Have I Learned Nothing?!?

Just when I think I'm making some good progress on learning more about nutrition and eating healthfully, I do something really dumb...

Last week at the 5k, they were giving out these little Bagelful things at the post-race snack table. It's a Kraft product and is basically a bagel stick with a filling inside. I went for the carrots and apple slices and so didn't pick it up, but Jeremy did. He showed it to me and I glanced at the ingredients label. There are about 25 different ingredients in this tiny little thing, most of which you couldn't find in the average kitchen. "Yuck," I thought, and went back to my carrots.

Jeremy evidently thought so too and didn't eat it. Somehow the thing ended up in the fridge. This morning, I had to feed Lauren on the run to daycare and grabbed it, thinking she would like it. Of course, I should have thought at this point, "If I didn't want to eat it, why in the world would I feed it to my daughter?" I was in a rush, though, and wasn't thinking and grabbed what was easy.

Lauren is smarter than me, though, because she took one bite a refused to eat any more. I kept offereing it to her, worried that she wasn't eating, and she kept refusing. Finally, I tried it myself. Awful! It was like mushed-up strawberry Chap-stick in a crappy bagel! No wonder the poor kid didn't want to eat it!

The thing is, a lot of people would have eaten it. A lot of people would have grabbed it on the go, like I did, and would end up eating it because they don't have any other choices available. Heck, a month ago, I might have eaten it and not given it a second thought. It's incredible how little attention we pay to what we put in our bodies!

One interesting thing is that's actually pretty high in fiber and low in calories and fat. Therefore, it would be low in Weight Watchers points. Now, I love and adore Weight Watchers: it helped me change the way I was eating about 5 years ago and lose 40+ pounds. It's a great system and can actually help people learn healthier habits. The one downfall of the system, though, is that a convenience product like the Bagelful is low in points and would perhaps be preferable to something that is healthier, but more points. I know I spent too much tme eating low-fat cheese that was basically oil product in order to save myself points. Now, of course, someone could be eating only whole foods on the plan and do really well, but the convenience foods are just so easy to fall into. Too easy.

I won't be around the next couple of days: I'm running a half marathon in Eugene, Oregon. We'll see if this healthier food for the last months pays off! See you soon!

Mindless Eating

I've been very busy at work these last few days and have been desperate to relax when I get home, so I've been spending a lot of time in front of screens. Television and computer screens, that is. I've been eating in front of them more than I'd like to admit, taking my lunch at my desk as I've been working and eating dinner at home in front of the TV. I've found myself not paying attention at all to what I'm eating, just mindlessly chowing down as I eat.

Through a friend, I found another blog that I'm just loving: Real Food is Good Food. She has wonderful, delicious-looking recipes and gorgeous photos of the process to make it all. I highly recommend it!

Another is Smitten Kitchen. Ditto on the recipes and the photos. I can't wait to find out some of the things I'm finding on these sites! Namely, Homemade Pop-Tarts. I've never wanted a pocket pastry so much in my life!

Our dinner tonight was a Thai Protein Noodle Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find a recipe online, but it had bean sprouts, tofu, rice noodles, avocado, red bell pepper, and a yummy dressing made with peanut butter, ginger, and soy sauce. I can't even tell you how good it was and exactly what I needed to prep for the race this weekend!

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From the Farm to the Table: A Story in Pictures

We picked up our second box of food from Full Circle Farm today - so exciting! I decided to take a bunch of photos to show you the bounty and what I did with it.

It's here!

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Oooh... look at it all!

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Oh crap. Where am I going to put this? Can you tell I just went to Costco?

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There's a little room over here...

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Posed veggies - Those are cremini mushrooms and arugula

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Gorgeous new citrus fruits, tomato, and avocados

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Dinner-making in progress. Note my compost bowl.

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My ever-present chef's helper with a spoon on her head, right before she was banned from the kitchen for not listening. Hiring a new sous-chef if anyone is interested.

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Cooking in progress with my pan already nearly overflowing. Those are roasted golden beets on the right for the salad.

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Finished arugula salad with roasted golden beets and radishes. I made a dijon mustard/caper/maple syrup/olive oil concoction for dressing that was surprisingly good.

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Finished, steaming chili with ground turkey, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, carrots... pretty much as much as I could fit in there.

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So, there it is! A gorgeous, yummy dinner in just under an hour with lots of great organic veggies. The bean and veggie chili was one of the recipes in Food Matters and the salad was my own invention. Delicious!

Food, Inc. Part II

Here are the rest of the note about Food, Inc. There was just so much interesting material in that film! I definitely think it should be required watching for adults and kids!

The biggest predictor of obesity is income level. - As with many other things, this wasn't surprising, but was good to have pointed out. We have to do something about the subsidies paid that make the foods that are so bad for us so cheap and subsidize good, healthy foods and make them readily available.

1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In minorities, the number is 1 in 2. - Wow. Add to this the fact that this generation of children is expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. What are we doing to our kids?

Many of the food processing plants hire illegal workers. The government cracks down on the workers, but never on the companies. - Interesting given the legislation just passed and signed in Arizona.

At the turn of the century, the average farmer could feed 6-8 people. The average American farmer now can feed 126 people.

Monsanto, the chemical company, has patents on genetically-modified corn and soybeans (GMOs). They have a team of investigators that prosecute people that attempt to clean and keep the seeds, calling it patent infringement. Farmers must continue to use Monsanto seed or face losing their crops, since few heirloom, pure seeds exist. - This was something I knew next to nothing about, but am prepared to learn more as I do all my reading. It's incredible the depths to which these huge companies have their fingers in the pie.

70% of foods in supermarkets has some sort of genetically-modified product. - So how do the other 30% manage it? Are they the fruits and vegetables only? Or do those not even count because corn and soy products are used as preservatives and industrial waxes? It's definitely a complex topic.

You'll notice above that I tried to use my photography to make something pretty rather than the slop I ordinarily produce. Hope you like it!

Food, Inc. Part I

I watched Food, Inc. last night. It was shown on PBS and you can still access it on their website here. I found it just incredible to watch and learned so much more about our food and food supply here in the U.S. So much of it was astounding to me and I feel pretty well informed already. So many Americans just have no idea what they're putting into their mouths and the mouths of their children!

Some notes I took and a little commentary:

The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. - This wasn't a surprising fact per se, but hearing it really brought home the seriousness of the Standard American Diet. Why are we messing with what's worked for 10,000 years? Convenience? Taste?

The top 4 beef producers control 80% of the market. - Well, we know where our meat is coming from. Not that that's a good thing.

Many of the chickens “raised” never see sunlight. - This fact, along with the shots of the poor chickens in the poultry house made me sad. My heart just aches for mistreated animals and I wonder what it says about our humanity that we can do this to other creatures.

The chicken has doubled in size in the last 50 years, due to production needs. They go to full size now in 7 weeks. They grow so fast, their internal organs and bones can’t keep up and they can barely walk. - See above.

We eat 200 lbs. of meat per person, per year. - Now that's just gross.

