Learning about Real Foods

Since I have been hanging around here I keep hearing about eating healthy,eating local and eating organic. Before, I had this idea that only people that were out to "save the Earth" or people that were paranoid about disease worried about pesticides, chemicals and whether their food was organic or not. I don't know if it is who I am hanging around with; or the fact that I am getting old, and mortality seems a closer fact, but all those conversations have piqued my curiosity.

I started by reading The Omnivore's Dilemma I haven't really finished it yet. What I have read though, have been eye opening. I learned all about corn and how it has turned into the big commodity it is today. I also learned about cows and how they have been transformed into grain eating animals instead of keeping to God's original design for them.

The Second book I am reading is Real Food . I have found this book interesting. I can't say that I don't gloss over some of the details but overall it has made for a riveting reading.

I feel a little overwhelmed by the possibility of changing the way we eat, not because I am attached to it, but because it requires thinking and planning. It becomes one more thing I need to do. But how can I not? The information I have gathered just makes sense. It makes sense that once we have tinkered with the natural processes, things are bound to go down hill. Not that I am against industrialization. (God knows I am thankful to be alive in the 21st century. And, as idyllic as a farm sounds, I couldn't live in one. Dealing with animals and the hard work of a farm are not my things! ) It makes sense that chemicals and pesticides not made for human consumption, would cause harm. It makes sense that when we alter genetics and force animals to deny their nature, it is only logical that some ill consequences will follow. It stands to reason, I think, that if cancer and other diseases are more prevalent nowadays we need to look for causes in what we eat and their source.

All this information begs for action. Where to begin? Budget is a consideration. It is difficult to make myself spend, for example, almost $6.00 in a gallon of milk when the regular milk only costs $3.47. Availability is another consideration. Here where I live, local farms are not common; Farmer's Market is only available for a couple of months in the summer. It makes eating locally and seasonally, difficult. It leaves us with the small overpriced organic departments of the local groceries and the small (and somewhat weird) health food stores.

Small changes seem to work best for me. Baby steps,as the Flylady would say. A good place to start seems to be making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables and fruit. It is not that I have discovered this for the first time. This is something I have been hearing all my life. I am just lazy. Vegetables have to be washed, cut,dressed and I have to deal with picky kids who won't eat them. Nina Planck has this advice:

If you can't find or afford ecological produce, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables anyway. You may be sure that most studies showing the benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables were done on industrial produce. It is sensible to wash industrial produce, but peeling is a tough call. Most of the pesticide are found in, or just under, the peel. So are the vitamins and antioxidants. I simply don't know which is the lesser evil.

She also has some suggestions to increase the intake of fruits and vegetables:
-have them on hand
-have a salad every meal
-be aware that some vegetables are more nutritious when cooked (broccoli,cabbage, spinach). Others, like carrots, liberate more of the nutrients when they are peeled, juiced or shredded.
-dress them up nicely
-eat salad first
-sometimes eat salad as a main course
-put some vegetables and fruit out when the kids are hungry, even if is right before dinner
-eat local food, it will increase the variety
-mix different vegetables for a variety of textures and tastes

Action? The first action I am taking is printing this to take with me to the store. It is a list of the fruits and vegetables with highest pesticide content and the ones of the least amount. Secondly, I am going to try to wash and cut vegetables as soon as I get home so they will be ready to eat. Thirdly, I am going to make an effort to have more salads. Fourth, I am going to come up with more creative way of preparing the vegetables we do eat. And lastly (and more difficult), I am going to try expand our repertoire, in a search for some my kids will eat.


We will see how it goes.