I’m back!
I originally started this blog in 2017 under the name Plant Powered Pea and used it to share everything I was learning about the whole food plant based diet. It became dormant after various other things dominated my time - a cross-country move, homeschooling during the pandemic, going in to business with my brother, being more involved in my aging father’s care and the day to day of life of my growing family.
Although the blog was dormant my interest in this way of eating has been wide awake. I finally completed the Rouxbe Professional Plant Based Cooking Course a few weeks ago. It was supposed to a six month course but in a show of slow determination it actually took me over 80. The main thing is that I got there in the end and I now have even more knowledge about how to make plants yummy.
After moving to Colorado, I was given the honor of contributing a plant based recipe to our neighborhood magazine Niwot Country Living. I loved doing this and felt genuinely bereft when the publication folded.
My father was widowed 2022 and in the aftermath of my stepmother’s passing he came to live with us for a while. He brought his carer with him so I had two extra mouths to feed and other tastebuds to consider. During his stay, I took a less militant approach to cooking because of this. We cooked more animal protein and because of his rampant sweet tooth, there were so. many. treats. in the house - candy, cakes, ice cream - which were almost impossible to resist “sharing”, especially for my children!
After he left I cleaned up the pantry and we went back more or less to how it had been before. My flexible approach to eating outside of the home has remained the same - if someone is serving cake I’ll eat it, if we’re in a restaurant known for it’s amazing roast chicken, I’ll try it. But I still consider my kitchen to be 98% whole food plant based - losing that 2% for the snacks I buy for my kids to take to school.
My husband was diagnosed with stage 3c colon cancer early last year. This was a bolt from the blue because he has no family history felt perfectly health at the time and was not experiencing any of the symptoms that we associate with this cancer - blood, changes in bowel habits, nothing. He had been putting off his colonoscopy but finally went after being laid off, knowing that his health insurance would change. DO NOT PUT OFF YOUR COLONOSCOPY!
His diagnosis was an enormous shock but I was/am so grateful and glad that I had the knowledge, both academically and in the kitchen to give him the very best chance of recovery. After surgery and six months of aggressive chemo, I’m pleased to share that he is currently in remission and I am more determined than ever to ensure that my entire family eats as well as we can - for health and enjoyment.
I’m still learning! A few weeks ago, I enrolled in a certification course at the Food Coach Academy with the aim of fulfilling my dream of becoming a food coach and helping more people find their path to better health. This felt like a good time to get back to blogging and prepare for that.
Through the magic of internet archiving I was able to find an imprint of plantpoweredpea.blog and copy what they had saved section by section into this new site.
I changed the blog name to Better Through Food because I because I wanted it to be less about me and more about helping people. Better diet, better health. Better is a good word because it can meet everyone where they are and doesn’t have any kind of size or destination. A tiny weeny little step in the right direction is always better.
I’m discovering information, techniques, ingredients all the time and that is what I love. I am constantly adding to my arsenal of ‘good things to share’. Whether you are running triathlons, are interested in doing what you can to prevent lifestyle diseases, or have even been diagnosed with one, I hope that there will be something here to inspire you to try something new.
Something healthy and delicious.
