October 1, 2019
Down to Earth Momma – it starts with you…
Today I was asked what Down To Earth Momma was, and I gave one of my first introductions to say it has the goal of helping people to transition to a 100% plant-based diet and lifestyle.
It was a great moment because I got to see how simply overwhelming and ‘big’ such a move can seem. The first thing that comes to mind can be the enormity of change in such a fundamental part of our lives – our food. Because it isn’t just what we put on our plates that changes. WE have to change with it.
Firstly, what we are used to eating is really a big part of our lives. It comes with our culture, our upbringing, our experiences, our celebrations, family gatherings, our partners, our children, socialising, our favourites, our comfort, our habits, our memories, our know-how, and so much more. It punctuates our day from the moment we get up until the moment we go to sleep again, and sometimes a little bit in between.
Let’s just say tomorrow is the day I have decided to become 100% plant fruitarian. I’ve decided I’m only going to eat plants and fruit. Nothing else. What’s for breakfast? Do I know what I can eat? How about an omelette – yeesh, eggs. I’ll make some porridge, but what to do to make it nice and creamy with no milk? Toast, yep, but there is milk in the vegetable margarine. I’ll grab some fruit then, but I’m starving by 10 am. Sigh. I can’t even enjoy my coffee, I just love my latte’s a certain way. I hate the taste of soymilk. What am I going to do about lunch? I’ll go a salad wrap, hope that fills me up for a while. I have no idea what I’m going to have for dinner. This is all a bit hard, isn’t it? Day 1. How on Earth am I going to get to Day 2 and make this a natural part of my life, for the rest of my life? And why is it that this choice doesn’t seem to fit very neatly into the world I live in?
For each of us, there is so much involved in our daily habits and way of doing things that a drastic change to becoming 100% plant fruitarian can seem just way too extreme to handle. It doesn’t matter even if we’ve decided we love animals and don’t want to be harmful to them. Or want to be more sustainable. Or be more healthy. The effort getting from where we are, to living with ease embracing a new way of sustaining ourselves, can just seem too hard.
That is where Down to Earth Momma comes in. There are plenty of excellent resources online – films, Facebook groups, YouTube videos, blogs. They are available to everyone to help in the process of adopting a 100% plant-based diet. For some people, these resources are working well. But for many becoming a 100% plant fruitarian feels like trying on that new dress or suit that just doesn’t fit and having to wear it until it does. It’s just really hard to feel so uncomfortable all the time, having to overcome one obstacle after another.
Down To Earth Momma is there to guide you one step at a time through those obstacles. To make it a change you do from the inside out. So you can get through the challenges with as much ease as possible. And yes, one day you are going to wake up and be a plant-fruitarian and it is just who you are, what you do. Not about constantly feeling like you have to choose it. It will be a part of the very fabric of your being. Plain and simple.
We’ll go through all the practicalities – exploring your relationship with food, creating the room you need for change – psychologically, emotionally and physically – educating you on food choices, teaching you nutrition 101, what to eat, how to change your kitchen and pantry, what to keep, what to let go of, motivating you, helping you get your life organised to embrace the change. Helping you deal with social situations, eating out, family life – living in a world that hasn’t yet caught up. You are, after all, one of the trailblazers. Sure, plenty have gone before you. But in being change, you become part of a bigger movement for it. You make it easier for others that want to walk in your footsteps.
You get to BE the change you want to see in the world. Yes, YOU. That’s where it all starts. With one, making the choice, so others can follow.
Definitions
: ‘Down To Earth’ – no illusions, or pretentions; practical and realistic; reasonable and friendly; straight-forward and simple.
: ‘Momma’ – she is always there for me; when I fall she is there to pick me up. She backs me up and helps me. But most important she loves me.