Not crunchy, chewy

I'm a bit of an anomaly. In the social circle I joined after becoming a mom, I learned a few things. Breastfeeding is considered "crunchy," as are cloth diapering and baby wearing. All three of these I did, so as a result, I identified much more with the granola moms than with more mainstream or conventional moms. In this mom journey, we learn. We learn how to parent and we learn about ourselves. Sometimes that means taking sides and being on top of hot button topics and sometimes that means just trying to stay above water.

So here we were, crunchy moms of suburbia. Honestly, at first, I didn't even know what the terms "crunchy" and "granola" meant, but I figured it out. Turns out, many if these crunchy individuals also are pretty passionate about health and nutrition too. Now, here, I could definitely get on board, as nutrition has long been a passion of mine. Now granted, my main focus has always been nutrition for our furry friends, but there is a decent amount of crossover - though not all standards hold true. 

Fresh fruits and veggies, you know, so you
know I'm legit.

Through my fellow crunchy moms I learned about all kinds of mysterious things like kombucha and quinoa, phytates and lacto-fermentation. And that's when I feel my education really started to pick up again and my passion for nutrition developed a new spark. You see, I was a science major in college, so I am a fan of science. And granted, while many things change as we discover more about this world of ours, the internet has made available a veritable Pandora's box of information. We all sludge through what we can, trying to find the truth, which often sends us down a rabbit hole never to return. Other times, it merely acts as confirmation. Ok, let's be honest, no matter your original stance, you can almost assuredly find someone or something to back it up, hence the danger. But I digress. Regardless, my exploration of nutrition started expanding more than it had before.

Ok, so, what does all this mean and why on earth am I rambling on in a blog. Well, you see, I have decided on a set standard for the nutrition for my family (ok, maybe a soft standard). As guided and challenged by my fellow foodie compatriots (you know crunchy people with a passion for food), I've climbed over many, many hurdles to land where I am now and I'm still growing/changing. It has involved a lot of research - if you acknowledge at least a few scientific sources available on the internet, challenging ideas I've heard, learning new things, strengthening my cooking skills, and trying to keep a level head when faced with claims that pretty much everything is going to kill you. So, along those lines through various discussions about the latest food concerns and fads and swapping recipes and kitchen secrets, it has been suggested that I share some of what I do in my kitchen. So, here it is, Chewy Granola (the anomaly) - where I hold to ideals of home cooking from scratch and trying to part with processed foods but refuse to give up my zebra cakes and frozen pizza (because ironically, I hate cooking, so fast dinners when I'm slacking are a must). I'm a little granola, but not enough to be the crunchy kind.