Introducing The Quest to Eat Better

I used to be a typical, mid-level American professional, working in an office about 50 miles from home, enduring all of the same physical anomalies everyone else in my similar situation experienced alongside me.  If you spend more that an hour or so commuting each day, sit at a desk for the better part of 8 hours (or more), and can't be bothered planning your next day's meals, you know exactly what I'm talking about. More on this later . . .

A few years ago I made a major change.  I enrolled in a New York City culinary school and began the journey to becoming a "chef". For the past nearly two years I have been cooking professionally in a restaurant near my home.  This path has enacted so many changes in my life, and in more ways than I ever expected. 

While in school I learned about not only how to cook the food, but where it comes from.  This piqued my curiosity, so I began to read more and more about the topic.  What I discovered about the American food industry and what apparently goes on behind closed doors is downright disturbing.  It has brought questions, concerns and feelings to my mind that I need to sort out. Or at least share and open for discussion.

In the meantime, I am making every conscious effort to eat better from now on.  I want to see what effect it has on me. Now let me be clear.  I don't mean that I'm going veg, or loading up on all kinds of "health food" products, or dieting or taking all kinds of supplements or anything like that.  By eating better I mean avoiding the highly processed "factory" foods.

Back to my opening story . . . When I worked in the office I frequently ate cheap, quick restaurant and packaged foods.  I spent a lot of time sitting, not only at work, but at home too.  Plus 3 hours a day in the car.  I was by no means overweight, but I always felt sluggish and unhealthy.  Stressed out, a little anxious and depressed, tired, and kind of uninterested in life.  I was also experiencing frequent heart palpitations at night.  Since I left the office and started working in the restaurant, a strange phenomenon has happened.  The palpitations have stopped completely.  I've also lost about 15 pounds strictly due to the change in my lifestyle.  Not to mention I'm more alert, interested in life, and don't seem to worry as much about stuff.  I partially attribute these changes to the significant increase in exercise that my new work day demands.  But I think something else plays a large role.

The restaurant where I work is a high end farm-to-table place that sources as many local ingredients as possible.  Our meat, poultry and most of our produce comes from local, natural sources.  We never use factory farm meat.  All of our stocks and sauces are house made.   Thanks to my job, I am paying attention to "real" food more than I have ever done before - eating it at work, and cooking it at home more than ever.  I am more tuned in to places to purchase food other than the grocery store.

In this blog I plan to share information about what I read, learn, eat, try not to eat, and any remarkable results I notice. I'm also looking for some discussion about how these topics affect us all.