Beauty of Eating-Good food really does cure all

This weeks contribution from my sis Nancy on Clean Eating.....

The biggest change to hit our house since the invention of Tivo is Jodi McGinty, a cross between Heidi Klum and mother nature. She makes her living in other people’s kitchens as a “whole and living foods” chef. It started with a non-specific bundle of ailments. One child had splotchy skin, another wanted to lose weight and have more energy. There were auto-immune rashes, allergies, and sleep complaints. Jodi entered our home like the cavalry coming to the rescue. There were no organic foodie brochures, no flute music, no burning of incense. Delicious smells began to replace the medical grousing in the house.

We learned about new groceries like roasted veggies in ghee (clarified butter) and berries with soaked chia seeds. Her specialty is to turn food into great tasting medicine. She has helped to restore the immune systems of the chronically sick or recovering.

Jodi started with herself. As a child, she was plagued by symptoms of undiagnosed auto-immune rashes and pains. Radical surgeries were advised for her at a young age. Turning her back on the invasive medical community, she successfully explored an herbal and naturopathic course as her personal alternative, almost thirty years ago. Her recipes are unique and she has compiled them in a lengthy e-cookbook, which she shares with clients and updates yearly. She is her own best advertisement with shining hair, bright skin, and bursting with energy. She hasn’t had so much as a cold since she started this journey. “I haven’t been to a doctor in ten years,” says the 54 year old, who looks capable of turning a cartwheel on the front lawn. The “Jodi” waiting list can be as long as five years. She is a sucker for a good story. As a writer, I was able to cut the line by telling one. At first, Jodi did much of the grocery and online shopping and cooking. Gradually, I pitted a few dates, stirred a boiling pot, and became more comfortable with what to do. After a “Jodi” day, our fridge is filled with glass Ball jars of delicious soups, green juices, carrot smoothies, carob desserts, dips and her signature roasted French fries.

Our taste buds re-trained and moved away from the twin sirens of white flour and sugar.  We started to taste the food in the food. There were fewer ingredients in the pantry and the fridge was bursting with fresh things.

My youngest son glanced at his friend who joined us on a Jodi night. “I’m sorry, man. None of this is going to taste like anything you were hoping for.” This son is a walking diary of food allergies and asthma. Both have calmed down remarkably with the clean food. He has started hitting the gym and has also lost 15 pounds since Jodi tied on her apron. Simple Jodi tips: two apples a day to combat acne, and eat an avocado or guacamole each week and your lips won’t chap in winter.

This year, we were ready to see if we could implement the cooking on our own. Although we have “Jodi time” scheduled each month, she has moved on to help the next family in need. With the training wheels off, I recently had a hankering for a Double Whopper with cheese. “What will Jodi think?” my husband asked as the grease was running down my chin. I was disappointed at the flat, cardboard taste of a food that had been a delicacy to me in another life. “She won’t have to,” I told him. It would be a long time before I waited in another fast food line. Clean eating is like learning to speak a new language. Sometimes you slip back into your native tongue and then realize, you are fluent in both, but the new words are being spoken around you and they sound the most like music to your ears.

Guest Blog by Nancy McLoughlin

Check out ..food for thought for recipes from Jodi McGinty's cookbook.