20 Jul
How We Choose to Vote With Our Food Dollars
My Food Diary has turned out to be even more effective than I imagined it would. Public accountability is unbelievably intimidating, and my goal of eating mindfully is working out just as I had hoped. I’m losing weight, slowly, but slowly is good if it’s sustained over a long period of time. I’m working to lose weight in a way that will prevent me from putting the excess back on again, and believing that I can enjoy what I eat while doing so. Thanks to all those who take the time to say you “like” something. It’s extra motivating to know that people are reading!
While pregnant I posted about my introduction to the Real Foods movement through Nina Planck’s book Real Food for Mother and Baby. I worked on eliminating some ingredients from my diet, including corn syrup, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and vegetable oils. I stopped being afraid of saturated fats and started buying whole dairy products and looking for meats other than the leanest cuts/options. Shortly after I had T1 I also said that we were going to work on cutting back on the amount of meat we ate. Through all of this I’ve been shocked to learn how many of you are already doing these very things. Duh! Why did it take me so long to catch on to something so many of you have been doing already?
I activated my library card, and post-baby I started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. The book had to be returned after I was only a few chapters in, so I wasn’t able to finish. (I’ve since checked it out again, finishing it right before I composed this post.)
I couldn’t get it back right away, and so I started reading In Defense of Food.
Am I being over dramatic if I start my next sentence with “And that’s when everything changed for me“? Because that’s when everything changed for me. Suddenly the things I had read in Nina’s book were all making sense. I could actually see how this way of living would fit in with my current lifestyle, and I knew the changes I needed to make in my life. I know there are more than enough Michael Pollan worshippers out there, and I’m trying not to be one of them, but this man truly is brilliant. Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. I’ve been told that I need to eat more vegetables my entire life, but I wasn’t ever able to make the shift I needed to have that happen. The frozen veggie packs I bought at the grocery store were either tasteless or over-seasoned. I only liked tomatoes in certain dishes because I found them mealy. Vegetables just didn’t seem very exciting and every time I walked into the produce section I loaded up my cart with the same old boring standards, broccoli, tomato, avocado, and lettuce. Plus how was I supposed to have enough room for veggies when I had chicken and eggs and beef and fish taking up so much of my plate?
Pollan talks about what he calls “Nutritionism”, the effects of the Western Diet, and how we can get past the nutritionism mindset and move back to the way of eating that sustained our ancestors for a few thousand years before we came along and scientifified everything. If you’re intrigued by this Real Foods/Whole Movement, you need to read this book. I can’t do it justice here on this little blog of mine.
I couldn’t stop talking about my new mindset with TH, but he wasn’t really getting it. He doesn’t have the time to read In Defense of Food himself right now, and he was skeptical of the regurgitated tidbits I was quoting back at him. Luckily Pollan wrote a book called Food Rules, criticized by many for its brevity but this is exactly why I loved it. He’s created a little manual with 64 “rules” that help you better understand what living a Real Foods lifestyle really means. Some of the more pivotal rules, IMO, include:
Don’t eat anything you great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed amoung hte top three ingredients.
Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
and one of the more humorous ones,
If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
Eat less. (!)
There are two things that have really made a difference with TH. The first is the revelation that Americans devote far less of their overall budget toward purchasing food than many other developed countries (I can’t find the exact figure, but I believe he said American’s spend about 10% of their budget on food, and inhabitants of Spain spend 17%). I told him I was willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to devote more money toward eating better.
The other defining moment for him was when I purchased a $2 organic heirloom tomato from the Farmer’s Market. It was for his birthday lunch, and I was a bit hesitant to tell him how much it cost because it was so spendy (it was a really large tomato though 
). He bit into it and told me that this tomato, unlike every other tomato he had ever had in America, “tasted like Poland”. He was moaning with pleasure through the entire meal. Since I started buying local, snatching up heirloom varieties of produce when I can find it, I’ve heard several more times that the food “tastes like Poland”. The free-range grass-fed milk bought for $6/gallon (that I, incidentally, didn’t like) also tasted just like home. After a few weeks of eating this way neither of us can imagine going back again.
I’ve adopted a new mantra in life: Vote With Your Dollars. The choices you make when you decide what to eat really do make a difference. The things you choose to put in your grocery cart not only affect you and your family, but the type of food that will continue to be produced based on the way you “voted” with your dollars. If you contribute to stripping the land with harsh fertilizers and pesticides, the inhumane treatment of factory farmed animals, and the big food corps advertising to your children on Nickelodeon, that’s the food that will continue to be produced. If on the other hand, you seek out local and organic products, you send out a message that these things matter, and that more of them should be produced. Coincidentally you also strike a blow at the profit margin of companies working each year to addict us to fat-laden, sugar-loaded, disease-producing “food products”.
Not everyone can make this change. Certainly many of the migrant workers planting and harvesting the very produce we eat often can’t afford to do so, but there are so many of us who can. I certainly can, and I think there are many of you reading this post who could as well if you wanted to make it a priority. I think an apt comparison can be made when we think about recycling. Not everyone can recycle. Space may be an issue, or you may live so far away from a processing facility that it’s not financially feasible for you to do so (country folk like my parents face this dilemma). But those who do choose to recycle make a difference that we can see. Not everyone has to participate for the action to matter. Everyone would be ideal, but even a small part of the whole is incredibly effective.
Our family has the opportunity to cast a vote when it comes to how we spend our food dollars, and we’ve decided to make localganic a priority. I hope we never go back.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
I found Pollen’s book interesting enough, but a little slow for me. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, on the other hand really just got me on fire. I LOVED that book - I can’t wait to someday have my own big garden.
What kinds of things have you had to sacrifice to spend more money on food, if you don’t mind sharing?
