What I've Learned Being Married to Health Nut.

I'm nervous to say this, but my pre-Hannah life (how dark & dreary it was) consisted of some pretty serious assumptions about organic/health food enthusiasts. Loopy, progressive, obsessed, hippie, a hint of crazy -- all words that pretty easily fit the bill.

But being married to one, and having been awoken to the powerful impact cibarious (I literally looked up that word about 45 seconds before writing it; not positive it even works) consumption can have on my life, I've had the opportunity to see things from a new, 'fresh' (I'm good) perspective. 

I'm no expert (I'm actually still a pretty stubborn, resistant, hard-headed, know-it-all critic about a lot of it), but here are a few of the things I've picked up on.

Note: I'm generally talking about organic, unprocessed foods here (including no gluten, MSG-free, etc.), not "healthy" food as in whole grain Cheerios with 11 essential nutrients as indicated by some emblem on the box. Moving on. 

1. Healthy/organic food can actually be a good financial investment. 

For the past year and a half, I've been on the Dave Ramsey kick, which means we live on the street and scavenge for food.

And also budget, live on less than we make, and other common sense financial tricks. 

Some (my wife) might even think I can go overboard on all this. The number of times the question "Why would we spend 78% more on wheat-free noodles?" has been asked in our home may be greater than three.

In reality, the math can actually be on yours & your budget's side. Super simplistic version: 

healthy food = better health + better mood + higher productivity = return on investment (THAT'S MORE MONEY)

It's early on, and so we haven't seen this principle be brought to ultimate FRUITion (and again!), but I'm seeing some pretty tangible hints. 

2. Healthy food can open the door to a whole new amazing menu of amazing tasting food. 

There was this huge bonus I got in marrying Hannah Banana: she can cook like a goddess (rumor is they're good cooks), and she cares about what she cooks. And because she cares, she loves to experiment with new recipes that won't lead to one of my organs malfunctioning. 

And wowzers. Do my taste buds consistently sing praises. I'd love to post those classic blog photos of great dishes, but to your benefit, I don't have any. So just take my word on this & use your imagination. Chicken noodle soup... fish... stir fry... Ah. Yes. If 'health' food will always taste like this, bring. it. on. 

3. Healthy food can shed some light on intolerances you never thought you had. 

Just recently, Hannah's discovered some issues she has with wheat/gluten, as well as a couple of other food things. Nothing I would call 'serious', but still significant. And a lot of it wasn't even noticeable until she became more conscious about what she was consuming every day.

It's almost like our bodies are dependent upon what we put in them or something. 

And she's not the only one! I've noticed some things about myself I had no clue about before, regarding wheat, sugar, and some other junk. 

I'm willing to bet... if you clean up what you consume and start over, you'll notice some things. 

4. Healthy food can teach you to be resourceful! 

If #1 was more strictly about $$$, this one's about being able to use what you have efficiently. Like making (from scratch) chocolate chip cookies granola stuff (not the trade name) for a weekend trip, or figuring out how to most efficiently allocate food for an event. Or even coordinating meals so nothing in your fridge is put to waste.

Rather than just defaulting to the standard, often expensive means of preparing food or planning for something, when you think about your food, you become resourceful with it. Totally weird. 

5. It... can.... be.... interesting. 

Said it, though not yet proud of it. And I refuse to use the word "fun." But I've found myself intrigued in some of the info Hannah digs up, and might have even Googled the phrase "rise of organic food industry" once or twice. Voluntarily.

Anyone else on a health kick similar to Hannah's (I still can't bring myself to claim it as my own, so for now it's just Hannah's)? Have you picked up on some similar things mentioned here, or completely disagree with everything I said?

Now, off to take some fish oil before bed.

Mopeding through a Minnesota winter.

I'm sitting here with a pounding head, soar throat, and all the disgusting rest of the package. I really wish I could play the innocence card and draw pity... but I don't deserve it.

Why?

I've been riding around in near-freezing weather on a 50cc moped.

Here's my baby. 

This is the first sniffle (ha.) in my plan to ride him as long as snow is off the road. My hope is that my body will develop an immunity to get me through this winter, and my riding habits won't have to be reconsidered. Or worse... eliminated. 

Assuming all goes well, here's my beginner's plan to weather-proof myself and my moped. 

1. 3-inch layer of clothing covering every square inch of my body. 

3 inches may be an exaggeration, but you get it. Snow pants, winter coat, sweatshirt, hat, scarf, I'll need it all. I've experimented with this in pouring rain and cold temps. It worked well! The only problem was water seeping through, which will be less of a problem in the winter. (BECAUSE IT DOESN'T RAIN IN THE WINTER. Usually.)

2. My moped becomes a house pet. 

Our garage is pretty warm, even in the winter, so storing my moped in there overnight will hopefully keep it start-able in the brisk morning.  At work, you can bet I'll try to convince Jacob & Maxx to let me roll in my moped. There are clear advantages to this over a pet. No peeing on the carpet, no obligation to play with it, and it's quiet. There's no good reason to say turn me down on this.

3. If needed, I tuck him in with an electric blanket. 

In the dead of winter, not even a sort-of insulated garage will be able to ward off Jack Frost. I've done my deep web forum research, and very credible anonymous sources say electric blankets work great. Good enough for me. 

4. Chains for his tires. 

Consider these the gloves for his delicate hands. I'm looking into this one. More to come. 

5. Adjust fuel/air ratio screw. 

Yeah, I don't know about that one. Like, anything. Just read it somewhere and it topped the list off @ 5 things.

Need your help: If you've spent a winter mopeding around town and have some helpful tips, I'm looking for a friend. Please share!

Giving this another go.

I think I've tried to 'start' about 9 different blogs throughout the course of about 10 years. None have made it past like... three posts. You know that Einstein quotation? The definition of insanity one? Might be the most accurate description of the relationship between blogging and me. And for some reason, I just haven't had enough. That said, what the heck. I'm just wingin' it again (my specialty).