Wow 'organic' meat is a hard task to accomplish! You'd think finding beef which grew up eating grass like it is supposed to would be easy - well it isn't! The term 'free range' leaves soooo much room for interpretation it is crazy. Finally, I found a butcher which is all organic and certified so (This means there is an organisation which checks up on their operation so the consumer can be sure everything is what it says it is).
This lovely butcher is about 15kms from my house which means it will be about 25kms from my sister, so not the best location for the old "I think we'll have sausages for dinner tonight". Anyway we went, we saw, we liked - then we be *shocked* at the price! Well this is not to say everything was expensive for example the mince and sausages were about $3.00 more expensive than the supermarket and chickens were about $4.00 dearer, so all in all not bad for normal meals. Steak was the killer! It was almost double the price - my reaction at first was one of 'get stuffed' but after my initial reaction I decided the price 'should' dictate how much we 'should' be eating of each meat.
This is exactly what Michael Pollan was saying - we eat way too much meat.
The cheap prices of steak in the supermarket mean we could almost eat this way every night.
I also found myself being VERY cavalier with meats that I had purchased which sat in the fridge long enough not to be fit for human consumption - I would throw these out without so much as a blink!
Buying organic meat has made me realise how wasteful I am with cheap meat - which then makes me feel worse because those animals had a pretty crap, short life and I am also treating their life like crap by not respecting the produce.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
convinced
After watching Michael Pollan on Oprah, and pausing it many times to discuss things with Candice, we decided to take this scary and new journey together. We're only just starting out and looking into different ways to incorporate whole and organic foods in our lifestyle.
Many questions came up with my partner when we discussed it, as you can imagine.
How much more does this cost? Why is it better?
Well at this stage I don't know all the ins and outs. It does cost more (especially meat) but we're supposed to be eating a lot less meat than we do now. Non-Organic is worse because the meat is pumped full of antibiotics, steroids, feed the wrong foods, living like dolls on a shelf. Its really horrible and inhuman to see - we were upset and angry!!
One of my 360 turning points happened only the other week. Candice, Catherine (our younger sister) Natalie (Best-friend) and I went to a small rural market close by. It had only been open a couple of weeks. We looked around, the veggies weren't that crash hot but still fine, we veggie shopped for our babies dinners. Now at this market, eggs were for sale, I really wanted to try organic eggs. I love eggs! But I'm kind of intolerant to them, I get a really bad stomach ache for and hour or so. I've had this since I was about 15 and still give them a try every so often.
We spoke to the "egg guy" he was selling organic eggs. I saw pics of the chickens running around eating grass, scratching around. What I found out really shocked me, I didn't know that they gave chickens chemicals to make them lay eggs with a more yellow yolk!! Hey maybe this is what makes me sick!!?? Guess what, organic eggs DON'T make me SICK!!
Yeah there's a change a coming.....
Many questions came up with my partner when we discussed it, as you can imagine.
How much more does this cost? Why is it better?
Well at this stage I don't know all the ins and outs. It does cost more (especially meat) but we're supposed to be eating a lot less meat than we do now. Non-Organic is worse because the meat is pumped full of antibiotics, steroids, feed the wrong foods, living like dolls on a shelf. Its really horrible and inhuman to see - we were upset and angry!!
One of my 360 turning points happened only the other week. Candice, Catherine (our younger sister) Natalie (Best-friend) and I went to a small rural market close by. It had only been open a couple of weeks. We looked around, the veggies weren't that crash hot but still fine, we veggie shopped for our babies dinners. Now at this market, eggs were for sale, I really wanted to try organic eggs. I love eggs! But I'm kind of intolerant to them, I get a really bad stomach ache for and hour or so. I've had this since I was about 15 and still give them a try every so often.
We spoke to the "egg guy" he was selling organic eggs. I saw pics of the chickens running around eating grass, scratching around. What I found out really shocked me, I didn't know that they gave chickens chemicals to make them lay eggs with a more yellow yolk!! Hey maybe this is what makes me sick!!?? Guess what, organic eggs DON'T make me SICK!!
Yeah there's a change a coming.....
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
why don't we blog about this
I guess I apparently don't have enough things to keep me busy because we decided to blog about our journey of household change. My husband is only home 2 out of 4 weeks, I am writing a 12,000 word essay for university, oh and I have a 7 month old baby - lets not forget the 'usual' list of household chores, our journey of household change so, hell yes! Lets blog about it also!
This is my first blog so I guess for me at least it is like the meetings you go to when you are trying to lose weight, you have to go to keep you motivated. Although I have my sister on this journey perhaps this blog will be a motivator for us also.
Hmm, would like to lay out now what my hopes and dreams for this journey...
