Nobody in NYC cooks. Or so they say, anyhow. Which makes sense. With so many restaurants, so little time, and such tiny kitchens, it’s easier to go out or order in. Like, really really easy. People work hard all day in NYC so at the end of the day most people just want to blow off steam. And that’s okay… that is, until you get sick. I mean, really sick.
Almost five years ago, not long after I got married, my whole world changed. I’d been living in NYC for almost six years, going to events and having meals out 90% of the time. I had yet to discover the important connection between what we put in our mouths and how the human body operates. After over a year of seeing nearly every specialist in the city, I still didn’t know what was wrong with my body. Finally, my mom figured out that I had the C word. Long story short, I learned a lot about healthy living in the process.
I now have an intimate understanding of why an organic plant-based diet is so important. I learned why even small amounts of meat, dairy, sugar and gluten contributed in a big way to making me sick. I’ve since committed to a ritual of daily research about how the body heals and how to detoxify my life.
Through this ordeal, I learned that cooking the right foods, at home, is the most effective way to influence how healthy your body is.
The primary the reason I decided to spend time in France was so that I could be in a healthier environment. Every time I visited, I felt healthier. It may have been the fact that, in France, farm-to-table is the norm, not the exception. Or that toxic GMO farming is banned here. Or the dramatic decrease in pollution… But I think it’s mostly because of my new daily ritual…
Nearly every morning, I go to the farmers market. It’s just down the street, along the river. It’s packed with vendors selling all types of flowers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and anything else you could imagine a food market having. I’ve discovered new vegetables and fruits I didn’t know existed (ever heard of a trompette de la mort??) and embraced French cuisine (minus the meat/dairy).
It took me a while to get over the “but shouldn’t I be doing something more productive — like working?” mentality. Listening to audiobooks while I cook has really helped with that. It gives me a sense of accomplishment (because, hey, I’m learning and cooking!) but it’s also relaxing at the same time. I use my Amazon Echo to broadcast them in the kitchen.
Right now I’m listening to The Cheese Trap, and learning all about how cheese is addictive (in a nutshell: a cow’s breast milk is addictive in order to keep the calf from wandering too far. Concentrate it into cheese and it becomes like crack, creating a similarly addictive response in our brains) and how cheese affects our body (in a nutshell: it’s super inflammatory and depletes our bones, causing all kinds of problems).
I used to think of food as a means to an end. Something to grab on the go. Now, more than ever, I understand the power of a healthy lifestyle. For me there’s no going back. And I’ve never felt better.
Do we have a farmers market here in NYC? I hope we have one here, so we can buy FRESH vegetables as well. Food in the supermarket contain so many toxins.
Actually, you can find some, there’s a Wholesale Greenmarket in Hunts Point Bronx. But that’s true that it is easier in Europe I think.
I use Amazon Echo in our living room. It can detect my device even I’m in the kitchen cooking, plus it has a loud volume. This speaker is awesome.
Yuh! We used the speaker during our camping. It’s amazing!
My mom is a vegan, and she’s insisting that I become vegan too. I do like vegetables, but not all veggies!
With that kind of living, you’ll never have time to cook. Now you know the reason why most of the Americans are obese, or overweight.
Eating vegetables will help you to detoxify your body. It’s a natural process when you eat vegetables. You consume too many carbs, and oil when you eat the fast food.
Where can I buy Amazon Echo aside from Amazon? I want to test it first before I purchase the product. I won’t waste $150.00 like that.
You can join buy and sell groups.
My girlfriend is a vegetarian. We are much different from each other, but still, we eat together. I always ensure that the vegetarian restaurant that we we’re going to dine-in has vegetables, and meat.
That’s sweet of you. It’s hard to blend in with vegetarian because they have different taste when it comes to food.
I love eating fresh vegetables. You can feel the freshness of the of the vegetable, and at the same time, you eat healthy food.
Not all the food you buy in the supermarket is healthy. Even though it is being labeled as “Natural” still, don’t believe in that. Even the VEGETABLES in the supermarket contains chemicals that can harm your health.
Amazon speaker is the best! It’s worth it, and I enjoy using it especially when I need loud music inside my apartment.