1If this was Facebook I would “Like” this post:-) I LOVE IT! I’m working on a clean, whole foods diet as well. I was Paleo for a while but didn’t like consuming so many animal products. Now I’m working grains back into my diet and trying to detox myself off of my beloved Subway (very processed meat/cheese/bread.) Seriously, this post was great and I think a lot of people are going to learn valuable lessons from it. Thank you:-) And now, I’m going to follow your example and join the library too!
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Have you checked out Marks Daily Apple/ MDA ? He is paleo/primal, but advocates A LOT of vegetables!
Sophia Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
My cousin just recently went paleo, and since I researched it extensively about two years ago, I had found his site. I turned her on to it and she loves it too.
wow I really like this post, I am definitely going to check out some of the books you posted if not all. I am trying to loose the 40lbs I gained during pregnancy too. I really need a positive change.
3Great post! I’m scared to read these books because I know they’d hit home with me and my fiancee doesn’t eat vegetables other than corn, green beans, and potatoes.
I could survive on just veggies alone but J doesn’t even like them I do not know how we could even begin to do this. =)
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 8:54 am
You know what? I thought TH didn’t really like veggies either. Turns out he just doesn’t like American style veggies that are usually shipped from who-knows-where, bland, and often mealy.
Last night I made summer squash from the farmers market and we both loved it so much. I brushed a cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil. Sliced the squash into thin pieces and laid them all out individually on the pan, then sprinkled it with some salt. I cooked them at 500 degrees until they started to brown a bit (and then finished them off with a quick broil just for fun). Try cooking something like that and see if he thinks it’s more appealing. Find a farmers market and buy the squash there though. I promise you will taste a difference!
Sarah for Real Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:46 am
My husband is not a big veggie eater either. But I’ve found that if I just get good produce, like Jenna suggests, and prepare it carefully, my husband will try some because I’ve put so much time into it and it’s available.
I don’t nag about it or even say anything at all. I’ve found that he is eating a little more of everything slowly, of his own choosing.
Sunny Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I will definitely try and J will try anything once but he doesn’t like mac and cheese unless its out of a blue box so I don’t know that there is much to be done. =)
Sarah for Real Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Hahaha, we have so much in common. I did get my husband to switch to Annie’s Mac n Cheese… the one with the cheese sauce packet. Baby steps, haha.
Amanda Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:54 am
For the first 21 years of my life I swore that I disliked all vegetables. Last summer when I decided to change my diet to mainly “real foods” I discovered that I didn’t dislike vegetables; I just needed fresh vegetable prepared in unique ways. Last year my father’s garden was my produce source. This year I am growing a massive garden and preserving the foods through canning drying and freezing. I can honestly say that I love vegetables now. If you can convince him to try vegetables in new ways, I bet he may come around.
My favorite vegetable that helped me “convert” was zucchini. I made baked zucchini fries coated in bread crumbs and they were a major hit at my house!
Good Luck!
Em Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Omigosh, fresh MAKES vegetables! Seriously. I won’t even touch canned/frozen anymore. I’m such a snob about it now.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I started “voting” with my dollar after watching “Food, Inc.”, which really struck a nerve. It takes a lot of effort for me to pick up the more expensive stick of organic butter or the cage-free, organic eggs at the grocery store. But I just tell myself that I am voting with my dollar and someday my vote will count and the same foods will cost less because they will become the norm.
5I haven’t read any of these books yet, but they’re all on my list. My hubby and I like to watch documentaries (on all sorts of topics), and recently watched Food, Inc. It did definitely make a difference in the way we eat, but as we’re both still in school, it’s a bit difficult for us to completely vote with our food dollars. We are eating more vegetables than ever before, avoiding products with corn syrup like the plague, and eating far less meat than we were before.
I have to admit to having a milk addiction (we buy 3 gallons a week), and I can barely afford to do that with the grocery store brand. I really would like to wean myself off of it so that I can splurge on the organic milk, but I’m having trouble rationing myself.
We do recycle like crazy around here though! I think it’s awesome that you’re so into this, and I’m hoping that when our lives (and finances) are a little more stable, we’ll be able to totally make the switch.
6I’ve read all the books you mentioned except for the first one in college. I love Kingsolver! I reccomend other books she’s written, she is an amazing author and has a way of writing non-fiction in a fiction kind of way, like she’s telling a story that’s been passed down from generation to generation.
My husband and I have also decided to dedicate more of our money towards the foods we love, seeing as how we are trying to live by “my body is my temple.” To my family we are weird and sometimes extreme. Do you find that with people in your family?
We’ve also switched to homemade dinners and making our favorite stuff from scratch. I’ve made grape, strawberry, and apricot jam and it was so easy! 20 minutes to make 4-5 jars of each, averaging to be about a dollar and some change per jar. Way cheaper and tastes better than the store bought stuff they like to try and convince us is much easier and better than making our own. I’ve also made my own bagels and they are SO better than anything I’ve ever bought.
I relate to you so much with the real food life style, especially since we had our daughter 4 months ago. It’s much bigger than me and my husband, now we have someone else to worry about.
7EXCELLENT post, Jenna!
8I have to say that I take an inordinate amount of pleasure in voting with my dollars (having an economist boyfriend who fervently believes in this principle helps!). I really feel like I’m “sticking it to the man” when I buy cage-free, hormone-free, free-ranging, etc., etc. meat, or delicious veggies at the farmer’s market. I’m working to do even better all the time, and the endorphins boost I get whenever I “vote” really helps!
9Love this. Mindful eating is so important. We’ve been making a conscious effort to make a big switch and it’s been so worth while in our health and energy! Good luck to you and TH!
10Love this post - I also read In Defense of Food and loved it. Oddly enough, my husband and I were turned onto this a few years ago when he tried the Abs Diet. The author gave this rule - that you should try to have as few boxes (and cans) in your grocery cart as possible. This simple guideline keeps a lot of processed foods out of your pantry, and it’s an easy first step.
