Classic Common Cents in the Kitchen

One of the greatest challenges for many families seems to be balancing the grocery budget. Of course, in the current economy, almost everyone is mindful of their spending (or counting every penny, more likely!). We all want to feed our families well, but that "well" can take on a whole range of meanings. It could mean providing a lot of food, which is certainly a priority for families with teenagers or athletes. It might mean offering a diverse, global sampling of menus as an ongoing cultural lesson. In an increasing number of families, feeding them "well" means that no one goes to bed hungry. (If you think that only kids in far-away lands are starving, think again. 17 million children in America are going hungry. Check out Share Our Strength to learn more about how you can help.)

For many families, however, being well-fed means something in the middle. For us, it means providing the healthiest meals I can while staying within a modest, sometimes meager, food budget. As the recession wears on, I see more and more people opening up about their own budgets and asking others for input and tips. I've added a poll to the site and I'd love for you to cast your vote about your own budget. In the meantime, I'd like to share some of my favorite grocery resources with you.




For me, the greatest savings is in making as much as possible from scratch. Not everyone has the time or skills to cook all the time, but home cooking does allow you to buy in bulk, save packaging, and save money. If it's not really your thing, I encourage you to check out Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook. Jamie has 4 kids of his own and has entirely revamped the English school lunch plan to incorporate healthier foods, but more importantly (for you & me at 5 pm), he's written this great cookbook with truly simple, healthy meals.I call them "throw together" food, because really, they are. There's very little cooking involved, and they're all fairly cheap to put together. In fact, I've found many of the recipes in this book to be great for using what's on hand, or on sale, or at the farmer's market that day. Even if you don't cook, check out the book. Jamie's just so darn cute!


For more mature audiences, try Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way and More Fast Food My Way books. They're companion books to his PBS series of the same name, and I reach for them all the time.
Yes, I love, love, LOVE Jacques, but the reason I recommend his work so often is because no one - and I mean No One - is a master of technique like he is. There are many great chefs, but the system of training culinary apprentices from childhood has all but vanished (not that I support child labor, but that's how it used to be done). If you really want to learn the basics of classic food preparation, and be able to consistently buy whatever is best for the least money and make something amazing with it, I encourage you to check out Jacques Pepin's books and DVDs. Many of them are showcased at the bottom of the page.

Ok, so you don't want to read books or learn how to cook right now. I understand. I personally don't use coupons too often, since they're rarely for bulk or generic items, but sometimes they do come in handy. Really savvy coupon users can do truly astounding things, like feed a family of four on $35 a week. Um, wow. That's just mind-blowing to me. If you want to join their ranks, here are some great sites to get you started.

Money Saving Mom From the $35 a week mom herself. Check out her whole series on grocery savings.
Hip2Save Heads up on coupons and tons of offers. Basically a online ground zero for sharing great savings news
Coupon Mom Couponing 101. Find all the weekly coupons rounded up here, and beginners will do well to check out her video tutorial.

Finally, here are some sites I like on simply living on the cheap. If you've ever considered making your own detergent, these are the site for frugal people like you.

Local Harvest Helps you find your local farmer's market and farms.
Simple Dollar Sound, common sense financial advice
Get Rich Slowly More good old-fashioned financial sense

There are billions of blogs and websites out there with great advice, and I hope you'll share some of your favorites. Some of the classic information may get repeated, but that's good - it reinforces our gut instincts and tells us we're on the right track. We're all in this together, and we'll get through it sticking together and helping each other.

Momnivore Meltdown

Have you ever fallen off the wagon? Been derailed by a some unforeseen force? Fallen flat on your face? Heck, forgotten the mission ("Squirrel!")? Yeah, that's me. The past, oh, month or so has been less than stellar, mission-wise. So it's confession time.

The greenest product I've bought was a pint of Ben & Jerry's. My son's 7th birthday party was an Alien/Outer Space theme, filled with glow in the dark toys and silly string, which can't possibly be natural. We used chemical warfare to rid Fido of fleas, and our favorite farm is on hiatus from the Farmer's Market until fall. My little container garden has all but died, for no reason I can discern, and Basil the Toad seems to have moved out. No, I haven't done well at all lately.

On the other hand, our A/C broke for almost a week, so we saved a lot of energy by not using it. We also saved a lot of personal energy by not moving much that week. We ate very little, mostly fruits and vegetables, since it was too hot to cook, or eat, and we didn't need the calories anyway since we'd given up moving. Since we were eating so much less, I could afford more organic, if not local, food. All in all, I guess we just about broke even. And the Ben & Jerry's was delicious.

I'd like to say I'm back on track now, but I'm not. I finally balanced my checkbook for the first time in several weeks, which only goes to show how far I'd fallen. In a few days we're off on a family vacation, and since it's not an eco-vacation, I doubt we'll conserve much of anything. We're staying in a commercial hotel, eating at restaurants and going to tourist attractions - generally being ugly, wasteful Americans. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to it. After that, it's time for back to school, and that mandatory supply list is always long and expensive. My children also insist on growing, so now I'll have to put them in bigger clothes, i.e. shop. I, personally, can't wedge myself into clothes I bought only a few months ago, but let's not go there.

So is there an end, or a new beginning in sight? Perhaps. At least I feel guilty for not living better, and that's a start. Eventually it may drive me to work harder again. Frankly, for a thick-blooded Yankee like me, summer heat is just like an "Off" switch. My brain fails, my will fails, all motivation is lost. Call me a big wuss, but I just can't take the heat in Florida in summer. I've been trying for years, but I just can't hack it. Even my kids are fantasizing about blizzards by now, and they're almost too little to remember snow. Even in Florida, though, this heat can't last forever. I'm hopeful that I'll get a second wind when it cools off a bit, maybe in October or November, at the latest. In the meantime, I hope the guilt kicks in for me, and that my shameful confession, if it sounds at all familiar to you, gives you permission to forgive yourself and start fresh.

Namaste'

Use It Up

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
That was the mantra of my grandmother's generation. My parents live by those words pretty well, too, but I, unfortunately, have more trouble with it. No matter how hard I try, I always seem to end up with more stuff than I need, want, or can even find room to store. I'm not a clothes horse (more like a fashion victim, truth be told), and I don't collect, well, collectibles. But I'm magnetically attracted to bookshops, and office supplies, and toys for my kids. Nothing big, mind you, but even the little things add up. Perhaps if I only got big things, I'd get 3, then my house would be full and I'd stop...

In any case, here I am, almost done with yet another military tour, facing another move and somehow I've got more stuff again. We'll be moving by the end of the year, so now is the time to downsize our stuff. I officially notified my family last week. No. More. Stuff. Let's start by "using it up".

I don't just mean "Don't buy more stuff," I also mean "Use the stuff we already have and no one bothers to look for before buying more stuff". For example, my dear husband, who is an intelligent man, is incapable of buying hair conditioner. If it's on my shopping list, he will invariably come back with shampoo. In fact, he's told me he read the bottle 47 times and duct-taped his hand to the correct one, only to find it's shampoo, not conditioner, when he gets home. Anyone with long hair knows that you go though buckets more conditioner than shampoo, so long story short, we have gallons of shampoo. Of course, movers won't move liquids, so the shampoo has got to go. No one in this house is to buy another drop of shampoo until every last bottle of the stuff is gone. Period.

