Part of the Club

So, there is apparently this entire subculture of "crunchy" living out there.  You never REALLY know who belongs until you quietly mumble something like "I make my own laundry detergent."  People you've known for years begin quietly admitting similar non-mainstream lifestyle habits: I don't use shampoo.  I make my own deoderant.  We only eat grass fed beef.  We drink r*w milk.  We don't use antibiotics.  

There is a club...and the only requirement is to do SOMETHING non-mainstream and you're suddenly part of it, even if you don't know the other members or other "crunchy" habits.  Those outside of the club are doubters, eye-rollers, skeptics.

Oh, how I used to be one of those people.  Now I'm one of "THOSE" people.  Well, I'm not officially one of "THOSE" people yet, but I'm slipping and sliding down the slope so quickly that I will, quite honestly, find myself fully entrenched before I realize what has happened. 

It all started with a visit to Luke's doctor in March.  He had strep throat and infected ezcema.  I casually asked for a referral to an allergist because there is SOMETHING wrong with my sweet boy.  If I could pinpoint the moment of change, it was that visit to his pediatrician that started the conversations of alternative treatments and diets for Luke.  (Not with his ped...with friends, etc.)   We saw the allergist at the beginning of May (diagnosis: food allergies to peanut butter, fish, and wheat; environmental allergies to all trees; asthma; and ezcema) and he suggested slathering Luke up with Crisco to clear up his ezcema.  Um...okay.  I bought crisco.  We moved.  I started a 20 minute medicine regiment every night before bed. Something didn't feel right.

Back to the $300 cream on the infected ezcema.  Pumping my 2 year old full of steroids and allergy meds didn't feel right.  Something has to give...we've got to make some changes.

(Are you sliding and slipping with me?) This is where I went over the cliff from fluffy to crunchy.

On May 27, I cut out most processed foods from our diet.  All wheat.  All grain.  All potatoes.  My poor kids are still asking for cereal for breakfast.  We went paleo.  I do still include raw and organic dairy. 

We are using essential oils to treat Luke's environmental allergies. 

We are shopping at the local farmer's market. 

This is our journey from fluffy living to crunchy living.  What are we eating?  What are we doing?  How is it working?  What is the result?  How is it going?