Corn is being fed to cows to fatten them because it’s cheap and abundant, but cows are really grass-eaters. Mutant, more dangerous E. coli is formed by their eating this diet. Normally, grass would keep the E. coli out of their system for the most part. The runoff from our farms is contaminating other products, like spinach. - Now this fact made me nervous. I can make better choices, such as organics or buying from certain companies, but the lax USDA standards and inspections really are scary. I may think I'm making the best decision, but it could have terrible consequences.

The food regulatory agencies have often been led by the former heads of the largest food companies and lobbyists. - Being a history major, this surprises me not at all, but it makes me really sad. Really, really sad. Plus, it makes me wonder about other industries as well.

Kevin’s Law, which would give the USDA the ability to shut down plants with numerous failures of microbial tests, has not been passed in the 6 years it’s been in circulation. The lobbyists keep making sure it’s defeated. The bill is named after Kevin, a 2 ½ year old boy that died of hemorrhagic E. Coli. - See above. Kevin's story just broke my heart, especially since my daughter is not much older than he was when he died. It blows my mind that our government cannot regulate its own industries. Is the tail wagging the dog here or what?

I took so many notes that I'm going to have to finish up for today and give you the rest tomorrow. It was definitely worth my time to watch and I hope you will as well!

I picked up some more books at the library today, so be prepared for much more information! Man, my reading list has grown!

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The other day, I posted a not-so-great photo of the whole oat groats I had for breakfast. Though this is steel-cut oats, I fixed it the same way, with a little flaxseed oil, a tiny bit of milk, chopped almonds and walnuts and golden and regular raisins. This is Lauren's portion, not mine. Clearly, I hope.

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This was tonight's dinner: Walnut and Lentil Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find the recipe, but it has spinach, lentils, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and various oils and spices. Very filling and very good!

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Sneaky, sneaky!

Running has been a large part of my life for the last two years, ever since a friend asked me to join a relay race team. I never thought I'd be a runner, but I find so much enjoyment in pushing myself and doing new things. I also find it very relaxing and a great way to relieve stress. One major reason I'm doing this eating overhaul is to improve my running, and I'm finding that it's working! Ever since I started eating this way, I've been getting faster and feeling so much better while running. Of course, that's not the only cause, but it certainly helps!

Today we were at a 5k race, and they had quite a spread at the finish line: carrots, apple slices, 100% fruit juice, yogurt, water... it was great. And then, there was this cookie. I won't name it, but it has the word 'power' in the title and says it's "naturally flavored." Right. Here's the ingredient list:

Rolled oats
Rice flour
Corn syrup
Maltodextrin
Sugar
Water
Dextrose
Fractionated palm kernel oil
Soybean oil
Fructose
High fructose corn syrup
Nonfat milk
Flax seed
Honey
High maltose corn syrup
Brown sugar
Rice bran
Nonfat yogurt powder (cultured nonfat milk)
Natural flavor (what could that possibly be?
Cinnamon
Salt
Calcium carbonate
Soy lecithin
Titanium dioxide (added for color)
Ferric orthophosphate
Niacinamide
Thiamine mononitrate
Riboflavin

What a list for a 1.76 oz. cookie, huh? Especially one that's supposed to be marketed for atheletes! Notice the bolded words? All EIGHT of those are kinds of sugar! That little cookie has 3 teaspoons in it! It'll give you energy for sure, but then you'll crash and burn in an hour. How sneaky of them to pack the cookie with all that sugar! Most people today picked it up, didn't even think to look at it and just wolfed it down. No more of that for me!

Tonight's dinner was Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. I couldn't find the exact recipe, which I got from Food Matters, but this is close enough. I added just a few sun-dried tomatoes and put in much more broccoli rabe. On the side, we made some green garbanzo beans that we found at Costco. We just put a little olive oil, sea salt, and garlic, and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Totally easy dinner and very yummy!

One Month Ago Today...

... I got a wild hair after seeing Jamie Oliver's TED talk and Food Revolution and embarked on this journey to revolutionize the way we eat. It feels like so long ago and yet not. We've come a long way together!

What hasn't surprised me at all:
-I've been totally grossed out and distressed by many of the things I've read. Reading about this subject is much like watching Hoarders for me: it makes me all twitchy.
-The food is all delicious.
-Lauren won't eat it.
-It does cost more to eat this way.
-I've found it a little difficult to eat out.

What has been surprising:
-How accessible organic food is, especially with all the local CSAs.
-It doesn't cost THAT much more to eat this way.
-I haven't had to spend much more time in food prep.
-How quickly I began thinking about going full vegetarian.
-Just how delicious the food is.
-How willing Jeremy has been to go along with all of this, especially in regards to eating less meat.
-How interesting and enjoyable I find all of this.
-Just how many resources are out there, both in books and on the web.
-Just how good I feel. My running is going great: I've been running faster with much more ease. I haven't been overly tired at all and just feel great all day. I've lost about three pounds without even trying. Anything I've given up has been totally worth it and I don't crave most things any more. I'm ready to keep going!

I have a lot more reading and learning to do, and I hope you'll join me!

Tonight's dinner was absolutely delicious! I made the Pan-Cooked Grated Vegetables and Crispy Fish from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. Somehow, I had a reading comprehension fail and didn't see that I was supposed to grate the vegetables. Instead, I cut them into bite-sized chunks, using sweet potatoes, red-skin potatoes, purple-topped turnips, scallions, and a few left-over mushrooms. I just added more ginger and curry powder and it turned out great. I think the trick for that might have been adding a few golden raisins for that little tast of sweetness. I served the fish (I used tilapia) over the veggies and had some asparagus on the side. It was amazing! I would definitely eat this again. And again and again.

Somewhere Between Eating to Live and Living to Eat

Every Friday night I get together with a couple of girlfriends to hang out and watch TV, usually The Biggest Loser. Sometimes we do dinner, sometimes not, and we usually have some sort of dessert. It's such a nice relaxing time and I look forward to it every week.

I have to admit, though, that I've been nervous about this ever since I started with this eating overhaul. Food to me means relaxation, fun, joy. Restricting food from myself will be miserable, right? Eat to live not live to eat, right?

Not necessarily. I'm finding that I get a lot of joy from eating well and taking good from my body, but I also am getting equal joy from eating food that tastes amazing. I'd say beyond the health benefits of my eating, the taste and the quality of what I'm eating has really soared. It's making eating a much better experience, and I'm finding a passion for food. I've been much more excited about the colors and textures and comingling of flavors on my plate. The nice thing is that I'm eating less, as taking the time to savor the first few bites somehow makes me feel fuller faster. That quality makes all the difference. Plus, I get to cook, which is one of the most relaxing things I know how to do, aside from sleeping. So, I'm trying to find that balance between eating to live and living to eat.

I found this gorgeous blog today and it really sums up what I'm thinking, just the idea that food is not just meant to be consumed. It's meant to be enjoyed, savored.

So, with that in mind, I made a cake for us tonight. I picked it out of the Moosewood cookbook: Presto Chocolate Cake. It's just a simple chocolate cake and I made a blackberry-chocolate glaze for the top. It was dead easy to make and was just the perfect amount of rich and light and sweet. It was delicious, and I savored every bite. Just like it's meant to be, right?

