A Postscript and a Resurrection

So I've been away for a while. We had a baby, life got busy... you know how it is.

The baby is interesting, though, from the point of this blog. He's the reason for this postscript (and partially the resurrection, but I'll get to that.) We didn't share much of our journey to have children with people, but suffice it to say that it wasn't an easy journey. It took two years and some medical interventions to have Lauren. When she was six months old, we started trying for another, knowing it may take a while. After about three years and more interventions, we gave up. One day in a gorgeous park in Edmonds, Jeremy and I looked at each other over Lauren's head and just knew we were done. It was the most peaceful and yet gut-wrenching moment of my life.

So how did we get another baby and how in the world does it relate to this blog? Well, after that day in the park, I threw myself into getting in shape and eating right. I hired a trainer and worked out at least three times a week. I ran, lifted weights, stair-mastered, lifted more weights... you get the idea. I also worked hard to eat right. I was still blogging then and even when I stopped, I was still eating well. (We just won't talk about that trip to NC over Christmas, okay?) Anyway, I was doing my best to do everything right. If we couldn't have another baby, I was going to take the time to get in the best health I could.

And then in January, after our trip to NC, I started to feel... odd. After much angst and trying to talk myself out of getting excited, I took a test and found out we were expecting Andrew. There's not a word in the English language that conveys my shock. Happily, he was born healthy nine months later and is a love and joy in our lives.

So, the blog. Now, I'm not implying causation at all, but I can't help but think it's odd? funny? telling? that we tried and tried for six years to have children and had a terrible time. I then spend six to eight months getting myself in the best shape of my life, eating healthy, eating organic, and I suddenly get pregnant? Can I call it a correlation? Something more than just a coincidence? Even if it wasn't, all that working out and healthy eating let me have an easy pregnancy, so I'm thankful for that.

The resurrection part is this: Now that Andrew is six months old and I'm finally getting to sleep more and getting a schedule down, I'm hoping to focus more on our eating. While we haven't been doing badly, I want to refocus and do it right. I still want to work on Lauren's eating (no change there) and now have the added wrinkle of having two kids and much less time. We'll see how I do.

I'll be back tomorrow with the menu for the week!

Seven Days a Week

So, I'll be honest: I struggle with food quite a bit. I don't know where it comes from, and it certainly hasn't always been there, but I have terrible willpower in the face of food. If I'm at a party or buffet or if some food baddie has made it into the house, I just want to eat and eat, totally forgetting about all my beliefs around food. Even simply eating out can be a challenge: I have a tough time saying no to french fries.

Now, to be sure, doing this blogging and thinking more about where my food comes from has helped immensely. Having a set of criteria by which to analyze my food has helped keep my on track, to some extent. Even so, I find it too easy to slip back into old ways of eating absolute junk.

Weekends are the worst for me. During the week, I can be a total paragon of healthy living eating only whole foods and eschewing sugar. I feel so high and mighty on those days, it's really a little embarrassing. Then, the weekend rolls around and I find myself pawing through the cupboards in search of chocolate or taking seconds at the party buffet. It's a little Jekyll and Hyde-ish to tell you the truth.

So, my goal for the next few weeks is to make it a seven-day-a-week goal to eat better. Less sugar and white flour (which I'm already way down on). More water. Continuing the fruits and veggies. Less eating out and definitely less Starbucks. I can do it, I'm sure, and I'll feel much better about myself. My body still looks and feels great, but I need to snap out of the cycle of low willpower-bad eating-lower willpower.

Sorry this got so personal, but this has been a struggle for me lately and I want to surface it. I'm working so hard in the gym and I really want to see the results, and being so Type A, I'd like to get this one area of life under control.

So, if you see me out and I'm reaching for seconds at the buffett, I give you permission to smack the plate out of my hand!

Resurfacing

Things are starting to calm down a bit and I found myself with the urge to blog today, so here I am!

