Revolutionary Eating- its not for sissies

Since I am writing this not so much for those who have mastered the art of revolutionary eating, but for those who are just bellying up to the bar like myself, I think its important to talk about the challenges inherent in this endeavor.

One of the challenges I have been writing a lot about is that of being blinded by branding- just see yesterday's post. Recently on facebook I posted- well hell, I will post it here, too- that awful behind the scenes look at the making of McDonald's chicken mcnuggets. Here, this is what I posted-

Its terrible, awful, nasty and BAD. There is nothing right about this. And its a staple for moms in a hurry to give to their kids. I've done it a thousand times, when my kids were younger. So I posted this on facebook, and someone said, "Yeah, but they sure are yummy!" Its exactly that sort of cavalier attitude, unconscious slavery to our tastebuds and unwillingness to question deeply that will destroy humankind. That's why its so important that there is an antidote, and that is why I call it 'revolutionary eating'.

So that is not only a brand issue- its McDonalds! What could possibly scream America more than McDonalds? But a taste bud issue. And that is a whole diabolical affair, the issue of our tastebuds. We don't train them, we haven't mastered them- they have mastered us. When it comes to eating, the tastebuds are like...like when we say a man thinks with his you know what. Our tastebuds dominate our good senses and we reach for the thing we simply want to taste at that moment.

I was at work yesterday, and we hadn't gotten in our food delivery, so the only thing that was appealing to me in the cupboards was my stash of Kraft Deluxe mac and cheese. This has been a lunchtime staple for me for so long, its a running joke in my workplace. Everyone laughs about my predilection for mac and cheese, and everyone knows not to touch those boxes when they see them on the shelf. I kid you not, its really like that. So, I was hungry. And there was a part of me that would have felt so satisfied by my mac and cheese, you have no idea. Its so easy! So fast! So yummy! But some other part of me said "No effing way. I'm not gonna eat that crap."

I am not used to listening to that part of myself. I would even go so far as to say that this part of myself didn't exist prior to a couple of months ago. Its like my body simply refused to partake, and it was louder and more insistent than my tastebuds.

So I ended up eating a peanut butter sandwich instead. Maybe not much better- it was JIF peanut butter, and I know that is on the no-no list, but its also on my short list of things I can't give up yet. Yet. Still, it was progress.

Today I went to work with a Tupperware of organic zucchini from the local farmer's market that I had marinated in garlic, cilantro, olive oil and lime juice. And I threw them in the skillet and cooked them up for lunch. The housekeeper, my dear friend Glendis, looked almost frightened. "Ashley, what is this? Dios Mio! What are you doing? This is not your food!" She said, eyes wide in shock. She knows. Its not a small thing. Its not only how I have identified myself but how others identify me- people would shake their heads at the way I would eat- and I thought it was cute!!! I really did.

The zucchini didn't satisfy me in the same way a big bowl of gooey fake cheese and macaroni product would have- its weird to not eat a processed, chemically enhanced flavor which is telling me its delicious- but my body was happy with it, and that's a new sensation and hasn't been categorized in my brain as satisfaction yet. Weird, right?  It is causing a new relationship with everything- because I am the type to find deeper hidden meanings in everything. For example- this scenario causes me to wonder in what other areas have I accepted, ne'- embraced with absolute vigor, a substitution? In what other areas have I allowed myself to be told what to like, what to think, what my preferences should be, and I followed along without questioning- and yet still felt like it was my very own idea? How many times have I smugly said- "I like what I like," as if that was answer enough? How do I really know what I like, when it comes right down to it, if I don't stop and ask myself why, who, what, how?

It just goes back to a concept I write a lot about in my other blog about recovery and spirituality-howlinghive.blogspot.com- I want to de-program myself, unlearn what I have learned, re-train myself in ways that are more in keeping with my core truth and values. That means I have to get to my core self, and that is a whole other story. I couldn't adopt revolutionary eating if I had not been examining my life already- I would have been too defensive, too stuck, too proud, too attached- it would have threatened too much and required too much to change so why even start? In short, I don't want to be a robot, programmed by every commercial jingle from my childhood, lulled into comfort by brands from my childhood.

I am ready for something completely different, in all areas of my life. For those of you that are new to this, you know how radical this can be. I feel you. This is NO BULLSHIT. But at the end of the day- you win. You win and the corporate foodfucks with their GMOs and toxic chemicals and hormones and false promises don't win. Sure, they may win in the grand scope of things, maybe- but they won't win YOU. That's why its revolutionary. You refuse to be a slave, a robot, a zombie. So do it, even if it is just baby steps. If you do, it will change your future, and if enough of us do it, it will change the future of the planet. Revolutionary eating is radical, and its the antidote to rampant apathetic zombification that is so obviously pandemic these days. Its not for sissies!!