Baby steps

I wish I could report that I've really started off with a "bang!", but in reality, it's been more like a "ppffrrt..."

In addition to wanting to batten down the hatches of the type of foods and cleaning products, etc., in my life, I also want to clean up my diet itself. Not because I eat bad foods, but because some foods are particularly bad for me. For instance, I'm lactose intolerant. Over the years I've singled out wetter kinds of cheeses, like cream cheese and brie, as the culprits behind intense stomach cramping and other lovely side effects I won't mention. But hard, dry cheeses seem to be ok, like parmesan and reggiano. And I can't do ice cream, or cream of any kind.

I tried Lactaid for a while, but I saw no difference in how I felt whether I took the pills or not, so I stopped and just avoided those things I knew would kill me later. I found there's something really beautiful about unaltered black coffee in the morning. And luckily for me, I've never had a sweet tooth, so giving up ice cream wasn't a huge deal for me.

I cut dairy out completely a couple of years ago and it was kinda miserable and I was kinda miserable. I've always liked cream sauces over red and going to a restaurant wasn't fun anymore. Although, the legacy of that experiment is that I really do avoid Alfredo sauces and the like and I'm happier for it. Sorta like when I take my cloth bag to the grocery store I feel good about doing the right thing for my body.

All this to say, I added a splash of cream to a recipe last night and I was up in the middle of the night paying for it. That morning, I also had Hollandaise sauce on my Eggs Benedict and nice sour-creamy scalloped potatoes.

I feel like such a big, dumb jerk-ass.

Today, to make up for it, I went to WholeFoods and purchased a bunch of "green" cleaning products. I figured instead of turning my diet upside down right now, I better just get used to the idea of putting good things into my body, and focus on things that are easier for me to change. It's a lot less exhausting for me to switch to an all natural window cleaner than it is to say no to things I put into my body - I'm going to have to revisit this idea, I know. -

So here we go! Out with the old, icky smelling, industrial strength cleaners:
















And in with the new, fresh, gentle, happy cleaners:
I already feel that responsibility thing and I like it. Maybe I'm being naive about all of this, but until I read somewhere that man-made, toxic chemicals are really A-OK, I'm gonna stick to this new endeavor of mine and do what little I can to feel better about what I'm contributing to my family and my planet.

It's worth noting that these products (laundry detergent, dish soap, bleach, window cleaner, and scrubber) cost approximately $30. That's really not that much more expensive than the regular kind of cleaners.