The good news is that since I've been taking my hiatus, I've really been sticking to the principles of healthy eating that I've learned in the last six months. It's really just become part of who I am and how I cook. I'm enjoying eating this way and I definitely feel better!

Several things I've learned in the last few months:

1. That, for all intents and purposes, I'm a pescetarian at heart. I'm barely eating any meat these days and when I do, it's fish nine times out of ten. Part of it is just not desiring meat, part of it is just not being clear on where it comes from.

2. That buying all organic fruits and veggies really isn't any more expensive than buying traditionally grown. I think the main thing is that we're not buying meat, which has shrunk the grocery bill.

3. That I can make a mean stirfry combining pretty much whatever I have on hand.

4. That I don't get tired of eating stirfy.

I haven't lost any weight with this new way of eating, but I always find the summer months difficult with all the barbecues and other events. Plus, even though I've been eating healthier foods, that portion control is still and issue and I have a huge sweet tooth. This is something I'm going to be focusing on in the next few weeks. Just in time for the holidays.

Speaking of which, we're coming up on Halloween and I'm trying to decide what to do about all the candy I know will be around. I'm of two minds about it:

1) It's only once a year, right?
2) Yeah, but only once a year still contains quite a bit of sugar, HFCS, and other things we don't need. Especially my three year old, who has energy in spades.

And not only am I conflicted in this way, but then I have to decide not only what to do for Lauren, but for the candy we hand out to trick-or-treaters. I have to do some thinking on this, but found one convincing article on the Spoonfed blog last week. More on this later.

Hiatus

Not that anyone is waiting with bated breath to see when I'll write next, but I figured it was only fair to go ahead and take an official hiatus. Things are getting crazy with work and I just can't devote the time to blogging that I'd like. I'll continue to read and cook good things, and I might pop in now and again to share things, but for now, blogging is on hold. Thanks for your support, and I'm sure I'll be back before too long!

Veggie Week suits me...

... and so it's turning into Veggie Two-Weeks! Jeremy is out of town again this week, which means that I don't have to worry about making things that he will eat. So, more veggies and whole grains it is!

This week has actually been a breeze. During the week, I just ate the stir-fry and eggplant parmesan leftovers that I had, and I had A LOT! This weekend was a bit of a test, with going out to restaurants twice. I was nervous I wouldn't find something to eat, or that I'd have to settle for something really lame. At the first place, I ate nachos that I had ordered without the chili, which aren't the healthiest, but boy, were they delicious. Today I ordered the Caprese sandwich and had them leave off the chicken and proscuitto. Again, delicious. Actually, both were way more delicious without the meat, I think.

I felt really great this week too, which adds to my enthusiasm about all of it. I just felt clear-headed and clear-stomached, if there is such a thing. I just find meat heavy. The only blockade I ran into was when I way overdid eating the peanut butter cookies Lauren and I made together: I suffered the most epic sugar crash. It really does affect your body badly, especially when you're not used to it! So, no sugar for me this week. As soon as I finish this cookie...

I ran across an article that makes me angry, one about a family farm that's being sold after 378 years. Essentially, the 11th generation of this family can no longer support themselves with this farm due to the proliferation of large factory farms and U-pick-type businesses, and so they are selling their farm that their ancestors have lived on since the 1600s. Instead of subsidizing the large farms that keep pumping out more and more corn (and therefore HFCS), why not support the little guys just trying to make a living? Sadly, the small family farm seems to be a dying art form.

Close Call

I am a stress eater. Whenever I get nervous or overwhelmed, I tend to head to the kitchen, or worse. I tend to eat whatever's closest and usually, the worst for me. I'm also a boredom eater to some extent, but I've managed to keep that in control by not having crappy food around the house. It's the stress eating that really gets me.

