food

photo by rick, flickr

I've been thinking a lot about food lately.  Not surprising.  I always think about food a lot. 

But recently I've also been worrying a lot about food.  Not in an I-can't-eat-that-it'll-make-me-fat worrying way.  I don't diet.  Never have.  And not because I'm naturally thin.  I have never been thin and have hated my body just as most women do.  But I've tried dieting a few times, and those trials tend to last maybe 24 hours.  Maybe.  I just don't have the discipline.  Or the desire to be that disciplined.  And I like food!

My worry these days is a direct result of watching Food, Inc. a year or so ago and then reading about food production and distribution and politics in the US.  I want to provide the best for my family while also being a faithful steward of the earth.  I want my faith and my food to align.  And so I believe the food we eat should be made locally when possible, should involve as few chemicals and preservatives as possible, should involve humane treatment of animals and farmers, and should be primarily nutritious (not junk).  That is what I believe.  However, this is one case where it is very difficult (for me) to align my belief with my action.

Buying local and organic can be expensive.  Not always.  Our CSA gives us lots of quality veges for a similar-to-grocery-store price, and the peach/apple farm store near us has some great prices on certain produce.  But meat, flour, milk and dairy products - these are often at least twice as much as their conventional grocery counterpart.

And our budget is only getting tighter, not wider.

But even beyond the price issue, buying local and organic and unprocessed means more time in the kitchen.  A good bit more time.  I love CSA days because it's fun to find out what beautiful fresh veges I get to play with in the coming week, but I do not love all the time it takes to clean and prep them.  Buying a bag of frozen chopped spinach is much easier than doing the washing, cooking and chopping oneself.  And bread (which go through in droves - no low-carbing in our household!) is certainly much quicker from a shrinkwrapped package than from our oven. 

Simple living is not so simple.

Right now I'm holding a somewhat middle ground.  I already spend time and money on things that some families would find silly:

• I make yogurt (it's not as hard as it sounds).
• I make ricotta cheese (also, not very hard, and heavenly to eat, but requires cheesecloth which is awful to clean).
• I bake at least a couple loaves of bread a week plus other quick breads and yeasty things (like pizza dough).
• We make our own granola and granola bars (so much better than the store-bought stuff).
• We buy local dairy milk for the kiddoes.
• We eat some local meat (particularly sausage).
• I make most dinner meals from scratch.

And I'm even contemplating attempting recipes for tortillas, pita bread, graham crackers and cheese crackers!  But I also do a lot of other things that true locavores and natural foodies would find appalling:

• I use Splenda in my non-fair-trade coffee.
• I buy bananas regularly.
• I drink regular Kroger milk and buy regular Kroger cheese.
• I fix hot dogs (though I do typically buy the kosher kind).
• I sometimes use margarine (*gasp*).
• I don't buy organic flour or oats.
• I buy Kroger peanut butter.
• I buy regular eggs.
• And many, many more.

Oh my, I start to feel guilty just looking at this list. 

As I approach a chaotic new school year when my time in the kitchen is going to be more limited (or require more sacrifice), where do I draw the lines for our eating?  Where do I align my belief with action, and where do I let practicality (need to pay bills, need to spend time with family, need to sleep) win out?

I hope that I will at least be able to keep up the "already do" list, despite the time.  Then maybe I can tackle one small "want to do" item at a time.  But I'm pretty sure we'll never completely commit to all natural and local foods.  Heck, my family might riot! 

So we'll live with our food somewhere in the middle, and I'll try to be faithful in food decisions without being frantic.  Sometimes I'll use whole, organic foods.  And sometimes I'll just buy the disgusting chicken nuggets!