Is there a right or wrong way of eating?

No, we don’t think so. We do, however, believe that there are certain ‘vows’ of eating that you should follow from day to day. The truth is, any diet or way of eating can ‘work’ – the trick is to find a way of eating that is your way of eating. It is not meant to be something that you do temporarily to drop weight, then returning to your old way of eating. Finding your way of eating means making a commitment to certain food vows for the rest of your life. If eating a certain way is not effortless and enjoyable, then it’s probably not the right way for you.

That being said, there are five vows to eating healthy we’ve taken on that we feel will benefit others as well. Over the next few weeks, we will be interjecting these five vows into our usual stream of recipe posts, vows we believe are essential to healthy eating (and living).

The first vow of a food lover: Eat fresh, organic food whenever possible

A little background story:
I can still remember the day I planted my first plant. It was a hosta – a big leafy thing that loved shade. I was probably only 8 or 9 years old, and my mother had taken me to the nursery with her to pick out plants. That day (little did she know) was formative in my career selection later in life, growing up to become a landscape architect. Tending to our gardens became a bigger deal every year as a kid, mostly because my parents encouraged me to dig more flower beds each summer. I enjoyed the manipulation of our yard, so I didn’t mind wielding a shovel more often than going to the pool. My crowning achievement back then was building a pond and waterfall when I was 12 – boy, did that take a lot of convincing on my part.

Years later, I chose to go to Penn State to study landscape architecture, and recently became a registered landscape architect. I still work on the gardens from time to time when I’m home, and take a lot of pride in what I helped to create when I was younger. My mother takes even more pride in it! She invests a lot of sweat in keeping the gardens weed-free and beautiful. She even has a great composting system that recycles our non-meat, non-dairy kitchen waste, in turn providing the rich nutrients for next year’s crops. We don’t thank her enough for her efforts, so thanks mom, if you’re reading.

My real point here is that we have a kick-ass vegetable garden that gets better with each year. We typically grow a great crop of lettuce each spring (romaine, bibb, and green), with beans and peas, an assortment of herbs, tomatoes, and even some squash and pumpkins. This year we also tried carrots, onions, and cucumbers. There is always something fresh to bring in from the garden and enjoy with meals. We take heart in knowing that no chemicals ever touch our vegetables. Hayley and I always try to eat fresh and organic food as often as possible, and summertime vegetables from the garden epitomize this philosophy. This is our first vow as food lovers: Eat fresh, organic food whenever possible.

That said, we know its not possible for everyone to A) have the space to garden, B) have time to run a garden, because it can be work, and C) to even want to garden. However, if you have a spot in your dwelling space with generous sunlight, you can grow something fresh for your table – and we strongly suggest you do! A basil plant is a great place to start, and will survive on a sunny window sill year round. Check out this link to get started! If you’re looking to start a garden outdoors, click here.