As usual, this photo does not do the cake justice.

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A little bit of an artsier shot, though I had a serving fail.

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Eating well doesn't have to mean restriction and boredom. It can be eating all the things you love that are good for you, while being conscious of the choices you're making. Listening to your body is key. So is chocolate cake every once in a while.

Meat

Makes you want to read it or at least look for pictures, right?

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

I picked up this little "Delicious Living" magazine from a holder outside the local vitamin shop. This month was all about eco-living and eco-eating, so it was perfect for right now. Like Mark Bittman said in Food Matters, "Your personal food policy is more potent that anything else you can do in the realm of climate change, animal welfare, the environment in general, and certainly your own health." That being said, I thought I would share their eco-eating tips:

1. Eat less beef, more plant-based foods.
2. Eat whole foods; limit processed products.
3. Eat locally and seasonally; avoid air-freighted food.
4. For fish, go lower on the food chain (e.g.; mussels and scallops instead of tuna and bass).
5. Eat small-scale local organic.
6. Reduce waste (e.g., compost and buy only what you need).

Nothing we really didn't know, but I think it's a good reminder on this Earth Day. It's a lot like the Food Rules, which I've found helpful for guiding my eating. I don't need a ton of rules, but it helps to have clarity. I really recommend Food Rules for everyone.

Another great read that I'm just getting into is Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman. He had me in the Preface with the quote above, and the first chapter has been great. His general premise has to do with lessening our meat consumption, given the environmental and health impacts of eating too much meat. Some interesting facts:

-Global meat consumption is expected to double within the next 40 years.

-The people in many developed countries, including the U.S., consume 1/2 pound of meat per day. (Ick.)

-We raise 60 billion animals per years for food - 10 animals per person.

-40 calories of fossil fuel are required to produce 1 calorie of beef protein.

For me, the signs are continuing to point towards vegetarianism. Beyond the obvious ethical issues I have with the way animals are raised and killed in this country, I just can't in good conscious contribute even more to the environmental damage that's happening every day in our world (she says with her SUV in the driveway. Ignore that hypocrisy, please!) Never mind the health problems that have come about because of massive meat consumption in this country. Frankly, meat hasn't been tasting that good lately whenever I've had it. I don't think it will be hard to give up. I just have to figure out a way to do that with Jeremy being the meat-lover he is.

I have Food, Inc. on my DVR and I'm planning to watch it this weekend. Be prepared for a rant to ensue!

Carb Week!

No, I don't get to eat lot of them, though that would be fun.

Last night, I read the next week's chapter out of The Great American Detox Diet and found that this week is about carbs. I was actually excited about this, as I don't know much about carbs, besides hearing that they're bad for you and then that they're good for you and then bad for you again.

Basically, carbs aren't the enemy as long as you're eating the right ones. Same with fat, actually. It comes down to refined and unrefined carbs. Unrefined carbs are those that have not been processed down, so it's your whole wheat pastas and flours and brown rice. Your body takes longer to process these, giving you a steady stream of energy throughout the day. This is the opposite from refined carbs, like white flour, pasta and rice. Those go into your system and process much more quickly, giving you a quicker high of energy but then also a faster dip. Unrefined carbs also help you feel fuller longer, so you don't feel tempted to snack.

So what did I go out and eat today? Sushi with white rice. You can't win them all.

I will, however, be working to include more complex carbohydrates in my diet. The tally so far: more water, less sugar, less caffeine, more healthy fats and fewer bad ones, and more unrefined carbs. Check, check, check. I think I can handle this.

Observations from the guinea pig: Three of the six pounds I had gained were already gone this morning. I knew it was mostly water but was still disturbed. I'll be interested to see how long it takes the other to go away.

Tonight's dinner was a Chicken Not-Pie from Food Matters. It was decent. I think I'd need to tweak it a bit. I served it over some whole-wheat pasta, so the whole thing was a little bland. It also had a little too much chicken and I had cut my veggies too big. Live and learn. I definitely will try making it again.

Canaries in the Coal Mine

Ever since seeing it advertised in a magazine, I've been dying to read "Organic Manifesto" by Maria Rodale. The Rodale family has really led the way in researching and promoting organic farming to the general public and this most recent book really dives into the full picture of the effects organic farming can have. There's a great review of the book on a great blog, Civil Eats.

It's interesting to me that there's sort of a micro look at organics and a macro. First, the micro: this entails everything that organics do for us personally. I'll have to read the book to learn more about any studies that have been done, but there have been clear changes to animals because of their proximity to water runoff and other chemical exposure from non-organic farms. The article calls them our "canaries in the coal mine." If high exposure to these chemicals has caused certain frogs to change genders, what is it doing to us? Granted, our exposure levels are not nearly as high given that we're not squatting in the dirt next to the plants themselves, but prolonged exposure to even low levels cannot be a good thing. I'm wishing now that I had had all three of us tested for pesticide levels just to see the change over time. I like being a science experiment, apparently.

One quote that really stood out to me personally is “What is wrong with us? Why do we seem to care so little about our own safety, our own health, and the future of our children?... Why are we willing to pay thousands of dollars for in vitro fertility treatments when we can’t conceive, but not a few extra dollars for the organic food that might help to preserve the reproductive health of our own and future generations?” It's no secret that having Lauren was a struggle for us and now I'm wondering what decisions I've made about what I eat may have affected that. Of course, there's nothing to do about it now and it's not worth feeling bad about it, but I do wonder. So many women I know are suffering from some sort of infertility; could it be because of our pesticide-ridden foods? I'll be interested to learn more.

There's also the macro level to organic farming: the effects it can have on the environment and the economy. Environmentally, the soils are more stable and can produce more over time. It's not adding dangerous chemicals into our water supplies. It uses fewer fossil fuels than non-organic farming. Overall, it's so much better for our planet. In terms of the economy, supporting small farms and CSAs can help the businesses in our area, which benefits everyone. Sure, organic produce is more expensive, but isn't it worth the expense, knowing these things?

I'm definitely convinced that organic is the way to go, and I haven't even read the book! Just wait until I get my hands on a copy and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to. Until then, I'll find little blurbs to slake my thirst for this information.

Finally, a report from the penitent guinea pig. I got up extra early this morning and went to the gym, trying to rid myself of the things I ate and to perhaps perform a little self-flagellation for bad eating. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit, but I am really wanting to get back on the wagon. I just felt so good for the three weeks I ate well and my running performance was great. And then I go and eat things I know aren't good for me and my running performance suffered. Heck, I can't even call it "performance" as I didn't run at all this weekend and yesterday. I just felt too sluggish to do it; all I wanted to do was sit and eat. I think I really understand how people get trapped in our Standard American Diet: it tricks you into doing nothing else! That's why I'm back in the saddle.

One final confession. I weigh myself fairly often, even though I know the experts say not to. It's not that I'm obsessing over what I weigh, but I like to know how what I'm eating or drinking or how much exercise I'm getting affects my body. Anyway, I weighed myself pre-crappy food on Friday and then again this morning and found a 6 pound difference. SIX POUNDS!! Now, I know a great deal of this is water retention due to salt intake, but still. That's only after a weekend of eating badly. No wonder our society is dealing with weight issues. Ick. I'll have to let you know how quickly it comes off now that I'm back on the healthy eating. Canary in the coal mine, indeed.

