Day 23....I think.

Where do I begin...

Well, Andy is and has been for the past 2 weeks, 100% heartburn and "digestive issues" (we'll leave it at that) FREE.

As in GONE. (Did ya catch that?) By the way, we took a "21 days" face shot of Andy, including his before picture. Wow, his face is the first place he's losing weight. WHY AREN'T WOMEN LIKE THAT? Let's face it, we all know where we first lose weight and it stinks!

He says that saying no has become easier and easier at work (patients love to bring in baked goodies) and when out and about. As it is with any new food regiment, it's always 10 times easier to be faithful when eating at home than anywhere else.

His patients are all so incredibly interested in his progress. I don't think he could cheat with food at work if he wanted to! Yesterday, one of his patients just walked herself back into the therapy room and found Andy at his computer eating a peach...."Are you supposed to be eating that?!" she scolded. Andy just started laughing..."It's a peach!" He has about 40 cheerleaders. (or judges)

The kids are slowly warming up to new menus and snacks. They are not fully gluten free and I am ok with that. That wasn't ever my intention, I just want to try to find a good balance.

Speaking of, I want to mention for those who may be following our Paleo journey how I feel personally about this project.
If you read my blog entry "Paleo Day One", then you already know that we made this choice to try and solve health issues along with weight concerns. Obviously, it was a personal choice. I want to be very sensitive, as I've recently had my eyes opened to this, that I don't ever come off on this blog or talking to anyone ever, as having achieved "superior food knowledge and cooking ability." I also want to laugh even has I write that, because I'm not at all worried that anyone will think I pride myself as a gourmet chef.....No, that is one mistake no one will make about MY cooking (hahaha).
No, what I care about is how others feel when I talk about our family's food choices. How I make them feel. I've felt the reverse and it's hard to swallow. We're not trying Paleo because we see other food choices as "less than", on the same hand, I am hardly impressed when I see others striving for near-perfection in cooking and baking where health is concerned, and yet love is not present in their response to others.

Before I knew much about it, I was turned off to organic or anything associated with it for quite some time because of how I interpreted some people to view those who chose not to go that route. It felt alienating and frankly, it was a season of life when money was not plentiful and choosing those "healthier", more expensive options was out of the question even if we wanted to.

Paleo may not be a our chosen path forever. There may come a day when we again eat a Main Street Burger (until then, for goodness sake, SOMEONE should go enjoy a burger in our place!)

But despite my excitement for learning more about whole foods, and how our bodies truly react with food, in spite of recipes I may post or questions I may ask in a public forum, my main goal is to serve my family and serve those around me in absolute love. We're not near "cool" enough to have chosen Paleo for any other reason! Haha.

•  If you, dear friend, are making life gel for your family with chicken nuggets and pizza to save sanity....God bless you! I love you and I'm thoroughly impressed by any mom who's ministering to her family and their own health needs. 
• If you spend 6 hours a day in health food stores, farmer's markets and the rest of the time grinding your own flour, God bless you! I love you and I'm blessed to have you both and everyone in between in my life and I love that balance! I need you all and hope you'll stay with us as we seem to be morphing into a very controlled eating pattern for the time being. The fruit of the journey is so very rewarding to see and I just needed to speak to those dearest to me, and express my heart. Paleo is in no way superior or high-faluting (at least I pray not for ust)....for us, it's just a necessary, temporary step for health. (As I write, my sweet neighbor brought over double chocolate cake as a thank-you for a basket of peaches, oh yeah, I totally had some.)

So, next time you see a Facebook status (that's hopefully not mine, but who knows!) that seems to only say "Paleo, organic, raw, grass-fed blah blah blah" that you assume might as well read "I spent 1 hour scouring recipes, 3 hours shopping for this natural food, 2 hours prepping and cooking this food and posting this will hopefully make it all seem worth it, especially if a couple people told me so"... Just smile, and remember that we all have passions, we all have weaknesses and we all need grace as we remember what's most important in life and what's not.

Love, Nellie