This week, we had quite a scare at home. Lauren had a febrile seizure, one triggered by a high fever. I spent Tuesday afternoon with her in the ER after a trip in the ambulance. She's fine, but took a little longer than I would like to come out of it and so the trip to the hospital. Once we got discharged and were headed home, I had a terrible, terrible urge to stop at McDonald's. I was starving and knew I had food at home, but really wanted to have something salty and bad for me. I was literally driving down the street to McD's and I had major second thoughts. I don't need the salt. I don't need the grease. I don't know where the meat came from. I don't need it. I thought all those things and still kept driving. At the last minute, my conscience won out, and I turned around and drove home. I felt good about that; I am making changes!

Veggie Week is going well. I'm enjoying the yummy things I'm eating and just feeling good about sticking with it.

Veggie Week

I'm back, trying to get slowly back on the horse. I'm finding that my interest in the topic isn't waning at all; it's really more that my desire to blog about it has waned. I think I need to cook something pretty and colorful and it'll be all love and excitement again.

Jeremy is out of town this week, so I've decided to go vegetarian while he's gone. I'm not a big meat eater anyway and I have a ton of veggies in the fridge, so I think this will be pretty tasty and easy to do. I'm also trying to stick to eating whole foods. Yesterday, I made a gorgeous stifry with onions, bok choy, purple cabbage, carrots, and celery with tofu that was heavenly. I had that over brown rice. Tomorrow I'm planning on making an Eggplant Parmesan that's really delicious and healthy. So, Veggie Week is starting off well!

One interesting development on the Lauren front: she dug in and ate some of the tofu yesterday as I was prepping it and seemed to really like it. She called it cheese. Of course, once I cooked it, she'd have nothing to do with it, but it was a start!

I've been continuing to read In Defense of Food and have been doing some good learning and thinking. I'll share that later in the week. Baby steps!

Putting my money where my mouth is

Last week I did something I was proud of. The main struggle I've dealt with along this new path is eating out or eating when someone else prepares the food. I'm good at sticking to my resolve when I'm cooking for myself and my family, but when I'm not putting the food on the table, it's pretty much a fail.

I changed that for myself one day last week. I was down in Olympia, working for the state superintendent's office. Each day, lunch was catered. It was delicious, but not always what I would choose for myself. After reading the chapter in Food, Inc. about the treatment of animals at the large factory farms, I was feeling disturbed about my choices with eating meat in my life. Not that I didn't know terrible things were happening to animals in our country, but I just shoved it to the back of my mind. I still do that to some extent even now, but less and less so.

Of course, after reading that, the next day there was flank steak available for lunch. I stood there and stared at it for probably 30 seconds before I chose not to eat it. Without knowing where it came from, I just couldn't do it. Now, that's just one time that I made that choice, but it's a start, right?

Also, the last two times I've bought eggs, I bought those that were organic and cage-free. Terrible things happen to chickens in large farm settings: beaks snipped off so they can't peck each other, living in tiny cages, standing in their own feces... chickens may not be the smartest creatures, but they deserve better than that. From now on, I will be making better choices when I buy eggs and chicken meat. I feel like it's one of those changes that are rather easy to do and is totally the right thing to do. Doing better for the Earth and its creatures (including my family and myself) is what this is all about after all.

Sometimes, it's better to be in the dark

On the heels of my post yesterday about not knowing what you're eating, I thought I'd write a little bit about what I've learned about food safety. This is definitely one of those cases where the more you know, the less you wish you knew.

All of this information comes from a chapter in the Food Inc. book entitled "Food Safety Consequences of Factory Farms" by Food & Water Watch. You can visit their website here. Yet another website that has way too many great resources to delve into!

The chapter starts with the almost obligatory information about the use of antibiotics in factory farm animals and how this is leading to more resistant forms of bacteria. Fortunately, it seems that the FDA is finally listening, as it has released draft guidelines for the reduced use of antibiotics in animals. I have to admit that my faith in the FDA is a little shaky given their track record of less and less oversight of an gargantuan problem of a food industry, but it's a step in the right direction.