I'm also trying the use it up approach in the kitchen. I'm not sure how much Worcestershire sauce I can go through a few tablespoons at a time, but I'll use up that bottle before I buy any more seasonings even close to it, gosh darn it! That jar of capers? My new favorite garnish. Jello molds every Sunday until Christmas. Maybe I can even find a use for that Cheese soup... ok, maybe not. Sorry - I love cheese, REAL cheese. I just can't handle cheese soup in a can. But the rest of it, I'm using. My family is in for some interesting meals in the next few months. Sometimes I even make a game of seeing how long I can put off grocery shopping, but that's another story...

Averse Vegans

Has it finally come to this? Really? Isn't there any other option left besides going (gasp!) vegan? Momnivore - from "mom" and "omnivore". We're clearly an omnivore household, not a vegetarian one, or worse, a vegan one. But after so much soul and stomach searching over the past six months, my husband and I have realized that we can't completely avoid the fact that there's a lot to be said for a vegan diet.

First, let me clarify the difference between vegetarian and vegan for any of you who may not be familiar with both terms. A vegetarian is someone who does not eat animals, i.e., meat. However, they still eat animal products, like dairy products and eggs. A vegan does not eat any animals, nor does he eat any animal products. This is harder than it sounds - no dairy, no eggs, no honey,... it really limits the ol' grocery list. So what's left to eat? Plants. Vegetables, fruits, and grains.

A vegan diet is one of the best for the planet. It takes the least amount of resources to produce, and any scraps or byproducts (like corn stalks, for example) can be composted easily. Plants are the most direct way to turn solar energy in to food for humans, pure and simple. Vegan diets are also highly recommended to prevent or heal a staggering array of diseases. It's the weapon of choice for preventing cancer, reducing inflammation, healing ulcers, lowering blood sugar, heart disease and stroke risk, and minimizing hangnails (ok, I made up the last one, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true). Since I have an autoimmune disease, and my husband has diabetes in his family history, we're always looking for ways to stay healthy naturally. And as much as we both love a hunk of roast beast, all the research keeps pointing to the same - vegan - diet.

So why, if it's so good for us and the planet, would we be "averse" vegans? Well, I like (ok, love) dairy. And my husband loves meat. Heck, we're foodies - and a vegan diet means no Parmesan, no Ruth's Chris, no seafood, to name a few things. To be honest, I'm a pretty picky eater and well, er, I don't like many fruits, or many vegetables. There, I said it. Sure, I like some, but enough to live on for the rest of my life? That's kind of scary.

Our game plan, then, is not to become vegans. We're just going to have vegan meals sometimes. I love Mollie Katzen's idea of side-by-side meals, which are made up of several "side" dishes, rather than a main course and sides. At first, I tried to learn all new recipes and do everything from scratch, but that's just too much for me. Instead, I've decided to make side by side meals out of things I already know how to make. I can't guarantee meals will always be pretty, or balanced, or particularly tasty (sorry in advance, Dear), but it should all work out in the end. What matters is that even with just a few vegan meals a week, we can reduce our overall environmental impact and improve our own health in the process. With any luck, we might even save a few bucks on the grocery bill.

Day to Day Green

In any endeavor, there are highs and lows. There's no question what the biggest environmental low is right now (thank you so much, BP). On a smaller note, my housing management people decided to dredge the wetlands behind my home, filling my yard with sludge, dead fish and poisonous snakes. And for no good reason at all, one of my hanging tomato plants crashed to the ground. Yes, sir, things are rough all over.

The highs are a little less obvious, but well worth mentioning. In fact, let's dwell on those instead, shall we?

Green Acres Farm never fails to impress, and we've enjoyed their chickens, eggs, and mutton several times in the past few weeks. Even if you don't give a rat's patooty about the environment, this local farm produces some of the tastiest eats I've ever had - and I've heard that same sentiment from anyone who's ever tried their goods.

My daughter and I went to a playdate last week at which we made and sampled two kinds of ice cream - Yum! Now that would be a great playdate under any circumstances, but the wonderful hostess made both ice creams from natural, organic ingredients, one with goats' milk and one with cows' milk for comparison. Talk about taking it up a notch! She even used a crank-style churn to make one of them. Thank you so much, TG, for that special playdate!

I took the kids to the farmers' market Saturday morning. Usually I go alone and early, but this week I brought the kids so they could see all the wonderful food and crafts for themselves. I let them pick out whatever fruits or veggies they wanted, and they even chose some homemade treats for our dog. Every parent should be as fortunate as I am to have kids who get excited about eating healthy foods.

My son spent the first week of summer break at a BSA Eco-Hero camp. They did the usual camp stuff, from target shooting to games and sports, but I noticed all the crafts he brought home were eco-friendly. They used recycled materials for the most part, and they were green projects, like bird feeders. It wasn't anything overtly "save-the-Earth" green; it was just a consistent respect for conservation in all the cute little things they did. For example, they gave the kids each their own cup on the first day and used it all week for water. I wonder how many water bottles and juice boxes were kept out of landfills with just that one, thoughtful move? Kudos to the whole camp for a great week!

I'd like to write more, but I'm blowing off that annoying "work" thing I should be doing to write this instead. Not so good for the ol' pocketbook. My current pocketbook, by the way, is 15 years old and still going strong. That's probably the ultimate in conservation - just stop buying stuff and use your old stuff forever. But that's not always fun (or possible - especially if we're talking about fitting into jeans from that long ago!). Find what does work for you, enjoy it, embrace it. Don't worry about not doing everything perfectly - just do your best. There are thousands of ways to help the Earth, and thanks to people like you, millions of people willing to help it.

Namaste'

Little Green Stuff

In my last post I said I would try to be mindful of my green-ness for a week. Shockingly, for those who know my weakness for squirrels and shiny objects, I did it. It was actually a very refreshing way to rein in the onslaught of emotions I had about this whole lifestyle upgrade. It's been hard to feel like there's anything one person can do in the face of the environmental disaster in the Gulf, but focusing on the little day-to-day stuff really showed me how much I've learned and how much one person really CAN do, and we all need a pat on the back every now and then. Here are some of the observations I made on my "little green stuff" list:

Researched geothermal systems
Turned off lights and tv before naptime
Picked up trash the landscapers left (i.e. others' trash, not just my own)
Used microwave instead of oven
Watered all plants in the early morning and used self-watering pots
Discussed our green progress with the family
Cooked food in double batches to save energy
Spoke to my parents about their green habits
Watched Planet Green with the family

It's not a complete list, by any means, but it did help me to see that even if I don't always make the best choice for the world, I DO always think about it now. I have to confess that I didn't even consider where my steak came from until dessert last weekend, but hey, date nights (and steak) happen about twice a year around here. At least we supported a local business!

