Finding the Balance

So when you have a sick kid, you'll do just about anything to get her well. 

At least I would.

I'm not kidding. If I thought it would have helped, I would have danced on my head, bought a voodoo doll, anything. Luckily our naturopath suggested some legitimate ideas that would speed her healing. One of the things she recommended was a gluten free and dairy free diet.

So I dove in head first.

We removed all gluten from our home. I blogged about that here: Get Rid of the Gluten 

And then we took out dairy. Not hard for our house in regards to milk, but Hannah is a huge lover of all things cheese. So this was incredibly difficult for her. 

We ate like this for three months without waiver. 

It was expensive.

It was exhausting.

And it was NOT sustainable for us.

God bless the people who can eat this way all the time. But our little family cannot. And I'm okay with that. We did it the entire time Hannah was going through her medical crisis. 

But lawd, I'm tired. And I want cheetos.

Okay, not really. 

(Okay, yeah, I really do want them... but we're not going to veer THAT far off course. 
Okay we might. But if we eat them, it will be more like a treat than an every day thing. 
Ooh, lawd, I need therapy...)

What we are learning now is to find the balance.

Our financial life will be changing next month and so there are some things that we just won't be doing anymore. James and I sat down and decided what we are willing to spend money on, and what will fall by the wayside. We both agreed that while shopping at the farmers markets are really fun, shopping there EXCLUSIVELY is not affordable. So we go to the markets when we are out of goat's milk or out of organic meats and eggs. But we get our produce at the regular ole grocery store (usually Target or Rouses). I buy organic apples, celery, berries, and lettuce/spinach. But everything else is just conventional produce. 

And yes we eat dairy. Good grief who can live without cheese and sour cream now and then?!

But we drink goat's milk, not cow's milk.

Balance.

What we won't sacrifice is where we get our meat and eggs. Organic, free range meat and eggs are just better!! And with Whole Foods coming to Lafayette, more and more stores are carrying organic meat. You just have to be observant when you shop. It's out there if you look hard enough.

I applaud all the people I know who live a Paleo lifestyle.

Wow. You are amazing. 

I am in awe of your willpower and determination.

But I'm tired.

And I want bread.

After going through this process, I have decided that there is so much information out there on blogs, websites, and on social media that you can believe pretty much anything you want to believe about a product: 

Organic food is the best food. Oh no, organic food has cross-contamination from GMO corn crops. 

Buy organic. Oh but don't buy organic from Target because it's from China. 

Diet Coke will absolutely kill you. Diet Coke isn't bad for you. 

Eat real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. Wait, don't eat sugar either.

I surrender!!

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One final thought...

I may post a pic of food at a restaurant or a pic of something I cooked. 

If it's gluten free or organic, I'll tell you. 

But if it's from 5 Guys, of course it's not gluten free. It's a HAMBURGER with a big fat nasty bun. 

But it's not an every day occurrence anymore. It's a treat. 

Balance.