Not that this is about food per se, but I found an interesting article in the NY Times about exercise and weight loss. Basically, exercise alone does not lead to weight loss, but it can help you maintain a healthy body weight. Lots of interesting information about fat rats "lolling around" in cages.

The article that led me to that one is "Cows on Drugs", also from the NY Times. It's from the former commissioner of the USDA, Donald Kennedy, and is about the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in cows. That isn't just a burger you're eating. Hello antibiotic resistance!

Willpower Zero

I thought my period of indulgence was over as of Sunday night, but apparently not. I've read that having salt and fat can make you crave more salt and fat, and I'm finding that it's definitely true. After eating several bad-for-me things this weekend, I craved more bad things today. I was good for the whole day, until this evening. Until I met my downfall, that is.

Indian food.

I just was really in the mood to have something special, something different for my birthday. I know, I had something different Saturday with that in mind. And again yesterday. But today, my actual birthday needed celebrating. With Indian food, of course.

Back on the wagon first thing in the morning. The penitent guinea pig will be back on the right path after that.

Experiment Failed

Given that this is my pre-birthday weekend, I've indulged a little bit in the good ol' Standard American Diet. Fat, sugar, salt, caffeine... you name it, I've had it. I was feeling a little cocky yesterday, thinking that going back to the old ways hadn't really affected my body.

Not so much today. Last night, I put more nails in the coffin by eating bar food (reasonably healthy bar food, but still) and having beers. Three of them, to be exact. I knew I had to be ready for a long run this morning, but I'm invincible, right?

Ugh. No. I woke up this morning, feeling just gross. Mostly in my stomach, but my head was hurting too. Not fun. I met up with my running partner for our 12-mile run at 8, knowing it wasn't going to work. Luckily, she was understanding and we took a great long walk in the morning sunshine. Not what I needed to do for my training schedule for sure, but it was nice. I've always known that what I eat affects my run, but this was a very specific cause and effect response. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I fell so far off the wagon, but there's nowhere to go but up, right? I have to shape up quick; my first half marathon of the season is only 14 days away!

To get back on track, I made three different meals tonight to eat for the week. I made the Veggie Loaf again, and this time I'm going to freeze it. I also made a quick vegetable soup, using a recipe from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. In addition to onions, tomatoes, carrots and celery, I added broccoli and okra. We'll see how it turns out! I also made the Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan recipe from the same book. I didn't use chicken, though, instead adding zucchini from my Full Circle Farms box. It was very easy to make and really delicious! Even better, it made quite a bit so we have some for lunch tomorrow and even after. I'll be able to go back to the health eating again quite easily.

Tomorrow is a new day on The Great American Detox Diet, so we'll see how it goes. Still drinking water, still moderating caffeine, will be dropping sugar back out after this weekend (ugh) and still trying to eat healthy fats. I'll let you know what I learn tomorrow.

The Science Experiment

I'm almost at three weeks of eating more consciously: looking at labels; eating more whole foods; increasing my fruit and veggie intake; eating organic whenever I can; and at almost two weeks of cutting out sugar. I've been feeling really great in this time; I haven't missed anything, haven't had major cravings for anything specific, and have felt like my energy level is really stable during the day. I've even lost a pound or two. All in all, this has been a great experience.

So, what do I do yesterday and today? Mess with the formula. It's an experiment of sorts, you see. Going to restaurants, parties, and other gatherings is inevitable and I'm going to have to figure out how to eat, right? This weekend so far has presented a couple of these opportunities, so it seemed like a good test. A good test of both my willpower and also of how my body will react when I reintroduce some of the old things.

The result so far:
Willpower = 4/10
Body = 7/10

Yesterday after work, I had drinks with a couple of friends. I chose vodka tonics because I knew no sugar would be added and there's no artificial colors and flavors in there. So, good willpower. 8/10. It is still alcohol, after all. While everyone else shared appetizers, I chose a quesadilla. Mostly whole foods, though the tortillas were very likely white flour. I felt good throughout and was pleased with what I could find. Willpower = 9. I didn't cave and eat the garlic fries.

Here's the interesting part: A couple hours later, I was still a little hungry, so I went to PCC for some sushi. (I ended up getting white rice. Not great, but the rainbow roll looked so good! Willpower = 7) Since I had friends coming other, I got a four-pack of cupcakes (Willpower =3). They're sweetened with florida crystals and have all organic ingredients, so not a horrible choice. They're still cupcakes, though. The interesting part was that a) I opted to only have half, which has never happened in all of my nearly 32 years, and b) it wasn't that good. I mean, it tasted fine and definitely better than most of the store-bought cakes out there, but it's like my taste buds have turned off. I enjoyed the first bite or so, but it really didn't do anything for me. I never thought the day would come when I said that about cupcakes!

Overall, I felt like yesterday went fine. I dipped my toes back into the Standard American Diet and survived, though I did have a headache when I went to sleep.

Today, I went off the deep end into the crappy eating pool. My birthday is Monday and Jeremy wanted to take me somewhere special for lunch. He let me know ahead of time that it was NOT going to be compatible with my diet, so I knew going in. You only turn 32 once, right? Once we arrived, I realized just how not compatible it was going to be: Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It's a new restaurant to the NW, but I've had it when eating with family in the South. You can tell from the name what it was, right? Now, they get credit for having 100% beef, made into patties fresh each day. They also hand-cut their fries each day and fry them in peanut oil, so again, not as bad as it could be. (I recognize that that's like saying Vlad the Impaler was really nice to his mom sometimes, but I've got to make myself feel better about it, okay?) I consumed about what you'd expect and had my first Diet Coke in weeks. Willpower = 0.

Just like the cupcakes, I enjoyed the first few bites but then it wasn't so good. If they could make a three-bite burger and a super-mini fry, I would have been fine. Of course, if companies did that, we wouldn't be in the epidemic we're in today.

But, oh, it gets worse. We had a kids' birthday party this afternoon. Talk about artificial colors and flavors and sugar and... ick. I don't know if there's a technical term for it, but I suffer from Party Guilt. If the hostess has lain out nice spread of food and no one's eating, I feel compelled to eat something. If she went to all the trouble to buy a cake, I'll have a piece. (If she made it, two.) I just don't like people feeling bad at their own party, so I eat, much to my own detriment. Willpower = 0.

Now I can't say the same thing about the cake as I did about the cupcakes and the burger. Store-bought, colored frosting is just gross. I even just got a little bit of the red on my fork and it ruined the whole bite. Of course, Lauren ate the whole thing. And of course, she's now bouncing off the walls of the living room.

I still have dinner and a drink with a friend yet to go, but I'm going to tone it way down. A) I'm not very hungry, B) I have a 12-mile run in the morning, and C) I don't know if my digestive tract can take much more. I feel okay physically, but definitely not as well as I have been. I'll probably have a sugar-fueled crash in about two hours. I'll let you know how it goes.