They then move on to talk about Mad Cow disease and E. Coli. They're related because of what cows on these farms are being fed: corn and various animal products. Certain animal by-products are allowed in the feed of other cows in order to fatten them up quickly for slaughter. For example, "poultry waste", the material found on the floor of poulty barns can be added to cow feed. Also, cattle blood is allowed in the milk replacer given to calves*. These are risky, potential avenues for Mad Cow transmission, given that it is transmitted by eating the nervous system tissue of another cow. Unlike other food-borne illnesses, Mad Cow can't be cooked out of the food or by otherwise disinfecting the meat.

E. Coli comes into play because of cows eating primarily corn* which is not what their bodies are set up to break down. Both of these issues are especially troubling given the lax oversight by the USDA and reduced testing of animals for these bacteria.

The use of hormones (rBGH) is next. The entire story of the rBGH is still yet to be told, but it seems to have a clear link to certain types of cancers. It also has been linked to the increase of twin births in the U.S. which, while not necessarily a bad thing, makes me wonder what other parts of our reproduction are being tinkered with. Around 22% of all dairy cows in the U.S. are injected with rBGH, with a higher percentage of those in large herds (read: factory farms) receiving the injections. Canada, Australia, Japan, and the EU have all banned the use of rBGH and the FDA here only approved it after a single study done by Monsanto. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse! The Food & Water Watch folks have this rBGH-free guide, written state-by-state so you can see which milk product producers in your area are rBGH-free. I'm going to have to take this list with me to the store, as I didn't see many of the big names in our area on the list. I have a feeling this may be tough to sort out.

*Pardon me if this gets ranty, but why in the world are we messing so with nature? Feeding baby cows formula?! Forcing cows, who are ruminants, to eat corn?! Simply because we can and we feel that we need to in order to grow the already oversized food business? Maybe this is just the mom in me, but the thought that calves are being taken from their moms and fed formula in order to a) fatten them faster for our consumption and b)use the milk produced by their mothers for our consumption makes me very, very sad. I think in pursuit of a faster-producing, more productive food system, we've tampered with nature in ways that may have some serious consequences.

More on this tomorrow...

Mystery food

Apologies for my MIA-ness lately. I got caught up in the festivities of the 4th, a nasty stomach flu, and more festivities with the family in Seaside, OR. An exciting life have I! We just won't speak of some of the things I ate. At least it wasn't a deep-fried Snickers bar like a certain husband of mine!

I've continued to read the companion book for Food, Inc. and have some thoughts on food safety that I'll share with you tomorrow, but an interesting thought occurred to me as I drove down to Olympia to work for the week:

Why do we so confidently eat foods when we don't know a) where they came from and b) potentially, what they even really are?

This thought occurred to me as I was listening to a radio ad for something called Beta Prostate. Essentially, it sounds like a pill designed for gentlemen to take when they're having prostate issues. As I was listening to the ad, I was thinking, "Why in the world would someone put something in their bodies when they're not even really sure what it is? Responding to this ad is the eating equivalent of buying some product out of the back of a comic book!" As soon as I thought that, though, I realized that we do that all the time. Really. All the time. How often are we eating something prepared by someone else? How often are those things first processed in some way by some nameless people in factories? Even if it's produce, how do we really know where it's coming from and who handled it? Or what was sprayed on it? It's been shown time and time again that the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be looking out aren't, so why are we eating with such confidence?

Even with all the things I've learned, I'm really not acting on it as much as I should. Obviously, it would be difficult to know where every morsel I put in my mouth came from and probably even more difficult to make sure it's all from sources I feel confident about, but there's certainly more I can do. I think buying locally and organically has been a step in the right direction, but there's more to it than that.

Another step I did take recently was to buy organic, cage-free eggs from Costco instead of our regular package. I'd still like to look at the company, but I'm thinking differently. Jeremy also didn't freak out about the price, which is good. Progress.

Just because it's organic...

Several times this week I saw references to an interesting story. Evidently, people (in this small study) think that organic also means low-calorie. Given the choice between organic and non-organic cookies with calories clearly labeled (and the same)and people chose the organic ones. They even said they'd eat more of them.

