Thick, freshly baked artisan bread, filled with whole grains and seeds, a slight taste of honey, nothing artificial – and so much more satisfying than the packaged wheat I used to purchase, that now tastes – to me – like cardboard.
Organically grown red potatoes, organically grown Roma tomatoes, organically grown red leaf, and spinach, all drizzled with homemade vinaigrette… heavy on the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, light on the garlic.
A French dish that has always been one of my favorites, in its many variations: poulet à la crème – made with free-range chemical-free chicken, and more organics: mushrooms, onion, peppers, seasoning – and of course, that dash of cream – though I often substitute chicken broth and go light on the cream.
I’m eating well these days. Very well. And at lower cost than ever. As for the reasons why – besides a determination to do so?
I have access to a variety of sources – including a fantastic no-frills Farmer’s Market. I have the time – approximately six hours each week – in which to do my food shopping. And with that time, I frequent five different locations. I know what to buy at each, and I’m very disciplined at not straying from my targeted items.
Catch-22: Time is Money
As a single mother for many years, juggling multiple jobs as a contractor or freelancer, and multiple kids (my two and their friends), jamming the two hours a week of “everything” shopping that I usually spent was hard enough. An additional three or four hours?
Not a prayer.
- Despite a so-called “flexible schedule” (making my own hours around too much to do and too little time).
- Despite a constant desire to keep expenses down (hello single parent reality, and those oh-so-hard-to-enforce agreements).
- Despite the fervent belief that we are what we eat – or at the very least – our health and well-being is significantly impacted by the quality of what we put in our mouths.
Not only are we nourishing ourselves with necessary nutrients; there is pleasure in savoring the many tastes and textures of a wonderful meal.
You Are What You Eat
Just to be clear – I am not vegan or vegetarian, nor have I gone entirely “organic.” But in the past five months, I’ve probably achieved 75% organic.
I feel better. I look better. I’m spending less.
Think that when your kids get older and busier, then take off on their own adventures, that sitting down to a fantastic meal doesn’t affect your mood – as well as your physical health?
Think again.
I’m spending no more time in the kitchen than I once did, but I’m enjoying the preparation more. And the results.
As a believer in “You are what you eat,” I will also say that I like to think I haven’t lost my taste for a little sexy something now and then. In the bedroom. In the kitchen. In life. Wherever it may happen to blossom.
And who doesn’t feel more sensual when you allow yourself to indulge in comely comestibles, and then savor whatever you put in your mouth?
Obesity, Food Quality, Long-Term Health
Think those obesity statistics are talking about some other children, some other family, some other neighborhood?
Some other woman’s post-menopausal future?
It isn’t simply about getting up off the couch (though that’s advisable) – or pushing yourself away from the table (though portion control matters, of course). You are what you eat! The better the quality, the fewer the chemical additives, the more nutritionally well-rounded your diet – the better you’ll feel.
As a woman at midlife, I am well aware of my body’s gradual changes and its capacity and its preferences. I know where I tend to be deficient (like many women – iron), and how to eat to battle that tendency.
Look at this list of food offenders that up the likelihood of stroke. These used to be staples in my house – in part because my kids liked them, and also because I thought they were cheaper – and – not unhealthy!
Guess what – they’re neither! And they’ve now been eliminated from this household, with the exception of small portions of (grass fed anti-steroidal) red meat. But again, this change in diet is possible because I have options that are accessible, and time to seek them out that I didn’t have previously.
- Shouldn’t we all be speaking out about that?
- Who doesn’t want the healthiest possible foods at affordable prices?
- Not only for our families, but for ourselves – so we can feel great as we grow older?
Wouldn’t that be doing something positive for the economy – long-term – saving on billions in health care, not to mention allowing us to grow older gracefully as well as productively?
Lingerie by Hélène Ponot
© D A Wolf
I often feel badly about our grocery bill, but I feel well convinced that better foods make life better. Organic/vegetarian arent the only ways to go. We just try to eat less meat. And organics are not only better for our bodies, but better for the evnvironment and and for the people who work in the fields. (Regulations vary by country, so while organic bananas aren’t on the high list of important for worst contaminated fruits and veggies, the non organics may cause health problems in the pickers.) I think what we eat is also a matter of social justice.
Some things on that list are tricky – soups in particular for me. But it’s important to watch our sodium intake – a doctor friend of mine said that toddlers are having more kidney stones because of all the salty snacks that are so prevalent for babies!