Getting back to the list, the last item, watching Planet Green, comes with mixed emotions. I'm totally addicted to that channel, which means I spend far too much time watching tv instead of doing, well, better things. The tv burns energy, and I lose hours of my life. On the other hand, I've learned a LOT from watching Planet Green*. Yeah, some of the shows are kind of silly, and others are common sense, at least to me, but some of them have been really valuable resources. Bill Nye (the Science Guy) hosts "Stuff Happens", which explains environmental issues in his usual funny, helpful manner, and states clearly what we can do to help - love that! World's Greenest Homes, Renovation Nation, and Greenovate all make me fantasize about our "someday" home. Even the commercials are useful. Go to Oceana.org to pledge to help the oceans, and the organization will receive $1 to help save our oceans. (Just click on the heroes link on the lower left.) To date, over 125 Sea Turtles have been found dead since the oil spill, and BP officials claim it has nothing to do with their oil spill. Uh, yeah, right. Obviously, the ocean really, really needs our help - please do what you can.

By the way, I'm avoiding using the horrible pictures of dead wildlife, in case you read this with your children in your lap or with them, etc... but if you have any doubt of the extent of the tragedy, Google or Bing "Deep Horizon Oil Spill" images. You won't see birds getting baths in Dawn dish liquid. You'll see dead ones, as well as turtles, dolphins, and even shrimp that are supposedly in "safe" waters, yet are dying in the millions. One hurricane, or a strong current, and this will befall the only coral reef in the U.S, the entire East Coast, and the Gulf Stream all the way to Europe. Hurricane season starts in 6 days.

Now I'm off to water my "garden" again, before the sun gets too high and my little plants get thirsty. They've just started to bloom, and I'm so proud. I feel almost like when my kids' first teeth came in LOL. Of course, J.S. is already harvesting his veggies. J.S. has more squash than he knows what to do with - already. Fine. He's only the latest in a long line of over-achievers I can only hope to emulate. What matters is that somewhere not far from here there's at least one other family eating very, very locally (he didn't have to rub in that he also line-caught the Grouper that afternoon!). It doesn't get more local than that, and I'm glad we still have that luxury, for now.

*I suspect Planet Green is about to change their name to Verge. By the time you read this, it could happen, but the links, hopefully, will still work. If I were PG, I'd make sure my links kept working...

Embracing My Eco-Footprint

ARGH! No wonder the Earth is going to hell in a handbasket. Here I am, an educated, well-intentioned woman with the support of my friends and family, and going green is a massive pain in the tail. Why, if I didn't have 20 hours a day to devote to it, unlimited educational resources at my disposal, and enough guilt to bring down the Vatican, why, I don't know how I'd do it.

Ok, maybe that's a bit much. Perhaps I should watch less Planet Green. Or focus on my accomplishments. Or heck, even give this blog a rest. To be fair, I am a bit of a control freak and insomniac who tends to think things to death. On one hand, that's the perfect person to lead a massive lifestyle overhaul. On the other hand, I'm totally overwhelmed this time. The gap between the average American family and the green ideal is so huge, I hardly know where to start. Worse, the more I look for guidance, the more I discover I'm not doing, and the worse I feel. One of my favorite people is moving away soon, and the only silver lining to her move is that I won't feel so guilty now that she won't be inside my evil, wasteful house anymore (my words, not hers - she's actually very non-judgmental, hence, one of my favorite people).

But I don't need her around to make me feel bad anyway. I just tried two different ecological footprint calculators and got vastly different, confusing results. One said I was a "40". 40 what? I can assure you, I ain't 40, thank you very much. The other said my household is so wasteful that our eco-footprint is 25 hectares. That's 250 acres, right? Really? Because I just watched Wa$ted, the show based on this very calculator and watched people in a 5000 sq. ft. home who took 40-minute showers and didn't recycle and their footprint was only 104 acres. I'm not strip mining an endangered animal reserve in my backyard. I don't slash and burn tires for fun. I don't wave plastic bags like prayer flags out my giant SUV windows while driving through protected wetlands. So what gives? Maybe the calculator sensed I'm on the Gulf Coast and automatically factored in the oil spill.*

I've had it with feeling guilty. I've had it with way too much information, and conflicting information at that. I'm tired of being frustrated with the limitations of not owning our home or land. There MUST be more people in the same boat as my family than on the green boat to sustainable living. Right? We can't be the only bad people left, right?

Here's my new plan, just to get me though this slough of despond. This week, I'm embracing all things green. I'm going to try, for one week, to focus on being green. I'm not always going to make the best choice, but I'm going to at least make a choice. I'm going to consider my options before acting. Maybe there are greener choices right in front of me that I'm missing, overthinking, or simply overlooking. I'm going to embrace the mountain of information and decisions, just for these few days, rather than being buried by them. At the end of the week, I don't know if I'll be more green or less, pleased or disappointed, exhausted or rejuvenated, but at least I will have dedicated myself to the Earth for a little while, and no matter what, that can't be bad.

* Actually, 25 hectares is about 61 acres, which is probably pretty accurate. However, the fact that each calculator uses it's own units and doesn't explain them just goes to demonstrate the challenges of going green.

Our First Garden

You can't get any more local than growing your own food. This year, for the first time ever, I'm trying just that. I've intended to start a garden all spring, but I'm just getting around to it now. Not the best start, but at least I'm finally doing it. I tend to over-plan everything, and this project was no exception. I'd like to tell you that my yard now puts The Victory Garden to shame, but it might cause a few of my friends great suffering as they laughed to death.

At first, I thought I wanted to try hydroponics, and I still do, but not on base housing a few months before we have to pack up and move. The same concerns put a real damper on a traditional garden, raised beds, square-foot gardening, and all those other gardens that are actually in the ground. Unfortunately, when we move out, we have to leave the same weeds, er, lawn we got when we moved in. To be honest, though, I'm pretty sure there are some chemicals in that ground, so maybe it's not so bad that I ultimately chose a small (ok, downright puny) container garden. Hey - I've never done this before! There was no point in killing hundreds of innocent plants.

I was actually at the book store to buy the new Square-Foot Gardening book when I found Guide to Florida Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, by Robert Bowden. I'm not sure that it will save all my gardening dreams, but so far it's been really helpful in getting started. Without boring me to tears, Robert gives all the basics, from what to plant when and where to harvesting and eating. Even though the book doesn't announce it, Robert believes in chemical-free, organic gardening except when all else has failed. Basically, it's a fun-to-read, quick reference to natural gardening. He also says point blank that there's no shame in planting only one of something, just to see if you can grow it, and for that I am forever in his debt. After I read this book (and got a "just do it, already!" email from my sister), I finally bought a few seedlings and self-watering containers.

When I say this is my first garden, I mean first vegetable garden. I've had a little bit of luck growing herbs in containers in the past. This year my rosemary and basil are doing very well, and most of the others are, well, not dead yet. With that winning track record, I bought 2 cherry tomato seedlings, 2 pepper seedlings, some cucumber shoots, and 2 zucchini seedlings. I got two of everything to better my odds of success, if you follow me. I got self-watering hanging baskets for the tomatoes, and self-watering rectangular planters for everything else. I really want to try an Earth Box, but there aren't any local distributors and I've heard that shipping them is wicked expensive and goes wrong as often as it goes well. The boxes themselves get great reviews though, so if I ever find them locally, I'm still hoping to try them out sometime. In the meantime, I have ordinary planters. Sometimes "done" is better than "perfect"!

