The Rules

I have set five simple few rules to guide me along this journey; after all, the notion of "healthy" eating can be very vague.

1. No meat, no dairy, no eggs. This is an easy one; Aunt Karen eschewed meat, dairy, and eggs in accordance with macrobiotic principles -- but I became vegan about three and a half years ago, so I can handle this without blinking an eye.
2. No sugar. Most sweetening should come from fruit; stevia, maple syrup, and agave nectar are allowed judiciously.
3. Only local produce. We have been getting fruits and vegetables from a CSA for the past four summers, so most of our produce comes from there anyway; any supplemental produce will come from the weekly farmers' market or from a farm stand.
4. No processed foods. There is a limited list of foods that we'll allow ourselves to buy from the grocery store that aren't available at the farmers' market -- but these foods are mostly ingredients rather than finished products. For instance, vital wheat gluten is acceptable but pre-made seitan is not.
5. Limited dining out. It is hard to be sure where food comes from or what it contains when you have not prepared it yourself. This is a limit on restaurants, not on friends' homes; food at a friend's house is always made with love -- the most important ingredient of all. In the last few months of my pregnancy and these first few months of Zelda's life, we have eaten out (or gotten take-out) quite often -- as I lacked the time or the will to cook; for the duration of the summer, we will limit ourselves to two meals out of the house per week.

These rules are mostly guidelines; the idea of this project is not a burden or a punishment. If a rule is not followed exactly to the letter, there is nothing lost. My goal in stating these rules is simply to lay out the game plan, to clarify what exactly it is that I intend to be doing for the next several months. The spirit of my journey is in the feeling I get when I prepare, serve, and eat these meals; the rules are only there as helpful suggestions to aid me in achieving that feeling.