Being Healthy by Shopping at Whole Paycheck...I Mean Whole Foods

Wow, so I've been blogging about Leahness for a little over a year now. Tonight is the River Parade for San Antonio's Fiesta and I remember blogging about it last year, which seems like just yesterday. I work directly on the Riverwalk, so the building is kind enough to give the tenants and their families free reign of the back lawn for front row seats! I just got back from Whole Foods where I spent a little more than sanity should allow on our picnic dinner. At the risk of this blog sounding like a Whole Foods commercial, I never EVER feel the slightest bit guilty about spending money there. I know that whatever I buy there lives up to the company's strict standards of just what their name connotes, WHOLE foods. Which is a perfect segway into my topic for today.

Ever since Leahness has been diagnosed with Epilepsy, I have been going above and beyond when it comes to feeding her a balanced, healthy diet. I did what I could before the seizures began. If she'd miss a few servings of veggies, I didn't really think anything of it. As conscious parents, we all feel a bit guilty for not following the all so mighty food pyramid at all times I'm sure. I can't be the only parent who thinks, "Man, she had a banana and some gold fish for lunch! I'm a bad mother!" ~ can I?

Now I not only concentrate harder on getting in all of her nutritional needs, I try to buy organic whenever possible. It hit me hard when at her last yearly Pediatric appointment, her VERY mainstream doctor informed me that she will NOT be giving her the recommended vaccines because of her seizure disorder. She let me know what papers to get and turn into the school. She felt it was too much for her system. I agreed of course, but it confirmed my feeling that too many chemicals were going into my poor kids body. I found it deep in my being to buy organic and have tried to stick to it. It costs only a fraction more and is worth the power it holds to keep my only charge (my one and only child) that much more healthy. I sometimes leave Whole Foods with a kindof deer-in-the-headlights look on my face, but it almost always subsides when I get home and start unpacking my treasures. I can tell you that an organic strawberry (Leahness' favorite) does taste infinitely better when you took the time to drive 20 more minutes and spend a dollar or so more! The cost is minimal compared to having an 8 month seizure free kiddo on my hands! Whether the food I'm being more mindful of feeding her or whether her neurons decided to cooperate, I feel like I'm doing everything I can to help her health improve.