I love food.
Okay. That may be the most generic statement ever. But really, I do.
One of my favorite stories from my mom is when she was in her 20’s & dating this guy. Everything was going great.. until he said he didn’t really care about eating. He just did it to survive. ( I’m sorry.. what?? ) My mom knew then & there.. it would never work.
Now I know there are people out there like this man, to whom I ask.. HOW? Why? Have you been studied?
Anywho, I assume I came out of the womb with an intense love for food. As most of us did.
I’ve also for the most part have always loved cooking. When I was a kid, I loved to bake cookies with my mom, I helped my grandmother with chicken & dumplings in the summer, I made dinner for my family in high school.
Once I went to college & had my own apartment, I loved being able to cook for myself. But to be honest I didn’t have any understanding of nutrition & my budget was slim.
I did the best I could with what I had.
Once I graduated, got a job & started to actually have a little cash flow I felt like I had a lot more freedom to cook things I really wanted. No more ramen!
I had more financial freedom so I wanted to try to not just buy the cheapest food possible, but maybe a little upgrade when it came to nutrition. I still loved to cook, I still loved to eat, but I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when it came to nutrition.
* just a side note – I have absolutely no judgement on the food you eat. None at all. I am the first to understand not having the money to get anything more than the bare minimum. I just want to share my experience!
I started to kinda feel my way around when it came to “eating healthy.”
Around this time I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s which is an auto-immune disease that pretty much shuts down your thyroid. It may not seem like a big deal, but for me it felt liberating & also crushing.
It felt liberating because there was finally a reason that I always felt so tired & irritated. I look back now & still can’t believe that’s just how I thought everyone felt – completely drained from the moment they woke up despite how much sleep they got.
But it was also a little crushing. After we found the right medication for me & my thyroid levels were where they should be I didn’t feel as different as I wanted to. I had a little bit more energy, I was sleeping just a little better, but I felt like my mood & weight were untouched. It felt like this is just what I was stuck with.
I think the most upsetting part about it all was that I felt like I finally found the problem, but there was no solution.
I was overwhelmed by this feeling for a while & then finally decided to move on with it.
First I just started doing research about thyroids in general. That led me to information about how food plays a part when you have Hashimoto’s, which led me to so much information about food in general. From learning about how food has been used in healing for hundreds of years to all the vitamins our bodies still need now that we are often missing.
It all led me to this thought.. isn’t it amazing that the earth provides this for us?
Really think about that. Our bodies are so intricate. They need so many different vitamins. They need protein, they need fat, they need fiber, they need carbs.
Not only is it beautiful that the earth grows exactly what we need, but it tastes amazing. Guys, we could just as easily be like dogs.. eating the same thing every single day. But we have so many different things that not only taste good but is good for us. That like rocked my world a few years ago. I became a little obsessed.
So I started learning more about which food has what, how it helps our bodies & started cooking away.
A couple years went by & just when I thought I couldn’t be more obsessed with food… well, I did.
After Aaron & I got married we talked about something that was really important to us was always having people in our home.
I’m not sure why this was important to us. We had plenty of reasons to not invite people over or just go out to eat. Our house is a little out of the way & even after a year, it still doesn’t look the way I wish it would. But we started asking people over for dinner regardless. And it has been amazing.
I think there’s just something about having that piece of wood in between you full of food that brings comfort. I don’t really know why, but isn’t it true that the real conversations in our lives are around a table & not on couches? It may be a dinner table, coffee shop table, picnic table & all the other kind of tables in between. There’s just something special there.
I loved being able to cook meals for people I love. My love language is definitely acts of service. I finally felt in my element.
Then I started realizing.. this isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Aaron & I don’t have a ton of money or time, but we’ve found a way to fill our kitchen & bellies with nutritious & delicious food without spending hours in the kitchen ( most of our meals don’t take more than 30 minutes to make. )
But then I thought, “why did I think this was so overwhelming? Why did I think it was unachievable? Why did I think nutritious food would equal unappetizing food? Why did I think it would be too expensive?”
That’s why I started sharing recipes because it honestly made me so angry that for so long I didn’t understand how accessible delicious & nutritious food was for me.
I want everyone to experience the same feeling of gratitude that we have the access we do to food, the joy of sitting around a table with people you love & the peace in being able to know that you are serving your body without draining your bank account or free time.
Even after having been on medicine for Hashimoto’s for several years, I know without a doubt the biggest difference in how I feel has come from food… from putting real things in my body that help it be the best that it can.
I hope this was helpful to remind you that you deserve something that taste amazing, serves your body & builds relationships around your own table.
xx,
ellyn
ps. please stop being afraid to have people over. You’re house doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re food doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re words don’t have to be perfect. YOU cannot be perfect, but you CAN welcome the people you love. This picture below is one of my very favorite memories. Just people who love each other, simple food that was packed up with love, enjoying being together.