Call it my own Super Size Me experiment in miniature. I don't know how he did it for 30 days; I'm back on the wagon tomorrow.

Starting the Morning Off Right

Every morning I walk into the kitchen and think, "Dammit! I meant to make some oats last night!" I adore steel-cut oats, but they just take so, so long to cook that I've been wanting to make them in the evenings to have in the morning. Until I get distracted by Lauren or cooking dinner or something shiny and then forget, of course. I've been eating whole wheat toast with a little peanut butter, which is good but no substitute for oats.

Finally, last night I remembered what I wanted to do, so I made another recipe from The Great American Detox Diet: Hearty Morning Oatmeal Porridge. Basically, it's just whole oat groats (pre-steel cutting), simmered for a (really, really) long time in water and a little orange juice with some nutmeg and cinnamon. When it's done, you stir in some maple syrup and top with chopped nuts. I used almonds and walnuts and also added a little flaxseed oil and raisins. It was delicious and kept me full right up until lunch time.

Pre-fixing up. Not very pretty, but delicious!

From Drop Box

Tonight's dinner was awesome. I made the Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. I mean, c'mon, everything is better with bacon, right? It was heavenly, and was certainly enough to eat for dinner. I highly recommend it! Now, what was it I said about maybe going vegetarian?

Once again, my photography talents make the food look much less appealing than it was, but you get the idea!

From Drop Box

I picked up two new cookbooks tonight at the library that I'm excited about. One is an old familiar: Mooosewood Restaurant New Classics. I also got Skinny Bitch in the Kitch which is actually a vegan cookbook. I never would have guessed from the title, but there you go. You can't judge a book by its cover, right? I'll let you know when I try some of the recipes out!

The Box Came!

With more excitement than I have ever had about a box of vegetables, Lauren and I went to our local pick-up spot to get our Full Circle Farm box. We got it home and she pulled her chair up to the counter to stand on so we could open it together. We got strawberries, purple top turnips, red bell pepper, the most delicious-smelling basil, grapefruit and oranges, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini... the list just goes on. I did order a few extra things just to make sure I could make certain recipes, but it was all reasonably priced. Now I have a jam-packed crisper and there are mounds of potatoes and onions on the counter. Love it!

I also made a solo venture to Trader Joe's today and browsed around, looking at their organic selection and their various other products. I was surprised at the range of organic fruits and vegetables they had; I'll be able to supplement what I'm getting in my box quite easily. They also have great breads, canned beans and tomatoes, and other sorts of things that aren't heavily processed. With some careful planning, I'll be able to stick to whole foods and mostly organics pretty easily. My most exciting find of the day was some gummy vitamins for Lauren that don't use artificial colors and flavors. I'd been worried about finding such a thing, but TJ's had them!

Tonight's dinner was a wonderful Milanese Tomato Soup (dead easy to make, from the Detox Diet) and a warm kale and potato salad (ditto). Here's a not-very-good photo of the lovely ladies:

From Drop Box

For dessert, I made a kefir/peach/mango not-very-smoothie. Delicious!

On to Fat Week!

I wrapped up my week of cutting out sugar on Sunday and sat down that night to read up on what's next: caffeine. I honestly wasn't sure what to do about this one, since I don't consume much caffeine. I've stopped drinking pop because of the aspartame. I've stopped eating chocolate. My one last vice is my Earl Grey Tea Lattes in the morning (just tea and milk, no more vanilla syrup), and Earl Grey is black tea which has caffeine. I love my morning drink, though, so I wanted to go without giving it up if at all possible.

So, I decided to conduct a little science observation. On Monday, I drank my tea as normal in the morning and paid extra attention as to how I felt throughout the day. I felt pretty even-keeled all day. None of the ups and downs of caffeine that Alex Jamieson writes about in her book. So, I think I'm going to keep the caffeine in for now. Just the one cup a day, and I'm steeping it less than before. Once I run out of these tea bags, I'll just buy decaf from now on. I'm drinking the tea for the delicious warmth in the morning, not for the jolt.

That means, then, that I'm on to fat week! The gist of the week is to try to eliminate the bad fats and bring in more of the good. I finally learned what hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are and why they're bad for you. Ditto on trans fats. Basically, they're just harder for your body to process and can end up just sitting in your liver, diminishing its function. Never mind it clogging your arteries. The disturbing thing is how much those trans fats are hidden and so how much we're eating them. Ick.

To counteract that, I'm trying to eat more healthy unsaturated fats. Nuts, fish, avocados, and certain cooking oils (especially olive oil) are all good sources of healthy fats, as long as they're eaten in moderation. Did someone just tell me to eat more guacamole?!?! Okay!

And by the way, I'm still cutting out refined sugar and most sweeteners as a whole, and it's going great. I feel really well and am not suffering any cravings. I haven't had chocolate in a week and a half, which is likely the longest I've ever gone in my life. People have been really nice about not offering me treats at work and I've been keeping my hands in my pockets a lot. Besides looking like a weirdo, it's going well. Ditto on the drinking more water. I read somewhere that if you're feeling a little tired in the afternoon to drink more water and take a little walk, and that's really helping!

Finally, I've been following the recipes in The Great American Detox Diet for almost three weeks now, so I'm practically living as a vegetarian, with the exception of a little ground turkey and some fish. You know what? It's really not that bad and actually quite doable. Something to think about...

I'm Pleasantly Surprised

I went to Costco today to stock up on a few things and thought I would take a spin around the store to see if there's anything that I could find that would fit in with this whole whole foods thing. Not likely, right?

Actually, I was wrong. There are a few things at Costco that I could buy, mostly in the fruits and veggies section. They have organic carrots, spinach, salad mix, and apples, which are all staples that I buy reasonably often. I did find a great whole wheat bread there without any nasty stuff that was considerably cheaper as a two pack than buying a single loaves at the store. I was disappointed that none of their frozen fruits and veggies were organic because I know I've seen them there before. We have two Costcos near us, one for businesses, and perhaps that one doesn't carry the organic brand. I'll have to make a trek to big Costco and see. I'll let you know how that comes out.

I've learned some interesting facts lately that have really backed up all of the changes I've been making and are encouraging me to learn more:

-Every pound of waste diverted from a landfill saves 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide. After reading this I immediately started composting all of my kitchen waste, since luckily we can just put it in our yard waste bin.

-1 pound of beef generates the equivalent of 36 pounds of carbon dioxide. First, I'm glad we get all our beef from a family friend in Idaho. I know it doesn't fix things, but it helps. I'm also glad that we're trying to cut back pretty drastically on our meat consumption. I'm thinking red meat once a week is more than enough. And, surprisingly enough, Jeremy seems to be going along with this!

- We lose 2 acres of farmland to development every minute. Reading this hit me like a ton of bricks. As I said before, I'm from a long, long line of farmers and the tie to the land is still in there somewhere deep. We have to support our local farmers and keep small farms running in the United States. I'm so excited to get my box from Full Circle Farm on Wednesday and hope that it helps in some little way.

