Monday, November 10, 2025

Eating Close to the Earth

There's a firehose on the news, social media and the bookshelves. It's all about the subject of health. I have an old-but-gold friend who has always said, "Just eat food that's close to how God made it." That's exactly what she has always done. Her house is full of fresh produce and fruit, no sugar or processed junk. I'd stop at the gas station and buy Little Debbies or a Chick-Fil-A Ice Dream (with chocolate syrup) on my way home from her house, because, well because I'm an addict. And sugar is delicious. I'd rather eat such things, sugary and chocolaty, than real food. It's an addiction, as bad as alcoholism. I have had bouts of victory interspersed with years of defeat. People always say, "You just need to be moderate. Eat in moderation!" To that I say you must not know me well, because I came from a long line of hedonists and we don't know what moderation means. For some of my people, that might mean smoking themselves to death or pickling their liver. But for me, one bite of sugary devilment, and I'm off to the races. I watched a sweet friend just last week eating an oatmeal cream pie. She ate half, then folded the plastic around it and said she'd eat that later. What planet is she from?! 

So for this body, I have to abstain from both sugar and bread, if I'm going to have health. Apparently, sugar is almost as bad for your liver as vodka (or at least my liver). Don't feel sorry for me. I've had more than my quota. I've been on the straight and narrow for seven weeks and I am already starting to feel better. Maintaining is key, and I'm placing helps all around, along with plenty of prayer.  

While we're on the subject of "natural eating," who knew that cats, in nature, kill and eat other animals? I thought that cat food only came in giant Walmart bags full of nasty kibble made of who-knows-what. I've had cats my whole life of all shapes and sizes. When our dear dog, Sadie, died this year, I thought adding a second cat would help fill that spot. Matilda, our old 17-year-old cat, loved dogs and humans but despised other cats. So it was not fun around here until she and the newby, Jillie the Jabberwocky, learned to at least tolerate one another. Sadly, Matilda died because of an accident caused by her deafness and blindness. I could not bear it (this is a theme) and got another Pixiebob to pair with Jillie. Enter Atticus, a cream-colored bobtailed lynx-point Pixiebob, shy and sweeter than honey. They fell in love pretty quickly and now I have these two zooming all over the house and sleeping together like a pair of fuzzy mittens. I tell Ken all the time that he should be happy, because even though he hates cats, they sure make his wife happy. 

Back to food... these kittens came to me on a raw diet. Raw. That means recently killed and not cooked. It's a whole day of work for me when I make a giant batch of it. I grind up pounds and pounds of chicken thighs, bones and all, and put organ meats, egg yolks, salmon oil and some supplements in it, then dish it out onto waxed paper in patties and freeze it in ziplock bags. When we put old Matilda on it, she was in heaven. Her terrible shedding ground to an almost-halt and the litter box doesn't smell like a sewer anymore. Who would believe that feeding them what God meant for them to eat would make everything better (except the one day every couple of months that I become a blood-covered butcher)? I'm rolling up my sleeves now, about to embark on said deed. 

My sugar cravings have calmed down, I'm starting to breathe a little better, the cats are salivating, the laundry is done, and Thanksgiving is coming soon. Putting up the tree this week, Lord willing, and thinking about what I'm thankful for. I was mobbed by a pile of grandkids last night at church and thought, wow, everybody told me this would be great. And it is.  

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