How Blogging is Changing What We Eat

This evening my daughter and I made gingerbread cookies together.

Since my husband and I, along with one of my sons, don't eat wheat, I decided to try to make them gluten-free. I searched Pinterest and was led to a variety of blogs that shared their version of a gluten-free gingerbread cookies. I could even read the comments to find out how the recipe worked for other people who tried it, and I could hear the stories of the people who made them.

While the cookies didn't really turn out-yet (edible, but really dry…) the fact that I was trying to make them at all, made me think about the ways that blogging has been changing our food culture.

Ten years ago, I was experiencing a bunch of health issues that didn't seem to have any solutions in the realm of traditional medicine. I finally gave in and went to see an MD that was also a naturopath.

The first thing she did was to put me on an extremely limited diet that basically cut out everything I ever ate.

And. It. Was. Hard.

I had no idea what to eat, and I felt like I was completely alone in the process.

"I don't know what to eat! All I ever ate was pasta!" I complained to my doc.

                                                                           "You can still have pasta. Get rice pasta."

"But I can't have tomatoes!! I have no idea what else to put on pasta!!"

And I didn't. I didn't know what to eat, what to cook, or how to cook it. I didn't know anyone who didn't just eat what they wanted (unless they were on a diet where they were just cutting out calories or fat…)

I started experimenting. I started cooking. I started trying foods I had never even thought of trying before (Salmon! Sweet Potatoes!) I started liking foods that I never thought I would (Salmon! Sweet Potatoes!)

But, through it all, I was pretty much wading through the waters alone.

Fast forward 10 years and blogging has completely changed the landscape. There are thousands of blogs dedicated to special diets. Not only can you find recipes, tips, and advice, but you can find and connect with other people who are going through the same things that you are.

Not only that, but now, instead of having a doctor tell me that I need to change my diet, or explain how to do it, or convince me of why, I read blog posts that make me reconsider how and what I'm eating. I'm challenged, in a good way. I can make informed choices about what I eat and what I feed my children without really even having to try. I interact, I read, I follow. It's fun. It's empowering.

As social media expands, information is spread at lightning speed and, when it comes to food, I think that this is a very good thing!

We can now see that not everyone eats the way our family, or circle of friends, or even, our community eats.

We are introduced to foods we have never heard of. We see real people eating and cooking things that are completely outside of our comfort zones. The first time we see it- it seems exotic, the second time- interesting, the third time- we're curious… and without even realizing it, we are suddenly buying and cooking foods that we never would have imagined. We are introducing our kids to foods that have never even graced our own plates.

We can now see that changing eating habits is possible. We can hear stories over and over again, from many different people about how a change in diet can change your life. Can change your child's life.

Yes, I think this is a good thing. I think that things are changing. I think that bloggers are going to change the world one post at a time :)

Want to see what other people are eating this December? Want to expand your food horizon? Join me in the Instagram #31daysofyum challenge!