-Organic farming uses 30%-50% less fossil fuels. Now, I'm a big ol' hypocrite with my medium-sized SUV out in the driveway, but this is important to me. Things like this do add up. Ever since I had a child, I'm understanding this more and more.

Add to that that eating organic keeps pesticides out of your body and out of our water supply, and you have more than enough good reasons to buy organic. I'm going to be reading a book about organic farming by Maria Rodale as soon as it comes from the library, so I know I'll have more information to inundate you with.

Dinner tonight isn't really worth writing about. We just had a turkey enchilada casserole from the Weight Watchers cookbook. It's good, but it's nothing new to us and therefore not that thrilling. I also made great smoothie out of kefir, a banana, some frozen strawberries, and some ice cubes. Well, I thought it was great. Lauren declared it "yucky" and decided to put all of her veggies in it before dumping it out on her plate. Not thrilled with that one, but I'm going to continue to expose her to new things.

Listen up, ladies! Women who eat white bread, rice, pizza and other high-carbohydrate foods are more than twice as likely to suffer heart problems than women that eat fewer of these foods, according to a study recently released. Nothing surprising there, but it helps to see it in print. Also, notice the foods that are listed at the bottom as being good for you: all whole foods, unsurprisingly!

Early Mid-life Crisis?

So this evening, I was standing in the kitchen, hand-making veggie burgers and a roasted veggie and quinoa salad while wearing my running clothes and singing along with some song on Sirius' AltNation. It suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning: I'm a totally changed person in the last couple of years. Heck, the last few weeks have been a massive change. Two years ago, you wouldn't have been able to make me run more than a mile and it would have taken some serious motivation for me to do that (like, being chased with a machete). I definitely wasn't an "alternative" music person; I've always tended more towards to pop music. And this whole cooking with whole foods thing is a total change. I mean, I've always liked cooking and have cooked mostly at home, but really paying attention to labels and using organic produce and cooking with whole grains... very new. I'm a little young for a mid-life crisis (nearly 32) but what else could it be, this total change? I guess it's not so bad as mid-life crises go; it's not like I'm running off with some sleek Spaniard named Alejandro. Not yet, anyway.

Today is day 7 without refined sugar and I think I made it. I had a bite of a cookie that Lauren was eating, but it was from PCC, so I'd suspect it has evaporated cane sugar crystals or the like. Ditto the apple crisp I just had a few bites of. Jeremy really wanted me to have a little bit of a sweet treat and I agreed that was a good idea. That I know was made with florida crystals, which is unrefined. So, I think I made it! Tomorrow is the beginning of the caffeine week of The Great American Detox Diet; I'm not a big caffeine drinker, so we'll see how that goes.

I have a couple of (clickable) photos for you! Tonight's dinner: Veggie Burger patty on whole wheat bread wit dijon mustard and lettuce with Roasted Veggie and Savory Quinoa Salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet:

From 2010-03-25

And from last week, the veggie loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and green salad:

From 2010-03-25

Tomorrow, I'm going to post about why I've chosen to go with organics. Until then, I have a couple of articles for you to read. One is an amusing send up of this whole "Double Down" business by KFC. Seriously, that sandwich is everything that's wrong with our food culture.

The other is about artificial coloring in food, from the perspective of one mom. The Spoonfed blog is fantastic and really shows how it can be a struggle to kick off our society's bad habits with food. She's the Militant Food Mommy of which I speak, but the milder version I wouldn't mind being. The advocate, not the crazed-letter writer. I can hang with advocacy.

Sneaky HFCS!

Day 6 of no refined sugar and I'm still going strong! I managed to make it through the baby shower last night and the bridal shower today without breaking into tears over not being able to have cheesecake or a scone. Actually, it was really quite easy. Tonight was really the first time that I wanted just a little taste of something sweet, so I just defrosted a few raspberries and ate those. I'm really looking forward to being able to do some U-picks this summer and freeze lots and lots of berries. Thank goodness for our extra freezer!

I did have a little bit of HFCS tonight, and it was in the sneakiest of place: the breadcrumbs I used on the chicken! Since I've started reading labels, I've found it all over the place: "maple" syrup, yogurt, granola bars, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, tomato soup... pretty much anything that's sweet these days and some things that aren't! It's amazing that it's going into our food and into our mouths without us being aware. Most people don't even know why it's not good for them, much less take the time to read labels and try to eradicate it from their diet. I've been telling as many people as I can about it, so hopefully they'll tell more people and so on.

(I have many more preachy thoughts, but I also have a throbbing headache, so I'm going to wobble off my soapbox and get into bed.)

Tonight's dinner was an easy Chicken Picatta (from Weight Watchers, esentially just chicken dredged in eggs blended with dijon mustard and then rolled in breadcrumbs, cooked in sherry and lemon juice) and Italian-Style Crispy Cauliflower. The cauliflower recipe is from The Great American Detox Diet and it was delicious! The flavors all worked really well together and it was easy to cook. Another winner from that book!

Another Test Passed

Today was my fifth day without refined sugars; still going strong on that. Today's test was that I was going out to lunch with some coworkers and didn't have a choice of restaurant. I was pretty nervous about being able to find whole foods and to avoid sugars. Luckily, they chose a Mexican restaurant, so it was pretty simple. I had a fish burrito that had chunks of fish mixed in with beans, rice, lettuce, and tomato. They even had a salsa bar where I go pico de gallo, making sure to only get the good bits and not the watery parts, which I was afraid had sugar in it. I really do see my mindset changing and I'm thrilled! Now, if I can make it through the baby shower I have tonight and the bridal shower tomorrow, I'll be golden!

I also ordered my first box of food from Full Circle Farm and I'm psyched! After placing my order today (which I'll get next Wednesday) I was able to review my box contents and make substitutions from a short list. I also was able to look in their "Green Grocer" section and add a few more things to my cart. We're getting turnips, green onions, strawberries, broccoli, and carrots, amongst other things. I'm really excited! I will still have to make a trip to the market to fill out the order, but it's all for non-organic things which is fine. I can see this working pretty well!

I've found myself talking more and more about this to others and am finding that I'm really passionate about it. Now I just have to avoid being Militant Food Mommy. :)

I've Bought the Farm

Okay, not the whole farm, but a share of it. A tiny, tiny share, but it makes a big difference to my family! More about that in a minute.

Day 4 of no refined sugar, and I'm doing really well. I've had temptations all around and have avoided them all. I was out at a school and was offered cookies that I didn't take. I had sushi for lunch and decided not to eat the spicy tuna after seeing HFCS in the spicy sauce (!). I love spicy tuna, so that's huge. At a late meeting, I was offered cookies and other sweets for snacks, and I didn't eat them. I'm figuratively keeping my hands in my pockets, and I'm proud of myself. I've been feeling really good, too. No mid-afternoon sleepies. Now I just have to keep going.

In addition to kicking the sugar and drinking much more water(much, much water), we've been eating all whole foods for the last week. That's going really well. It's all been easy: buying the food and fixing the recipes really hasn't taken me more time. Plus, given that it's all so filling, I'm finding that I'm eating a little less. Tonight I made a gorgeous Corn and Kidney Bean Chili with a Lemon Chickpea salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet) and could barely eat half. It's so good, too!

