Food, Inc.

Our legislative session has been going on for the last two weeks, but there aren't a whole lot of topics that interest me this year. I have my kids in a great school. All of my Utah congressmen are on board with me in my fight for a parental rights amendment. So, what's left? My new battle is my health.

I think of myself as having always strived to live a healthy lifestyle, although I'm learning more and more that most of the "good" choices I've made aren't really that good. And I've always followed the rule that if you eat your veggies than you can have your dessert, but that's changing too. About a year ago I started down a whole different path. The health provider through Brandon's work offers an incentive program where they pay you to meet certain challenges. Last year they opened this plan up to spouses, and I was eager to jump on board. Like I said, I already loved trying to be healthy, but to get paid for it too? Just what I needed to make me stretch a little bit. What I wasn't ready for was the very first challenge -- to give up sugar! I thought that was a little excessive, but I gave it a go, and you know what? It wasn't that bad (for me).

As the year progressed I took part in all the challenges (although I didn't complete them all). At this same time, a fellow blogging friend I have was documenting her eating habits. Everything she said resonated with me, and I tried to incorporate some of her ideas. I have yet to sprout my wheat or do sourdough, but she's the one who introduced me to green smoothies. Then in June another friend I have (I'm really not that popular) invited me to go hear Jim Simmons speak. I had no clue who this man was, but the things she told me about him made me feel like I needed to be there. When I got there, guess who I ran in to? My blogging inspiration! I knew I was meant to be there, and everything this guy said resonated with me. I went home excited to drastically change my eating habits, but it wasn't until my birthday that Brandon got me Jim's book, The Original Fast Foods, that I had a guide to help me (with recipes!). I haven't been perfect at following it, but we're making progress.

Also, sometime this past summer (or maybe even earlier) Brandon told me about a documentary being made he wanted to see. He didn't want to go to the theatre to see it, but thought maybe we could rent it sometime. It came and went from the theatre. I had thought about maybe getting it for him for Christmas, but it slipped my mind and didn't happen. A few weeks ago he asked me about maybe renting it for a date night, so I looked it up. Redbox didn't have it, but Blockbuster did. We ended up having a couple other movies we needed to watch first, and put it off. Then a week and 1/2 ago I sat down to for a minute and turned on the tv. Oprah was on, and it didn't take me long to figure out what she was talking about. Brandon called in the middle, and I said, "Guess what Oprah's doing her show on? FOOD, INC.!!" Even though it was Brandon's idea to watch this movie, the show really made me want to go out and get it. And the end of Oprah she announced a special deal they were offering through Amazon, so I bought it that night. It came with a special downloadable edition, so we were able to watch it right away, and then the DVD came a couple days ago. Brandon's now watching it with the girls. This movie has not changed my life, but I hope it's helping me think more about the changes I do make and make conscious choices. I think it's important enough to share with everyone. Please watch the trailer below, and anyone who wants to watch the movie is more than welcome to borrow our copy.