Allie's Changing Kitchen

Well - hello there, Blog.  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  Three days shy of a month is pretty long.

I could say that I was embarrassed to write because, well, it was the holidays...and we all know how the holidays go with eating.  I could say that I've been busy.  I could say that I've been sick.  I could say that I just haven't been cooking.  Or motivated.  Or have had the time or patience to do the 'right' kind of grocery shopping.

I won't settle on any of these excuses.  I just haven't been here.  For reasons that do involve some of the above, I took a month break.  I'm back in, though.  I'm making the grocery lists as we speak.  I'm perusing the two Clean Eating magazines that I have here with me.  I'm checking out my new Clean Start cook book.  I've got my "cooking plans" book out for lists, my journal out for listing the names and locations of recipes.  I've got my Flavor Thesaurus out.

Thanks to the lovely people in my life, I really can start the new year off in a great way. I have resources for recipes.  I have resources for getting organized and getting motivated.  I EVEN have grocery money to boot! Who cares if New Year's Resolutions do not start on January 1st.  A resolution just gives you the opportunity to kick your butt in gear.  If you can put that pressure or motivation upon yourself at any other point, why not just start when you're ready?

The great thing that's written in the front of my new Clean Start book (courtesy of Jessica!) is that "...you don't have to do it all at once".  It's all about changing something.  Cutting out one processed food item.  Or cutting out sugar.  Or buying one new kind of vegetable during each grocery order.  Think of whatever start you (or I), as an individual, can make - and just do it!  Now, I feel as though I've already done my BIG "start".  The gun has gone off.  I've cut all of my "bad" things out.  Now it's about being organized.  It's about getting back on track.  It's about more freshness.  More greens.  More local.  More chatting with other foodies (in the healthy sense, not the Julia Childs butter-crazed sense).

It's a stormy day here.  Groceries will happen on whatever day the snow goes away.  For now, blogging again and that's a start.  So I here I go. I'm back.  Hope I didn't lose you.

Happy New Start!