Why blog about food?

This is me and my 5-month-old daughter.

This is me at my baby shower a little over 5 months ago, two weeks before having her.

Yeah, I know...

I gained 45 pounds while I was pregnant, above and beyond the recommended 25-35 for a healthy pregnancy. And I can't use the standard-issue excuse: "I just blew up, you know how it is...I don't know what happened!" Because I do know what happened. I won't go into detail, but my pregnancy was highly stressful. And to make a long story short, I was a fast food addict. I lived on meatball subs from Subway (or should I say "meat"ball?), boxed macaroni and cheese, Pizza Hut, and Chipotle.

And, as is the case for any addict, my habit was costing me an absolute fortune. One meal at Chipotle--burrito, chips, and a drink--runs almost $10. After delivery charges, ordering pizza can cost almost 20 bucks. Not only was I blowing away all my extra money on food, by the sixth month, I was lethargic, cranky...and fat. I left the hospital weighing 150 pounds, up from my normal 115-120 pre-pregnancy. The first time I looked in the mirror, my only word was "yikes." For the next two months, I tried diet fads. I refused to eat carbs and lived for a few weeks on hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and protein shakes.

Gross.

And--surprise, surprise--I barely lost any weight. By Christmas I still weighed nearly 140, making my "diet" seem hardly worth it. I threw my hands in the air and accepted that I'd probably look like this forever.

Instead, two things happened over Christmas. First, my mom got me a membership to the local YMCA as a gift. I had always loved to run in college (it's great for clearing your head and coming up with new ideas), so I started running 3 miles a day at first, eventually building up to 4 or 5. Then my mother-in-law gave me a low-calorie cookbook.

I had never cooked before in my life and assumed that if I did, I'd suck at it. In fact, the only meal I knew how to make was spaghetti, which consists of boiling noodles, browning ground beef, and pouring canned sauce over it. But since none of my ridiculous diets were working, I decided to at least give it a try. All you have to do is follow the directions, right?

To make another long story short, I've since lost all the weight and kicked my unhealthy eating habits. Instead of buying all my food at an overpriced drive-thru joint, I cook at home as often as possible. I'm no longer on a "diet," but I do enjoy making healthy meals for my husband and me, and sometimes our friends and family. On the rare occasion I eat out, I try to choose wisely. I wanted to start a food blog for anyone who's interested in doing the same. Enjoy!