I never imagined myself to be this healthy eater that I am now. I’ve always loved bread, pasta and pizza more than any other foods. When I was younger I ate those foods and more without a care. I LOVED fast food too. I visited Taco Bell daily once I got my license and could drive myself there after high school. Never once did I think about the affects that eating processed, carb and sugar loaded foods could have on my body.

I have always been thin, and what most people would consider “healthy”, so I never really worried about my diet. Now that I have changed the way I eat, I know that I wasn’t giving my body the fuel it needed to strive, and function at its full potential.

When you are young, nothing really matters. You eat and drink what makes you happy. Whatever tastes good. Chips, candy, ice cream, pasta, pizza, pizza, pizza. As an adult, you should be thinking about your health. You should want to be around for your family. Unfortunately, most of us don’t take this seriously until it’s too late.

A wonderful man I once knew, John Bafford taught me a valuable lesson. He was my Grandma’s companion for many years. When he was a young man, he drove semi trucks. He ate lots of junk food and never exercised. He said he would eat fast food or junk food from the truck stops every single day for every meal. He said that he never thought about how bad it was for him, and at that time, he didn’t really care.

Fast forward to John as an older man. When I met John he was a diabetic. He was extremely unhealthy, and overweight. John and my Grandmother were companions for over 15 years. He became a part of our family. He was one of the kindest men I have ever known, and my family loved him dearly.

Over the years, he suffered from many health issues, and eventually passed away due to his health.

The point I want to make about John is, he told me that he had many regrets about the way he treated his body as a young man. He regretted eating like a trucker because it made him a sick old man. He knew that his choices about eating as a young man were affecting his health and the quality of his life as an old man. He wished that he hadn’t eaten that way.

We can all learn a little lesson from John, and what he shared with me. We GET to chose what we eat everyday, and how we take care of our body. Everything you eat is a CHOICE. You can choose junk food, or you can choose fresh food.

Johns words of wisdom and regret will stick with me forever.

I know it sounds really difficult to give up soda, and junk food, and sweets, but you will never regret doing it.

The way your body feels when you fuel it with healthy, fresh, and delicious foods is incredible! Not to mention you will be healthy, and your quality of life will be better than if you eat junk.

I know people say “eating healthy is so expensive” But I have to say, doctor and hospital bills and prescriptions for diabetes and heart disease are far more expensive.

There are many small changes that you can make right now that can change your future. Take baby steps if you need to, but don’t do nothing. Stop killing yourself with unhealthy food!

Buying fresh fruits from a fruit stand is a great start. They have less chemicals, and they taste fresher too. Check out this photo that I took of two strawberries. The photo is unedited.

The strawberry on the left is from a local supermarket. The beautiful one on the right is from my favorite fruit stand. Can you believe the visible difference??  The grocery store strawberry is yellow on top and the stem is small and dried out. I bought these only a couple days apart. I paid $4.99 for a regular clamshell container at the grocery store. I paid $6 for double the grocery store amount at the fruit stand.

You can see from the photo the freshness, what you can’t see is the flavor, and honestly, there is no comparison.

If you don’t think you can eat that large of an amount of strawberries, you can always freeze some. And if you decide to freeze some, you will have strawberries for this delicious Strawberry Banana ice cream recipe from Nom Nom Paleo.

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

 

3 frozen bananas, a cup of frozen strawberries, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a half cup of coconut cream.

blitz all ingredients in a food processor for 1-2 minutes. It will be smooth and creamy like soft serve, or pop it into the freezer for a few minutes to harden slightly, then enjoy! YUM!

 

THIS POST IS IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOHN BAFFORD FEBRUARY 23, 1940- MAY 3, 2013