And done I'll have to be, because I'm out of money. Organic gardening soil, $70, pots and planters, $34, seedlings, $21. It's not a lot of cash, especially in light of the garden's potential, but it sure doesn't look like $100+ worth of food right now. Who knows if it ever will be? What matters is that my family is growing organic food at home together.

A Mad Lib Story by Cub Scout Pack 662

Being a mom has its perks, one of which is getting to do Cub Scout activities with my son (although I have to beg his dad to give me a chance now and then!). Tonight I spoke to them about communicating to many people by writing on the Internet. So here, for all the world to see, is the Mad Lib story the boys "wrote" tonight. (The words they gave me are bold, and no, they didn't know what the story was, even though some of the words seem to fit perfectly!) Enjoy!

Camping Trip

A group of us were sitting around a raging tree one night roasting airplanes and telling red stories when we heard a little noise coming from the fire. We jumped up and saw a gigantic light floating toward us. It looked like a disembodied frog, and we had to cover our heart because it was so hard. The weird figure scored above the flames until the fire went out, leaving us in total fastness. Then, as quickly as it had arrived, the dark apparition drifted away and Yea! and behold - the fire was raging again. In addition, all our hairy food had disappeared. Nobody believed this story when we got home, but we decided that whatever the humongous thing was, it didn't want us to eat all the slimy marshmallows.

Tragedy in the Gulf

All of us who live on the Gulf Coast have been watching the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico worsen day by day, hour by hour. Initially, it was the shock of the explosion, and the lives lost. Then the oil made its escape. With each day, it seems, the quantity of oil and the rate at which it is flowing from the wreckage of the oil rig on the bottom of the ocean increases. It now stands at 200,000 gallons a day. The oil slick has reached the shores of Louisiana, and the military is scrambling to clean up what the oil company could not. On the news this morning, which I usually avoid, they declared it the worst oil spill in decades, if not in history.

But I think it could have been worse, perhaps. Because I think down there on the ocean floor, amid the massive wreckage, 11 souls are holding back the oil with the strength of their hearts.

Superganic Season Starting Soon

To be honest, it may have already started! Superganic is a local farm here in Pensacola. You might have read about it in my post last year(which you can skip to here). In February, 2010, Superganic Farms was finally certified. I'm not sure if they were certified "naturally grown" or certified "organic". The stamp on their site says the former, but it might have been there all along, and I know Bill was shooting for organic certification. I'll have to ask him in person. See, Bill is a character - no doubt about it, but he didn't get that way from chemical fumes. Superganic's produce is spectacular and delicious. They offer a Wholesale Buying Club for only $10 a week, so if you're in the Pensacola area, you're in luck. Visit the Superganic Farms website, check out the interview with Bill, and get all the details about the buying club.

Going Green Gradually

Earth Day 2010! A day of triumph and celebration for the Momnivore, right? Well, kind of. Sort of. Not really. See, first I overslept, then I turned on the idiot box in my sleepy haze. I wrestled with our rusty old hose so long that the sun was up by the time I got the sprinkler going, so not only did I lose water to leaks, but to the heat of the sun. I also watered as much pavement as lawn because for some reason, the sprinkler was channeling Niagara Falls today. Oh, and then I forgot it was on and totally over-watered. Usually, I'm really good about avoiding that, but I was distracted by giving my toddler a high-VOC pedicure (at her request - c'mon, you don't think I'd encourage that sort of thing, do you?). I haven't eaten any critters yet today, but my soy sausage was highly processed and my peanut butter had sugar in it. Not the best start to Earth Day, but you know what that means? Nowhere to go but up!

I've learned a lot during this Momnivore experiment, but the greatest lesson I've learned is that I can't change the world overnight. Heck, I can't change my socks without warming up a bit. Even though I'm often frustrated by my inability to implement everything immediately, or by the overwhelming information there is about going green, I have to admit that my family has made some progress in the past few months. We have filtered water, we support a local, sustainable farm, we recycle more and waste less. Perhaps most importantly, I'm always thinking green, questioning everything, looking for better alternatives and options. We didn't get here in a day, and we won't make any new radical changes in the next few hours, either. The improvements we've made have been earned one baby step at a time. Done this way, there's less overwhelm, less financial strain, and less lifestyle shock- all of which are important when making any change that involves the whole family.

In this spirit, I offer the Going Green Gradually post (Ta-Da!), a quick list of little ways to go green. Some you may have heard of, or done, others may be new, but all will be small. Even if something is beyond my present means to implement, I hope it will encourage you to discuss, research, or try it yourself. I will update this post as often as reasonably possible, keeping the list active and growing. One small kindness at a time, we can heal the Earth and leave her healthy and strong for generations to come. Namaste'

1. Visit one of the dozens of free online calculators and determine your carbon footprint. Knowing where you stand right now may motivate you to make some changes. Save your results and compare them with new results next year! I encourage you to take several tests, since many of the sites are sponsored by special interest groups. Taking several of them will help you get a good, balanced picture of your environmental status. Ready, set, GO!

2. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. I learned that little poem from my mother, who learned it from hers... Basically, it means use the stuff you already have, make the most of it, and fix it when it breaks. The world is already full of stuff. Buying more of it just uses resources and adds more stuff to the global pool. Think twice before buying anything.

3. Learn to cook. Ideally, we would all thrive on raw food vegan diets, but I like bacon too much to encourage that. Granted, cooking requires fuel, but cooking from scratch ensures that you'll know what's in your food. The closer your foods are to their whole, natural state, the better they are for you and the environment. Try comparing a recipe for a dish with that same dish prepackaged in the grocery store - the version you make from the recipe will always have fewer (if any) chemicals or preservatives. Cooking from scratch saves a ton of money, too, if you're into that sort of thing.

4. Research alternatives before you buy. Chances are good you'll still buy some stuff sometimes. Before you do, try to find out if there are greener versions of the same product available. For example, I shamefully still buy paper towels (gasp!). When I do, however, I try to avoid those with the pretty patterns, even when they're on sale for less than the plain ones, since the patterns require ink (chemicals) and more processing. It's a small impact, but at least I'm thinking about it. It's all about training your brain to think green.

More to come...

Green Acres Farm News

The nice folks at Green Acres Farm have been trying to get the guys in Tallahassee to change a few laws regarding small farms. Check out this article in the Pensacola News Journal outlining the issue and the struggles they're facing. I'm working on a full post detailing my recent visit to the farm, so I won't climb up on my soapbox just yet, but allow me to assure you that this farm is clean and compassionate. No two ways about it. I wish I lived next door so I could help them and get all my food from these people. Heck, if I'm good, I might come back as one of their animals in my next life - IF I'm good.

If you'd like to meet the Cassons (who are far more attractive than their American Gothic sign might suggest) and pick up some of their wonderful products (for your pets, of course), they'll be at the Earth Day Celebration at Bayview Park in Pensacola on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 10 to 5. Of course, if you're already planning to attend the Earth Day Celebration, all the better!

