Green is Good

My blogger friend, Angi, has inspired me to write a list of the greener things that my family has adopted recently.

We downsized to ONE family car. Yes, it is an SUV, but the hybrid couldn't hold us all and our stuff. We get between 20-26 miles per gallon, and usually have more than one person in the car at a time. It takes more communication and motivation to get things scheduled, and I walk to the store when I only need a few things. BOB stroller saves my butt on this, it doubles as my shopping cart!

Most days, Jeff rides a bus to work and back. He walks 8 blocks to the park and ride, but sometimes if the weather is horrible or he has slept too late, Ryan and I drive him there. 

We subscribe to a local organic farm for home delivered produce. What we put in our bodies is mainly my responsibility and I take it very seriously.  I also made the majority of Ryan's baby food myself (it was so easy!) so I know exactly what's going in to keep him running around.  We have a small raised bed garden for the past 3 years and have had homegrown tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, and apples.  This spring, we dug up the south side yard and expanded our efforts. If all goes well we will have plums, leeks, shallots, parsnips, butternut squash, zucchini, and yellow squash to add to the usual. The lettuce already died :(

We've started eating only 100% grass fed beef-when we buy it. Cows are ruminants, and aren't meant to eat corn. I can taste a difference. It is pretty expensive, so we don't do it often. We've also discovered the joy of buffalo. It has less calories and fat than beef and is making a comeback.

Our daycare provider (Jenn) is a close friend who opened her own business this year.  While interviewing other agencies (before Jenn was set up) who would be caring for Ryan 2 days a week, I reviewed their menus. I was offended by the choices offered for foods.  When I read hot dogs and teriyaki chicken, I almost ran out the door!  Jenn is committed to provided organic foods when available and organic milk for my little guy. He LOVES going to play at her house and feels at home there. I never worry about him when he's with her.

All paint that we have used in this house has been no VOC.  We've redone 3 rooms and will possibly be changing a 4th in the next year. We also replaced a wall to wall nasty carpet with wool carpeting and a no VOC carpet pad.  It is the best feeling stuff ever on bare feet!

Ryan wears lots of hand me downs from Jenn's son, Andrew. So our clothing footprint in the infant sizes is pretty small. We sell some things at the consignment store, and always end up with a new toy or outfit when we go in. 

I line dry clothes when the weather is cooperative. Hopefully, it will be more cooperative soon! Our washer and dryer are not exactly new, so if we were to win more than $500 in the lottery, they would be replaced with a more efficient pair. (hear that lottery people, I don't NEED the mega millions, just a little off the top!)

So there's my Green sheet for the day. See if you can make a difference in your little part of the world too.

In Defense of Food

At last, a non-baby post!! I've been writing this one in my head for about  a week, and need to get it out!!

I mentioned that I finished this book (IN Defense of Food, Michael Pollan) last week. I really liked it b/c it provided affirmation for many of my eating habits, and gave me some new fodder to think about. I'll leave out all the stuff about the government conspiring to change our eating habits...for that, you'll have to read the book yourself!  

Michael Pollan thinks that our Western Diet is to blame for the problems of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. I think he's pretty much right. So I summarized some key points for you, to help all my friends and family be healthier people.

1) Eat more plants, leafy ones. This is a basic premise of the book, and I do this a lot. It all started when I dated/married a vegetarian. (I've converted him to meat, most recently beef-read on)

2) When you eat meat, it should be GRASS fed. God made cows with 4 stomachs b/c they are supposed to eat grass, not CORN. Yes, I realize that corn is a grass, however, the beef you see at most markets is PROUDLY corn fattened b/c it is cheap and easy to mass produce. This meat is nutritionally inferior to grass fed. Same goes for chickens and eggs. It has to do with a ratio of fats, Omega 6 and Omega 3. Short story, grass fed animals are better for you to eat.

My husband used to get a sick tummy if he ate beef. He claimed it was something about not eating it for 15+ years. Two nights ago, we had stir fry with grass fed beef. He barely even burped afterwards!

3) When you grocery shop, don't buy anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize. (any pre-WWII relative will do).  Processing food and adding weird things to make it less food-like started at the end of WWII. READ THE LABELS OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUY AND PUT INTO YOUR BODY!!

Ways to do this:

a) Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. Most "raw materials" eggs, milk, cheese, bread, produce, and meat are at the edges. You don't "need" the stuff in the middle of the store. 

b) Don't eat stuff with unrecognizable ingredients. I have a guilty pleasure to confess: Pop Tarts. They contain: xanthan gum. Does anybody know what that is?  Also, avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup--a sweetener that is getting a bad rap lately for good reason.

c) Don't buy anything with more than 5 ingredients in it. The Pop Tarts have more than 30 ingredients!!

4) You may have to pay a little more and spend a little more time preparing your food to eat this way, but the savings in healthcare costs, and long-term health benefits should be worth it to you. Also, you will spend less time in front of the TV, which we all need.  Last night, I spent more than an hour cooking a yummy vegetable curry with dahl from scratch. It was delicious!

Here's to happy healthy eating! Now I need to return this overdue library book.