Epiphany: It's really quite simple.

I am the master of over-thinking. There are many times that I approach a simple situation and in what seems like a second, I have made this minute issue seem life changing. Some may blame this on gender cliches but, in the last few weeks especially, I have come to the conclusion that I am a rare case. Not to worry, I am consistent! You can always count on me to dissect the issue, consider how it affects those surrounding the issue and how their response will in turn, affect me.

Food. Yes, however basic, actually does affect everything. Huh, interesting... It affects me, not only on the inside but the outside. Years and years of nutritional fads have taught us that there are certain 'danger' foods. Yes, we know that sugar can be used to get that caffeine boost, but then also results in a drop and lets not forget that it, sometimes more than not, is stored as fat. So, what's so ground-breaking? Well, I'm just going to tell you right now. I'm not promising to turn your world upside down. All I know is that something has 'clicked' with me and for the first time in my life, I am addressing the manditory issue of food with a different angle.

It isn't about what isn't in the food that you eat, it's actually all about what 'is'.

It's not about eating food that is low in calories or high in fiber. The issue is that we are complex beings, created out of the dust of the earth. Eating aspartame, high-fructose corn syrup and hormones only mess with the system that makes us who we are. Food dictates everything. It affects moods, energy... and my biggest 'bad food identifier', skin.

I spent about a year of my life as a vegetarian. I had decided to cut out meats to make me more aware of what I do put in my mouth. Though I don't regret this wonderful learning experience, I am realizing now that I was barely scratching the surface of a much deeper issue. I was focusing on avoiding meat rather than what I was replacing it with. Yes, I was healthy. I love vegetables so thats never really been an issue. However, I would eat meat substitute products such as store bought veggie-burgers. Yes, they are made of vegetables. However, they are highly processed and, at least the kind I frequented, had many additives to make this "burger" taste more like a... well, burger.

Today, I got out a box of crackers. This particular box had been given to me and though I didn't love them, I had been eating said crackers because they were "healthy". They were low-fat and thus concluded, that I would decide they were good. Today, I realized that though they were supposed to be a grainy cracker. Nothing about them tasted like whole grains. Yes, they were a hugh of brown so one could equate brown with grains, but why oh why was I identifying the color brown with cardboard? Nothing about them tasted like what it said it was on the box. I couldn't recognize about half of the contents below the nutrition information and thus realized that up until this point, I had essentially talked myself into thinking these crackers were good based on what wasn't in them. So, instead of eating a little extra fat, I was eating more chemicals than could be found in a high school chemistry lab.

It's simple. Eat what you know.

I've never been good at science... so I'll just avoid the chemicals.

Apple, anyone?