Celebrate Earth Day

Earth Day 2010 is this Thursday, April 22nd. Somehow I always forget that hour each spring I'm supposed to turn everything off (I even forget what they call it, and it was only a few weeks ago), but Earth Day I can remember. There are thousands of ways to celebrate Earth Day, but if you're stumped, check out this article. If you have kids, here are some family-friendly ways to celebrate Earth Day with them. I have a little Earth Day project in mind for this blog, too, but I'm still sorting it out in my mind. We'll see what I come up with by Thursday!

For those of you who read The Momnivore regularly (Hi, Mum!), you'll be pleased to hear that Basil, our toad, has upgraded to the rosemary pot. The new pot is a 12" pot, as opposed to the 8" pot of basil he previously occupied, so there's plenty of room for his chubby toad-butt. We will not, however, be changing his name.

I'm not sure how long this link will work before they archive this article, but over the weekend I read this wonderful interview with Jeff Yeager, author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Roadmap to True Riches. I hadn't heard of him or the book before, but I loved, loved, loved his financial philosophies as they came through in the interview. In his view, saving money and becoming wealthy is about living below your means, not pinching pennies or tackling Wall Street. How green is that? Think before you buy. Buy quality and buy once. Stay in your modestly-sized home for life. (Warren Buffet still lives in the same home he has for years, the one in a suburban subdivision, the one he paid $31, 000 for. ONLY $31K. Warren Buffet. 'Nuff said.) Not only do Mr. Yeager's financial views sound remarkably like my parents' and grandparents', but they certainly fit with today's green living and allowed Mr. Yeager to retire in his 40s. I can't wait to read that book - as soon as my library gets it. We don't need to discuss my rampant book addiction again, do we?

Finally, I'm happy to report that I found local meat and produce at both WalMart and Sam's Club last week. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know. I shouldn't patronize either, but I do. And most of you probably do too, at least for some things, so just admit it and let's move on. The point (and the good news) is that enough of us who do sometimes shop at these places care enough about where our food comes from that the giant box stores are starting to notice. I didn't see enough local and/or organic stuff to live on at either store, but I certainly saw enough to compliment my shopping at Ever'man's (or your local health food co-op). For anyone trying to balance sustainable living with a budget, this is a welcome step forward, and the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.

Namaste'

Seeds, Science and Saving Our Water

Ah, Florida. Spring was fleeting, and now it's summer-hot already. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. Along with the heat has come the realization that this is when I usually (accidentally) kill off my plants by forgetting to water them. This year I'm using water-saving pots AND I put "water plants" on my daily to-do list. Hopefully, the poor little guys will last longer this year. Actually, it's the seeds sprouting indoors that are struggling right now. They did so well at first, then one day, they were all, well, smooshed. Another morning I found them strewn about like rose petals at a wedding. Eventually, the plant-killer puked black, organic soil and seedlings on my beige rug and I finally caught on. Stupid cat. Sure, she's taken out my pothos and peace lily, but I assumed the little seedlings were too small to be of any interest to her. I was wrong. I planted more seeds and crossed my fingers, and now I'm searching for a safe place to hide the little plants at night. Interestingly, my children also nibbled on our plants, but they each tried a leaf of the more mature basil. The six-year-old declared it tasted like pizza; the three-year-old declared it was a bad idea to eat a huge basil leaf.

Speaking of basil, meet Basil, our resident toad, peeking out in the picture above. We're pretty sure he's a toad because he lives in the bottom of our basil pot, on dry land, and hops out when we water it. We carefully water from the top, instead of filling the reservoir, so as not to disturb him too much. He keeps coming back as soon as the plant sucks up a bit of water, so we figure he just thinks we're the
housekeeping crew.

This may be a bit off topic, but it made me think, so I offer it to you. My family spent a day at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, Alabama recently. Very highly recommended, by the way! One of the permanent exhibits is about the human body. It shows the different systems, how it all works, how it's all connected, and other cool stuff. It also offers many hands-on experiments, and everything is focused on good overall health. There are even stations in the exhibit where locals can check in regularly and keep track of their vitals. While we enjoyed the exhibit, and really, the whole Exploreum, very much, we couldn't help but notice how many morbidly obese families were going though the exhibit, and worse, taking nothing away from it. One display showed restaurant vs. appropriate portion sizes, and my husband heard a large woman declaring that she could never eat that little. I saw another very overweight woman doing an experiment for her large child, who couldn't be bothered making the effort. Throughout the exhibit, we didn't see one family of large people do or say anything to indicate that they "got it", or to teach one of their children. I hope we missed those families. I hope that we saw the exceptions, not the rule. Maintaining good health, including a healthy weight, is so important not only for us, but for the environment.

Finally, I read this month's issue of National Geographic; it's a special issue dedicated entirely to the global water crisis. Cool: a picture of an ice carving in the frozen Kennebec River in my home state of Maine. Not cool: almost everything else. The water crisis is really scary, and I suspect that it's far more advanced than many of us on public water realize. I encourage you to pick up a Nat Geo and read it for yourself. However, I read that and this month's issue of Discover Magazine back to back, and it ALSO contains discouraging water news (and a story on the epidemic of childhood illnesses). While both are valuable and interesting resources, I suggest reading Tiger Beat or Soap Opera Digest or something in between to avoid the staggering depression I battled for a few days after reading all that sad news. Fortunately, when I came out of it, it was with a renewed sense that this little effort of mine, no matter how small, is worth it.

Children Play With Earth

My ongoing quest to enjoy a more local & sustainable lifestyle continues, albeit in fits and starts. Here are a few updates...

The quest to exempt small farms from huge licencing fees and facilities will be a long, ugly battle, unfortunately. Mr. Casson had his meeting in Tallahassee bumped back a week, and then learned all about how laws are combined, seemingly to confuse and delay all parties involved. Ultimately, so far it seems that "we, the people" want to be protected more than we want freedom of choice. If you feel otherwise, please let your representatives know. At present, local farms can provide food "for animal consumption only" unless they build & maintain large, expensive processing facilities. If you've visited a local farm, and your kids' cafeteria, you know Fido's getting the better deal!

Speaking of visiting farms, my family will be enjoying an upcoming Saturday at Green Acres Farm in Walnut Hill, Florida. I'm really looking forward to showing my kids happy, healthy animals on a working farm. When I was growing up in rural Maine, farms like this were common; now I have to seek one out just to show my kids a real chicken. No worries, though - I'll share our day trip with you here.

My family has started our own little farm. We planted herbs in containers (we're in military housing, so no "real" gardens allowed). In addition to the herb seedlings, we also planted the seeds of several other herbs. Out of curiosity, we planted both organic and regular commercial seeds of both thyme and chives. It will be interesting to see if there's any difference in the seeds, since the organic seeds were literally twice the price. Everything was planted in organic soil in water-retaining pots. Water shortages are a huge problem here in Florida (usually, not at the moment), so I thought the pots would be an important part of our sustainable garden. Although the pots are plastic, they're reusable and recyclable.

