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.