I read about the Spaghetti Taco craze thanks to iCarly on the NY Times website.
I saw Jamie Oliver fail miserably to convince kids that chicken nuggets are nasty.
Then I watched Food Inc. on Netflix.
Then I started thinking about the way I eat. And how the ideal meets the real. Because, hey, I have chicken nuggets in the fridge. And a bunch of meat that has been corn fed. And a bunch of pesticide sprayed vegetables next to the farmer’s market corn. And well, corn isn’t very good for you either.
I thought a lot about the food I eat. About the food I feed my daughter. About the food I let my daughter eat.
It’s kind of overwhelming. Escaping the corporation that is food today is an extra step, make that several extra steps, when you’re considering your family, your job, and your budget.
Maybe I can’t fix everything. I have to admit that Jake and Amaya like fake cheese on their nachos better than real cheese. But there is a little I can do.
I will buy grass fed beef and free range chicken. I will eat less meat but better quality.
I will avoid fast food like the plague, even if vanilla soft serve is delicious.
I will cook from scratch often. Every day.
I will eat leftovers rather than instant.
I think I can balance my life and still commit to these things.
Do you think about these things? Food and economy and environment?
What do you do to put it all in perspective?
12 comments:
I think that's even happened even in my lifetime. It's so weird. Corn used to be good for you and fish was too. Margarine was good for you and now it's not. I really want to can my own tomatoes. I need to learn because I know metal canned tomatoes are so bad. You just cook them down in place of canned?
Being older than you, I can say that every generation has its bout with enlightenments (and sometimes they're disproved by the following generation). Eggs were bad for you, now they're good for you. Cellphones were a great invention, now they may give you brain tumors. Life is complex! Even though I've been a healthy eater, I, too, have changed some of my food habits especially since I started blogging and learning the virtues of farm-to-table and do-it-yourself cooking. One example is growing up in an Italian house, I always used canned tomatoes. These days I only use fresh ones and cook them down myself. There is a difference. The toughest thing for me is finding local sources of protein. I think you're headed in the right direction. I'd be leery of any processed foods for your little ones, especially all those sugary drinks and canned soups with high sodium.
Wow. Kenya! At least it sounds exotic. Luckily a lot of things grow here so
leafy and green isn't a problem. Delicate non-tropical fruits are harder.
Definitely no grapes that I've seen.
The hardest thing (at least here in Wales - I know nothing of Oahu!) is to buy local. EVERYTHING green and planty seems to be flown in from Kenya. I hate long haul food!
I know. I'm trying to eat more vegan/vegetarian. It's hard to justify buying meat when it's so expensive.
I love soft serve. :( I wish I didn't. I used to love chicken mcnuggets but I think it was really that I loved the sweet and sour sauce.
I stopped reading "What to Eat" because I felt so overwhelmed with info and also because our food budget diminished a whole lot in the last two months.
After eating the good meat I refuse to eat anything that is not grass fed. Needless to say most of our food budget goes towards meat. Luckily we have food pantry twice a month, luckily.
Jamie Oliver is kind of my hero. I saw all of his episode on Food Revolution too, and I distinctly remember cringing when I saw that episode.
I won't lie. I still like McNuggets. But I got the main message of that show. That we should be more thoughtful and mindful of our food choices. At random times, I might go get that 20-piece McNuggets. But most of the time, I try to be conscious about what I put in my body, and how it affects the earth.
I know. Food here is so expensive. That Waialua farmer's market is such a deal, though!
No wonder you have a headache. :)
i feel exactly like sienna...i now have a headache. BUT in the end. i do the best i can do, on the budget i have. mariko - you know how expensive food is here...healthy food is worse! i most of my veggies from the farm. as for the meat, i make a trip to whole foods once a month and buy what i can, they rest is supplemented from safeway.
i'm pretty happy with what my kids eat...me on the other hand - i could be better, lets see i had coffee, 2 spanish rolls, and a bowl of cereal today and it's 517pm
Luckily I just found a grass fed meat source. They even have ground beef. YES! Only problem is I can't pop over there and buy it. I have to wait until Thursdays!
I heard about the chili. Gross.
I'm making pumpkin chili for our Halloween party. Think they'll revolt if I leave it meatless?
i think about this stuff all the time. it kind of makes my head spin and i already have a headache. so i can't think about it right now. i hate feeling like the grocery store is a mine field and half of the food will eventually kill me (or i might eventually die some other way). we just try our best and give in every once and a while. we have done good at eating less meat until this past weekend when i bought some cheap hamburger meat for a ward chili cook-off. it totally made me sick, so i won't do that again.
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