Now that the first herbs and flowers are in, the kids are clamoring for a vegetable garden. I've been considering the Earthbox for a while (again, we need a container garden), but I can't find a local dealer. Josh Mandel has generously posted detailed, step-by-step instructions to make your own container garden here. It still looks like a lot of plastic to me, and I'm not sure my homeowners' association will allow them. If I were the crafty type, maybe I could make oilcloth skirts for them or something, but alas, I'm not. I'm also still toying with the idea of an Aerogarden. The thing that really attracts me to that particular gadget is that I really want to try hydroponics someday. At present, I'm hindered by my housing restrictions, my brown thumbs, and very limited knowledge on the subject. However, what I do know about hydroponic gardening is that it can be done organically, it uses less water than conventional gardening, it provides superior produce, and, done right, it actually improves the environment. How could I not be tempted by that?

In the meantime, I'm loving the dirt under my kids tiny fingernails. I love that they already talk to their little seedlings, coaxing and encouraging them to grow. I love that my kids love their veggies. I love that they get plenty of fresh air and exercise, sunshine and play, and of course, dirt.

"Dig your hands in the dirt, Children play with Earth" ~ Arrested Development

Florida Food Freedom Act - Act Now!

The Florida Food Freedom Act would allow local farms to sell their produce and products directly to us without requiring them to build an expensive "processing" facility, as is currently required. Please read the following description of the bill, as provided by the good people at Green Acres Farm in Walnut Hill, Florida. Hopefully, you will be moved to contact your state legislators and let them know you WANT the option to support local farms, to buy natural produce and products directly from the hands who raise them.

There is a Bill in the Florida Senate, Bill S1900- Florida Food Freedom Act. The purpose of this bill is to exempt small farms, who sell directly to consumers, from some current regulation requirements that are cost prohibitive. Currently to sell any "processed food" (washed eggs, cracked pecans, honey...) in the state of Florida a farmer has to build a facility that meets the Florida Department of Consumer Services- Minimum Construction Requirements. My estimation to build such a facility is about $25,000. That's a hell of a lot of eggs. This bill exempts farmers selling directly to the consumer from this requirement as well as some of the other permit fees currently required. By enacting this bill we will be opening up the availability of locally produced food to Florida Consumers as well as strengthening the stability of Florida's economy. When you buy food from a chain store, much of that money leaves the state, going to the producers in other states and countries as well as going to the chain owners. As we constantly shipping that money out of our community, we are constantly faced with the question of how we can get others to spend their money in our community. This sets up a continually stress economic situation. When you buy locally produced foods and other products, the money you spend continues to circulate in your community thus adding stability to your local economy. This bill effectively reinstates some of our rights by allowing small farmers to once again produce and sell within their own community, begins to strengthen our local economy while encouraging more environmentally sound commerce by reducing the amount of fuel involved to get food to consumers and does all that without requiring the government to spend a dime of taxpayer money. Please don't let this slip through the cracks.

For more information on this Bill and Green Acres Farm, check out their page on Facebook. Your support is greatly appreciated! Farms like Green Acres provide a healthy, sustainable food source that benefit our families, our communities and the environment.

Sustainable Books

IPad, Nook, Kindle? Decisions, decisions! I was cramming yet another book onto my cheap, warped bookshelves the other day when it hit me: How many trees have I killed for these books? I love books. I'm a 3rd generation English Lit major - that's hardcore. I love the feel, the smell, the different type-sets, everything about books. But at my average of 8 to 10 books each month, that's a lot of wasted paper. Each book is only in use for a few hours before I'm done with it. Something had to give. I posted on Facebook, asking everyone to chime in on their favorite technology, and lots of people love their eReaders. I priced different versions and read the reviews, all of which were mixed. Unable to reach a solid decision, I remembered something from my literate past: my library card.

The local branch of the area library is tiny. At one time (before an enormous donation to another library a few years ago), my family's personal library was larger than the book collection at my local library now. I think it was destroyed in the hurricanes of '04-'05 and is still slowly rebuilding. For me, having grown up in the ancient libraries in Northern New England, seeing half of a public library filled with computers instead of books is weird, but I guess that's what patrons want. There's a small children's room, a collection of DVDs, audiobooks, and a large print collection. The Friends of the Library group has its own room, there's a community room, and even a drive through window. But the actual collection of adult books, both fiction and non-fiction, takes up only a few shelves - I'd say 10, generously. Basically, I never think to go to the library because they never have what I want to read.

What if I brought them my large collection of once-read books? What if everyone did? The same books could be read again and again by hundreds of patrons. A library is a book recycling center, is it not? If everyone donated books, we would all find something new to read. I could pick up a book I know nothing about, and might even end up loving it. Of course, there's a tremendous savings to using a public library, too. Books, DVDs, and the Internet are all free to use. Heck, if I used the public DVDs and Internet, I could cancel those services at home and stop giving Cox an arm & a leg each month. From a environmental standpoint, library books are very sustainable indeed.

I also found a book on sustainable living : Sustainable Living for Dummies, by Michael Grosvenor. I love "For Dummies" books, since they're so easy to read in snippets, and you can jump around through the chapters. I just picked it up this morning so I haven't read it yet, but I suspect I may end up deeming this one worthy of a place in my personal reference library. I'm sure you'll see me referring to it here in future posts. I also picked up a few vegetarian cookbooks, and a book on meditation. Each of these books in its own niche helps support a sustainable lifestyle and connection with the Earth.

I still love the idea of an eReader, with all those titles at my fingertips, and yes, the status that comes with e-reading while sipping a fairly-traded beverage at the bistro, but that wouldn't happen in my real life anyway. Until my kids are grown and my me-time is measurable in greater increments than a nano-second, the library will work. Maybe I'll save enough for that AreoGarden I've been eyeing...

Even Paranoids Get Followed

It turns out I may have been on the mark when I wrote that my family's ill-health might be related to the water here. Although there's no evidence at this time that Pensacola NAS is hiding anything, check out what the Marines are up against at Camp Lejeune: benzene, and a massive cover-up. The complete story is here, but here are the details. In 1984, the benzene levels were tested at 380 parts per billion; the safe level? 5 parts per billion. The same report was later edited to read 38 parts per billion, then finally edited to omit the benzene levels completely. Does this mean the water is now safe? Um, no. First, the reports all referred back to the 1984 tests - so the numbers shouldn't have changed at all. Secondly, tests done between 2007 and 2009 found the benzene levels to be a staggering 3,490 parts per billion.

What's so bad about Benzene? Oh, the usual: destruction of your bone marrow, blood, immune system, a bit of cancer... Here's the CDC's page about benzene poisoning. Note that it specifically mentions contaminated water as a prominent source of the poisoning, and how drastic the measures are if you're exposed. For example, you're to cut off your clothes, use tongs to put them in a sealed plastic bag, and call a hazmat team. This is the stuff our Marines, and their spouses, and their babies and pets have been drinking. It's a wonder there weren't any reports of glowing baby bottles with the lead from the infant formula mixing with the benzene in the water (reason # 267836394821018363 to breastfeed...).

While we've recently switched to a supposedly top-of-the-line water filter system, I think it's time to get my family tested. Even if your water supply is "safe", there are many chemicals they don't have to test for or list at all - who's to say they aren't the most important ones to your family's health? I'm not waiting around to find out.

