Welcome Food Eaters!

If you know me or have been around my household at any time, you would know that my husband calls me Pumpkin….always has. My family has called me such on occasion as well. So when I decided to start this blog, I decided to go with my nickname…thus Pumpkin’s Pantry was born. (I also love alliterations :)

This is a middle-of-the-road food blog. My husband and I often have discussions over how we mostly see extremes in our American society. This blog will be the opposite of any extreme. I do eat raw, vegan, gluten-free, organic, etc quite frequently…but not all the time. (I do, however, eat casein free all the time because I am allergic to dairy!) Our society is in dire need of healthier eating habits, and this site is hopefully, going to bring you a step closer to what is healthiest for you.

Many times you will hear some health “guru” stating that he/she has found a one-size-fits-all “diet”. (This would be one of those extremes I was talking about!) This person may say, well if you just eat ________ (fill in the blank) then all your health problems will be solved…and they will have perfect examples to show you how their way of eating works for everyone. But then you look at how you are eating now, and how they want you to eat and you think to yourself, “There’s no way I can go to that extreme overnight!”

If you have ever had this experience, then this is a place for you! I want to provide a place that helps people take the next step toward health (because developing a healthy relationship with food is a PROCESS!)…and sometimes those steps in the right direction may be baby steps, but at least you are on your way!

What you can look forward to:
1. Recipe comparisons- as you will see in my first recipe post, I will offer some recipes with alterations and comparisons to their inspirational version (e.g. raw BBQ cabobs compared with homemade BBQ grilled chicken) with side by side nutritional info. I also hope to share ways to take out some of the refined products, add more protein, make your meal one step healthier, etc.
2. Health journey talks- first let me say that I have no degree in nutrition, I just have been on this journey for a while now and would like to share what has helped me and my family along the way...also I want to hear from you. If you have an inspirational food-health story you can let me know and you just might be a guest poster.
3. Reference materials- This blog is not just for my recipes. Often I hope to link up to other sites to spread awareness of all the great talents that are making tasty, healthier recipes out there on the world wide web. I must site a couple blogs here that have been my inspiration for wanting to start my own endeavor in the food blogosphere:
- http://www.blogger.com/www.spunkycoconut.bom
- http://www.blogger.com/www.elenaspantry.com
- http://www.blogger.com/www.nourishingmeals.com
- http://www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com/

A little bit about me:
I used to be a professional baker. Being classically trained in the pastry arts in 2006 at Culinary School of the Rockies, I have worked in the food industry making tasty sweet, gooey, glutenous, starchy morsels for days on end. I have a love for food. I have had too much love for food at times! (can i get a witness?!)... but now I can say I have a healthy relationship with food. I gave up eating wheat products almost a year ago, and I can say that I have not missed it nearly as much as I thought I would. If you told the me from a few years ago that baked all day, took home a cake for dessert from work, fixed a cheesy pasta casserole for dinner..... that she would one day be eating raw/ vegan/ absolutely no sugars (except fruits) and enjoying herself, I think old me would have laughed in your face! My last chocolate croissant was almost two years ago and my last taste of dairy ice cream was many moons ago as well.

My health journey is unique. Just like yours. I want this to be a place where you can begin or continue to find what works just for you!