11Just wanted to refer everyone to my old standbys http://www.localharvest.org and http://www.eatwild.com/ . Both are great resources for finding farmers, FM’s, Metropolitan buying clubs and CSA’s!
If you’re in the MD/DC area I recommend Hedge Apple Farm for beef, Polyface metro buying club for chicken (and pork), Eco Friendly Foods (at Dupont FM), and closer to Baltimore we’ve enjoyed Springfield farm as well.
Sarah for Real Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Thanks! Great sites.
I’m glad you suggested those to everyone!
I think everyone should notice that Jenna is buying LOCAL, farmer’s market picks and not necessarily “organic, free range” grocery store purchases.
Other commenters have mentioned organic milk, cage free eggs, etc., which is a step up from conventional, but still far from being sustainable, local, or as nutritious.
Focus on local like Jenna and you’re way better off, regardless if it’s organic or not.
Cristin Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Sarah’s right - there are so many ways to prioritize your groceries. But I wanted to throw out that local isn’t always best for the environment. Certain foods can’t be grown locally depending on the season. So while you may think - wow, I’d rather have the raspberries grown down the street than flown in from Brazil… if you are having this conversation with yourself in January, you are going to be buying local food from a hothouse/greenhouse, which will have been grown under immense electric and fertiilizer costs. This is bad for the environment, and you may be missing out on something that is natively grown in your area (or closer than Brazil, anyway).
Local is great when you are buying seasonal produce.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:46 am
I think one thing that I came away with from AVM is that we need to change our mindset regarding what we “have” to have when it comes to what we eat. I’m still not sure what we are going to do through the winter but I know one thing we will not be doing is buying bananas flown from around the world or eating berries in the middle of winter. Meats, potatoes, onions, squash… we will try to eat the things that people in the area we live would have been eating 200 years ago.
Plus how much sweeter will berry season be when we have to wait all year for it to come around again?
Amanda Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Berry season will be worth the wait. Hopefully the strawberry and blueberry jams I made will give me a little taste of summer when I am in need of a pick me up in the dead of winter
Sarah for Real Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Great point! Local + Seasonal
This is floating around in the air- I just wrote my 10 page final in English on this.
13One of our favorite meals is bruschetta- Chopped up tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar on thin slices of bread. Some times I put a little garlic in, and sometimes I grate real Parmesan cheese into it.
When I make this, we do not eat anything else and it feels like the most sinfully delicious meal ever.:)I love it the most when I fry the bread in a little olive oil, so it has some crunch to it.
One area where we have increased our spending is on cheeses, since a little bit of a great cheese goes so far.
I agree with the fact that grocery store vegetables and fruits just aren’t as tasty. Growing up my parents always had a vegetable garden. You just can’t compare the fresh and full taste of home grown vegetables. The supermarkets pick their crops before they are ripe and they ripen a bit before you buy it at the store.
I love the local farmers market for that reason. You can’t match the taste of the vegetables and fruit. It does cost more, but is so worth it.
I am intrigued to read those books now. I try to eat healthy and fresh food in general. So this might be the final push I need to cut out the last of the bad foods lying around my pantry.
14Loved this post. Voting with your dollars is one of my favorite statements. I felt the same way when I changed the way I ate and felt about food, why did it take me so long?!!
Not only did I lose weight but when you eat this way you feel lighter and healthier. If you ever come to LA, I will personally take you to the Santa Monica Farmers market!
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I’m game!
Thanks for this post Jenna! I’m learning that my picky-eater son and husband may be picky because they taste what we’ve all become accustomed to, blah food. Anyway, we have a limited budget, and I’m hoping you will share what this new way of eating costs you per month (but understand if you don’t). I’m going to the library to try to find these books, pray my little library has them:)
16I really need to read a book about this subject, J and I have been trying to eat more like this for the last year (since we got married).
Did you read D’orsay & Pugs posts about this as well? D also touches on what you were speaking about in the end “Voting with you dollar”. How eating locally, organically and responsibly is also a political decision. It’s interesting because I think most of us start doing it because of nutrition.
Anyway, I’m jumping around on topics here, but I just wanted to add that we’re also eating this way and it makes me smile when I see that my friends are doing the same
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I am in love with Dorsays posts on food. It’s fun to hear how so many different people in my life are incorporating these same concepts in so many different ways.
I think this is my first comment ever on your blog. Great post!
I think you’re totally right that one of the main reasons we don’t eat more vegetables as a country is because we don’t make it a priority to find FRESH produce as well as learn how to PREPARE veggie well. Fresh vegetables made well can be tasty, wholesome and delicious and honestly don’t need very much to bring out their flavor.
Also in our home, I actually don’t prepare beef or chicken very much. It’s primarily seafood and vegetarian dishes. I think I make a beef dish 2-3 times per year. That’s partially because I eat that way and my DH eats what I make (he sadly doesn’t cook). Also I find meat to be expensive especially since I insist on only buying hormone free, preferably humanely raised meat or poultry (you really taste the difference in the poultry…it’s just SO much better). I want to learn about the fishing industry as well, so I can try to make better judgments about fish.
I would love to make a veggie stir fry for you, TH, & T! if you are all ever in NYC.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Mmmmmm we would love that!
when the babe gets ready for solids at 6 months, you should check out baby led weaning. given what you’ve written here, i think you’d like it a lot. basically, you skip the puree stage and go right to table foods (of a certain size). it helps develop their palate, as well as gross motor, fine motor, and social skills. plus, it’s a lot easier to cook for baby when they get the same food you do. they also get fresher and healthier food than they would if you used (store bought) purees.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:00 am
I’ve actually been planning to use baby led weaning for months! Nina talks about it pretty extensively and I even went to this class in Dallas that teaches how to do it. I’ve been watching anxiously for T1 to develop an interest in food but nothing yet. I’m very excited to introduce him to this whole new world of flavor and texture!
liv Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I’m totally jealous you have a class on it!
