Welcome to The Eating Well Project!

Two events -- actually reading two books recommended by my sister Ann -- were my kick-in-the-pants to really get me on the path to start writing this blog.  In 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life, Dr. Henry Cloud helped boost me with a shot  of "I can do this!" by taking it one small step at a time toward my goal of someday writing a book.  The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, inspired the format for my baby step to begin writing.  That is, a blog that is a year-long exercise in learning and experimenting with (in my case) making it doable, and enjoyable, to nourish myself and my family well.

On a deeper level, my reason for writing this blog has to do with my core values- health, family, faith, growth, happiness.  So much of our emotional & physical well-being is dependent on our nutrition and how we fuel our body.  The ill effects that our food supply and eating habits can have on us are staggering.  The obesity and diabetes statistics are reaching near epidemic levels with each passing day.   What does this mean for our future health? Not only ourselves but the health of our children and grandchildren?  I ask myself, why not do all I can to set us up for success, and be the best we can be?

• to feel good & want to get out of bed to start the day
• to have the energy and focus throughout the day to have a positive impact on the world around us
• to be of healthy disposition

Yet eating well is not easy.  It can feel really mundane and frustrating at times, almost a battle.  John & I are coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary this August.  I was reflecting the other day on the fact that I've prepared dinner (for the most part) on average 6 days/week, 52 weeks/year, for nearly 25 years.  That's a lot of meals.  7800 in fact.  I want to put some zest back into it!  Make it more fun to feed my family well!  And do a good job of it!  I want to pour myself into it, figure it out so that it will become habit - not just for me to eat well, but for everyone in my family to eat well, feel well, live well.  In a way that works best for each of us.

My plan is over the course of one year to achieve specific goal(s) set forth each month.  At the end of the year, I will have become better at feeding my family well in a way that I don't have to think it through each time, yet not have it be so rote that it's boring.  I will prepare my children for the future -  to have the ability to feed themselves well whether they're under our own roof or not-  be they at school, over at a friend's, off to college, married and beyond. 

I promise to be kind to myself.  A good reminder from author Gretchen Rubin is, "Perfection never happens in real life. We always have to do the best we can with what we have. And that's okay."  We're each in a unique place, trying to do our best.

Here is my outline of the topics I plan to cover throughout the year.  I may adjust as I see fit.  This blog is the story of my experience- what I try, what I learn.  It reflects my particular situation, values, and interests.  I hope that sharing my experiences will help you think about your own eating experience, and inspire you to try some different things on your own, to eat well, feel well, live well.  Let's enjoy the ride!  

   February         -Clear the way to make room for goodness

   March             -Bring on the fruits & veggies

   April                -Begin with a plan: breakfast & lunch

   May                -What's for dinner? I've got to get those recipes organized

   June               -Who's cooking dinner?

   July                -Liberate myself & put the cookbook away

   August            -Regroup for the school year

   September      -Ramping up for the Girlfriends Half Marathon

   October           -Share thy food

   November        -Engineer my environment

   December       -Simplicity of the season

   January           -Year in review