On first read, I thought this sounded totally ridiculous. It's like that old what weighs more: a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? I mean, really, who doesn't know that just because something is grown naturally that it doesn't have a different calorie count?

Upon thinking about it, though, I can see how people do that. I certainly have been lulled a bit by knowing that I'm eating better. It's easy to get caught up in the whole pull of organic food and healthier eating. It's easy to feel like just changing to organic food is doing enough, but it really isn't. I need to be mindful not only about what is organic and what isn't, but what I'm making with those ingredients. Sticking with whole foods goes a long way, but it takes more thought as well. There's the big component, the change I've already undergone: buying different foods, shopping different places, using new recipes, and cutting back on several things. I feel like I've done that well. Then there's the small component, the part that I wrestle with: making those small day to day decisions, meal to meal decisions.

Take today for example: I have a whole fridge full of organic, healthy, delicious food and I even have a couple large sets of leftovers. What do I have for lunch with Lauren? A hamburger and fries at a restaurant. Ugh. I wanted to try this new place and it seemed like something fun to do with my kiddo and I ended up not making very good decisions. I need to find a way to wrestle down that food=fun, food=relaxing bent that I seem to have and make better small decisions. I have a couple of challenges ahead with a group trip to the beach coming up and then a week away for work in which I won't be fixing anything I'll be eating, so we'll see how I do. It's all about doing a little better a little bit at a time. That, and being a good role model for Lauren. That's key.

In fact, I seem to be making some headway on that. Tonight, all she wanted for dinner was applesauce and peas with milk. She ate every bite of a decent portion of each and then declared, "Mommy! I'm a good eater!" I still can't get her to try new things, but at least there are many healthy things that she's already eating. I'm proud of my girl.

How deep do I dig?

One big question I've had in the back of my mind as I've been doing all this learning is how far I go with this. I mean, I learned pretty quickly that organic food is better for our environment and our health in numerous ways and that eating locally when possible only deepens the benefit. I made some changes to my buying habits and our diet that reflect that new learning, but all the while, I've been keeping in mind all the other issues that go along with eating consciously. I just don't know how much I want to pursue them!

For example, the movie Food Inc. raises all sorts of issues about eating, including GMOs and agribusiness, food safety, and the safety of those working in fields and processing plants. I'm now reading the companion book to that film, also called Food Inc., and those issues are being brought up again and again. It's making me realize how much we vote with our forks, and I hate that I've been 'voting' unconsciously all these years. There was a powerful quote from Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation in the first essay: "I don't see any point in having heirloom, organic tomatoes if they're harvested by slave labor." That really struck me.

Of course, I have a lot more learning to do as I go along, about businesses and their practices. I want to make sure I'm making the right vote with my fork as well as making the right decisions for my family. Who knew that the simple act of eating could be so complicated? So I guess I'm back to the chaos from the clarity. It's not quite as simple as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", huh?

One thing that might help is that the FDA has issued draft guidelines for limiting antibiotic use in animals that are to be eaten. This is a huge step in the right direction!

What I've been eating lately

I got very absorbed in my first week of summer and managed to barely post! Part of my absorption, though, has been taking care of things around the house which includes cooking and eating good things!

I went to Trader Joe's last week to pick up just a few things for the recipes I was planning on cooking, but, as always, left with more than I planned! Their fruit just looked so good that I ended up getting grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. Add to that the cantaloupe, peaches, and pluots that came in my Full Circle Farm box, and I've been enjoying lots of sweet treats. I made a fruit salad and then demolished it in less than a day! Hot weather makes that cool, sweet mixture just call out to me.

In the last couple of weeks, I made the Veggie Burgers from The Great American Detox Diet, the Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps from Weight Watchers, and a Kale and Bell Pepper Strudel from the Moosewood cookbook, all delicious. The strudel is a bit misnamed, I think, since it uses filo dough and looks much more like spanikopita. It was relatively easy to make, even with never having used filo before, and it was quite good. I actually had leftovers from that tonight. I coupled it with some Moroccan Roasted Veggies over bulghur from the Moosewood cookbook, which was delicious. Add some fresh cantaloupe, and it was a great dinner!

