Lime chili fried clams with ramen noodle salad

As a child of the 1980s, I grew up eating a lot of things no one should consume on a regular basis. I lived on microwave TV dinners, Totino’s pizzas, potato chips, and lots of instant ramen noodles — and my health suffered because of it. My weight was a constant struggle, I had chronic headaches, acne and more fatigue than a teenager should, and I never understood why. I honestly thought my body was just different than other people’s having absolutely no clue the processed foods I was consuming caused such a negative effect on my body.

It wasn’t until I was in my late teens when my weight really became a huge struggle that I decided to try a new diet, where I only ate foods I picked from my mother’s garden. I vividly remember that first week of only consuming cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, leaf lettuce and adding grilled chicken breasts for protein. I began shedding weight immediately, but aside from the obvious physical change, I felt amazing. My headaches were gone, my fatigue was gone, my skin looked better, my overall mood improved, and I truly felt better than I felt in my life. It was at this moment when I made it my mission to learn about real foods and what effect they have on our bodies.