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.