Back to the farm thing, I've decided to try buying a box of fresh produce from a local farm every two weeks. I was able to get all the produce I needed from our local PCC market, but for quite a high price. Plus, not much of the food was local. Organic is my priority, but I'd like to do what I can to support our local farmers too. After a chat with a friend, I've narrowed it down to two: Full Circle Farm and Klesick Family Farm. Spud.com is an online service from which you can order organic produce as well as other groceries, but not enough of it was local for my taste. I might come back to that, though. I think of my two final choices, I'm going with Full Circle because they actually grow most of their own produce on site and I really like that. I'm going to order my first box this weekend, so we'll see how it goes! I don't get to choose the mix, but can tailor what we eat each week based on what's in the box. Also, because the market is so close, I can also supplement. Another piece is clicking into place!

Jamie Oliver's third "Food Revolution" is available now. He gets the high schoolers involved and it's just heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. A must watch! Just be prepared to cry.

A Token of Hope

As you guys know, I'm enamored of Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution", both as a TV show and as a mission. I am horrified at what we feed our children in our school lunches and at the dinner table; obesity and its related illnesses are a national epidemic and this is a root cause. We have to do something about this.

Today this article was posted on Edutopia: School Lunches Go Back to the Land and it just makes me giddy. Whole foods being served to kids in schools? Kids working on a farm? Recylcling and composting? Love it!

If they can do in Baltimore, why can't we do it here? Or there, wherever you are? We should be doing better for our kids and this gives me much hope.

Holding On

Today was day 2 of eliminating refined sugar and it went pretty well. I had the same breakfast as yesterday, which was nice and filling. For lunch I had leftover halibut and pasta with veggie. For snacks, I had a cheese stick and an apple. For dinner, I had a little tomato soup and some grilled cheese. I know there was some sugar in the soup, but not too much. I avoided the chocolate bunny and the jelly beans in the staff room, so I feel like I'm doing okay. It hasn't been too hard yet, but I have two showers to attend this weekend and that may be a test!

Can't say that I'm not feeling too different yet, though I have notived that I'm not as tired in the afternoon as I have been in the past. This may be because I just came off Spring Break, but maybe not. I'll keep you posted.

A small victory was had with Lauren today. She had a healthy tomato soup with grilled cheese and strawberries for dinner and practically licked the bowl clean. While I'm proud of that, it's not the best part: she hasn't asked for nuggets in several days! Perhaps the addiction is lessening? Now if I could just get her to eat that veggie loaf!

The other small victory? I can't remember the last time we ate red meat as a family. I know we had burgers Monday of last week, so it must be since then that we've either had chicken or just veggies. Not bad for this meat-eating family! I'm trying to get us down to having red meat no more that twice a week and lessening our reliance on chicken.

Don't Pour Some Sugar On Me

Not a moment too soon, just post-Easter, is my week of limiting sugar from The Great American Detox Diet. After how crappy and tired I felt last night after consuming my body weight in attractive pastel candies, I couldn't be more thrilled about this.

In reading the chapter to get ready for the big day, I learned quite a bit about sugar that I didn't know. I mean, I always knew that my body felt sluggish after a large amount of sugar, but learning about the whole process of your body making insulin and then not being able to keep the balance was really interesting. It makes me sad that so many people in the U.S. are keeping themselves on this scary cycle of sugar highs and lows that are just wrecking their bodies. No wonder Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, especially in the younger population! That adult disease isn't just for the over-30 crowd anymore!

I also finally learned why High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is bad for you. I mean, I've always heard that it's bad but didn't know why. Turns out it gets stored directly as fat when it goes into your body, unlike regular sugars that are used as energy first. Also, HFCS doesn't trigger the "I'm full" feeling that we all should have, so it's actually tricking us into eating more of those nasty things. Shun!

I was amazed by how many other names for sugar appear on food labels. No wonder we eat it all the time without knowing! I even noticed that florida crystals aren't even on this list, and I'm sure others are missing. Plus, the artificial sweeteners: aspartame, xylitol, saccahrin...we're awash in empty calories!

So I woke up, all strident and ready to go! I'd already kicked most of the sugary stuff out of the cabinets and was feeling all empowered. Until I realized that I really hadn't thought through breakfast. I usually eat instant oats, but those have artifical sweeteners. The Honey Nut Cheerios are sugary as well. I didn't have time to make steel cut oats. So, after I stood there for a couple of minutes, I decided to make an English muffin with some natural peanut butter. I was thinking the combination of the protein and carbs would get me through the day, and while there is some sugar in the English muffin, I do like them and anyway need to finish the package. Down they went. I even made my morning tea latte without the vanilla syrup and could definitely get used to that in the future.

I took my lunch with me (leftover halibut and pasta with veggies) but Carol the lunch lady had my favorite salad today: Strawberry Spinach. Damn the siren call of that salad! I ended up ordering it, but realized that the dressing probably had sugar in it. There really wasn't any good alternative, so I lessened the impact of the sugar by just dipping my fork into the dressing before each forkful. That worked well and I felt cool.

Dinner was easy (see below) and my book group without knowing my sugarfreeness assembled a delcious dinner that had little to no sugar involved. I did have a pint of beer, which does contain sugars, but overall I avoided refined sugars for the most part today. I think the main thing is changing my mindset that stress = sugar or that sugar = treat. That's going to be the harder work.

Incidentally, I learned that 1 teaspoon of sugar is about 4.2 grams. That's quite a lot when you start looking at the labels! By the end of breakfast, for example, I'd already had a teaspoon and a half, and that was eating something that was reasonably healthy. Just imagine what a Pop Tart would have been!

Tonight for dinner I made a delicious Veggie Loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and a green salad on the side. I was very pleasantly surpised with the Veggie Loaf, which comes from Alex Jamieson's book. It was pretty labor-intensive but enjoyable to make and the flavor was great. Even Jeremy the meat-eater said it was great. Lauren the picky toddler of course refused to eat it, but it's a process, right? The mashed sweet potatoes (with just a bit of flaxseed oil, maple syrup, and chili powder) were divine! I think I could get to liking this.

Oh, and I'm still drinking water. I think I need a bigger bottle at work, as the trips to refill are pretty distracting. At least it's a healthy distraction!

Can't Talk Today...

... feeling too gross and lethargic after way, way, way too many sweets. Going to bed now to read the next chapter in the detox diet: sugar. Fitting, huh? I'll let you know how my first day without goes!

Adventures in Shopping

I feel kind of guilty posting this while my head is feeling all buzzy from the sugary Easter candy I just ate, but it's that time of year, right? Yum, Blue #5! It's funny how I immediately feel different after eating even just a small amount. I think the detox diet's week of weaning off sugar can't come soon enough!

I did do something right today: we had a great dinner. We ate halibut baked with just a little dill and lemon with asparagus and some whole wheat pasta with vegetables that were left over from a previous meal. It was delicious, especially the asparagus. I need to run to the store and get some more! Between that and the leftover chili I had for lunch, it was a good eating day. Minus the Easter candy, of course.

