I WILL NOT Cook.

   This will not escape me. So i must put words to it. It baffles my Mother in Law and Sister In Law to no end that I was That girl. Way back when, almost a decade ago-long before having children. That I would incessantly remind them I was never cooking. And that the man i marry would have to understand i loathe cooking-and only did the minimal to sustain myself. That the man i married would have to fend for himself.

   Loathe

   Then i Had a child. And as he grew i needed to feed him. It was difficult. Suddenly being responsible to feed this human being 3 square meals a day-EVERY day for the rest of his childhood years...ok-well at least till they can poor the cereal and milk them self-right?! Anyway. LOATHE. Hated it. Made angry faces over it in fact. That because I'm the one 'home' this would be my duty. Didn't these men in my house understand?! I HATE COOKING. But it persisted. Them wanting food. Hot. Edible. Me doing the least i could. Persuading Travis to take over a meal here and there.
   I then had my second child. dear Jalynn, when Elijah was just about to turn 2. And it (dinner) was a habit at this point. So it was easy to make the baby-toddler transition this time around. The years have rolled by. Our meal slowly becoming more sophisticated. More healthy, less processed. still hating being the cook but not having a choice otherwise-Im not a parent who would allow such degradation of my kids health just to sustain my laziness in this field. It's been truly hard to figure all this out on my own.
    I also loathe processed foods for the most part-but struggle with the addiction so many of us have to their salty/sweet persuasions...
   I've become more confident over this last year. At the beginning of 2009 i found out i was having my 3rd child.  I was still sort of unhealthy, being a smoker-I quit right away-hopefully for good this time. Its been over a year now since i quit. Being pregnant one more time-something happened inside me. My body recognized I wasn't giving it foods to support the growth of a healthy baby. And it changed my cravings. I finally got the kick to go even healthier than I had ever before. I found myself in the produce department week after week, letting Marlo inside my belly decide what healthy fresh food she wanted to try next, and it blossomed from there into our healthier, more adventurous meals. Packing snacks for the kids lunch's became slightly easier too.

   Now don't go and let this healthy food love post have any affect on you-because i still don't love cooking. But I've grown up, and have stopped fighting it. lol. And I'm not so hesitant to try things out anymore. I can do it. I'm just not enjoying it. You can't make me enjoy the making of the incredible food i provide. You CAN'T! It's incredible because i just rock. And like i said-I don't have choice-i must feed thy family health. I might 'miss' the first time i ever make something, but you can bet it kicks ass the next.