It was my intention to have Monday be Menu day, in which I would share with you my plans for cooking in the next full week. And I really meant to start that yesterday, however it all kind of fell apart. There was some mild apathy, true, but actually there was work to do at work so I did not get time to really consider my meal planning. I did get time to read an article or two, and one in particular is really resonating with me:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/food-industry_b_1559920.html?ref=healthy-living
Basically Dr. Mark Hyman is discussing the need for us, as humans, to get back to meeting the needs of our own cellular biology by eating whole foods, using them as ingredients, and making meals without the benefit of a laboratory or chemical alteration. The fact is, processed sugars create an opiate-like response in our brains and we are all hooked. MSG is addictive as a substance--scientists use it in the lab all the time to make fat mice so they can play around with them and test out new drugs. Goodness only knows what the other chemicals are for.
I am not trying to preach or pontificate on anybody, but really--some of this was actually a shocking revelation to me! So I come to grips with a couple of concerns while I am processing my feelings. I feel like I already have so many concerns, so many tasks, that how can I increase my workload just to put food on the table? Because really, when you are starting with a whole celery or a whole eggplant, there will be some work involved to get it served. That doesn't even count the meat or protein...or the inevitable cleanup. Not to mention the frequent trips to the grocery store, because fresh food doesn't keep as long as processed.
And now, the sequelae have piled up: follow me here, folks, it may be complicated! I need to find a way to easily, readily secure fresh ingredients. I need to process them (freeze or can). I need to convince my family to eat the items I have selected. Enjoying them would also be nice. And since I don't already know how to do those things, it's a learning curve...with our health at risk since if I screw up the canning process we could all die. Dramatic, right? AND I get to do it in addition to the already BAZILLION things I do. Am I paranoid? Is it possible that all this concern is unwarranted?
Because right at this moment I feel very confronted by all the information out there that I am frantically gnawing on my butterscotch crumpets in a state of near panic (another fail for the week). If this is true, and I feel in my soul (and my cells!) that it probably is, then I haven't fed my kids well since they were weaned. Ack! As I mentally comb over the pantry contents I realize that to live this out I will be: baking our bread, creating desserts from scratch, planning each meal with fresh ingredients from the local area or my own garden, switching us from regular commercial milk and dairy to either goat milk or jersey milk (a2) and related dairy products...or really combing the labels. Thankfully my chips, tortilla or potato, have just 3 or 4 ingredients! Every bite of food we eat will have to nourish the body, and almost every bite will be made by me or someone I know since I know how to work the kitchen.
(Okay that was a partial jab at Husband. Sorry Dear!)
Have I mentioned that I work full time? And have 3 kids to take care of in other areas of life? And I am happily married most of the time? And I have a house to keep clean? And decorate? And a pool?
Hey I just counted many of my blessings. I am truly thankful but they are no small amount of work either. I guess we are back to the same old position: Becky will do what Becky must do, just like always. Next Monday we will have a menu. I should have it pulled together by then!
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