From Drop Box

One thing I've been struggling with and know that I will continue to this summer is all the celebrations and cookouts that come along with it. I agree with the commenter "Uncle Paulie" that said that you sometimes have to give into those cravings and really just enjoy what's in front of you. The problem is, I seem to crave it all and give into all of it! I tend to equate food with relaxation and celebrating, and need to be really mindful of that. It's an ongoing process, you know?

I am managing to be really slow in my reading which is very unusual for me, and so had to return In Defense of Food to the library. I'll put it back on my hold list and see when I get it. I also picked up Food Inc., which is evidently a collection of essays that are a companion to the movie. I'll let you know what I learn!

The state of nutritionism

I was reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food last night and read something that really resonated with me. It's in the chapter that's talking about "nutritionism", how since the late 1970s, the U.S.'s food policy and the scientists that help create it views food as the sum of its various parts, or as the parts itself. How often do you see the words protein, carbs, and/or fats on the front of a food package? Those words are as critical as the pretty colors or the happy mascot to our buying, it seems.

The quote that really made me think is from Harvey Levenstein, that for the last century "...taste is not a true guide to what should be eaten; that one should not simply eat what one enjoys; that the important components of foods cannot be seen or tasted, but are discernible only in scientific laboratories; and that experimental science has produced rules of nutrition which will prevent illness and encourage longevity." It's like we Americans think that we need others to tell us how we should eat. Ridiculous! I for one want to eat what is enjoyable and the things that I know are good for me. I'm glad I'm doing all this learning, but I'm finding that I know more about what's good and what's bad than I thought. The hard work is just sticking with that!

Today when I was on the treadmill at the gym, a local tv show was airing a profile of Dave of Dave's Killer Bread. I've always seen Dave's Killer Bread at Costco and was able to try some at a friend's party, but never really thought about buying it. It's a little spendier than the others out there and I thought the brands I was buying were just fine. After seeing the profile today, though, and learning a little more about the products, I'm sold.

It turns out that Dave was in prison several times over the years for armed robbery and assault, amongst other things. He turned his life around and took up his father's trade, which was baking. He now makes these amazing breads that are all organic with as few ingredients as possible. Not only that, but they strive to make the breads in a sustainable way. The next time I buy bread, that's what I'm getting!

Chaos, then clarity

So my work year doesn't officially end until tomorrow (with 10 days worked in over the summer), but I have my sanity in enough check now to surface and post. It's amazing how a little fuller schedule can knock you off track!

I have to admit, part of my drowny feeling was due to all the reading and learning I'm doing. It just seems that the more I know, the more I worry about what I'm eating, the more I try to do about it, and the more overwhelmed I feel. Organic? Local? Vegetarian? Grass-fed beef? It's so much. I really identified with this post by my favorite blogger (warning: a little profanity and a lot of funny). Basically, I get on this empowered high and want to make and eat everything just perfectly, but that's exhausting and my resolve and energy start to crack, and then I find myself eating Hershey's All-Corn-Syrup Chocolate Nibs alone in the closet.

Okay, so not that last part, but you get what I mean. It's a lot to take in.

I found some clarity this week, though, when I picked up Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (what's with the manifestos and the food movement?) at the library. I haven't gotten too far into the book just yet (I keep falling asleep again), but the simplicity of his message is really resonating with me: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

The gist of his argument is so far is that scientists and food marketers have made eating much more complicated than it needs to be over time. That the discovery of the micronutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, and fats led to people focusing on one more than the others at certain points in time and calling them out either as the enemy or our friends. South Beach Diet, anyone? He says we've gotten ourselves to the point where we're relying on those scientists, food marketers, and the occasional nutritionist to tell us what to eat when it's really quite simple: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. His argument is that if we will surround ourselves with great fruits and vegetables and other whole foods and try to prepare things our grandmothers would recognize, we'll be a lot better off.

