Local Voices: If Mama Ain't Healthy, Ain't Nobody Healthy

Prologue:  The other day I asked a good friend of mine if she had ever tried giving her kids whole-wheat tortillas instead of the white flour ones she used. Her exact response—“Yeah, but my kids think they’re being punished!”

I love my friend dearly and happen to know that she is a mom very concerned with feeding her children healthy foods, but at that moment I felt two things:

1. Embarrassment. An image of my kids being chained in a dungeon while I, with cackling glee, force-fed them healthy, chewy, nutty tortillas came to my mind. I don’t even want to know what she would have said if I suggested the sprouted grain tortillas that my kids actually eat!
2. Sadness. It made me sad that her kids (and probably the vast majority of kids) could only find enjoyment from the glutenous, nutrient-less (my word), fat-filled tortillas that probably cost the manufacturers less than a penny each to make. Don’t get me wrong. My children would gladly eat the white flour-tortilla quesadilla offered at most restaurants, and sometimes do, but they actually do eat and find enjoyment from the meals I make with the healthier alternative. 

This was a defining moment for me. I share my family’s journey to a clean, healthful diet with many people, and I have definitely learned the difference between what most would consider "healthy." It's true that many health-filled foods would be considered, um, challenging to say the least. I wondered if people who didn’t know me would have an image of me as a “tree-hugger,” someone who didn’t shave her legs and wore Birkenstocks year-round. While there is nothing wrong with either one of those things (I prefer shaving), and most people who do know me know that I can usually be found in at least three-inch heels!

Can moms who wear lip gloss and high-heels feed their kids sprouted-wheat tortillas, or was I going to have to throw away my razors, and, goodness-forbid, start wearing open-toed sandals that revealed the 5 foot 4 inches shorty I really am?

I felt like I didn’t know exactly where I fit in. While stereotypes often start with a grain of truth, they are limiting and shortsighted. Perhaps it was the “tree-huggers,” who began the movement toward organic, pure foods, but I believe that through education this movement has grown as the increased demand for these food segments indicates. People from all walks of life are finding joy in organic super-foods. But where are they? I guess I could sit in front of Mother’s Market with a sign that said, “Looking for high-heeled moms who eat sprouted-wheat tortillas,” but my kids would be even more mortified than they usually are!

So, when I received a kind e-mail from a woman named Dotty, inspired by the work we were doing with Savannah’s Organic Ranch and wanting to talk to me more about spreading the message of healthful eating, my own shortsighted stereotyping kicked in. The only two women named Dotty I have ever known were both well over 70 now. While this may have been a little before Woodstock, I thought I must be engaging with a sweet, older lady. When we actually spoke on the phone, her southern twang threw me off a bit, sounding much younger than I thought. Out of curiosity, I looked her up on Facebook, and was surprised to find a stunning, statuesque and much, much younger than 70-year-old blonde staring at me. So much for stereotypes! 

When we finally connected on the phone, Dotty told me she had heard of our organization through someone or something (the six degrees of separation between us and so many amazing people is a whole other blog) and wanted to talk to me about her own organization and what they were trying to achieve because our goals were so similar. Dotty started an organization called “Moms In Charge,” and her motto (which sounds so dang cute in her Southern accent, by the way) is, “If Mama ain’t healthy, ain’t nobody healthy!” Essentially, she began a group for moms who want to find a community of like-minded women hoping to raise their children with a super healthy diet and lifestyle. Because the mission of Savannah’s Organic Ranch is to educate children on this very thing, there is a natural synergy between our groups. Moms In Charge is not a non-profit, and membership is paid, but I was definitely intrigued, so I decided to attend a meeting. It didn’t hurt that it was being held down at the beautiful Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.

As I walked into the meeting room that first day and looked around, I felt like I was right where I needed to be.  The women in that room ranged in appearance from tall, short, perfect make-up, no make-up, high-heels, sneakers (maybe even Birkenstocks), but inside, we were so incredibly similar! We were all hoping to learn ways to use nutrition to maximize our own health and introduce super healthy, delicious foods to our families. We spoke the same language…literally. In that first meeting we talked about quinoa and acai, and were even treated to banana crepes with cashew cream filling prepared by a raw foods chef.  (Side note: I was actually able to recreate this dish at home, and my daughter’s exact words were, “this is the best breakfast I’ve ever had!”)

We shared stories of why we were on this journey of health with our families, the challenges we faced, and ideas on how to overcome them. By the end of the meeting, I knew that I was going to become a card-carrying member! I realized that there is a place for each of us on our own journeys of health, however far we’ve gone, and however much further we hope to go. The good news is there are others out there at that very same place, and resources available to inspire and encourage us to take the next step. My hope is that our efforts at Savannah’s Organic Ranch will encourage and educate many children to see healthy foods in a whole new light, but sometimes, I need that encouragement as well. As we were walking out of the room I gave Dotty a hug and at that moment I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I had just met my Scarecrow, my first ally as I travel down the Yellow Brick Road toward the elusive Emerald City of Vibrant Health. One day, one meal, one step at a time. 

Epilogue:  Remember my girlfriend with the whole-grain-tortilla-resistant kids? Well, all of them attended a cooking class for kids sponsored by Moms In Charge, and loved it, and mom might actually even join. Isn’t that cool?

For more information on Moms In Charge, go to momsincharge.com, or visit them on Facebook.