Cleaning Out My Fridge

I am not the chief grocery shopper in my family. In fact, the grocery store stresses me out. I end up not getting everything I needed, or getting a bunch of stuff I don't need. And then I'm frustrated by the necessary return trips or having stuff I have to figure out what to do with in my house.

I am also not the primary meal planner in my house, but I'm becoming the primary  chef. That's simply because in order for Ed to shop, he needs to know what to buy, and coming up with 1 or 2 meals at the start of the week is about what I muster. So he does it himself. But then, because I'm home almost every night before he is, I get the task of cooking - which actually could be nice if it didn't have to take place in the span of about 25 minutes with hungry kids looking on.

What I am, when it comes to food, is the primary believer in conspiracy theories. I am also the primary complainer about what gets purchased at the grocery store. Helpful, I know.

Invigorated by my recent organic kick that led me to pester Ed into switching to organic dairy and then drove me to join another CSA, this time Shenandoah Farms, I was all in when it came to reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for my online book club From Left to Write. Is it possible that she's right that the explosion of high fructose corn syrup is a product of over-subsidizing corn? I hear about irrational farm policies all the time - it certainly seems possible that this is another one.

I like the idea of eating local, but I also love all that lovely out of season fruit. And, it's one of few food groups that Connor devours. But I also remember all those strawberries my mom froze every year for us - to be served mid-winter when it is simply impossible to find anything that delicious. I also remember the canned cherries. Yum! I could've done without the day under the backyard tree shucking corn, but I have to give my mom credit that it it more delicious than anything that can be purchased in a can or frozen.

I still have dreams of growing all my food some year, but I won't be doing it here in Arlington. I value my sanity a lot more, which is what led to grassing in my garden about a year ago. I just couldn't take the stress of whatever critter it is that likes to bite into each and every piece of fruit in my garden.

Elaine

I received a free copy of the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle as a member of the online book club From Left to Write. It's been a great read so far.

Yo! I Like High Quality Organic Yogurt

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to hear Robyn O'Brien speak at a lunch at Restaurant Nora in DC. The talk was sponsored by Stonyfield. After hearing her talk, it's hard to purchase a non-organic dairy product. Robyn wrote the book "The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It", and I heard about it at the time we were wondering about Helen's possible food allergies (which we have now decided is an allergy to mussels, and nothing else). The book discusses "food sensitivities" - which seem to be reactions like Helen's (lots and lots of puking) and food allergies (the super scary get your kid to the ER RIGHT NOW!) and ultimately says both are allergic reactions, they just differ in severity. And wow am I thankful that Helen is in the former category and not the latter. One reason to prefer organic is that the probability of having some adverse reaction to a product decreases when you know exactly what the product is, without having to worry about what it's been coated in, or what's been used in growing the product. Makes sense, right? And of course, some of the chemicals used in processing are known to be unsafe at some level, so why risk exposure at any level if you don't have to?

I am all about believing in the conspiracy, and it's not hard for me to believe that big agri-business is willing to sacrifice my and my family's health in the name of corporate profits. So I made my appeal to Ed (chief grocery shopper) and now he brings home organic milk. Here's the thing - I've been a vegetarian for a long time - as are Connor and Helen, so I figure our load of all the weird stuff that's pumped into meat is pretty light - but I might as well go the next step and eliminate all the junk that goes into dairy production as well. And, if it tastes good - well that's all the more reason to go organic.

Helen and Connor give Stonyfield YoBaby! and YoKids! two thumbs up. Mostly, they like them because the yogurt is smooth, not bumpy. Helen would probably eat yogurt with whole pieces of fruit, but that's a texture path that Connor is not quite ready for.

My favorite yogurt is honey flavored yogurt from Blue Ridge Dairy. They're a local farm and though they're not organic, they don't use growth hormones. I'm not a huge yogurt fan (most have too runny of a consistency for me), but I am a huge fan of the protein yogurt provides. I was a bit scared to try something new, having finally found one yogurt at the farmer's market I like. As part of Stonyfield's yo-getter program, I was given coupons to purchase several varieties of their yogurt, and I forced myself to try the Caramel and Honey greek yogurt. And, it was actually delicious! So now, I have two yogurts I love, which I almost always have at my office for my afternoon snack (13 grams of protein)! Yum!

It's been several months since we've been mostly organic in the dairy case, and I can't say I've felt a huge change, but I am hoping that I'm at leasts incrementally improving my children's health.

Now...to go with a CSA this year as in several past years, or focus on getting to the farmer's market on Saturday morning!

Elaine