my food renaissance

Thanksgiving is just about 1 week away! Insane. Makes a good segue to a long-winded chat about food. I'm not usually one to write persuasive essays, but I just have a couple of things that need to be said:

I nearly choked on my Wonderbread* last Thursday night when my friend Chelsea (who was coming to spend the weekend with us, arriving the following afternoon) announced that she and her baby were on a gluten-free diet. Gulp. What did that even mean? I had absolutely no clue, except that we probably couldn't order pizza. (!?!) A split second later, I was googling easy gluten-free recipes and scouring over blogs like this one and this one. I made a list, checked it twice, and fled for the health store, in hopes of filling their bellies with the right stuff while they stayed under our roof.

(For those as in the dark as I was--a gluten free diet basically means no wheat. Sometimes people skip dairy too, sometimes not. They eat lots of fresh, healthy fruits + veggies. Lots of protein, rice, and nuts. A whole lot of good, wholesome things. A whole lot less empty carbs and processed junk.)

It turns out that Chels started this whole holistic, organic, extra healthy kick after her daughter was born and she needed to completely transform her diet in order to successfully keep breastfeeding. In a little over a year, she's become a walking health encyclopedia and even started a great blog along with a friend about their adventures in holistic parenting. As the weekend went on, we chatted a ton and I felt like my eyes were really opened about our society's big, fat messed up perception of real food.

I'd never been resistant to the whole/organic/locally sourced food movement (in fact, I've always thought it was pretty neat)--I had just never taken the time to be educated about it. I'd caught bits and pieces from NPR, I stood in awe of the girl who makes her own granola bars and the girl who makes her own yogurt, but I'd never really put all the pieces together to understand why it's all such a big deal. I'd always enjoyed a good trip to the farmer's market, bought organic milk for G and tried to cook nutritious things as much as possible-but I never ever thought I'd be the girl preaching on her blog about free range chickens and the dirty dozen.

Maybe I am the last girl on earth to have finally sat down to watch Food Inc., but in case I'm not, I highly, highly recommend that you see it too. I can say with an open mind that our society's recent and rapid advances in agriculture have produced some positives: food has become more affordable and more available. I won't discredit that. But suddenly our food has become, well, a whole lot less like food. When I look around at the grocery store, I admit that I've been getting a little disgusted. Everything is processed, packaged, and filled with pretty much unrecognizable ingredients. I won't even begin to rant about the government influences, money trails, legal red tape, factory farms, horrible pesticides, unnecessary antibiotics, genetically modified monstrosities, inhumane working conditions, and ridiculous amount of waste that are involved here. God must be so sad about what we've done to his Creation. How we've abused and distorted all the good things he's made for us. It all makes me lose my appetite.

I will say that I am looking at our food from a whole new angle. I am finally beginning to digest all of this food rhetoric and am beginning to see the bigger picture, the repercussions it has on us as a society and on our future. I am taking a second glance at what our grocery budget is really funding, and am thinking about more ways to exercise my vote and effect change on my family's dinner table. Although our world and our food system are royally messed up, I am comforted knowing that I am a steward of my body and my refrigerator.

I can make small choices and changes that will better nourish our bodies and can support local farmers who supply food with integrity.
I can subscribe to a CSA.
I can dodge the dirty dozen (and spring for the organic versions).
I can hoard the clean 15.
I can learn how to plant a garden.
I can try to grow some good veggies in our own backyard.
I can visit the farmers' market more regularly.
I can get beef, pork, and eggs from my aunts and uncles (who conveniently still own family farms!)
I can make a New Year's resolution to freeze and can more things next summer.
I can search for healthier recipes.
I can skip the chips, soda, crackers, and cookies at the grocery store.
I can learn so much more: I am really curious to hear your thoughts, tips, sources, and suggestions. I know this is a really hot topic and that there's an enormous wealth of information out there...I have barely scratched the surface.

This was a biggie--thanks for reading.

*P.S. I don't actually eat Wonderbread. Never have, never will. I just chose to pick on this ungodly resemblance of food substance for dramatic effect. Sorry for the tall tales. :)