The Way We Eat
My husband and I have been going back and forth a lot lately regarding what our diets should consist of (I mean diet in the sense of “what we’re eating”, not “we’re on a diet”). I thought New Year’s would be a good time to share with all of you how I plan to eat in the coming year and perhaps inspire you to think a little more about what you’re putting in your mouth.
I have been either pregnant or nursing for the last four years and that has given me the motivation to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet. I try to prepare well-balanced meals for my family and snack responsibly. We completely avoid McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, and KFC, which I consider to be, amongst others, the most offensive and disgusting of the fast food chains. We also don’t drink soda (except for the occasional ginger ale or my husband’s moth-to-the-flame reaction to my parent’s soda fridge). Still, we eat out about once a week and have a true and lasting love for fried foods and all things cheese related.
We have been toying with the idea of going vegetarian or (gasp!) vegan. Here’s the strange thing though – we have no ethical convictions surrounding these lifestyle choices. I would happily eat an animal just so you would kill it. So how does one maintain a meat-restrictive diet without these convictions? I’m not sure I could. The reason we’re thinking of going in this direction is because we just feel better eating a meat-free diet. Also my husband comes from a family history of heart disease and I come from one of cancer, and I truly believe in the healing power of food (I found this article very interesting).
This is where the term ‘flexitarian’ comes into play. A flexitarian is someone who eats meat sometimes. So really, it means nothing at all. Maybe you are a flexitarian and didn’t even know it. Basically we prefer not to eat meat but are not opposed to eating it if no other option is available. You want to shove a bacon cheeseburger in my husband’s face? He’s not going to fight you. There’s chicken in that fettuccini alfredo? I’m eating it. The meat we do choose will most likely be organic and local. According to this article, maybe I’m just an ethical carnivore.
I believe in eating food that is as close to its original state as possible. I try to fill up my cart in the produce section. I try to avoid things that come in a box. Foods processed with preservatives and ingredients we can’t pronounce are destroying our health. I think that butter can be good for you, despite the saturated fats. I still have a sugar addiction, but this is something I’d like to work on in the coming year (or at least explore some of the ‘more nutritious’ sweeteners available). Nourishing Traditions
So what’s the plan for the coming year? Try to cut out meat and replace it with other sources of protein such as beans, nuts, fish and yogurt. If we’re coming over to your house for dinner don’t lost your mind over what you’re going to make. If you want to make meat we’ll eat it or we won’t. We won’t complain or starve to death. This is especially true for our children, who I’m not trying to turn into vegetarians at all (I just refuse to make two separate meals at home).
While I know that a vegan diet can be safely implemented in kids and pregnant/nursing women, I don’t feel I have the mental capacity to stay on top of such a detailed regimen right now. I have three small children, for crying out loud, they’re lucky I take the time to buy ‘whole grain’ goldfish instead of letting them eat the neon colored ones. So while I see my husband and I leaning towards veganism in the future, its just not for us right now. Plus cheese and butter are the bomb.
I feel like I’m kind of running the middle ground as far as food for health goes. I’m not giving in to the frozen pizza/happy meal industry but I’m also not eating things that only came out of my garden or haven’t been sprayed with a questionable chemical. I still have a lot to learn and think through and this will probably be a lifelong process. I’d love to start a dialog here regarding your convictions on food. How do you and your family eat?
Should I feel insulted by that soda fridge comment, or maybe I misunderstood it.
Love papa
Not at all! Jeron just can’t resist.
Thanks for clearing that up, I haven’t had a whole soda in almost five years. Talk to you soon.
Love papa
Just found your blog today (thanks to Pinterest) and I am so glad that I did! I feel exactly the same way about eating meat. Since I don’t have my own kitchen right now, I have been a little lazy with cooking. Thanks for inspiring me to get back on track!
I’m glad you’re here Kelli! I can’t imagine not having my own kitchen, that must be a real challenge. Hopefully you are still finding some great things to eat!
I’d say we have lots in common regarding the food philosophy. Within the last year or so we drastically cut our meat consumption. That happened for different reasons. 1) We moved, and the availability of “good” meat is lacking. 2)I was bored with cooking, and creating veg alternatives was a new challenge. 3)Meat was starting to feel so heavy esp in summer months. I’m all about a great burger or delicious lamb ragout, but it’s just not the everyday focus anymore like it once was. We’ve transitioned into organic and local when available. We’ve never really bought much pre-packaged food. The extent of my middle of the store shopping is canned tomatoes, dreamfields or whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, vinegar, oil, things like that…ingredients. I really try to do homemade if at all possible. This year I’ve branched out into bread, and I’d love to do more like pasta and maybe even cheese and yogurt.
It’s just kinda scary when you think about how the food industry often doesn’t treat their products as FOOD. (and my dad is a lifelong grocery man, so I also have some inside info into the retail side) Anyway… I won’t rant.
But I will share a story about fast food. This past summer I did a road trip with my 2yo. I found the most convenient stop was McDonalds. When you want to keep going, who can beat DRIVE THRU bottled water and milk?? My 2yo started calling it “the milk store”. We would also stop on short trips out of town sometimes for milk and apple slices. I thought I was being so responsible….even though it was Micky D’s. Long story short the apple slices were recalled for lysteria contamination! Scared me to death! and scared me out of fast food stops even for fruit!!!
Love the topic. Good luck with your journey!
Thanks for sharing your story Olive! I can’t believe how many people have been telling me they feel the same way about meat. That is scary about the apples, good for you though still making the best choice you could in a difficult situation! A lot of people would just give in to the happy meal.
We do a lot of the same things you listed here. We only eat meat that’s local or organic… sure it costs more, but then we eat less of it & I can be more confident that it’s a healthy option. The only meat we don’t eat local or organic is fish because I haven’t really found any places to buy it here. My brother lives in Alaska & mails us some salmon every once in awhile, but besides that, we just eat tilapia. We also try to eat organic foods that are on the dirty dozen list (although I would LOVE to buy all organic veggies, our budget doesn’t allow for that). We’ve also supported a CSA & were able to get all our veggies that way last summer. This year, I plan to grow the majority of what we need, so we’ll see how that turns out! I’m trying to find more filling salads, so if you have any ideas that I could steal, I’d love that!