Last night we watched Food Inc. I knew as soon as we started to watch it that I would need to make some changes. I think that so much of it resonated with me because it was pointing a direction I was already headed. Also, I just feel that the way we live our lives isn’t the way we’re supposed to live. Things should be simpler but also a little harder. Were such a fast food culture that we take easy in favor of good for us. Maybe taking a step back to the days of preserving and gardening and buying our meat from the local butcher who bought the meat from the local farmer is better. Sometimes, usually, things that are better cost more and take more time.
So here’s what I’m thinking about:
first only buy grass fed beef that hasn’t been given any steroids or antibiotics. The easiest way I can see to do this is to buy a half or quarter of a cow from a local farmer and get it processed and store it in the freezer. Or Jim could go elk hunting which would mean he would have to be lucky enough to draw a tag and lucky enough to actually get an elk. We need to look into it but i foresee hunting to be more risky and expensive than just buying a cow.
Second, find farm raised chicken and eggs. We’re talking real farms where chickens are treated like chickens. There are a few local meat companies where I can check this out. My aunt has been giving me eggs from her chickens. I’m sure I could find more local eggs too.
Third, eat less meat. Jim isn’t going to like this. Eat more fish too. Fish that isn’t dyed pink.
Fourth, preserve as much local food as i can. This means freezing green beans, corn, broccoli (if I can find it) and peas. Canning tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce, peaches, pears, pickles, jam and apple sauce. Some of this will come from our garden, some from local farmers.
Fifth, what I can’t find local, find organic. I always buy organic apples, lettuce, carrots, and bananas anyway. Bell peppers are hard to find organic in the winter especially.
Sixth, look into a small green house for growing organic lettuce and tomatoes, maybe peppers. It grosses me out that tomatoes in the store are picked green and then ripened with gas. No wonder they are tasteless.
Seventh, find local milk. Make my own yogurt. Did you know that commercial yogurt is cultured in the cup? This means that it sits in a plastic cup for at least 5 hours at over 100 degrees. Yuck. Maybe make my own butter if it’s not too hard/time consuming.
Eighth, eat more whole foods. This will be hardest for Jim. We already eat ww bread, but he wont like ww pasta and tortillas. He doesn’t like most beans and grains. All of which I love. This is going to be inconvenient, I know it.
Ninth, this is the part that will be a lot harder for me. Prepare healthy lunches for everyone. When I’m not home, Jim usually runs to the store and grabs a frozen something for lunch. Or he will take the kids to fast food. I have a hard time with ideas for lunches. They need to basically be ready to just heat up. This will be hardest for me because it will require a lot of organization and forethought. All year the kids have had school lunch. They aren’t very healthy at all. Watching the food revolution has increased my guilt about this. Need to not be lazy when it comes to packing lunches.
Tenth, remember that as hard as we will try, it’s ok if someone feeds my kids a happy meal or if we screw up or break down and get taco bell for dinner. It’s not about making a religion out of eating well but about doing the best we can.
I want acknowledge that we’re lucky that I only work part time. None of this would be possible if I worked full time. Also I realize that this is a tall list to complete. I don’t expect to get it all down right away. I expect that somethings will have to be tweaked as we start working on them. But I feel excited about taking charge of what we’re eating. I feel excited about voting with our dollars and saying that we’re not ok with the way things are and that we expect change.
