throw in some garlic and creme fraiche- the only two foods necessary for human function (in my opinion)- and you'll be warning them not to fill their bellies with veggies.

Roasted broccoli with garlicky creme fraiche * serves 6

1/2 cup creme fraiche

10 cloves garlic

2 heads of broccoli, about 8 cups

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Place garlic cloves on a square of foil. Drizzle cloves with 2 tsp. of olive oil. Fold foil up over the garlic to form a little pocket.
Roast for about 20 minutes or until cloves are soft in their skin.

Let cool.

Pop garlic out of skin and mash in a small bowl. Mix in creme fraiche. If the sauce becomes too thick  you can thin it with a bit of milk or cream.

Trim broccoli, removing stems (these are great sliced and used in stir fry's). Make sure to cut florets into uniform size pieces.

Arrange broccoli on a baking sheet or two. Don't crowd them.

Drizzle with olive oil. Toss and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in a 400 degree oven, stirring once or twice, for about 30 minutes or until edges are caramelized and stems are soft.

Remove broccoli to a bowl and toss with garlicky creme fraiche.

Serve immediately. 

I’ve never been accused of doing things half-heartedly. When I make a decision I usually end up throwing myself into it so fully I can come across as a little deranged.

Obsessed. Consumed.

My food journey is no exception.

I’ve always been interested in nutrition.

I became a vegetarian when I was twelve. Probably due more to wanting attention than any altruistic or health motives, but my diet eventually influenced my conscious and over the next ten years I became more aware of my health and the world around me.

I also became very ill.

I developed a host of disorders that required me to give pints of blood, drink nasty chalky solutions and be prodded by numerous doctors.

After a particularly devastating miscarriage I became depressed and put on twenty pounds. That lasted as long as it took to see myself in a picture from a friends wedding.

Stuffed into a stretchy blue dress, I looked like Grover’s less metabolically gifted sister.

Not pretty.

That day I put myself on an extreme low-fat/low-calorie diet and bought a Tae-bo video.
Never mind that I hadn’t worked out since running…Ahem…walking the mile in tenth grade.
Never mind that I had never in my life counted a calorie.

Never mind that I had no idea what I was doing.

I was determined (see above reference) and I was going to be skinny.

I did get skinny. I lost over forty pounds and spent the next four years feeling like a fraud every time I bought clothes. I was certain I would one day be assaulted by a salesclerk who didn’t believe I really wore a size four.

Unfortunately those size four Gap jeans came with a hefty price.

I was hungry. Starving, really.

I thought about food every second I was awake. Not in the, “Wow, I’d really love some brie and crackers” way, but in the, “I’m so hungry. Don’t think about it. Food is evil,” sort of way.

I actually took to going to bed right after dinner so I could save myself three hours of stomach rumblings.

Actually, it was good I went to bed so early because in addition to being hungry I was also tired.

Do you remember the thing I said about being deranged, obsessive and consumed?

Tae-bo ended up not being enough for me.

I joined a gym and worked out six days a week for two hours each day. Minimum.

Because I was slowly limiting my food intake more and more, I’m not sure how I managed to put on my gym clothes let alone work out.

My entire life began to revolve around food.

Not eating it, of course, but denying its hold over me.

If I managed to eat less than six hundred calories during the day I was “good.”

If I ate a fat-free yogurt with my half a tofurkey sandwich I was “bad.”

Eating a bowl of broccoli for dinner was “good.”

Eating a bowl of broccoli with two tablespoons of fat-free cheese for dinner was “bad.”

Running in place while watching Dr. Phil was “good.”

Surfing the internet for diet fads was “bad”…unless I was also doing bicep curls in which case it was “very good.”

The day I fit into a size two skirt I wanted to shout it from the rooftop.

I was wasting away and dangerously leaning over a precipice that dropped straight into an eating disorder (though some would say I had already fallen over) and I had never felt more empowered.

Of course, it was a false empowerment. I mistakenly believed I was in control, but in truth, I was completely out of control.

Praise God that He is in control, though.

I became pregnant.

Suddenly life wasn’t about me, but about nurturing the life within me.

I knew my diet couldn’t sustain a healthy pregnancy.

I began to eat again. I still opted for low-fat dairy and eschewed meat for tofu and veggie burgers, but despite that folly (which I will discuss in later posts) I managed to have a fabulous, natural delivery that gave me a healthy baby girl.

It’s been nearly five years and I have two little girls now.

I’m also not only eating, but enjoying it!

My diet has gone under some radical changes since having my eldest daughter and I’m really looking forward to telling you what I’ve learned.

My name is Kim. I’m a Christian. I’m a wife to Shane and a mother to Ellie and Grainne.

I’m a writer and homemaker.

I’m a former almost-anorexic and now I love crème fraiche.

I can’t wait to tell you how I got to that point.