From Ignorant to Green and Healthy

In my somewhat short stay in the U.S. few years back, I learned some new words and expressions, and a whole bunch of stereotypes.  Of course, I didn't realize those were stereotypes or ideas about stuff coming from ignorant people and I just figured – hey, it’s part of the American culture. I didn't even think it will change my basic believes and my whole lifestyle.  

So, on the way I heard the word “composting” and “raw” many times, and they was generally associated with words like “hippie”, “hipster”, “yogi” and other, which were also words used in negative context by my friends from the BBQ restaurant. Luckily, I also worked at a raw food/yoga joint, where besides the overpriced produce and weird sounding product, I was able to see for myself what composting actually is. In fact, I was able to learn that eating raw and organic, composting, gardening and growing your own food is actually pretty cool. Yes, the stuff that we were selling over there weren't all that cool, and yes, they were super expensive, but also, they were good.

Since I was preparing all the food, I was on a raw food diet without being aware of that. I would start the day with some fruit smoothie, and later on add a green juice to my daily menu, and follow all that with lots of water and raw nuts. I remember never feeling hungry or tired, and noticing how my shirts fit better. I haven’t worked a day in a kitchen before that job, and surprisingly it all came naturally into place: the cooking or preparing, the food, the items I worked with and the improvement of my health.

After I took notice of all that, I started paying more attention to what I consume and how I do it. I started tasting different combinations and experimenting with the juicer, making my diet interesting and rich. The results were even better: I went from 1 and half packs a day to 3-4 cigarettes, I could perform well on my two jobs, both physically demanding, both with 6-8 hour shifts (I usually worked from 10 -15 hours per day), I lost something like 22 pounds without even trying, and the best surprise for me was the disappearance of those huge brown under eye circles I had for years. Naturally, I started reading more about all of that, and became aware of what is going on with my body.

For the first time in my life, my body was cleansing and showing its gratitude for it. I kicked off a terrible smoking addiction, stopped eating bread and fried stuff; I started appreciating the gifts of nature – the vegetables, the fruit, the seeds – everything. Weight loss wasn't even a part of my plans at that time, but after I started wearing not plus size clothes, and feeling so good – yeah, I loved it.

I decided I’m going to keep doing this after I stop working here and use everything for free, and later I learned that wasn't a good idea at all. When you actually have to buy organic produce in the U.S. you need to earn a lot more that 10$ per hour, which I didn't  Blenders and juicers were available, but having enough produce to cook with every day, became really hard. That is when I remember that hippie word – composting. If I grow my own food, I can keep on living healthy and save money – perfect deal. Also, I was supposed to go back very shortly, so I never started gardening or composting in the U.S.

Then, after few months I came back to my country, all excited about what I've learned, feeling I can change the world with all this knowledge. I sat down with my parents, and couldn't stop talking about it all. After a while, my dad called in my grandma, and asked her to show me the composting pit. “What?! A composting pit, a what? “.  See now, my grandmother is far from a hipster, and she barely understood where I've been the whole summer, so she just smiled to my story and showed me. She has been composting her whole life, growing her own produce, gardening and eating healthy. At my parents’ house, there was this big garden, with all kinds of vegetables and fruit trees in it, and at moment I realized how my ignorance has stopped me from being healthy. I can’t say they were eating raw though, because they cooked and more often overcooked all their food, and they weren't very vegetarian either. But all those vegetables, fruits and nuts, right there, fresh, organic, home grown, right in my old back yard.

I never appreciate it, I didn't want to be a farm girl, and I didn't want to touch the shovel if anything. Instead, I choose to smoke, eat burgers and barbecue  drink sodas and beer and drown in deep fried snacks every single day. Also, I had an unrealistic addiction to ice cream.

Now, I am a different person. I do not wear hipster outfits what so ever, but I do eat healthy, grow my own food, compost, recycle and feel amazing. I haven’t been to the doctor for nearly 5 years, well only for regular checks I guess. I not an expert, and I don’t want to say that eating raw is the only thing that is right and good, but it is extremely helpful. It is life changing, and starting to at least think about it, can be a miracle for you. I know what is good for me and can’t preach for others, but there are people out there, who trust me, know what they are saying.

That takes me to another thing I learned in the U.S. - online shopping, and unlike the negative stereotypes about it, you can use it for good stuff, like getting a super useful eBook or DVD on making your life better. The ones that I got were Eating for Energy by Yuri Elkaim, and Food4Wealth by Jonathan White. The first one will tell you everything you need to know about Raw Food Diets, and the second one will teach you how to grow your own ecological and organic food. I hope all of you experience the same blessing I did, and if you have suggestions about similar reads, please write them in a Comment, Pin or Facebook.