Food?

Ah, yes. My food journey. I haven't blogged about it for awhile, which many of you may be glad for that...I feel in a bit of a quandry. I know a lot more now than I used to about 'food' & things we call food.:) Some things I wish I didn't know. Some things I'm glad I do know. Change is hard, & especially when it requires a whole new mindset plus needed resources. I'll do a little summary here of some of the books/movies that have influenced me, & then where I'm at right now.

Food, Inc. This was the first film that I watched, & it was revolting. In a good way. If there is such a thing. The basic summary of this film is that we are all at risk from feed-lot beef/chicken/meat because it is a huge $$ maker that has manipulated the USDA & other regulatory agencies, so now they basically make their own rules & get to sell us super cheap meat that is highly contaminated, but we shouldn't worry about it because they soak it in ammonia to kill the e.coli. Yum.

King Corn. This film was done by 2 college students who set out to grow an acre of corn in Iowa. All they want to do is follow their corn, which they learn that the can't do, because there is such an OVERABUNDANCE of this crop (which, by the way, is not edible until processed) that they have to assume that it goes either to feed the animals at feedlots, or is turned into high fructose corn syrup. They also find out that were the corn crop not government-subsidized, they would have lost $$ on their crop. This film is excellent & I highly recommend it. I got it from the library.

Fast Food Nation. If you have never eaten fast food in your life, you need to read this book. If you eat fast food, you need to read this book. It details the influence of fast food restaurants on the meat industry, how it's changed over the last 60+ years, etc. It documents the beginning of fast food (McD's & Carl's Jr.) & how these franchises influence so many things (potato farms, etc.) today. One interesting thing I learned: to make 'strawberry' flavor (found in yogurt, pop-tarts, almost anything with strawberry flavor in it) it takes over 350 chemical components. Dum dum, anyone? Read this book.

Forks Over Knives. This film shook up my world a little bit, since most of the other films/books talked about mostly knowing where your meat is coming from, not about becoming vegan...yet that is the message of this film. The film is the result of a study showing that heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity (among other ailments) are the direct result of eating ANIMAL products. ALL animal products. Milk. Fish. Chicken. Eggs. Aack! Pass the salad, please.... I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this one yet, other than watch it again.:) I recommend it.

In Defense of Food. This book is kind of a 'food rules' book. Michael Pollan, the author, is in both Food, Inc. & King Corn. He documents the history of processed foods & their dominance in the stores today. His rules are basic: eat food, not too much, mostly plants. He recommends grass-fed beef, whole foods, foods with fewer than 5 ingredients, no foods that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize, no foods with words that you don't know what they are (maltodextrin, anyone?)...a very good read. He also has a short book out there, called "Food Rules" which is kind of a brief summary of the rules he outlines in the other book. He also has one called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" which I haven't read yet.

Nourishing Traditions. This is basically a cook book, similar rules as In Defense of Food, but really going back 100 years & eating the way people did then: whole foods, foods that aren't processed, foods that are in-season, locally grown, raw (including milk)... I like most of the things about this book, especially the recipes. I keep having to take it back to the library, though, so I haven't done a lot of things yet. :)

12 Steps to Raw Food/Going Raw. Victoria Boutenko wrote the 12 steps book, Judita Wignall the 2nd one. VB was a Russian immigrant who moved here with here family & a whole lot of health problems (thyroid, diabetes, asthma, etc.). The family ended up going raw to avoid some medications, & have been healed of all their ailments! It's a good, quick read with recipes. The Going Raw book I got for Christmas, & I think the recipes in it look fantastic!!! I have tried one, & it was pretty good -- the biggest problem with it was my homemade pesto was too strong. Oops. Too much garlic, I think. Many of the recipes in this book require a dehydrator, so that is on my list of things to get so that I can really try them out!!

Eat to Live. This is the book I am currently reading, but it is due at the library today, so I will have to finish it when I get it back.:) It follows a lot of the Forks over Knives movie, pretty much vegan. I know one person who has followed this book & she lost 20 lbs! Whoa. I have to finish reading it before I know.:)

Wheat Belly. This one I haven't read yet, still waiting for it from the library. I do know that it talks a lot about grains & wheat & cutting those out. We have a friend who is doing the 'paleo' way of eating, which is kind of eating like our ancestors, I think. Chime in if you know about this.

Superfoods. David Wolfe was one of the first people I ever heard speak on raw food, & he is brilliant. This book is fascinating. Let's just say this: broccoli is not a superfood. Most of the things in this book you won't even recognize. Read it.

