4.26.2010

The Tree High-Fiver

Photo credit: flickr Fellowship of the Rich
My friend, The Holy Roller, calls me the "Tree High-Fiver."  She is on the board at church, goes to church CONVENTIONS even, so of course I have to refer to her as The Holy Roller (THR).  Anyway, THR claims that I'm not so crunchy after all -- that I'm not a Tree Hugger. I know, gasp! right? That I'm more of a Tree High-Fiver.  I think she's actually right.  I like to do things that "help the Earth" or are "eco-friendly" but I'm not ultra-passionate and I'm not trying to go off-grid or anything. I'm just slightly crispy, rather than crunchy.  I'm also not a vegetarian, I don't buy all organic food , I'm not a hardcore locavore and I haven't boycotted Wally World.  But I DO follow the dirty dozen, try not to buy many processed foods and am slowly learning to make more things from scratch.

Last week Food, Inc was on PBS.  (You can still watch it online for free til Thursday, April 29!)  I've been wanting to see this movie for a while now, but missed it in the theater and it wasn't exactly the big New Release that would be carried in Red Box.  PBS to the rescue.  I knew all about the content-- how our food chain is screwed.  I knew it was not going to be easy to watch. I also knew I needed BigDaddy to watch it with me.  It would be vital to our next baby step and we needed to be on the same page.  It WAS difficult to watch, not because of graphic pics (though there were some), but because I was disgusted that we put our trust into the government to provide us with good, clean, healthy food and they can't/won't do anything to ensure that it actually happens.

I'd love to say that it converted me into a Tree Hugger.  It didn't.  Yes, it's great to "Save the Earth" be an "Eco-Warrior," what have you... but selfishly, this is about me and my family being safe and healthy. I'm more of a Femivore in training, if anything. I take notes from THR ;)  This movie helped me realize that I now need to be my family's own food monitor.  And we are at the point where we need to up the ante.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes.  Oh Great!  Yet ANOTHER thing I need to worry about and feel guilty I'm not doing.  But it's not about that.  It IS about taking action to improve the food we eat at home. one step at a time.  If you are part of my Loyal Seven, you know this has been a process for me and my family.  I've been talking about overhauling our lifestyle since the start of this blog.  And even longer than that off-line. It's totally doable, but it does take time. and effort.  Do what you can and go from there.  You can't do everything overnight. We don't want you to get all frustrated and end up hiding in the closet with tequila shots, do we?

So, I'm at a cross-roads once again.  I need to start buying all organic meat. This will in turn be more money, so we will need to eat less meat.  Plus, I don't know how to cook a lot of vegetarian meals, and we will need to eat more meatless options due to buying less meat.  I need to figure all that out. Plus, we've been extra busy and eating easier, faster (less healthy) meals lately.  Mama Bear is out of practice.  I haven't been doing meal plans or making sure we're eating complete, nourishing meals. And of course we haven't planted our garden yet. And my house is a wreck as usual. And BigDaddy is recruiting.  Does this sound familiar or what?

What can I do now? What's my next step?  Visit the local butcher shop that carries local, organic meat.  Doesn't sound like a big deal does it? but it's not a part of my routine.  It's an unknown.  I don't do well with the up-start to a commitment.  After I give our tree a high-five, maybe I can talk it into holding my hand and going with me.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being in the middle of the road. I'm always seeking balance, so extremes always throw me off! Good luck on your journey.

Anonymous said...

Start slow and do what you can. Raising kids is a long, long process never ending so just pick one subject line like meal planning. Do you have a Trader Joe's near you. They have some wonderful items that are healthy. They make chicken breasts (Panko) that is breaded ready to eat that is delicious along with a turkey breast already stuffed with an apple, cranberry stuffing that is easy to bake (comes ready to put in your own pan). Prices are lower as well. Tackle only one thing.

Lisa Spector said...

Anon- Welcome! Extremes throw me off too and then I feel bad because I didn't real my goal.

Madge- don't tease. NO TJs, closest one is 2 hours away. I know they have wonderful stuff. we all lust over it here in the Valley. I had Memaw pick up some items the munchkins love before her last visit.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that about TJ's. I would make the two hour trip and stock up and freeze the stuff from there. It is worth a trip.

Anonymous said...

You can bring a cooler and put the frozen stuff in that. I buy mostly fresh from them and then freeze.

Lisa Spector said...

Madge, you crack me up. In my book NOT worth the 4 hour round trip to get some food. I can barely make it to the grocery store here when I need to go. If BigDaddy was actually home long enough for me to take a solo trip that long (because I don't take the kids shopping), it wouldn't be to buy food, that's for sure. ;) I'd rather use my crock pot.

Nikki said...

Loved Food Inc too...saw it last year....my kids eyes are opened and that helps. They just know mama is going to show them every documentary from food issues to human issues and they enjoy them. I just space out the learning and don't harp on it. I think it is great to have your family aware though of the good choices like eating local and trying to support local businesses too. You have great options there with summer farmers markets coming up. We are lucky here too with incredible farmers markets in every little town on rotating days May-October. Natural healthy foods are high demand so prices are good but still more of course. Traders Joes 45 min north but nothing there is local...all from California almost! They have the BEST chocolate covered Espresso beans though...nothing local about that. I guess I am not a complete tree hugger!

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