I’m sure they mentioned this in the class, but unless you’re totally sure he’s ready, don’t start til 6 months though - they just don’t have the reflexes yet, and are more likely to choke (not to mention immature digestive tract).
We started with baked squash and zucchini, and so far that’s definitely her favorite (and easiest to grasp). Avocado and Sweet Potato have been more difficult because she just squeezes them to death.
Amen! Just this morning I awoke to the smell of freshly baking bread in our bread machine (5 ingredients. Barbara Kingsolver made me OK with a bread machine. Before that I thought “homemade” HAD to be “by hand”). As we were walking to the train together, DH and I planned out dinner: I’ll be stopping at the midday farmer’s market downtown to pick up some fixins: a couple of tomatoes and some local cheese, and we’ll have a nice light summer dinner of quasi-caprese with the fresh bread and a little olive oil (um, that’s not local).
When we think through our food like this, dinner is so much more enjoyable. And sometimes - because we eat less, or there’s less meat, or we do things like make our own bread - it’s really not all that expensive.
I feel like we in the USA are just learning - or re-learning - how to eat. I wonder what it is about the American psyche that made us so susceptible to marketing and prepackaged awfulness in the first place?
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I will say, England is not much better when I went over there!
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Are you making fluffy 100% whole in your bread machine? If so, what’s your secret?
It’s amazing that you posted this- I am slowly transitioning to a meat free diet and these reasons you’ve listed, among a few others, align to EXACTLY why I’m doing so. The idea of continuing to eat processed food full of who-knows-what chemicals terrifies me. I’ve always known veggies were good but couldn’t see just how good. I’m going to have to re-vamp my “why go veggie” blog post so it isn’t redundant with this gem you’ve posted here- expect a link to this amazing post and life mantra. Thanks Jenna!
21Quick question for all the amazing people eating this way- I love the idea of real foods, and can see it being amazing in the summer with so much good produce readily available. But how does this style of eating work in the winter?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like nothing is really in season then. Obviously, our Great- Grandparents didn’t starve in the winter, but I’m at a loss as to what organic, plant based, non-processed foods are available to eat when nothing is really growing.
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:01 am
This is why canning, preserving and freezing are great! Alternatively, buying frozen vegetables can be a good solution if you lack the freezer space to freeze your own in season. Though difficult to buy from a farm, it seems to be the lesser of evils for me in the winter. It’s hard to know where the frozen veg came and how far it traveled - which again is why I promote the three options above.
Winter typically means many more fall squashes (most well known are butternut, acorn, spaghetti) since they keep so well. As well as onions and potatoes, because they also keep well. More meat is typically consumed, because again, it can be slaughtered and frozen prior to winter.
I too found it confusing figuring out what to eat in the winter, and personally, Animal Vegetable Miracle helped me to figure that out and explore further.
Amanda Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:03 am
You must preserve and change your style of eating in the winter. I live in upstate New York so there is no winter produce. If you buy a bushel of tomatoes in the summer at the local farmer’s market, you can dehydrate, can and freeze them to be used in the winter. In the summer you might enjoy a caprese salad or tomato sandwich and in the winter you might make a hearty chili or goulash using these tomatoes. We as a nation have become spoiled by having every type of produce available every time of the year. We have to adjust and create a summer and winter palette to eat local year round. By making these changes we can truly eat in a sustainable way.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Animal Vegetable Miracle covers this topic a little bit. I’m still working on figuring out what we are going to do. Freezing and storing veggies bought at the farmer’s market would be ideal, but with our move it isn’t feasible.
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
You could totally can though! I’ll be posting my adventures in canning at the end of the summer
Love it Jenna! I agree 100%! Good for you!
I didn’t care so much for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle because it was a little extreme and only made me feel like a big failure.
I love Real Food and In Defense of Food. I’ll read Nina’s baby book too and definitely Food Rules based on your recommendation.
I’ve had a drafted post entitled, “should food be cheap?” on my desktop for oh… 6 months. I think I need to finish writing that.
You’ve hit the nail on the head without sounding elitist. It’s about doing what you can and making the decision to forgo other luxuries so that you can have the “luxury” of real food.
23Love this post! Good for you!
We recently joined a CSA — and they bring a giant crate of fresh, local, organic veggies and fruit right to our door every other week for $60 a month. Not bad for fresh food delivered to your down in urban LA!
sarah Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:25 am
I’m curious what CSA you’re using here in LA. I’ve been trying to decide on what one to try myself!
Thanks
Newlywed Next Door Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:36 am
We use Beach Greens: http://www.beachgreens.com/
I found it via Local Harvest: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ by typing in my zip code.
About a year ago, I started to get these ideas in my mind even though I hadn’t read any particular book. I remember I was watching a lot of Food Network shows and I just saw how most cooks didn’t use the ingrediants I and so many other people use. They used fresh ingrediants. They did all the prep work themselves (instead of buying items ‘pre-shredded’ or pre-anything. I began to think to myself, ‘how much extra work is it REALLY to make certain things myself. Then I know exactly what’s in it and it’s freshly prepared’.
We’ve made a million little changes over the years but we still have a ways to go before we are eating as well as we should be (like giving up those occasional Cheetos…mmm..), though I would say we eat MUCH better than the majority of Americans out there. We eat whole grains, fish, lots of fruit and veggies, not too much meat, and rarely eat at fast food restaurants.
To address your ‘slow’ weight loss - I’ll add that weight loss that comes from severely restrictive dieting at the beginning (and thus faster results are seen) results in mostly water weight loss, not actual fat loss. Which means that it can not only come back very easily, but some muscle tissue is lost when people are too restrictive too quickly and you do not want to lose muscle mass! As we exercise (especially weight training) and by drinking plenty of water, our muscles burn up calories and aid in our weight loss efforts over the long run. I learned this was true when I was pregnant with Grant - I lost a lot of weight very quickly from my extreme sickness. Sure it was fun in the end to step on the scale and see those numbers after I had him, but it came at a price. I know I lost muscle tissue I had worked on all during my HS/adult years and now I have a much harder time getting it back and losing weight.