So where does all this leave me??? Well, first of all, let me say that I am not perfect. Ha. Like there was any question. I still buy some processed foods (crackers). I still bake cookies. I don't drink smoothies every day. Exercise is still my enemy (well, really it's time, but you know...) So what I am doing is this:

*Trying to eat as many whole foods as we can. This includes many fruits/veggies, whole milk, whole sour cream, etc. If you look at the ingredients for the whole foods vs. the 'light', there are MANY more ingredients on the 'light' packages. Remember Michael Pollan's rule: no more than 5 ingredients (& no ingredients you can't pronounce!), go whole.

*Trying to make as many of our own things from scratch at home (note: his 5 ingredient rule does not apply to homemade things!). I make my own ice cream. I make my own bread (actually, lately we have been eating sprouted bread). Fresh foods. Look at the ingredient list for fresh tortillas vs. Mission. Oh. my....Lots of fruits/veggies. Organic.

*Organic produce, & no GMO (genetically modified) products as much as that is possible. It is not required for food manufacturers to put on their product if they use GMOs or not. Many label that they DO NOT use GMOs, so I look for those. Corn is a HUGE GMO crop, it is modified to be suited to grow closer together than it usually likes (higher yield per acre) & also to resist pesticides (everything else will die, not the corn). Soy is another. (Soy is just bad for you, don't eat it!!) Eat organic. I know it's expensive. Food should be expensive. (We'd eat less). The only reason it's cheap is because it's NOT FOOD. See Food, Inc. & In Defense of Food.

*Grass-fed beef. This is available at Trader Joe's, Marlene's, Tacoma Boys,& through other private farms. You can actually find it that is not too much more than regular beef. You may have to buy more in bulk, but I'm sure you can either freeze it or share it with a friend.:) Right now when I buy meat at the grocery store I look for humanely treated animals, all vegetarian diet, no added hormones or antibiotics. Vegetarian doesn't mean they were grass fed, but it usually includes grass. I have found bison & lamb at Fred Meyer & Safeway to be suitable. Foster Farm chickens is on my good list, too.:) Also, with eggs (if I don't get them from the local farm) I look for free-range (cage free), vegetarian diet.

*Milk man. I am still leaning toward going to raw milk (I can tell you more on that later...) but for now (& actually the last 6+ years!) I use Smith Brothers Farms. The milk is WAY fresher (I saw on their website that from cow to home is less than 48 hours, whereas grocery store milk can be a couple of MONTHS old). Want to know why milk is ultra-pasteurized? Because it keeps longer. Everything in it is dead (so why do we drink it?). If you buy your milk at the store, look for milk that is not ultra-pasteurized. Or switch to the milk man (mention me if you do & we both get a credit!). And again, yes, the milk is a little more expensive than grocery store milk. So we drink less. And if we run out of milk, we drink water.

*Fermented foods. Yes, this is a strange one, especially for anyone who has seen my kombucha brewing! Ha! I recently added kefir to our diets, which is basically fermented milk. It's full of probiotics & very good for your gut. I made my own, we add it to smoothies, & no one knows it's there!:) Similar to yogurt but with more bacteria. Kombucha is fermented tea, also good for the gut. Did you know that there is research out there that points to autoimmune diseases being rooted in the gut? Interesting.

*Greens. The easiest way (& the tastiest!) to get our greens is through smoothies. It's also healthier, because the greens are broken down better by blending than by chewing, so your body is able to use more of them. I, for one, want to get the most out of my spinach! Ha. I can easily add green stuff to certain smoothies & they stay purple, so the kids don't notice. Though they will drink green ones. I also add bee pollen (see Superfoods), flax seeds (great for omega 3s), coconut oil, kefir, etc. to my smoothies. They are chock-full. Get a Vitamix or Blend-Tec for best results (yes, they are spendy, but worth every penny!!).


Phew. I knew this was going to be a long post. I had kind of put off writing it-ha.:) But I really want my family to be healthier. And I want my kids to learn healthy habits young, so they don't have to relearn them later. I think my biggest hurdle right now is finding recipes that taste good & look appealing. I have tried some raw recipes that have NOT been good. Until I get a bigger repertoire of recipes & go-tos, it is easier just to fall back on my standard recipes. So I am experimenting, substituting where I can, learning as I go. The library has been a great resource as they carry many of the books I have been looking for. They also have a ton of cook books, so it's more just a matter of trying recipes & finding ones that work for our family. What about you? What are you doing this year to be healthier? I'd love to hear feedback & comments!