Why is eating healthy so difficult?

Last week I worked about 60 hours and didn't have time to write a post. Fortunately, this week wasn't quite as crazy. As an added bonus, I'm feeling pretty mellow today and don't have any angry rants saved up. I've talked about organic skin products most recently, so I want to get back on the topic of food today. It is, after all, my absolute favorite subject. We've been following the happiness diet as closely as possible, and I really do think it's making a difference in our lives. I haven't been as quick to get super depressed, and J seems to be focusing a little better. It's funny how quickly he jumped into the concept, even going so far as to start weaning himself off sugar. He hasn't given up everything, of course, but I have him thinking about food more and about how foods affect the body.

Overall, the diet is great...we've been able to adapt all our favorite recipes to the basic premises with very little trouble. I also split 1/4 of a grass-fed cow with a friend, and it's awesome having a freezer full of meat. I also signed up for weekly specials with Whole Foods and Fresh Market and take full advantage of any sales they have on grass-fed meats...having a deep freezer is such a blessing. On the negative side, I'd forgotten how difficult (and expensive) healthy eating can be. We have a tight budget, and to make the most of my grocery money, I'm only buying veggies/fruits for two or three days' meals at a time...that way they're the most nutritious AND I'm not throwing any food away because it sat around too long. The downside, of course, is that I now make two or three trips to the store every week, which is a bit of a pain, and have to buy from four different stores (not including farmers' markets) because I can't find one that carries everything I need.

One of the biggest challenges I've faced is that buying organic food (local as much as possible and U.S. grown at the very least) means that I'm only getting food that's in season. I don't know what to with turnips or kale or mustard greens to make everyone like them, so it's a constant learning process. I've also learned that peeling oranges, which are in season at the moment, is not my favorite thing to do. Sometimes the peel is thin, sometimes it's thick. Sometimes it comes off easily, sometimes it doesn't want to come off at all. Sometimes I get shot in the eye with juice because I'm frustrated and squeeze too hard. My computer monitor is covered in sticky drops of orange juice, but the real thing is so much healthier than store-bought juice that I keep fighting.

That's not to say we haven't made great strides in some areas. Thanks to my new favorite cookbook, I now make most of our bread at home, and it takes very little time...which is good since I have very little extra time. The only thing I haven't mastered is making hamburger/hot dog buns that are whole wheat yet soft, and this book doesn't have recipes for that stuff. I'm experimenting with what's there, though, and will post any successful recipes here. In the meantime, here's a link to the book in question...I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to make bread at home (thereby avoiding all preservatives and unnecessary sugar). It really is easy once you get the hang of their technique. Before you leave the site to check it out, don't forget to feed the fish! :)