Grass-Finished is Finishing Me Off

Anyone who knows me is undoubtedly watching my true colors come out as this blog progresses. No, I'm not a junk-food addict - I'm not quite that far off the target. What I am is a bit sharp-tongued, and keeping this experience positive is a bit of a struggle for me sometimes. I want to do the right thing, to find the good in everything and everyone, to triumph in every battle, but alas, I'm from Maine. We're not known for our kindness, or even civility, and while we're not impatient like, say, New Yorkers, we don't tolerate nonsense for long. I'm not likely to quit anything, ever, upon pain of death... but I am likely to chuck something to the side and start over a whole new way. Cut my losses, as it were. Am I giving up? Hell, no. Just trying another tack. What, you ask, could possibly drive a visionary such as myself to the brink so soon after starting this mission? No more or less than other families, I'm sure, but here's what's getting to me.

We got 3 days notice that my husband's work schedule would be changing to nights, so now he's gone from noon to almost midnight. So now, dinner is me and 2 small children. How many brand-new, organic, whole-food meals do you think you could get in your kids before they just push it away and go to bed hungry? I've been lucky to find a few things they've enjoyed, but c'mon, even grown-ups don't like to change everything all at once.

I never heard back from the Berkey people why my fluoride filters won't work, and when I do, I'm going to ask them why the spout leaks if it's in any direction but sideways. The organic farm I found is asleep for the winter, I guess. I had to ask around because I never made it on their contact list. I also never made it on the contact list for the local eggs. These things happen, but in both cases I spent time and money and wrote neatly and one would think they'd want me back.

I have been a bit under the weather myself, and in my case, it's an autoimmune condition which prevents me from eating. My immune system mistakes my gut for the enemy and attacks. It's just lovely. It's kind of like having the flu, for no good reason, for weeks at a time. You can probably imagine I'm not much of a chef when I feel like that. Sadly, sometimes I get so hungry that I dream in food. A few nights ago I dreamt of a lemon-ginger chicken and a grilled romaine salad with shaved frozen vinegar... ummmmm, yummy! Even worse, when I woke up, I had all the ingredients, but I still couldn't eat it. I'm in foodie hell.

To be honest, I don't know that my dream meal would be all that anyway. I still haven't been able to find local, pastured chicken, and romaine is out of season, I think. I'm not giving up real Parmesan, so I'll have to swallow the carbon cost of importing it from Italy. We might still have some local lemons here in Florida, if the cold season hasn't killed them all off this year. As for the ginger, I know it's originally from Asia, but it's tropical, so maybe I could find some from around here, except for the farm being closed and the killing frost and all.

What's a girl to do? I've gone back to whole foods for now. I'm trying to give my family real food, minimally processed and simply prepared. Sometimes I have no idea how far it's come, but at least the ingredient list is simple. Sweet potato: contains 1 sweet potato, just as an example. If I see something local, great! I'll get it if it's not too expensive. I'm still struggling with the meat supply. The few - very few - pieces of grass-finished beef I've found have been frozen and, well, just ugly. Then there are the grand ranches in the West who raise great herds of naturally pastured animals, but then I'd have to ship the meat across the country in freezer packs at great speed and expense. Wouldn't the shipping offset the quality of the meat?

There is a silver lining to all this. Money. Going back to basics, and cutting back on meat, since I can't find much anyway, has really stretched our grocery budget. I spend less now on my family of 4 than I did when it was just the two of us eating anything we wanted. Well, that and hearing my 6-year-old tell me, "Your pizza is a trillion times better than Domino's! If they tried your pizza, they'd close the store and come here and beg for your pizza!". Yeah, for that kind of love I guess I can carry on.

Fighting for a Seat on the Wagon

If living a sustainable lifestyle were easy, everyone would do it, right? New challenges continue to pop up, but that's why I'm blogging this - so you can see 'em coming if you're going through this too! There was some illness and injury, a little Internet overwhelm, and a touch of blonde. Allow me to elaborate.

As you may have guessed from my previous post, my kids have been sick. We're still not sure what's up with my son; more tests are needed. My daughter has a staph infection for the fourth time this year, and we can't seem to kill it. We've traced it back to a spider bite I had a while back, but we need more tests to figure out if it's become resistant and if I'm still carrying it. Personally, I feel just fine, but I'm not 3. In any case, they're both feeling much better, thank you, although our healthy, hippy house is now home to more antibiotics than you can shake a stick at. The extra hours at various doctors and hospitals and pharmacies definitely cut into my thoughtful food preparation time, and I haven't been shopping in a while (just ask my husband).

I did manage a quick trip to Ever'man's, the local whole foods co-op. I picked up a number of grains and a gorgeous wild rice and lentil mix. It's so lovely, I'd like to just stare at it. But I can't, because it's in a plastic bag. In fact, they're all in plastic bags. Suddenly I'm thinking of that island of trash in the ocean, the giant man-made landfill that's poisoning the ocean. Glass! I need glass containers to put my grains and beans in, then I can reuse the plastic bags and save the whales. You would think that finding air-tight, glass storage containers would be easy, right? Nope. I spent about 2 hours online, both "Googling" and "Binging" them, but with little success. I just wanted some of those Mason-jar things with the rubber gasket and flip-top lid I remember from my childhood. Apparently now they're called "French Hermetic Terrines", are pretty expensive, and are chronically out of stock anyway. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about my pantry. Maybe I'll just pig out and eat everything and then I won't have to worry about storing anything.

With all the stress and distraction of the kids and containers, I haven't been eating well. Ok, I've been eating worse than a frat boy. Although I always strive to give my family balanced meals, I personally had Goldfish crackers and wine for dinner one night. Another time I tried to make nachos out of stale taco shells and processed cheese. There. My confessions are out in the open. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling too well myself by the end of the week so yesterday, I fasted. I love a good fast (I elaborate here). To break my fast, I chose oatmeal. Proper, steel-cut oatmeal that you cook, in a pot, with a wooden spurtle. I'm only second generation American of Scottish descent, so I know oatmeal. Apparently Homeland Security thought the IRA was hiding in my Irish oats, though, because I almost killed myself trying to get into the freaking tin. (See the picture for an idea what it took to open it!) By the time I got it open, the water had boiled down, so the oatmeal boiled over and trashed my stove. Mind you, by this time, I hadn't eaten in about 36 hours, and this is not the best time to test my emergency response skills. Eventually, I got my oatmeal. I was delicious, and almost worth the trouble.

3 weeks into the Momnivore Challenge, and I've learned a lot. I've learned I'll starve if I worry about every little thing, like the fact that none of the grains or beans I bought were locally produced. I'll settle for the fact that they're all organically grown, minimally packaged (bought from bulk bins), and purchased locally - and that they're real food, of course. I've learned that it's easy to fall off the wagon, but it's not a big deal to hop back on again. And I've learned that I'm barely 2% smarter than a tin of oatmeal.

The Sad State of the State We're In

I mean the sorry state of the members of my household, not Florida, although on the whole, Florida ain't particularly healthy. Something happened in 2008, not long after moving here, and we've been struggling to regain our overall health ever since. At first we joked about getting "all our bad luck" out of the way in one year, but as '08 became '09, and now '09 has become '10, I'm getting worried. Both my husband's family and my own come from hearty stock - the kind of healthy, hard-working, athletic & outdoorsy people who never get sick. We have "thick blood" (actually, my father's blood is truly amazing, but that's another story...), we enjoy hard work, and we never have colds, let alone anything more serious. Injuries? Sure, we have bumps and bruises and a few scars here and there, but those are normal if you live an active life. But illnesses? Never, until these past few years.