As I said yesterday, I did my first shopping trip with this new mindset and it was quite the experience. I ended up going to three stores and I had Lauren with me. While she was very patient with the whole process, it was difficult to juggle her and the amount of thinking I was having to do. I'm discovering this isn't easy!

Yesterday morning I sat down and planned my meals for about the next 10 days and made a grocery list. Most of the meals come from The Great American Detox Diet and a couple from Weight Watchers. We're eating ground beef twice and chicken and fish once each. Otherwise, we're going pretty veggie! We'll see how it goes, especially for my husband. (I'm putting all of those meals and my shopping lists on the page with that title. Just look at the top of this page.)

So, with the list in hand and toddler "driving" the plastic car attached to my cart, I started my first PCC adventure. I also had my list of foods that I need to find substitutes for (e.g. ketchup) and the list of additives to stay away from. I was juggling quite a bit!

I started in the fruit and vegetables section and immediately got nervous. Everything there is organic, so I didn't have choice in that way. I know there are things that you don't need to buy organic, so I immediately began to worry that I was buying too much organic. But, I also didn't want to go anywhere else, so there wasn't a choice. Add to that that I couldn't find parsnips and I was a bit stymied. I finally got out of that section, though, with everything I needed (except the parsnips) and just a little sticker shock.

I then began to look at cheeses. The prices there were nuts! I could buy regular Tillamook for quite a chunk of change or go fully organic for even more. I reluctantly grabbed the Tillamook, but ended up putting it back later and deciding to buy it at another store.

I went on the frozen fruit section to see what was there. It was all on sale so I bought mangoes and cherries. I already have strawberries and raspberries in the freezer, and the blueberries were just too expensive.

After that, it kind of became a blur. I put in my cart and then ended up deciding to buy enchilada sauce somewhere else, as well as the canned tomatoes. Those just seemed overly pricey and I want to do a little more research before I buy those things organic or otherwise. I did end up buying quinoa (once I found it), chickpeas, cupcakes for Lauren's class, and numerous other things that I thought were a good price. I even found cage-free eggs for a great price and yogurt for a decent price that I'm putting on my list for next time.

Beans, canned tomatoes, cheese, flaxseed oil, whole flaxseeds, the missing parsnips, some delicious peanut butter, ketchup, and organic frozen blueberries ended up coming from either Trader Joe's or Albertson's. I'm hoping to not have to go to three stores next time!

Overall, it turned out well. I bought lots of gorgeous produce and have great meals planned. I ended up spending more than I normally would, but that's to be expected. I'm still learning and will do more research on cheaper ways of buying these things. I'm looking at buying online and having it delivered on a weekly or biweekly basis, so if anyone has ideas, let me know!

Now I'm going to go have even more water to dilute this sugary sludge in my blood.

Food Rules

I had quite the epic adventure today doing my first shopping trip with my new mindset. i also looked through our cabinets and did some straightening and purging. I'll have to tell you more about that tomorrow.

First, I wanted to share some of the things I learned from Michael Pollan's Food Rules in my voracious reading of it yesterday. Food Rules is a short book and quite an easy read: it's his abbreviated version of all that he's learned and compiled over the years. His books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food contain all the science behind these rules.

I want people to read it, I'm not going to give much away, but some things that stuck out to me:
-Rule #22:Eat mostly plants, especially leaves - "In countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half what it is in the United States."
-Rule #21: It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language (e.g. Big Mac)
-Rule #2: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

It's all about what to eat and how to eat, all in simple language. I felt a lot of clarity reading this and will use its principles going forward in my meal planning and consumption. I feel the breakthrough happening!

Still drinking plenty of water! Are you?

The Breakdown and the Breakthrough

Before I get all ranty and rave-y, I need to share what I made for dinner tonight. It's the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili from The Great American Detox Diet and it was delicious! The sweet potato adds just the right counterbalance to the cumin and the lime adds just that little bit of freshness it needed. I served it over brown rice, so it was really filling and I ate less. Between needing a smaller portion size, it also makes a ton so I have food for tomorrow. My meat-loving husband said this vegetarian recipe was a keeper and I found it pretty easy to make. The most time-consuming thing was cooking the rice, but all told it was done in about 50 minutes, even with my toddler "helping." Yay for trying new things!

Now to the ranty and rave-y:

Today was an interesting day. I'm still on Spring Break, so I have the luxury of a little extra time to do some learning about all of this and then some planning and shopping. I decided that today was going to be a learning day, and it really brought me to some interesting places emotionally.

High: I bought a bunch of Easter candy. I love candy, and Easter candy in particular. The pastels get me.
Low: Blue #5? Artificial flavors? What the heck? I thought I was going to do better than this.
High: This is a learning process and I can't change overnight. However, I can take half the candy back tomorrow and enjoy the other half. Everything in moderation, even Blue #5.

High: I found Food Rules by Michael Pollan and Food Matters by Mark Bittman at the bookstore today, so no waiting on the library holds list.
Low: Crap. I have more to read.

High: I felt virtuous sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, learning about healthful things.
Low: Crap. I have a lot to learn. Phytochemicals, antioxidants, and MSG, oh my! I'm making light of it now, but I got a little wound up about this. I'm someone that likes to lay everything on the table, learn as much as I can, and then synthesize it down into something I can read and understand. There's just a lot to learn.

High: Food Rules is really clearly written and totally pragmatic, which I appreciate. He's taken all the science and whittled it down into these "rules." If you want to read the science (which I do), you can read In Defense of Food or The Omnivore's Dilemma, both by him. I learned a ton and read about half the book in just 30 minutes. That's even with writing in the margins.
Low: Crap! What have I been doing all these years? Why have I been putting this junk in my body and feeding it to my kid, whom I love more than life itself? I'm a bad person!!! (This is where I got a little teary at the bistro table. Breakdown time, as much as I could in public.)

High: What's done is done, right? I can't go back, but I can go forward. I'm learning a ton and will put it into practice.
Low: Ain't nothing wrong with that feeling. This was my breakthrough.

It was time to pick Lauren up from daycare, so I went on my merry way. She and I stopped by the grocery store and there were a few highs and lows there too.

High: Lauren loves to shop and she's a good little helper.
Low: It takes forever to do anything with a toddler and add to that that I was having to figure out the organic vs. non-organic thing and how to get the best prices. If I'm going to do this, some streamlining is in order.

High: Lauren knows what a tomato is on sight and said, "Yay, broccoli!" when I was getting her out of the car to go in the store. I didn't even tell her to say that.
Low: None. That just feels good.

High: I felt virtuous when I watched all the nasty nasties roll down the conveyor belt of the patron in front of me. Not that I was judging what she was eating, but it made me feel good in comparison.
Low: I might just be a bad person for that. I'm not sure. I didn't say anything out loud, though.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping. On the blog side, I'm going to share some of the things I'm learning out of Food Rules. In the meantime, I'm also going to update my Goals and Checklists page (see under the banner) because I'm rethinking my approach to this.

Are you still drinking your water? Boy howdy, am I ever! It feels... floaty, but good.