Sorry so long (as usual). I’m reading this lovely little book that reminds of the things I’ve known all along about weight loss and how our body can lose fat. Weight loss in the beginning, especially if you are exercising, is not linear and will often show a few pounds increase for a bit of time, but keep working at it, and it will come off. Slow is good and unlike those that report dropping 10 lbs in a week, you will be ultimately successful!
I wish we lived near each other - I’d so work out with you and we’d talk healhty eating like crazy (I love talking about nutrition).
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:10 am
agreed. We would be good workout buddies.
Great post! I’m all for voting with our food dollars and the more of us that do it, the better. My husband and I recently signed up for a CSA that has us picking up local and organic produce once a week. It’s about $20 a week for the 2 of us and it’s so worth it to have organic, delicious tasting produce.
26Jenna! This post is the story of my life. I’ve read all of the Pollan books, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and quite a few others of the same genre.
My husband and I have made a HUGE change to the way we eat and think about food. In fact, I can’t even go into a grocery store anymore with thinking about where the product is from, how much oil was used to produce it/bring it to the stores, the packaging on it.
We now shop exclusively at the MANY amazing farmer’s markets in Chicago. I have a handful that I love and when you move here, I’d be happy to show you around them or at the very least point you in the right direction.
We get ALL of our meat and eggs from the market and you just can’t beat the taste of REAl grass-fed, happy meat and golden yolk, pastured eggs. It may cost more, but the product is worth it and so is the environment and our bodies.
We either pick our own veggies from nearby farms, pick it up at farmer’s markets or grow it ourselves. I’ve learned to make jams, pickles, preserves, and started freezing/storing the fresh seasonal stuff for winter.
I’ve also tracked down a local farm who grows and grinds their own wheat, and that’s how we make our bread! I’ve learned to make homemade breads, sourdough starters, and plenty of other bakes goods.
Ww get our milk from a local family who owns a few cows. Grass-fed, organic, creamy, raw milk… so good. It makes fantastic yogurt and ice cream too.
All the other staples (oil, spices, coffee, chocolate, dried beans, grains, etc.) are either purchased from a food co-op or we choose organics/fair trade from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. We are trying to find a source for these things too so we can avoid grocery stores all together. Although, I don’t mind supporting a local food co-op.
For everyone who thinks it costs more to do the local, organic, real food thing - it’s really a matter of budgeting. We don’t make much money, but we believe it’s worth it to buy healthy, local and REAL food. We’ve gotten it down to a system now. I can bake many loaves of bread from just water/flour/salt for the cost of one plastic wrapped, corn syrup filled loaf from the store. It just takes a bit more time and effort.
The benefits are awesome, rewarding and it is so satisfying to create food from scratch that is nourishing and delicious.
Anyone can do this!
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Can we be best friends?
Actually, can I just move in to your house?
Cait Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
When are you and TH planning your move? I noticed you mentioned being concerned about what do for winter, especially since preserving and such will be hard with the move. I may be able to help you out. Also, I know of some year-round markets here in Chicago!
Anyways, yes! We should friends. I think we might have a lot in common. Same age, married, very similar views on eating/health and I’m hoping to be pregnant by the year’s end! Also, I’m currently a nanny so I know a lot of awesome places to go with kids!
I really look forward to reading those books in the near future. In the past year or so I have committed myself to eating healthy whole foods. I went a step further this spring to try to produce those foods myself. I hope to continue this trend in my life. Next year I hope to raise some meat birds and a pig. Knowing exactly where my food comes from is very important to me and knowing that I raised my animals humanely and fed them right is worth all of the extra work. It may not be cheaper to raise your own animals, but it is enjoyable and the peace of mind can’t be beat. I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but most people can at least grow a small garden (even if it is in pots on a balcony) and achieve a level of satisfaction.
28I’m reading omnivores dillema right now and its pretty awesome so far. My husband was all over making big food changes and I was a little weary because organic stuff costs SO much more. We started getting milk delivered from a local farm, buying organic fruits and veggies and all of that. My husband is vegetarian so meat is already out of his diet although he is hooked to the pre-packaged fake meat (and so am I). I’ve started eating salmon and grilled chicken that is organic so I don’t feel too bad. I’ve also had a hard time incorporating veggies but its mostly because I don’t take the time or spend the money to buy the right things and come up with flavorful dishes.
Great post though - its inspiring me to think harder about what we eat.
29Love it love it love it! Ominvore’s dilemma was totally life changing for me, and all of his points were driven home when I read “Fast Food Nation,” “In Defense of Food,” and “The 100 Mile Diet-a year of eating locally.”
I totally vote with my dollars and will ALWAYS pay $2 for an heirloom tomato over a $99 cent hot pocket.
30VERY excellent post! I’m been a supporter of the local foods movement for awhile, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything you expressed above. Another shopping mantra to live by: “If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, don’t buy it.”
31Love this post.
Things from our own garden, or from the farmers market do taste so much better. We’re lucky to have a selection of local, hormone-free meats at our farmer’s market, too… and I don’t think we’ll be going back to mass-produced meats. It’s just so so much fresher and tastier.
32Thank you so much for this post! It is fantastic. My husband and I have been talking about doing this and this post has pushed us to give it a try.
The only thing that I’m worried about is that I don’t like veggies… I only eat corn, peas, and potatoes and spinach if its on pizza
I really have no idea how to prepare vegetables either to make them more appetizing. Do you have any resources for recipes?
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I think there are a few things you can do.
First, and I’ve already said this above, buy your veggies from the actual person that grew them at the farmer’s market on Saturday. I bought some cantaloupe at 8 am on Saturday that the farmer had harvested THAT morning. It really makes a difference in taste.
