I’d like to say I’m a consummate reader as though I read Dickens and Faust and thought-provoking interviews and opinion pieces about the state of our world and current affairs.  And sometimes, I do.  But when I say I’m a consummate reader I mean I read a lot … of everything.

Which includes, but is not limited to, daily email blasts and articles from Mind Body Green.

It was one of these articles that started niggling in my head until I felt I had no choice but to give it the attention it felt it was due.

Which is how I have found myself pledging to cook all our meals for the entire month of October.

Wait, wha?

I have read many articles on various diets, both fad and health-related.  I have read about Paleo and Keto and the benefits and drawbacks of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.  I have read about the Wahl’s Protocol and OMS (Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis).  I have read articles (upon articles) about the benefits of various food groups or individual foods helping with specific issues (um, inflammation, I’m looking at you).

But …. I’m also a little bit of a cynic.  In addition to being wildly stubborn and pouty.

What I loved about the article I read was the idea that sometimes, we lose track of our food and how we are consuming it.  Life gets busy, it gets stressful, there aren’t enough hours in the day.  And take-out or ready-made food is a really great solution.  Which maybe we think we only do once in awhile, but then all of a sudden, I’m getting sushi take-out twice a week.  Not only do I need a second mortgage to afford all the sushi, but something is getting lost nutritionally.

The author also wrote about how relaxing it was to get home and prepare meals with her husband.  I think that’s what really hooked me.  Because when the hubs and I do make dinner and stand together chopping vegetables or prepping fish or meat for the grill, we talk and laugh and interact in a way that is far healthier than sitting beside each other scrolling through our phones as our pre-made dinner cooks in the oven.

And then there was the idea that just cooking fresh food could actually be healthier than any kind of restriction or diet.  That the act of cooking meant that I would know exactly what went into it, I could control the portion sizes and I would be responsible for what went into my body.  Every day.  It wouldn’t be about counting cups of dark leafy vegetables or measuring fat grams.  It would be about eating whole, healthy food prepared daily by yours truly.

I was really into this idea.  And so, to keep myself accountable, I thought why not revisit the roots of this blog, and share my cooking adventures through the month of October?

If you’d like to read the article that inspired me, you can find it below (along with the rules she outlines!).  So … here goes!

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/budget-30-day-home-cooking-challenge