Savoring Some “Me” Time

I’m leisurely sipping on a glass of red wine, taking my dear, sweet time. In fact, there is nothing and no one petitioning for my time or energy ay the moment, and so I am actually sipping my second glass of red wine. It doesn’t matter that I’m not in the least bit hungry, because I’ve been sampling incredible cheeses all day long, I am greatly anticipating this meal.

Conversation drifts from the impossible choices presented on the menu before us, to the exquisite assortment of cheeses we’ve been savoring all day from certified master cheese makers, to the why and the how of what has brought each of us to this table.

Nothing is off-limits. I may order what I want; free to try something completely new and creative. I choose the warm duck confit salad, to begin. When it arrives I know at first glance that I have ordered well.

Put An Egg On It

The salad features a generous amount of duck confit, which is the leg of a duck, salt cured and cooked in its own fat. Brilliant, really.

Before me sits a beautiful presentation of haricots verts (french green beans), frisée (a type of chicory herb, resembling a gorgeous “frizzy” lettuce), tomato, bacon lardons, crispy potato, and topped with a poached egg. In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong when you order a dish boasting of both duck confit and a poached egg!

Following my salad I enjoyed some beautifully-cooked seared scallops atop a cauliflower puree, served with chorizo, roasted pepper, and a green olive ragoût.

What Brought Me To This Table?

I am dining at Sardine, and this meal concludes the first day of a 2-day, all inclusive, all expenses paid, tour of Milwaukee and Madison area creameries and cheese factories, as well as the opportunity to dine at some fantastic locally-sourced restaurants (read more about that here).

I keep coming back to that one bewildering question:  how in tarnation did I end up at this table?!

Most of the food bloggers around this table landed a seat here by writing. They eat, they cook, they take photos, they write, and they are good at it! Recognized for their talent and the audience they reach, MKEFoodies and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board organized this tour in order to get the word out about Wisconsin’s extraordinary dairy industry.

Yes, I eat, cook, photograph, and write as well. And I like to think I’m good at it. But the path I took to this table looks a little bit different. Fascination with food brought every one of us here. Unlike my fellow food enthusiasts, though, fear was my origin.

Moving From Fear To Fascination

In fact years ago, as I waded my way through a life of anorexia, I would never imagine myself sitting down to this meal. The very thought of it would have evoked a great sense of dread. I mean really, duck cooked in its own fat?!? During that time I was greatly appalled and terrified by anything with fat in it, unless it was a label claiming something to be “fat-free”.

And so how did I get here? By the grace of God.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

I can look back and see clearly the path God used to bring me to this point, but where am I going from here? During my two days on the 2013 Wisconsin Cheese Tour, this is the question I was asking myself. Those I shared the tour with spoke of their hopes and dreams for their writing. Every blogger wants to be heard; most want to make money doing so. Coming into this tour, I assumed that’s what I wanted as well.

Why Do I Write A Food Blog?

Yet with every conversation a conundrum began to build. For those in a position like mine as a stay at home mom, blogging presents a great opportunity to work from home. Writers can share their opinions and be paid, by way of advertising, to do so. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet as we talked strategy, something felt eerily wrong within me.

On the way home from the tour, Grayson helped me to pinpoint what was bothering me.  Just as my pathway to food blogging differed  from the norm, so does my goal for where this thing is going.

My goal is not to turn this into a profession, but a ministry. If we ever make money from it, that will just be a bonus on the side. I began this blog as a means to keep my family moving forward in eating well. It has been the story of our journey. God has done a great work in my family over the past year and a half, and my dream for this blog is to see Him do a great work in the lives and health of more families.

I Want To Inspire and Help Families Live Life To The Fullest

My greatest ambition is to inspire families by sharing our story; to show them that it really is worth it to eat well, and show them how it can be done simply, afforadbly, and deliciously.

God desires us to live an abundant life. John 10:10 says, “…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Eating whole foods is just one way we can do this. When we eat the whole foods that God created for us to eat, we can truly thrive in our health and be far better equipped to live life to the fullest, and serve God in a greater capacity.

Too many are held back by less than ideal health; crippled by chronic diseases, fatigue, intolerance to specific foods, lack of focus, and the like. I believe all of these things can be healed, or greatly improved, by eating good foods.

I say this not to point fingers at anyone. I myself have a chronic disease, after all. But with God’s grace and help, I feel better than I have since I was diagnosed 9 years ago, and only since we’ve ditched processed foods and began eating a diet rich in whole, nutritious foods.

May My Blog Never Promote Myself, But Always Glorify God

As a blogger, I want my voice to be heard, or rather my words to be read, just like the next blogger, but my purpose is distinct. I hope our story of completely redirecting our health through whole foods can inspire more families to give it a try.

On that note, please share my family’s story, and get the word out. Grayson made a deal with me this week, when I hit 100 subscribers (I currently have 30), he will pay for someone to transfer my blog over to a self-hosted WordPress site, which means my blog will be much more targeted by Google searches, and traffic to my blog will greatly increase. This means that our story can reach more people.

How You Can Help!

Help us out with our goal and get the word out! Subscribe to my blog under my profile photo on right-hand menu.

This week I also set up the From Famine To Foodie Facebook page! Be sure to “like” it and help spread the word!

You can read the full story here of how God turned my fear of food into a great fascination with how He has created wholesome food to benefit our bodies.

Since the very beginning of my food blogging days, I’ve offered up this prayer, and today it remains the same:  may my blog never promote myself, but always glorify God. May this instrument be His for however He desires to use it. He has completely turned around the health, and therefore the future, of my family. If nothing else, that’s enough for me.