The other benefit to buying at the FM is that you will be forced to try new things. The farmer only brings whatever is ripe in your area to sell that morning, so you might not have your regular staples to try.
I don’t get too adventurous, but I do try to buy at least one new thing each week. Try buying some summer squash, and then preparing it in the way I detailed in a comment above. It’s divine. A few weeks ago I bought some Malabar leaves, a variety of Spinach, and realized that they were slimy and gross eaten plain. So I sauteed them in some olive oil and added them to a veggie casserole type dish that I made and they were SO much better that way. So sometimes it’s about preparing things in a different way.
One other thing I’ve found with this new way of eating is that I’m cooking with butter again, and I can add some to my veggies and love what I’m eating. Not too much of course, but one of the basic tenets of the real foods movement is that saturated fat found in whole foods (specifically free range grass fed) animals is not the devil we have made it out to be.
The ultimate way to get yourself to try more veggies? Join a CSA! You’ll get a box of random vegetables delivered every week and you won’t get to choose what you buy. You won’t want to throw your money down the drain so you’ll be forced to find new ways to cook and eat them. Over time you’ll discover new things you never knew you liked!
Cristin Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Another benefit to a farmer’s market is that the growers themselves are trying to market their food… so they will likely have recipes or suggestions for how to cook up the foods that may not have been appealing to you in the past. There have been foods that I’ve been intimidated by because I didn’t know how to prepare them and the growers don’t mind answering my random questions!
Spoken as I munch on a Special K bar — looked at the ingredient list and I’m officially grossed out.
I think this is totally important. Especially to just make it a priority. We really do vote where we spend our money (why I’m boycotting BP and Abercrombie… companies that don’t match my values) … I just need to be better and find the money to spend it on fresh produce and not a new outfit at Banana Republic!
34I LOVED Michael Pollen’s Food Rules. It was so easy to digest (ha!) and I am now trying really hard to follow it.
35excellent post! i’ve been working on “real” eating for the last year. it’s not always easy, but i truly believe it is worth it. this past weekend i hit a local food jackpot at a flea market. farm fresh produce and eggs ($1/dozen!), all at unbelievable prices. i would recommend anyone looking for fresh, local produce to try the same.
36Jenna I love this post! I can hear the excitement in your voice and your genuine enthusiasm. We are lucky that you’re moving soon, because we’ll get to hear about the markets and produce from TWO major cities.
Great posting~!
37Voting with my dollar is super difficult. I spent $5 on a pint of local blueberries the other day and it pained me, but they tasted so good and I know the money is going directly to the farmer. But I’m doing it, little by little.
One thing I think is interesting (I think this was addressed in In Defense of Food, but maybe it was something else I read) is that convenience foods came about because it wasn’t fashionable to cook. I’m so happy to see a resurgence of interest in cooking, canning, making things from scratch, both for the home cook and for the restaurant chef.
38Have you read The 100 Mile Diet? It’s about a couple living in Vancouver who pledge to spend a year eating nothing that was grown/made/etc more than 100 miles from their home. Interesting read, very inspiring, but also touches on some of the difficulties of being a locavore.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
AVM mentioned the book and I’d like to read it, if only to learn what they did during the winter. I think everyone’s biggest question is “What do you do in the winter?”
why is the locally grown stuff SO MUCH More expensive?…shouldn’t it be the other way around? because they don’t have shipping costs and if it is organic they don’t have to pay for fertilizer…etc. I thought farmers markets where suppose to be a better deal then the grocery stores not 5 times the price. it is maddening sometimes!
Anna Murphey Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I know that my local organic cage free eggs I get at my farmers market are actually cheaper, we get 20 eggs for 3.49 (and most of them are double yolks so I feel like I get even more eggs. :)) and at Walmart the organic eggs for a dozen are 3.18.
And the organic milk we get there is a dollar less than at Walmart.
It might depend on the market.
Cait Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
My local eggs are $3-4 a dozen and I’m in Chicago.
Organic, “cage-free”, “free-range” eggs at Whole Foods or even a standard grocery store cost upwards of $4.
Local, seasonal veggies and fruit at the market are affordable. I never spend for that $40 a week and that includes meat, eggs and enough produce to eat for a week and preserve.
Organic raw milk is the only we splurge on ($8 a gallon), but it makes us lots of creamy yogurt and is great on it’s own too. It’s worth it know we’re getting it from healthy, happy and well taken care of cows.
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Hi Tiffany,
I wrote about this in regards to DC http://www.usmeetsuk.com/2010/07/dc-farmers-markets/
But also, farm prices have a lot of variables. Instead of Safeway saying we’ll pay X.XX per pound no matter what, you have farmer oriented pricing. So if there if a bumper crop perhaps the cost will be lower, if there is a drought - higher.
Amanda Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Another thought I wanted to point out…While an organic farmer may be saving money by not using fertilizers and pesticides it comes at a cost. There are reasons why a lot of conventional farmers use those things. Organic farmers produce a lot less produce per acre and they have to battle insects and other pests along with molds and funguses that can attack plants. It is very hard work to grow organic produce and you have to appreciate that work. That is a major reason why the costs can be higher, even locally.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Although the FM stuff is more expensive, the biggest price difference I’ve seen has been 3 times as expensive, comparing a convential item found at Walmart to an organic one bought at the farmer’s market.
Organic produce takes a great deal of work. By using pesticides and fertilizer farmers not only fill our bodies with chemicals and have a greater yield, they save themselves work weeding and fighting off bugs. (Although bug resistance and mutant and land stripped of nutrients because of chemicals is a whole different story).
A lot of man power goes into the whole organic farmers market thing, and farmers aren’t getting a quote to sell in bulk like they are if they sell to large scale producers. It’s a pretty complex system and I think you have to believe in the meaning behind the movement to want to commit to it.
And thanks for the tip about the Bountiful Baskets, they actually have one really close to where I live!
