As I’ve mentioned, my interest in health and healthy eating began in my teens. I’ve always been a good cook/baker, so I began to research about foods. I soon learnt the connection between healthy eating and good health. I was horrified to learn how some (and now most) foods are processed. Living in NYC it was difficult to find inexpensive organic foods. While some of it did come from NY State, it still had to travel as most of the farms were either on Long Island or upstate. Traveling, I learnt depleted precious vitamins and minerals. Undeterred, I tried to purchase foods that were “natural” and I also tried to purchase organic. I also learnt that “whole” foods were best. There was no way I was going to follow my mother and drink skim milk and eat margarine. Since I was out of high school and a few years later out of college, I began working. So I had my own money to purchase my own food. I made a deal with my mother to pay her rent ($50 a week – a bargain in those days!) and also secured my own shelf in the fridge. Of course, once my dad saw I had whole milk and real butter, I had to share with him. He, too, had had enough of the low-fat, no-fat deal! I also read a book on eating fruits and vegetables in season. That really opened my eyes! I never realized how inexpensive buying stuff in season was! Armed with this information, I was now ready to begin to eat healthier!

Once I moved out on my own to Pennsylvania, I began to garden. This also helped with my eating healthier. I lived in some places that allowed gardening as well as some that didn’t. In the places that either didn’t allow gardening or didn’t have the space, I once again turned to research and learnt about container gardening. Container gardening, I learnt was very easy and you can easily grow veggies as well as flowers! Today, I advocate that anyone can garden. No matter where you live you CAN grow your own fruits and veggies! It’s not expensive and extremely easy (once you learn about the amount of sunlight, nutrients, etc. your fruit or veggie plant needs). It’s a great money saver and of course you know what’s in it and what’s not, especially if you don’t use commercial insecticides.

Next, more about whole foods.