“How Did We Get Here?” by Claire

Wasn’t it super fun to hear from Adam?! I already am excited for his next post in this series. He is so sweet.

Anyways… My turn.

Unless you are really new to Bloom you know a bit about my background. I was born in downtown Chicago. I grew up in a upper middle class, suburban neighborhood on the North West side of Columbus, Ohio in a silly-large house on a golf course.  I loved shopping, being with my friends, and if the thought of a farmer happened to cross my mind I was either reading a story book or a history book.

The more I think about answering the question of “How did we get here?” that Adam and I posed to one another recently, the more I realize that it’s really not as crazy as I had originally thought.  

There were two very different elements in both of our lives that made starting a garden, and growing beyond the garden, a perfect storm.

While Adam learned to enjoy planting seeds and making things grow with his mom’s help, my mom was helping shape an important piece of my life.

Growing up was a running joke that my mom was “green” before “green” was cool. And, it was often expressed to me by snack-hungry friends that my house had “weird” food.

My sister recently posted this Buzzfeed roundup and it was pretty much my life as a child.

Sugary cereal, Lunch-able’s, Gushers, and Wonder Bread did not exist in my house.  Chips were rare.  So were trips to fast food restaurants.

Instead, for snacks, we had blue corn chips and air popped popcorn.  Our sandwich bread was dark brown, the crust was always on and sometimes it was even covered in unrecognizable seeds.  And, nearly every meal we ate was made from scratch.

Out of curiosity, I recently asked my mom why she did this.  Today, a mom can find so much (Maybe even too much…) about the benefits of real, whole foods thanks to the blogosphere.  But, it was the nineties.  Were there articles in the magazines my mom used to receive like “Family Fun” and “Better Home and Gardens” blasting processed foods?  

Her answer kind of surprised me.  

I thought it was because she wanted us to be healthy.  And, yes, she did know the food she was serving us had to be more healthy than fast, processed food, but her main reason behind it was because it was cheaper.

I was confused.  How did it get drilled into my head that scratch made, wholesome meals and real food snacks were better for me?

Then it clicked.  I had learned this one on my own.

Like most kids who leave the nest, I immediately started trying new things.

I had Taco Bell for the first time at eighteen.

Cheetos became my study snack of choice nights before accounting exams.

The first time I had a Little Debbie Ho-Ho or Zebra Cake I was freshman and it was kind of a “Where have you been my whole life?” moment.

It was a known “thing” in college that I was the Diet Coke Queen.  My day was not complete without a stop at the college town’s Discount Den where I could get a 32 ounce Styrofoam cup full of carbonated goodness for a whopping 55 cents.

I was even guilty of housing a jar of icing or a tube of cookie dough in my mini fridge just for snacking… raw.  And/or scooped up with pretzels/potato chips/Oreos/my fingers… whatever.  

Ohhhkay… you can stop judging me now.  

(And, for the record, there were two considerable heartbreaks in my first two years of college… so I get a pass for the cookie dough thing.)

Shockingly, by the fall of junior year, I not only had gained twenty pounds but I just didn’t look good.

It was never too bad, but I had breakouts.  

I didn’t sleep well and just always looked tired.  I felt it too.

I would get occasional headaches and I would pick up colds easily.

And after years and years of life guarding, I struggled through the 500 yard swim when it came time to renew my certification.

Over Thanksgiving Break my parents could tell something was up and suggested that I take vitamins.

I had never taken a vitamin.  I barely took cold medicine or pain relief for cramps. I didn’t want to have to take a vitamin. I didn’t want to have to take something man made to make me feel better.

Then it was like I had a break through moment: I had been eating man made foods that made me feel absolutely awful with no problem.

Uh… Lightbulb…!

Getting back to a more natural diet started slowly. I replaced the Cheetos with nuts or veggies with hummus and made an effort not eat after nine… Which, by the way, is SUPER hard to do in college.

After my summer in California where I cooked from scratch often and worked alongside growers creating a small farmer’s market, I came back for senior year with new energy and just felt so much better in general… and about myself.

People noticed, too.

Guy friends were actually more apt to comment on how much more fit I looked.  I can remember one night, just as classes began, I was talking with a great guy, who had been a friend all through college, and he complimented me saying that I looked great, but pressed and asked what had I been doing.

I was kind of stumped for a minute. I wasn’t practicing some hip, uber-intense workout routine or following some trendy diet. So, I thought for a second and simply replied, “I just started taking better care of myself.”

That conscientious decision to just simply “take better care of myself” lead me to my first apartment where scratch made meals with Adam were the norm. To ditching the Diet Coke for good, even when working for the brand. To being excited about local growers and the idea of having my own garden.

That decision to make an effort to do the most and best I can for myself, combined with Adam’s love of growing food, has lead us to where we are today.

So, where are we? Adam will tell you this Sunday!