Eating Organic, Supporting Local Farmers & Kitten Eggs

This almost makes me want to be a farmer. ALMOST.

I don't recall thinking very much about organic vs non organic until I was put in charge of a tiny little person and her diet. All of a sudden it became important to me to know where my food was coming from and when I brought it into my home, what that food was bringing with it. First let's get something straight, I TRY to do my best when it comes to the food we eat. As much as I wish I could do my weekly grocery shopping at Whole Paycheck Foods and buy all organic, that is just not realistic to our family budget. So living in our real life, we do the best we can, and if I have to buy some things non organic that I would rather not, I don't sweat about it. The one thing I often find with organic products (like baby food in a jar or pouch, applesauce, etc) is that the ingredient list is pretty basic. Instead of having a baby food jar of bananas that has 4 - 5 ingredients, you get the following ingredients: bananas, water. That is what is most important to me. Trying to stick to real food when I can, but having my cheating moments (usually with wine, cookies, or ice cream).

A friend recently sent me an article from The New York Times headlined "Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce" and I was like hmmmm. The article discussed how a Stanford study found there to be little to no difference in nutritional value of organic vs non organic food. The problem is, I never knew that people actually thought that. The items I eat organic I choose because of pesticides, not because I think it will be better for me nutritionally. Other good news from this study: Organic milk not only lasts for two months, it also has more omega-3 fatty acids than non organic milk. Double bonus.

Happy cows don't lie. Also a great way to teach your toddler to say "moo!"

I don't really care if my meat or poultry is organic, but I have always worried about meat being hormone free. I know at least 10 girls who have had early puberty... like getting their period in the fourth grade early. To be fair, experts say that there are a number of reasons why girls are experiencing early puberty. To achieve puberty, girls must have a certain BMI, and one of the better theories says that because women are now exposed to better nutrition at an earlier age, they experience puberty earlier. The more popular train of thought is that kids are fatter and as the obesity rate increases, so does the rate of girls maturing sooner than normal. Even knowing this, along with the fact that food hormones, once consumed, are digested in the stomach, killing their ability to have any biological activity. I still don't want hormones in my food. So there.

Added growth hormones are about to enter your body.... Arm yourself.

In a perfect world everyone would be able to afford fresh, pesticide free produce. Unfortunately, pesticides have a purpose, and when it is used farmers yield more crops. Organic farming yields less crops, comes from fewer farmers, and so it is more expensive. I try to do the best than I can within my means.

Step one is supporting local farmers and growers. When possible, head to your local farmer's market. They are in EVERY CITY now. We have one in Houston almost every day of the week except Sunday, but there is probably one on Sunday somewhere. I really like the Urban Harvest Market on Saturday Mornings. If you are going to pay to buy organic, AND you can support local farmers while doing it, it's a win win.

Step two is about knowing your budget and having realistic expectations of what you can afford. Eating what is in season is a great way to stick to your budget, but there are also some organic foods that are a complete waste of your money. The pesticide count on certain non-organics is so low, that buying the organic version has almost no benefit. You can save that money to buy organic when it comes to the produce with the highest pesticide counts. That is where the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen come in. The Dirty Dozen are the fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated with pesticides. By simply buying these 12 organic, you can substantially lower your pesticide intake. The Dirty Dozen includes (in order of most contaminated to least): Apples, Celery, Sweet Bell Peppers, Peaches, Strawberries, Imported Nectarines, Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumber, Domestic Blueberries, and Potatoes (not sweet potatoes though). Leafy greens and green beans are also high on the pesticide count, but "The Dirty Fourteen" just doesn't sound as cool. I buy organic Kale always, it is almost the same price at HEB.

On the flip side, the Clean Fifteen are fifteen fruits and veggies with the lowest pesticide count, meaning you don't need to buy them organic. Especially handy for household budgets. They include: Onions, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Avocado, Cabbage, Sweet Peas, Asparagus, Mango, Eggplant, Kiwi, Domestic Cantaloupe, Sweet Potatoes, Grapefruit, Watermelon, and Mushrooms. A really good variety and lots of kid friendly foods the whole family can eat.

My last food hang up is eggs. I pay too much for eggs because I want to buy the package that says "humanely raised in fields of loving soft grasses from Hens who have pet kittens to snuggle with at night." Those dozen eggs cost about $4.50. Worth it.

Best friends = Best Eggs

The Rooster was busy elsewhere...

 Seriously... you don't have to be a cat person to love kittens. Get over yourself. Kittens are for lovers. Kitten eggs are expensive, but completely worth it.

The point of this post, while taking some twists and turns, is that you don't have to be all or none when it comes to making decisions about the food you eat. What are you willing to compromise on and what do you support strongly? I suggest that everyone look into the food they are eating and find a good balance. While you are finding a good balance, also look for a local farmer's market. Supporting you local farmers is good for you community and good for your health. Eating what's in season (what the farmer's are growing) is cost effective and produce picked fresh and sold within days has so much more flavor!

- RT

I Quit Fad Diets When Beyonce Ruined Lemonade

I have done a lot of fad dieting in my life... at one point I was a really smelly expert on the Cabbage Soup Diet. I actually liked the soup the first 4 days and worked hard to not vomit it up the last 3. After so many rounds of cabbage soup, just typing the name makes me want to gag. 

