Love, your Lentils

Sweet memories of our CSA. I miss Norman so much. 

Yesterday I hit a turning point at the grocery store. The guy ahead of me in line bought apple sauce, orange juice, meat, and some freezer items. My cart? Filled to the brim with fresh produce, dried beans, and whole grains. The most processed item in my cart was a box of Fiber One cereal (I had a coupon!). In just seven months of vegetarianism I've become a full blown hippie now, time to throw away the razors. 

I don't think I've shared my journey to healthful eating on the blog yet. I apologize for the length, but here ya go (this can also be found on my bio page): 

My journey to mindful eating was a bit roundabout. My entire adult life I have struggled with chronic migraines. In the past, I could never leave the house without extra pills incase a migraine struck. My experience was with "tunnel vision" migraines, where the actual headache was preceeded by a total darkening of my vision, until I could only see out of a tiny pinpoint. At that point the headaches would set in, and if I didn't lock myself in a dark room with heavy drugs and take a long nap, I could suffer these symptoms for up to three days. 

Do you know when someone takes your picture and you see dark spots in front of your eyes for a few minutes? That is what my migraines were like, but the spots did not go away. They would be triggered by a long list of stressors; florescent light, natural light shining in my eyes, not enough sleep, not enough food, cheese, deli meat, wine. 

In addition to a slew of daily preventative medication (I've tried everything on the market), I was afraid to leave the house without my "emergency pills" that would halt the progression of the migraine from visionary disturbances to full blown episodes. Those pills made me feel tired, sore, nauseous, and inhibited my ability to mentally focus. I felt drugged all the time.

What started out as an experiment with diet transformed my views on health and wellness. I had always restricted my diet to include less cheese and less MSG, because they seemed to be my triggers. After reading Michael Pollans, Omnivore's Dillemma, my curiosity spiked. Maybe all of the food I was eating was making me sick, not just Chinese take out. 

Eventually I came to read Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffron Foer, and this was the impetus that changed my diet. Finally convinced that the food I was eating was not made of the healthful materials my body needed, and also unethically produced, I decided to drastically cut back my intake of animal products. 

You are what you eat. Cutting out animal products and focusing on a less processed diet has freed me from constant fear of debilitating headaches. I went from four-five migraines a week to one every six months. I almost feel that a miracle happened inside of my body, but I started feeding it the food that it needed. I am (almost) free of prescription medication, my cholesterol went down, my blood pressure resumed a normal level, and I can now rock an Elliptical trainer without huffing and puffing. 

I feel healthy, and more importantly, I feel more educated about what I am putting in my mouth. This also frees up ample opportunities for experimenting in the kitchen, which I never knew I enjoyed. Love your veggies and your body will thank you.