I can buy that. (Literally.) It made me feel a lot more clear on what I need to do and what I need to focus on, and I think I can continue this. Whew.

A couple of resources for you:

I saw this extraordinary video on the Organic Authority feed on Facebook and just have to share it.

Also through Organic Authority, I found a link to the Environmental Working Group's top sunscreen recommendations. Totally no shock here, but it turns out that many sunscreens either don't protect you well or have harmful stuff in them, or both. Great. So, check out their recommendations. I've never heard of 90% of them, but I'm definitely going to check them out with my fair-skinned crew heading to the beach next month!

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In the tradition of the last week of school, I'm crazy busy with work and for some reason, all sorts of after-work activities. Things like going to the vet, I mean, not anything fun like drinks with friends.

Anyway, I just don't have the energy to post coherently at this point, and I don't even really have the energy to gather links to post. So, I'm going to take a break for a day or two, do some reading, and get back to you.

Cheers!

My Chemical Past

No, this isn't some rehab tale. Anyone who's met me knows I'm too square for anything of the sort. Like I've been saying, I've found my interests in learning about our food have been a sort of springboard into learning more about the way we live and how that affects the environment. Diving into the deep end, so to speak.

One thing I'm learning is just how much the companies that bring us all the products we just must have are polluting the earth. The BP oil spill disaster aside, it seems like every day there's a story in the news about a company paying fines of some sort or lobbying against regulation. And speaking of regulation, it's appalling how little regulation there is and how the EPA and other agencies really have no ability to stop many dangerous practices. I fear what we're doing to the world we're passing onto our children.

This especially hit home for me this week when I was doing some genealogy research. It turns out that much of my mother's side of the family worked for DuPont, the chemical corporation. Same for my paternal grandfather. They worked in various positions in the mills from the early 1900s to the late 1980s. DuPont is one of the big bad polluters I was speaking about above: it has been named in numerous lawsuits about pollution over the years. Searching for "dupont pollution" on Google brings back 865,000 results. Now, none of my family were in the R&D area and I certainly can't fault them for taking what at the time were very good jobs, but I have to admit it rankles a bit. Here I am trying to create a cleaner world for myself and my family, and my family history is intertwined with one of the worst polluters! Not that we knew then what we know now, but...

One concrete step I can take is to try to eliminate the use of unsafe chemicals in our home. I found this list today on the Rodale site that's a good starting place. I need to take a look at our antibacterial products first and then move on to the cleaners. The hard thing is that there's no way Jeremy would ever let me get rid of them, but I can certainly have alternatives in place when those run out. Does anyone have any favorite, good-for-the-Earth commercial cleaners or homemade recipes they love?

I'm also still thinking about alternatives to products that contain BPA, especially given this story about the prevalence of BPA in canned foods. Eden foods has cans that don't use BPA. I'd like to find them in stores so I don't have to order online. Another job for this summer!

On a non-chemical note, I have been a paragon of eating this week. Part of my success has been due to the cold turkey approach I've taken to sugar. I've realized that sugar is my gateway drug: once I have a little sugar, I'm likely to binge on other things. Another reason for my success is having a whole boxload of fresh veggies that need to be used immediately or they'll go bad! Funny how motivating that is. Finally, I'm motivated by the fact that I've been working with a trainer starting this week. I don't want my eating to undo that hard work. And, boy, has it been hard work. I thought I was in good shape, but apparently not so much!

Cold Turkey

As I've wavered in my resolve to avoid things that I know are bad for me, I've definitely discovered that I have next to no willpower when it comes to sweets. Especially chocolate and very especially chocolate ice cream. I've tried to eat them in moderation, but just can't seem to. I have a bite of something sweet and suddenly I'm craving, and indulging in, more. So, back to avoiding refined sugars again. It wasn't that hard before, and I just need to stick with it.

Tonight for dinner we had the Hearty Vegetarian Stew from the Weight Watchers Turn Around cookbook. This is one of our old favorites: it's so easy and delicious. It's #19 here.