P.S. have you checked to see if they do bountiful baskets in your area. i think they have a website bountifulbaskets.org… or something like that. everyweek you get a basket full of different produce for like 15 bucks. I wish they did them here in washington.
41I love Michael Pollan, I have Food Rules and really need to read In the Defense of Food. I started to get serious after watching Food Inc. (which I know you have watched), thankfully, my husband watched it with me and is totally on board with us eating better.
I will be honest, I judge people by what they put in their grocery carts.
We go to a farmer’s market each week and buy organic milk and cage-free eggs. My husband, no longer wants the grocery store eggs because the organic eggs are double the size and amazing.
My favorite rules in the Food Rules book are the ones about grandma and the pantry. I also love the, “you can eat all the junk food you want as long as you make it yourself” makes me feel better about french fries.
(But I hate making them so I hardly do. 
)
Since the beginning of the year, we try to eat fish at least once a week and a meatless meal once a week, we also cut out red meat-only having it on special occasions. (We used to have it once a week. I know my heart appreciates the change.)
Longest comment ever, I just love this subject and could go on and on. I also think everyone should stop drinking soda, because it is horrid for you, I haven’t had a soda since Dec 4th of 2005. ( I used to drink at least 20 oz a day if not more, and oddly enough I have kept roughly 20 lbs off since then, connection? I think so.)
42I love the movement towards local, real, fresh food, and I especially love the movement towards grass fed, pastured, free range meat as opposed to the horrible treatment of the feed lots and factory farms. I think any changes anyone makes in these directions will have very real positive impacts on their health and the environment, not to mention real, local, organic food just tastes better.
However- and this might not make me popular- I *personally* take issue with terms like “humanely raised” or “cage free”. Unfortunately- and I’m making NO ASSUMPTIONS about anyone reading this- many consumers are not aware of what “cage free” means, and “humanely raised” starts to get fuzzy around the edges.
“Cage free” does not guarantee much of a step up in treatment for the animals, so it is definitely worth it to research your supplier. Some local farms literally have the chickens out scratching about in the dust, which is awesome, while at the same time you can see examples of “cage free” qualifying farms that are every bit as depressing, light deprived, and awful as anything I’ve seen on a factory farm. In addition, there is still the issue of what the farmer does with the male baby chicks. Because in any laying hen operation- be they huge or small- there are always unwanted male chicks being born. Approximately 200 million male baby chicks are disposed of each year, and it’s important to know *how* they’re disposed of if you want to ensure that your eggs are truly humane. Large scale suppliers- even those who qualify as “cage free”- often dispose of these male baby chicks by grinding them alive. They sort them on conveyor belts and drop them into a grinder. The spokesman for the United Egg Producer’s Other farms simply throw them in plastic sacks, where the cumulative weight of their bodies suffocate one another. When it comes to male baby chicks, they are useless, because a farmer only needs so many roosters, and they are not desired for meat in most instances. I would ask my local, organic, cage free farmer’s market egg farmer “What do you do with the male baby chicks?” Because even my local, farmer’s market, small farm farmers have told me they aren’t needed, and they are disposed of. To me, grinding male baby chicks alive is not humane. Some farms choose to gas them, which I think is far more humane. I think that’s an important question to ask a farmer.
As to dairy cows, they, like most mammals, produce milk in preparation for the baby calf they will soon have. Of course, as dairy farmers, the milk is destined for human consumers, not baby calves. That is why the veal industry and the dairy industry are mutually supportive. The cows are impregnated, they give birth, their babies are taken from them, and they are milked so that consumers can buy their milk. Again, the male calves are essentially useless, so they are often destined for veal. Even on small scale goat farms, and small scale dairy farms, when I have questioned my local, organic, farmers at several farmer’s markets, they advise that the calves are taken from the mother’s almost immediately after birth, and usually destined to live in a veal box before they are killed and eaten.
My point, in all of this, is that while the *specific* animal- a laying hen, or a dairy cow- whose products are being used may be treated humanely, there are certainly a whole host of byproduct actions that I don’t think are very humane. I do believe that there are small scale farmers who do not grind male baby chicks alive or leave them to suffocate or die from exposure, and who do not support taking baby calves away from mother’s and shipping them off to veal boxes, but the fact of the matter is that these questions still, in my opinion, very much need to be asked in order to be an informed consumer. It’s great that we have more humane options to consume animals and their byproducts, but just because something is labeled “humane” or “cage free” doesn’t mean it’s always automatically so.
Sophia Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I meant to say “The spokesman for the United Egg Producer’s confirms this practice” when referencing grinding baby chicks alive.
Cait Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I COMPLETELY agree with this post. Thanks for pointing out the flaws with this way of labeling.
Sophia Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Thank you! I truly hope it didn’t come off negative, it’s just that I never thought, until very recently “wait… but… where do all those male baby chicks go?” And, even more, when I realized “oh, wait… cows are mammals, so to make milk, they have to be pregnant… but… what do they do with the calves?” I think it’s a shame the way producers are not clear on exactly what they mean by “cage free” or “humane”. It makes it even harder to be an informed consumer!
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Frequent commenter Cristin bought me a copy of Eating Animals and had me read it - I’m planning to post about it in a few weeks. I think I might email you my draft before I post it though because the issues that tie into animal husbandry are so complex and you raised a few here that I’ve never heard of.
Sophia Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
It’s all very, very complex indeed! It’s like a rabbit hole!
I haven’t read that book yet, I’d be interested in reading your draft and hearing your opinions on it.
Cristin Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
to tag into the theme of how misleading labeling can be - a friend of mine is a chef at a W Village restaurant in NYC. I was leaning into him the other night about using ethical meat choices… i asked about grass fed cows and he shared with me that “grass fed” only means “grass fed” for the last 21 days of their lives. I didn’t remember that from my schooling or free reading - I was dismayed. Again.
Its amazing what misleading labels these farms/production lines are able to get away with!!
