Early Mid-life Crisis?

So this evening, I was standing in the kitchen, hand-making veggie burgers and a roasted veggie and quinoa salad while wearing my running clothes and singing along with some song on Sirius' AltNation. It suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning: I'm a totally changed person in the last couple of years. Heck, the last few weeks have been a massive change. Two years ago, you wouldn't have been able to make me run more than a mile and it would have taken some serious motivation for me to do that (like, being chased with a machete). I definitely wasn't an "alternative" music person; I've always tended more towards to pop music. And this whole cooking with whole foods thing is a total change. I mean, I've always liked cooking and have cooked mostly at home, but really paying attention to labels and using organic produce and cooking with whole grains... very new. I'm a little young for a mid-life crisis (nearly 32) but what else could it be, this total change? I guess it's not so bad as mid-life crises go; it's not like I'm running off with some sleek Spaniard named Alejandro. Not yet, anyway.

Today is day 7 without refined sugar and I think I made it. I had a bite of a cookie that Lauren was eating, but it was from PCC, so I'd suspect it has evaporated cane sugar crystals or the like. Ditto the apple crisp I just had a few bites of. Jeremy really wanted me to have a little bit of a sweet treat and I agreed that was a good idea. That I know was made with florida crystals, which is unrefined. So, I think I made it! Tomorrow is the beginning of the caffeine week of The Great American Detox Diet; I'm not a big caffeine drinker, so we'll see how that goes.

I have a couple of (clickable) photos for you! Tonight's dinner: Veggie Burger patty on whole wheat bread wit dijon mustard and lettuce with Roasted Veggie and Savory Quinoa Salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet:

From 2010-03-25

And from last week, the veggie loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and green salad:

From 2010-03-25

Tomorrow, I'm going to post about why I've chosen to go with organics. Until then, I have a couple of articles for you to read. One is an amusing send up of this whole "Double Down" business by KFC. Seriously, that sandwich is everything that's wrong with our food culture.

The other is about artificial coloring in food, from the perspective of one mom. The Spoonfed blog is fantastic and really shows how it can be a struggle to kick off our society's bad habits with food. She's the Militant Food Mommy of which I speak, but the milder version I wouldn't mind being. The advocate, not the crazed-letter writer. I can hang with advocacy.