From Drop Box

I paired it, sort of randomly, with a curried quinoa from the Moosewood cookbook.
Very easy to make, and quite tasty. The second Jeremy tried it, he said it reminded him of biryani, and I agree!

From Drop Box

Food Movement, Rising

I found this fantastic article about the rise of the "food movement" in recent years. The gist of it is a history of the food movement and some of the issues it faces today. I've been doing all this reading, and here it is, all summed up in one article!

A couple of interesting facts:

-"Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any people in history—slightly less than 10 percent—and a smaller amount of their time preparing it: a mere thirty-one minutes a day on average, including clean-up."

-"...the “hunger lobby” (those concerned about hunger and poverty) has traditionally supported farm subsidies in exchange for the farm lobby’s support of nutrition programs, a marriage of convenience dating to the 1960s that vastly complicates reform of the farm bill—a top priority for the food movement. "

It's an interesting read and would be a good primer for anyone trying to understand the movement as a whole.

As a follow-up to something I posted a few days ago: I found this article about health fraud in labeling. Several prominent food companies are called out for promising health effects that their foods don't deliver. This just goes back to my frustration that those that are supposed to be watching out for us, namely the FDA and USDA, aren't.

You may notice that I'm talking a lot here about the food movement in general and not so much about my own eating. Sigh. Let's just say that I understand how people get caught up in the convenience foods. I've been eating better than most, for sure, but haven't been cooking as much as I'd like. It's tough right now, with my busy work schedule. I'll be out of school on June 21st and I will be much better about all of this then. I need to find ways of balancing things and eating better when times are crazy; it'll come in time, I guess. I have some good things I'm planning on cooking this week, so I'll post pictures.

More about organics

I get a Runner's World digest in my email every week; I love their stories on nutrition and their training tips. I thought it was fitting that the top link I received today was 5 Reasons to Go Organic. It's written by Maria Rodale, author of Organic Manifesto.

The article goes into much more depth, but the 5 suggestions are:

1. Eat Nutrients, Not Toxins - I especially found this quote interesting: "They found far fewer chemicals in the children's urine the same day they switched to an organic diet—and a return to high levels when they went back to a chemical diet."

2. Protect Your Body - Did you realize that arsenic is commonly used in pesticides? I didn't! Yikes!

3. Get Plenty of Protein - This we knew, but it's emphasizing the fact that grass-fed, humanely treated animals are out there.

4. Solve the Climate Crisis - I thought this was unsurprising, but interesting: "In a study commissioned by PepsiCo, an independent researcher found the most significant component of the carbon footprint for Tropicana orange juice (a PepsiCo product) wasn't transportation or manufacturing, but "production and application of fertilizers."

5. Enjoy the Taste - Again, something we knew, but organic does not equal bland. In fact, I'm finding the taste to be better with organic fruits and veggies!

The below was posted at the bottom of the article and I thought it was really important:

What's Organic, Anyway?
How to decode the claims on food labels
By Joanna Sayago Golub

100 PERCENT ORGANIC
Must contain only organically produced ingredients and processing aids. These foods can carry the USDA Organic seal.

ORGANIC
Must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (remaining ingredients must be approved). Can also carry the USDA Organic seal.

MADE WITH ORGANIC INGREDIENTS
Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. Will not have the USDA Organic seal.

NATURAL
Term often refers to food without artificial ingredients or preservatives, but (aside from poultry and meat) no official standards legally define it.

As a follow-up to the study I posted recently about more obese shoppers shopping at the cheaper chain store like Albertson's, I wanted to share this blog post. I think the author makes a good point about people needing not only the time but the skills to be able to cook good, whole foods. I was also pleasantly surprised at the intelligence of the commenters as relative to many of the comments I see on others sites. There are some pretty diverse views there, and I saw a few that were pretty interesting. I have a feeling that this will be something for which there is no easy answer, but it's good that people are thinking about it.