Sophia Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Cristin, that is a very good point. As long as they are “grass FINISHED” those last 21 days, they can be labeled “grass FED”, which makes the consumer picture happy cows frolicking about in the grass and sunshine, when in reality they may have grown up on a feed lot almost their entire lives. Which stinks, especially for a consumer who is committed to happy meat, and then they’re mislead. You’re right, it’s amazing what they can say and get away with!
Alisha Reply:
July 24th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Free-range eggs and chickens doesn’t mean they’re outside either. It only means there’s a door somewhere that they can get to the outside from. They chickens are never encouraged or taught to go out the door so they usually just stay inside. You can tell pretty easily with eggs if the hens were actually outside in grass. If the yolk is orange, you have high beta-carotene and a pastured hen. If it’s yellow, they ate grains inside. Even the ‘free-range organic’ eggs at our grocery store (which has eggs from a local farm) has eggs that are yellow, never orange. Usually if the label says ‘pastured’ you’re better off than just ‘grass fed.’ Really though, I would just research the farm and farmer because I’d hate to be lied to!
Great post! After I watched Food, Inc I knew I needed a change - those books (well, minus the baby one, single here!) will be next on my list. Here are my big issues: 1) I am a really truly terrible cook and a result don’t enjoy cooking 2) when I do attempt to cook or when my parents send me home with frozen meals that they’ve cooked, I am SO tired of it by day 2 or 3. My Mom makes this killer vegetarian lasagna, but one I defrost a hunk of it, I have to eat it everyday until it’s gone so it doesn’t go bad. Anyone have suggestions for ways to cook single serve or smaller healthy meals without being wasteful?
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Partially because I’m lazy, but I like to cook a 4 serving meal and freeze in individual portions. There are also several “cooking for one” books out there. Since you’re just starting out I’d pick up Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food cookbook. I don’t remember the American title, but the photo is the same. It really helped my husband learn to cook, and get excited about cooking! So perhaps that book is a good starting point?
Christiana (us meets uk) Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Oh also! I highly recommend the cookbooks in the river cottage series as well.
Jenna Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
What about portioning out single size servings into plastic bags and then freezing them that way? We do this sometimes so we don’t have to eat the same dish for days and days. I know exactly how you feel with the monotony of trying to finish off leftovers!
I love this post and definitely have been trying to modify my own family’s diet over the past few months. I do have a couple questions:
What are your strategies when is comes to eating out? (I know this is less now since T1 was born but I always enjoyed your date-night posts with pics from restaurants you visited).
Why shouldn’t we be as worried about saturated fat content?
Jenna Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 9:06 pm
We haven’t had to worry about eating out yet because we haven’t done so since March
We maxed out our Eating Out portion of the budget with two really fancy dinners and so we’ve been letting it build back up again. I haven’t researched this site very much but we’ll eat at restaurants like this when we go out: http://www.ecovian.com/s/chicago/restaurants
I can’t explain the sat fat thing very well, both Pollan and Planck talk about the science behind it, Pollan does a better job than Planck I think. I would suggest reading up on it yourself if you’re curious.
Mags Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:42 am
Thanks! I plan to check out both books and this post has really inspired me to take a closer look at the ingredients of the things I eat. I looked at the box of these low fat yogurt icecream cones I purchased and now I’m pretty sure they’re made of plastic!
Great post! I really think that I’ll be checking those books out of my library in the near future.
I only want to caution about being careful not to bash too much grocery stores. My local big grocery store (Kroger, a regional chain, I think) has been transitioning to more and more local produce. They display the farm where the fruit or veggie was grown right above the item. It will be interesting to see how this works out in the winter, as Ohio winters equal no produce, but I’m happy to see that I can support the same farmers that I visit on the weekend at the Farmers’ Market during my mid-week stops in for more milk, etc. In short, if you ask for it, most stores will try hard to provide!
Jenna Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 9:07 pm
There is a chain called Sprouts that does something similar as well. I still like talking directly to the person who grew the stuff I’m buying though
I’m an infrequent commenter - but have been following you since WB days. Anyway - I just want to welcome you to this new (old) way of eating. It has changed my life (for the better). Here is something you might enjoy - an interview with Barbara Kingsolver (my favorite author even before she wrote AVM - have you read Prodigal Summer?) Anyway - listen to this podcast and you will love her even more! http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/ethics-of-eating/
Jenna Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Oh her voice is LOVELY. Exactly how I imagined it from reading the book.
Hi Jenna! I found you through your guest post at These Little Moments recently (I did one a few days before you). Anyway, I really enjoyed this post. I have been planning to write a similar one for some time on my own blog. The interesting this is that I’m a dietitian and while I have been slowly evolving over the past few years to eat more local/organic it took actually HAVING my daughter to really make me change. And now I eat mainly local/organic. Of course, this could also be because I read both Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Plenty (very similar to the Kingsolver book) soon after she was born (I read the Pollan books a few years ago). It’s been interesting to me how once I started making some positive changes the rest just snowballed from there.
And, finally, I too keep the mantra of “vote with your food dollars” in my head. My Husband has changed his tune on keeping grocery budget to a minimum as I’ve been educating him on WHY we are spending more money on food.
Looking forward to reading more about your new food lifestyle!
Laura
48Love this post. My fiance eats the WORST foods, it’s really hard to eat any of the same things and have my ideal diet. I hope you’re husband will come around!
49Great post! I think as our lives have become busier with outside-of-the-home activities we try to go for the quickest things which we tend to think are processed, “junk” foods. A lot of people don’t think about how quick making a stir-fry or barbecuing is and just how much better it is for us. I like to buy vegetables and pre-cut them and keep them in containers so that I can throw together a salad, a stir-fry or steam them to have with brown rice and protein. And growing veggies is so exciting! My husband and I are growing tomatoes and orange peppers on a our apartment balcony and love going out each night to check on their progress. Keep up these posts!
50