In recent years I've found that getting back to basics is often the answer to many questions or quandaries I may have. For me, enlightenment came around 2005 and has become even more a universal truth in the last couple of years.

In 2005, I was in the midst of fighting a very painful battle with my body. I had been following all the latest research on the best foods to eat, and like many women, obsessed with keeping my weight low. However, I had no idea I was fighting a losing battle. You see, the very things that I was doing were making me more and more sick by the day. What I didn't understand is that my genetics were playing a game of Russian roulet, and I was losing. Long story short, I found out that I had a rare genetic disorder called porphyria - hereditary coproporphyria to be exact. The prognosis could be positive as long as I ate enough carbohydrates everyday and kept away from drugs and chemicals that would make me sick.

After trying to figure out what foods made me feel the best, I realized that I was doing it all wrong. Instead of following the latest trendy food, I should instead be following the same boring diet that doctors told us about years ago. Not exciting or trendy, but it was a choice that was easy. Change my ways, or bear the painful consequences.

Once I realized this, I dusted off my gardening books, and got to work rebuilding my health. I knew how to grow a garden. It was something that I learned when I was just six years old. It started with a single radish seed.

Once this epiphany came to me, I went about rebuilding by going back to basics instead of worrying about the latest trendy food. And although not everyone else was into my new trend, I was on my way to a healthier me.

That was a few years ago. So now that less is more due to the economy, I'm way ahead of the curve. And my garden this season is ahead of schedule. I'm in a new house, and new garden space. But I'm still planting some of the same things, including radishes.