Carbs Gone Crazy!

Things I love:  movies, Italy and all things Italian, soul searching for meaning and purpose, God, my husband, my children, writing and Julia Roberts.

All my planets lined up in the movie, Eat Pray Love.  If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend both. In the movie, there is a scene when Elizabeth is in Italy to eat and learn Italian.  (Let’s pause a moment and exhale a collective, “sighhhh.”)  She learns a new word, attraversiamo, which she repeats for the sheer pleasure of saying it.  She loves the syllables, the sounds the vowels make, and the irony of how such a beautiful word could have such a utilitarian meaning.  Translated, it means, “Let’s cross over.”

What on earth does this have to do with anything and why am I blogging about it?

Stay with me here…I’m going to give you a peek of how my brain works…so I have been trying to crank out the third blog about carbs, titled “Carbs Gone Crazy.”  And I am having the devil of a time keeping my sarcasm out of the way.  In my head, I’m thinking “do I really need to ‘educate’ folks about why excessive amounts of processed (store bought) cookies, chips, baked goods, fast food, cokes etc is a terrible idea?  Is there a human out there that doesn’t know that the reason people are so quick to bash carbs is because of what “we” have made them into?  How many times should I wag my finger over the enormous quantity of sugary cokes, drive through junk-in-a-bag and “convenience” foods that Americans consume?  Really?

Now shake your head and clear it like this.  Jump with me to an email that I got yesterday from a precious friend.  She is raising her practically perfect toddling daughter and marvels daily about the daily.  I take great pleasure in these stories, told as only a mother can, and invariably, I am taken back to when I was in her shoes.  How lucky am I to be reminded all over again what a gift my own children were and are to me?  In her email my friend writes, “my 18 month old daughter is learning how to feed herself well. Most people make excuses that their children will only eat junk....well she’s has never had it, so whole food IS her food. It is really gratifying and comforting to know that she is getting the nutrients she needs for health, energy, and this insane pace of growth these littles go through.”

Brava!  Last I checked, mamas do the grocery shopping.  Mamas are IN CHARGE of what their children eat.  Kids are born intuitive eaters (eat when they’re hungry, stop when they’re full) and don’t have a taste for junk.  They are only tricked up when they are offered a cookie to make them quit crying.  Or a happy meal soda instead of milk.  One lady I know honest to goodness drives through different fast food places to satisfy each of her three children’s whimsy.  Sound even remotely familiar? 

Wow---that was a tangent I didn’t even plan on taking you to.  I was going to stick with the “whole foods” (in this case, baby girl ate salmon, turkey breast, steamed veggies and brown rice) rant and use it as “exhibit A” when I talk about GREAT carbs.  Carbs that are necessary and vital and yummy and good for you.  Do I still need to do blog #3, “Carbs Gone Crazy?”

Let’s cross over.  Let’s leave the junk and cross over to the side where we are treating our bodies with love and respect by the choices we make to feed ourselves.   Let’s enjoy the health benefits that will follow….

Attraversiamo.