Look familiar? I can smell you from here.

Before cabbage soup the real metabolife was legal (the kind with the heart attack drug, ephedra, in it) and I stayed fit by being too busy to eat that much. Oh metabolife... thanks for all that focus in class and the straight A's senior year. 

Buy Ephedra... never sleep again!

 Post cabbage soup was the second half of college and the cult following of the Atkins diet, followed by the South Beach revolution. In retrospect, even if you are losing weight, you really shouldn't be eating bacon covered in melted cheese for every meal. (You know who you are, and I'm looking right at YOU). 

If any vegetarians were thinking about reading my blog, they just left.

 Where are we... OH, yes, the Hollywood juice diet you bought at drug stores. It came in a bottle and told you you could lose up to 10 pounds in 48 hours*. Then it didn't tell you that once you started eating solid food again you would put on 15lbs of bloat. I stopped fad dieting partially due to ridicule from my husband and partially because I COULD NOT do the lemon water, cayenne pepper, maple syrup Beyonce for Dream Girls diet. It was just too much. I believe in cleanses, but that was BEYOND. It was fasting. 

Here is my apology for saying anything bad about Bey. But really, this was disgusting.

So I took on the favorite annoying credo that people say and tried to start eating healthy for life. It did work out well. All of the weight that was always back and forth all of the sudden stabilized and although I still feel like I always have 5lbs to lose, I FEEL better. I don't feel like I'm starving myself or like I never get to eat what want. And I could be healthier, but that's fine. I would rather drink wine and have chocolate chip cookies and feel satisfied.

Now I want to talk about how much I love food. I love food. I love it so much I categorize it so I know how best to eat it. I don't have some filing system for food, this is mental categories. Also, I'm crazy, but whatever. Here are the categories:

HEALTHY for real: this is for vegetables and lettuces and things. Like you could literally eat your face off with these things when they are steamed or raw or boiled and actually lose weight. I also count certain proteins in here when prepared the healthiest way. Like steamed fish or other healthy sounding preparation ways.

Healthy for real.

Healthy Healthy: I put fruits into the healthy healthy category because they are really good for you, and you should definitely eat a lot of them, but some fruits just taste too good to be trusted. I'm not saying to ever not eat fruit, what I'm saying is when I am shoving an entire large mango into my mouth, I could just be eating raw spinach, so I could be healthier. Also in this category are the delicious non veggie vegetables: corn, potatoes, and any other vegetable that tastes a little too good. And your usual suspect lean meats, chicken breasts, fishes, pork, and Bambi. I also put triscuits in here because they have three ingredients and for health I would rather binge on them than lose a fat battle to a box of oreos.

Here is a giant mango for you to enjoy.

Healthier OPTION: I love this category. These are foods that might not be good for you, but they are better for you than what you could have eaten. I don't really believe in grains (although I eat enough of them) so my favs brown rice and whole wheat pasta go here. Because I really eat too much per serving for them to be healthy healthy. Also here is pretty much any casserole or recipe from cooking light. Because really those delish meals are just a substitute for the biscuits and honey covered in egg yolk that I was going to shove into my mouth. If I have ice cream after dinner you might consider this a "treat" (see below) but really it's a healthier option because it has less calories than the two large glasses of wine that I sacrificed to eat the ice cream. My peanut covered ice cream drumstick is a healthier OPTION. See where this is going? Most foods fit into this category.

Chicken tamale casserole from Cooking Light. See the salad, that's so health right there.

Treats: I love treats. Potato salad, grilled corn and blue cheese salad, have you ever realized how many unhealthy things have the word "salad" after them? Dinner out is a treat all around. I mean seriously, I don't care what the biggest loser tries to tell you, who goes out to a nice meal and then tells the waiter to tell the chef how to boil their meat with no oil or seasoning and then steam their vegetables? Come to my house. I'll make that for you where it is supposed to be eaten... at a house. You should try to eat healthiest in every day life. Dinner out is a treat. It's something that you do every once and a while. Not a daily or even weekly part of your diet. Tortilla chips with a really amazing and fattening dip = treat. Fried chicken = treat. Chocolate Sheet Cake = treat. Greasy Cheese Enchiladas from Spanish Village = the best treat ever. And so on.

These are the real life Spanish Village Enchiladas. Now pass the margaritas.

Chemicals: I do enjoy chemicals every now and then, and I feel it's better to recognize them for what they are. Chemicals are things like skittles, cheesy/ranch/almost any Doritos, well really packaged chips in general, candy with color dye in it, squeeze cheese, cokes and most sodas, the cookies from the store with the fluffy frosting that taste like cupcakes.... best chemicals ever! Chemicals are good, but you have to see them for what they are. They shouldn't be a part of your every day diet. 

Needed to Survive: These fall into the categories above at times, but if I want them bad enough, I do it... because I have to. I  need these things. I also have a rotating spot on my need to survive that is my obsession of the moment. Right now it is ice cream drumsticks. Tonight I had figs and honey for dessert instead. It was really hard. Needed to survive: Most melty chocolate chip cookies, homemade bread and butter, gin and tonic in the summer time, champagne any time, peanut butter, and cheese. 

Doesn't everyone carry this wherever they go?

Maybe blogging is about exposing my crazy to the internet. Someone else please tell me you categorize your food and then send me your categories. 

-RT