Getting Back To Basics

We have tried to go back to natural living, as much as we can in a modern society. We avoid food with artificial ingredients, try to wear natural fiber, and limit our use of disposable plastics. It's a system that is far from perfect, but we have to take small steps.

This way of thinking might have started around the time we got into re-enacting. When we were building our impression, we looked in antique stores and anywhere else for things we could use in camp. They had to be made out of wood, iron, ceramic, or something else that would have been available in the 1860s. Then we extended that search to include our decorating in the house, and it eventually led to cooking 'period-correct' food. So out went the margarine and in came the butter.

Things progressed to the point where we started reading books and online articles about natural and organic foods, and how many of the health problems Americans face that are caused by a diet high in calories and low in nutrition. Then we thought, "Maybe the hippies of the 60s and other counter-culture people were onto something." But rather than wear beads and sandals, we started our own little revolution at home.

It's not been easy to do. Throwing out any food in our pantry that had high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or hydrogenated oils meant that half our food stores went away like that. We had to replace them with more expensive foods that don't keep as long with no preservatives. We really started to feel for lower-income families that buy the cheap food because it's cheap, since that's what we had to do for years. Even after we settled more comfortably into the middle class, we still look for bargains, of course. Now, this is not a bad thing, unless you're trading your health to save a few dollars, because the negative effects of the poor-quality food are far more expensive down the road.

We know that not everybody is going to change with us. Either they can't, or they just don't want to. So we have backed off on our preaching to families, friends, and co-workers. If we can't change the whole world at once, we can start with us. Rather than try to convert everyone, we just want to inform people and let them make up their own minds. That's really how changes start, anyway.