First of all - to lose some weight! Well of course that is my first goal I am a woman after all. This is not the main focus though but a much, much welcomed outcome at least.
I think for me I would like to not feel guilty anymore. I find each time I eat fast food the following meals have an air of additional guilt about them, like nothing can 'make up' for what I have already eaten because it is now only adding to it! The guilt of fast food lingers for days with me because even if the next day is a 'good day' I am acutely aware of the 3 bad days before it.
I can never get ahead while I am always looking at my food past - I want to be able to eat and not have to 'think' about it. Generations never thought about what they were eating and how much. I can't imagine some meditteranean mummy serving her family thinking about whether or not it is 'healthy' - she just cooked real food and everyone was happy.
This is my first blog so I guess for me at least it is like the meetings you go to when you are trying to lose weight, you have to go to keep you motivated. Although I have my sister on this journey perhaps this blog will be a motivator for us also.
Hmm, would like to lay out now what my hopes and dreams for this journey...
First of all - to lose some weight! Well of course that is my first goal I am a woman after all. This is not the main focus though but a much, much welcomed outcome at least.
I think for me I would like to not feel guilty anymore. I find each time I eat fast food the following meals have an air of additional guilt about them, like nothing can 'make up' for what I have already eaten because it is now only adding to it! The guilt of fast food lingers for days with me because even if the next day is a 'good day' I am acutely aware of the 3 bad days before it.
I can never get ahead while I am always looking at my food past - I want to be able to eat and not have to 'think' about it. Generations never thought about what they were eating and how much. I can't imagine some meditteranean mummy serving her family thinking about whether or not it is 'healthy' - she just cooked real food and everyone was happy.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
to start bloggin....
So, I'm addicted to McDonalds and its time for change, a big one!! I have a partner and 11 month old son I need to consider, when I cook dinner. After watching Michael Pollan on Oprah, I wondered how have I become so lazy!? In the way I shop, cook and eat!? I LOVE food, Love it!! But I could be so much better at everything when it comes to food! Dont get me wrong, I cook - quick and easy meals... sometimes.
I never feel great, I think it is mainly because I eat badly but I also think there's a lot to organic food and what they're saying.
I never feel great, I think it is mainly because I eat badly but I also think there's a lot to organic food and what they're saying.
Monday, May 17, 2010
AH-HA moment
After watching Oprah's "Food 101" episode with my sister the conversation we had was very exciting. We talked about how we never feel 'well'. I cannot remember a time where I physically felt like skipping down the street, mentally well, I have many days like this but the body just never feels like it is firing on all cylinders.
At 29 years old, this should not be the case! I should be able to look back at this time in my life and gush about how 'skinny I was back then' but if I feel this bad now I am scared at how much worse I will feel in the future.
Much of the conversation was about how our grandmother would have lived and the things we remember from our childhood. The standouts for me were that we didn't have softdrink in the fridge - in fact the only time soft drink was bought was for a party. I also remember that my grandma never counted calories, had full foods cooked in lard, ate full breakfasts of eggs or porridge, and baked cakes and pies FULL of sugar and butter. Yet I never saw any photos from the 50's, 60's, or 70's of my family or friends looking anything short of well, skinny.
We also lamented on the fact that neither one of us knows how to cook much from memory - yet we are both fantastic (if I do say so myself) 'recipe cooks'.
I just wonder what I am going to teach my daughter about food - what sort of culture am I going to impart on her? What is she going to think about when she looks back on her childhood?
Dads who have their 'man caves' have their projects which allow men to talk and bond - I have my kitchen!
Hmm, must think of a name...
Look out labels, I am on a mission...
At 29 years old, this should not be the case! I should be able to look back at this time in my life and gush about how 'skinny I was back then' but if I feel this bad now I am scared at how much worse I will feel in the future.
Much of the conversation was about how our grandmother would have lived and the things we remember from our childhood. The standouts for me were that we didn't have softdrink in the fridge - in fact the only time soft drink was bought was for a party. I also remember that my grandma never counted calories, had full foods cooked in lard, ate full breakfasts of eggs or porridge, and baked cakes and pies FULL of sugar and butter. Yet I never saw any photos from the 50's, 60's, or 70's of my family or friends looking anything short of well, skinny.
We also lamented on the fact that neither one of us knows how to cook much from memory - yet we are both fantastic (if I do say so myself) 'recipe cooks'.
I just wonder what I am going to teach my daughter about food - what sort of culture am I going to impart on her? What is she going to think about when she looks back on her childhood?
Dads who have their 'man caves' have their projects which allow men to talk and bond - I have my kitchen!
Hmm, must think of a name...
Look out labels, I am on a mission...
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