For as long as I can remember I have been on a mad search for a diet to follow, a lifestyle to live by. Having dabbled into vegetarianism, food combining, blood type diet, anti candida diet, this diet, that detox, falling victim of even anorexia at some point, reading and researching about a myriad of food related topics, a few weeks ago I came to a saturation point and realised I was utterly confused and frustrated and had no idea what in the world I was supposed to be eating.
Then I stumbled upon a
Ted talk about healthy eating where the lady was emphasizing that the most important thing was to eat as much 'real food' as possible. It all started to make sense and I realised that somehow subconsciously that was the direction life had already started steering me in. For years I had dreamed of going to the Lantern community organic market to buy my weekly veggies. Four weeks ago and every week since then, that dream has become reality. Every Wednesday I enjoy a serene and beautiful 10 minute journey down Hurn lane to the Ringwood lantern community market stall where I fill my brand new wicker basket with the most beautiful produce coming from a not only organic garden, but biodynamic agriculture! The potatoes taste amazing with no bitter aftertaste from pesticides, the green beans just melt in your mouth after steaming and you can't help but find yourself in a state of euphoria that food can actually taste so good. At first what kept me away for a while was the myth that organic food has to be expensive, so let's just stick to the cheap supermarkets. How wrong could I be! I now fill my lovely little basket with mouth watering fruits and vegetables: kohlrabi, cucumber, tomatoes, chard, broccoli, courgettes, green beans potatoes, grapefruit, apples, bananas, lemons just to list the precious finds of my last expedition and a beautiful bouquet of freshly picked flowers all for £20. I didn't end up filling my trolley, as I would do in a supermarket with a heap of things I don't really need, but go home with food bursting with life force and nutritional value.
I'm happiest when on top of this I get around to baking my own spelt loaf and have the patience to ferment my own sauerkraut, and already dreaming of jam making and experimenting with proper sourdough bread. Don't be fooled, I have an enormous appreciation for chocolate, biscuits and fish and chips, often too much so, but now that has become the exception and not the rule, the yin to balance out the yang.
In terms of meat eating I have found that the balance showed itself in a small local family business that let their animals roam freely and use no pesticides, eggs from a local farm where the chickens do the same. I have found a local farm to buy honey and have started growing some herbs and watercress and hope to get digging a bit more next spring to have a proper little veggie patch and a much loved blueberry bush again.
Although I don't really like to give advice anymore, if I were to I would just say that what my experience and search has brought me is the desire to connect with my food and it's sources as much as possible, the urge to eat as many fresh live plants as I can, but most of discovering the joy of guilt free eating and joyful loving preparation and blessing of everything I put on the table. Bon appetite :)
