Swimming in Flax Seed

With the advent of this lovely inherited *thanks Grams* gluten intolerance, I have begun to get in touch with my earthy side, aka earth muffin, hippie, tree hugger, radical.
Years ago, probably 25, I used to think my dear sister Orly was not off her rocker, but maybe tilting close to the edge. First, she began this off the wall practice of shopping for organic items. This was simply not done in our small town. Then before you knew it she started visiting a witch doctor, aka Health Food Store. She would bring home the strangest things like raw sugar, honey, and whole wheat flour. She began sprinkling wheat germ on her muffins, she bought "natural" yogurt and flavored her own. These were strange times at her kitchen counter. Everything that we'd grown up with was bleached, processed, and pasteurized. The whole thing had an eerie feel to it. What were the long-term consequences of eating this stuff? Granted, in the beginning, she didn't quite have the feel for how to manipulate recipes and ingredients and some of the stuff, to my delight, was just downright yucky!
Who would have thought, looking back, that she was about 10-15 years ahead of her time. Had we purchased Whole Foods, or Nature's Grocers shares back then, we'd be swimming in flax seed all the way to the bank!
A little late, but I finally began to care about what I put in my body - and how the packaging, processing, and product affects the environment. My cupboard is now full of 11 different flours, three kinds of raw honey, raw sugars, natural flavors, organic spices, and a conglomerate of healthy snacks. My favorite are the beet chips.
I do feel healthier now then when I used to eat Big Mac's (minus the meat patties) two or three at a time, downed with Diet Coke and salty fries. Much like Orly felt back then, I would like to convert the few remaining souls who still eat $1.19 mass produced white bread. I want to show them the multi grain benefits of healthier offerings. I want to show them that cola's have no nutritional value at all.
I've thought of opening a restaurant many times. I would love to have a little cafe similar to one I've visited in Breckenridge and Gunnison. It would have healthy offerings, and most importantly, it could provide tasteful dishes without gluten, processed, or bleached foods. I don't think the restaurant will ever happen, so I'll just continue to create receipes for friends and family.
I wish I would've listened to Orly back then and not feared the unknown. I did learn one of the important lessons we all need to tackle though. Traditions are meant to be improved upon. I guess I'll listen to my sister more when I see her next. I could've been swimming in flax seed.