Saturday, February 27, 2010

My New Food "Rules"

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Have you seen the documentary Food, Inc? We saw it about a month ago and we haven't been the same since. We learned things about the food industry, especially meat, that we had no clue about. My main issue after watching it was with beef. I knew that the cows were treated badly but it hit me hard actually seeing it. Also, did you know that they feed cows corn now? Did you know that is the reason for all of the e.coli outbreaks? Cows aren't meant to eat corn but they are "training" them to and as the corn is trying to digest it can form bacteria. Grass fed cows don't have this problem and I realized that we should eat animals that have eaten well themselves. Makes sense doesn't it? I could go on and on but I'll let you see it for yourself because I highly recommend it (we got it from Netflix). After seeing it, Ben and I made the decision to eat way less meat and to only buy organic beef from grass fed cows. This will cost more, but if we eat less meat and less junk food, then we can certainly afford it or at least feel better about spending more. I still have issues with chicken but not as bad. I haven't bought potato chips, Pop Tarts, Little Debbie cakes, etc for a month now. Guess what? No one has complained! If it's not there, they are forced to choose something else so the transition has gone smoothly. I'm reading a book right now called Food Rules by Michael Pollan and he says "junk food" is fine, just make it yourself. If you have to make it yourself you won't do it often and you know what ingredients are going into it. I was worried about what the heck I was going to cook if we didn't have meat but we actually went 5 days straight last week with vegetarian dinners. Unfortunately Ethan hates beans (except green beans) so he's having a hard time with all the new bean dishes. I haven't bought any beef because I have to go to Whole Foods Market for that and haven't had a chance. We've been eating chicken once a week, fish/shrimp once a week and the rest of our dinners without meat. I feel healthier already! As much as I am a "city girl" I would love to have a home where I could raise my own organically fed chickens for the eggs and grow a huge organic garden. You will now be seeing more vegetarian foods but don't worry I still love beef but I won't be cooking it as often. Ok, off my soapbox now!

1 comment:

  1. I loved your soapbox! I haven't seen this documentary but I definitely want to look into it, now. We have made a big push to eat healthier and I've loved all of Michael Pollan's books. He is very inspiring. My kids struggle with beans, too, but I'm pushing for more vegetarian meals. I wonder if our city ordinances would let us build a small chicken coop? Our neighbors would probably die but it would be worth it!

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