“A matter of social justice.”
I couldn’t agree more, Kate.
Oh, God, have you read Fast Food Nation? That book literally scared me to death. Good for you for taking care of yourself.
Now if only we could spread the word, Kitch! This is a HUGE issue!
lovely post. thoughtful. and We Agree. (even the colours/colors/shades in our fridge chez nous are somehow more vibrant due to better choices – the plumpest peaches, ruby red grapefruits and organic milk cartoons with cute pictures of happy farmers)
btw, you mentioned sitting in a particular cafe in Paris on our blog – which one? we love to dream of Paris too and it set us thinking about la vie du flaneur (janet flanner being a particular favorite/favourite/inspiration).
amities! )tg x
J’ai plusieurs cafés préférés! I love the back streets of the 3rd and 4th… and have found a few cozy spots – avec wifi. A “must” (with or without Cartier.) 😉
ACCESS – that is absolutely the most important word in your entire post . . . I know I feel better when I eat organic, I like the food better when I eat organic, but *my* choices are extremely limited due to my circumstances. I live less than 5 miles from an organic grocery store, but without a car, it takes me over an hour to get there on the bus, and even longer to get back. Throw in fibromyalgia and sciatica, which means I can’t carry more than 5 pounds for any distance without severe pain, the 2 to 3 pounds of “essential supplies” I have to carry with me (I’m hypoglycemic, and have to carry emergency food everywhere I go, plus a bottle of water,) and recovery time on the heating pad when I get back, and one trip costs a minimum of 5 hours for a couple of pounds of groceries.
The large chain grocery that I work at does carry SOME organics, but the prices tend to be double or triple the cost of the ‘store brands’ I get a discount on. (I live in a ‘low-income’ area, which means that prices of everything are higher than they are in other areas, too. I can go five miles down the street to a different store of the same chain, have a MUCH larger selection of organics and save money, IF I can find a way to get there and get the 30 or so pounds of groceries back without killing myself.)
Farmer’s Markets? Impossible. Hours on the bus, with multiple changes and miles of walking, followed by trying to get home with enough stuff to make the trip worth the investment of time and bus fare means days in bed with the hot pads.
Social justice means more than choosing foods that don’t kill the people who grow and pick them, it means giving EVERYONE access to healthy food, and teaching them why the food they eat makes a difference.
I hear you, Wendy. And it’s all so much harder if you are older, or if you have physical limitations, or “simply” live with pain.
Access. Yes. At prices that aren’t outrageous. And public transportation that helps get places more easily and affordably. (And wouldn’t that help the environment as well?) Then again, if more people continued to practice “community” in the ways that we all used to, we might find a means to reach out and help each other – including with the access issue.
I noticed that the list of “stroke” foods included smoked meats. Do I have to give up lox?
Lox are salmon, right? Salmon’s good for the brain, no, Doctor Wolf?
Besides – note that I said I’ve gone about 75% organic. Frankly, there are some things I really enjoy eating – but I was taught that moderation is the key. Can’t we enjoy some foods that may not be super great for us, but do so on occasion, not daily? (My approach, anyway.)
It does take time to eat better; in my experience, planning is crucial. Preparing meals ahead of time for days when I won’t have time to cook eliminates the tendency to pickup fast food in a rush. As for organic, reducing meat consumption allows me to upgrade any meat I do purchase now to more organic and sustainable levels. For veggies, I subscribe to a weekly harvest from a organic farm; I prepay in the spring and it works out to $20 a week for high quality produce. Augmenting this with seasonal fruit from the farmer’s market keeps me supplied with healthy food. The other aspect of planning is to preserve food for the winter, this is the part that I still need to work on; if time gets tight, I’ve missed chances to preserve and when I do have preserved foods, I forget to use them up during the winter. I hope to have a better track record this winter.
I suspect you don’t have access problems to the places you need to shop. I also suspect you live in a generally more health-friendly environment than many of us on the other side of the border. It is amazing, isn’t it, batticus, how well we can eat (and affordably) with planning and access to what we need – and the time to prepare it. But without any of those elements, we may be S.O.L., as the saying goes.
(You really preserve? Have never done that. Suggestions for a first foray?)
Going into cooler days and nights, I’m super excited about soup season! I love making homemade veggie soup, chili, chicken noodle, stews, etc. But don’t ask me to give up bread. Can’t. Won’t. 😀