Let me clarify that, a bit, for those who know me and are undoubtedly biting their tongues right now. See, autoimmune conditions run in my family, UC, RA, MS, and other annoying initials. Oh, and some diabetes on my husband's side. Ok, so they're not minor illnesses, but the thing is, we handled them just fine. Either MS or RA can put you in a wheelchair within months of first emerging, but my mum has had them both for decades and still works even now, in her 60s. Both she and I have enjoyed years of complete remission from our conditions drug-free, ignoring our genetic predispositions and getting on with our lives. My husband's family was prone to diabetes, but that was lifestyle-induced. When he saw his numbers creeping up, he ate better and exercised more and completely avoided the problem. What I'm trying to explain is that even in the cases where the medical problem is supposedly unavoidable, we've tackled it.

So here we are, on the Gulf Coast, with sick kids and pets. My husband and I are generally fine, still no colds, allergies, etc... although my autoimmune condition is more active than usual thanks to worrying about everyone else. The kids, however, have had one infection after another. Not one long, lingering illness, but a constant barrage of bad bugs. Tiny cuts turn into nasty infections, or sudden fevers strike with no other symptoms. Everyone gets sick now and then, but this is well beyond anything in my childhood experiences. Even our pets' health has been threatened lately. In fact, my husband just called from the vet now to tell me (to our great relief) that our Maine Coon has kitty acne, not an infected wound or tumor. We're thrilled it's so minor and harmless, but who the hell ever heard of kitty acne? Where are all these germs coming from?

Of course I clean and disinfect my house. Yes, we're clean, and our pets are well-groomed, too. Even if we weren't, we're living the exact same way as we have everywhere else. We move every few years, courtesy of the military, and what I'm wondering now is what's wrong with this place?

You hear about those places with toxic waste in the soil, or polluted air, or a contaminated water supply, but they're never "home". It always happens somewhere else, and we feel badly, wonder why the people don't move, maybe send some aid. Now, after the recent water report, after witnessing my own strong family struggling to enjoy good health even with our concerted effort to practice a healthy lifestyle, I can't help but wonder if we live in one of "those" places. And, as someone who has traveled and still feels truly blessed to be an American, it saddens me deeply. It angers me too! For God's sake, they can't figure out if something is wrong with my son's vital organs! And if I've learned anything over the past month of trying to live a healthier lifestyle, it's that the problems with the American food chain, which includes us, the environment, and everything in between, are omnipresent. I went to the organic farm, but he used some grocery store produce in his compost (pesticides), and public water for irrigation when their wasn't enough rain (worst water in the country). I bought a water filter, but what water did they use when they made that juice from concentrate, or worse, that Capri Sun that my son takes to school every day? We're at the bottom of the national run-off, the Gulf Coast, where all the chemicals from the rain, from the fields, from Canada and the U.S. end up. What might be in the dirt where my kids dig, the trees where they climb, the air they breathe?

I'm tired of limping along, making excuses for one illness or another. It's not just a fluke, it's a fact. We're all sick of being sick. No, I can't prove that the environment is making us sick, but we never had these problems in rural New England! And until someone can give me a better explanation and make my family feel better, I'm going with my gut instinct. We can't move until the military lets us, but I'm damn sure going to work that much harder to improve our living conditions here. I'm demanding natural products from clean sources, I'm supporting local farms and businesses who operate with environmental responsibility, and I'm openly blasting those that are ruining my family's quality of life. I hope you will, too. Vote with your choices and your voices and force things to change for the better.

The Perimeter of Publix

Ironically, after struggling with it for days, I never did make much of a weekly menu. At least, not nearly as well as Jen does! I have to admit her "I'm not making a menu" menu is more organized than my "This year I'm getting organized" menu. I did, however, manage to go grocery shopping last week. Somehow, miraculously, I bought enough real food to feed us for the past 8 days, and (gasp!) there's still food left! And, sit down for this, I was under budget. I hate to hit you when I'm sure you're already reeling on the floor, but the final kicker is that I did all this at Publix. Not Sam's Club, not Dollar General or WalMart, but Publix.

I think I've figured out the three main reasons for my success, although obviously the stars lined up and the Gods of Groceries were in my corner. Still, I was greatly aided by the fact that my family eats anything I put in front of them. Well, sort of. Our kids are little, so we try to balance new things with familiar ones, and we give them their favorites for lunch and snacks. They make smart, healthy choices, so why not? How did we raise such great eaters? That's a whole other story, but they are, and it makes my job easier. Dinner is also made easier by the fact that I can cook. In fact, I enjoy it. Sure, it's a pain in the butt if I'm rushed or the kids are whining or the dog is underfoot, wiggling his eyebrows at me (what? your dog doesn't wiggle his eyebrows?), but when push comes to shove I have solid, basic cooking skills and I can throw stuff together and make a meal. The first two factors allowed me to do the third: I shopped the perimeter of the grocery store. That's where all the real food is anyway, and ultimately, that's my goal here, right? To eat real, local, sustainable food and make the world a better place?

I bought seasonal vegetables in their whole forms for the most part. I'm not sure where the global supply of shallots comes from, but I can't cook without them, so they made it into my cart too. I also didn't pay attention to the organic section. That word is so used & abused right now, I only trust it when I meet the farmer. Still, I bought real food, with minimal if any processing, and very little packaging, all of which helps to minimize the carbon footprint of the food chain.
I bought dried beans, which are cheap and simple, and a few family staples, like bacon. When I find a locally raised, pasture fed & finished, naturally smoked, preservative free bacon source, I'll be sure to let you know. I finished the long (2 hour) shopping trip in the meat department, buying Publix "Greenwise" products or natural cuts. The selection was pretty limited, I have to say, but it's a start.

What I didn't buy were processed convenience foods. No Lunchables, no frozen dinners, no meal-in-a-box things. I didn't even buy baby carrots - I bought a big bag of whole carrots, and I've been cutting them in different ways for different uses as we need them. That was the whole mission of this shopping trip I think, to trade a little time and effort for better food. I think it's worked. In the past week, we've had at least 3 vegetarian dinners - rare for us, but there were no complaints. The food has tasted great, probably because of the minimal processing, and we've tried new recipes throughout the week. The kids have tried a ton of new foods, and just last night my husband was shocked to learn how much he loves beets, which he'd never had before. (Ever??) So he and our son learned to love them together.

The main drawback to all this has been the amount of time and effort it requires of me, personally. The shopping will take less time when I learn better what I'm looking for, since I read every label this past trip. But the food preparation is still time consuming. I would caution anyone considering making these changes to allow plenty of time for the first few weeks. The less stressed out you are, the better choices you'll make. I confess, there was one night (only one!) that I was pushed to frozen pizza. Sigh. But by my reckoning, that's 7 nights better than average. Considering the new year is less than two weeks old, I'm pretty happy with that.