food rules

Don't get me wrong. I hate rules of all kinds. I think we've made food too full of rules already. This much grain, that much fat, heart-healthy, protective against x cancer... most foods fall into both categories–coffee is good for you AND bad for you. The tannins in red wine can cause AND protect against cancer? Let's face it. We're not sure what we know about food.

But when a good friend asked how she could start eating locally, I had time to stop & think about how much Joe & I have learned, are still learning. I'm by no means an authority, but I certainly hope to be in my future. Here's how I would summarize what I know. The focus of these rules is to increase healthy eating & decrease the CO2 stamp of our food: process food less, make food travel less.

Watching a French documentary yesterday from Capital Terre, we watched crawfish be caught off of France's coast, then shipped to Southeast Asia to be processed, then shipped back to France to be sold in a discount grocery. Our "modern" food industry is filled with mind-boggling nonsense like this.

One of the things that's most important to me, more than my health, more than seeing happy trees (not more than saving the planet for a future generation)–more than almost anything else–is taking America back to a time when it was the bread basket of the world. We could feed ourselves much better, independent of even industrial grocery stores, if we focused on sustainable agriculture instead of having the biggest crop yield, which then limits us to soy and corn. These rules are a nice help, but when it comes to food rules, nothing is better than shopping at local farmer's markets and shops.

Let's look at how we can add diversity into our hometown or home state food supply. I feel like I'm giving away a secret, since I just sent my friend this e-mail... but I can't resist. Hope this helps you!

1. BUY IN BULK
If you can find things not packaged in plastic & cardboard, they're probably be more nutritious–brown rice, whole grains, unsalted nuts. It's usually less expensive, healthier & covered in less plastic. Win, win, win. Really, just bring home as few boxes as possible. Boxes are always a sign that people have ruined your food.

2. GROW SOMETHING
Even if it's just a few herbs on your window sill. I had basil, chive & zinnia, which you can't eat but was nice. I tried desperately to grow an avocado & failed about seven times. I wish you better luck. You'll feel good about it and start to understand how hard it is to make things grow, if you're like me. Tomatoes are easy to grow and not expensive. I use a LOT of tomatoes, so that would save me like $5 a week. There are tons of "urban gardening" ideas now for people in cities or apartments.

3. IF YOU CAN PEEL IT, DON'T BUY THE ORGANIC
Avocados, oranges, onions, bananas. You get the idea. While I would love to buy everything organic, I can't afford it. You have to know what you can get away with.

4. IF THE SKIN'S THING, GET IT ORGANIC OR LOCALLY
Potatoes, berries, cherries. Again, you get the idea. These tend to be the most riddled with pesticides, since they're either IN the ground or more fragile. Can't find them locally? Scrub them. Then scrub them again.

5. FREEZE, DON'T CAN
 I'm not trying to take down the famiy tradition of canning. Salsa, jams, soups. Great. But canning "fresh" vegetables means boiling them & adding salt, which lowers nutrient value. Freezing requires less salt & preservatives, and it also means your food wasn't overly boiled. You get more in bigger bags instead of smaller cans. So whether you're buying more in summer to save for winter or buying off-season stuff at the store, you have more nutrients.

6. READ LABELS
No. Really read them. This rule has several parts, because everything has several labels. Ask yourself...
(a) Is this healthy? Everything has palm oil & chicken parts. Learn the code words for these things. Palm oil is a disaster for your health and the environment. It has taken over Borneo, and it absorbs 1/3 of the CO2 that the natural vegetation would (from "Capital Terre" last night). It's often disguised as "vegetable oil" as well.
(b) HOW was the food produced? If you can find a fair trade version of the boxed foodstuff you want to buy, do it. Solidarity & safety here. Most of the ethical companies use less pesticides by nature, because they rely on smaller farmers. It is also a way to "justify" the traveling that the food had to do. Killing two birds with one box.
(c) Where did it come from? Look at all those stickers on your apples & potatoes & tomatoes. If you search hard enough, even in big stores, you can find a more local option of seasonal produce. It takes some dedication, but you can find something closer to you.

7. LEARN ABOUT THE SEASONS
This was something I'd been wanting to do, and something that France forced us to do. We know what the obvious foods of the seasons are, but we don't pay attention to the rest. We can buy whatever we want at any time of year. Here, they have a lot more seasonal produce. Some things, you just can't find in summer/winter (berries or butternut squash or peaches). Food is more fresh & therefore more nutritious when it's in season. Make this fun–try seasonal recipes & new foods, like turnips or squash in the fall, to enjoy each season.

8. ADD SOME SOY
America grows more of it than the rest of the world, so why not learn to eat it? Then we might keep more of it in the domestic food supply. If you want to buy organic, soy is cheaper than cow's milk. It's also better for you. The estrogen business they scare you with doesn't kick in until you have about an entire carton a day. (I've lost the source for that fact, but I promise I've researched that.) It also has a great, nutty taste. If you substitute it in some baking things (not all, as it's hard to do better than real, whole milk for baking), it adds the same flavor as a bit of hazelnut oil. Want something even sweeter & nuttier? Try almond milk. Sip those saved dollars & savor it.

9. MAKE IT FUN
Research new recipes. So many cultures have mostly vegetarian diets by nature. So many recipes can be converted to vegetarian. Try to replace one thing you make a week by making it yourself. Make a batch of potato chips or a loaf of bread or some tortillas just for the experience (and the taste--oh, man the taste). That way, you can have fun, change it up & save some processed foods from your diets. (Assuming you're using whole wheat flour or local corn. Also assuming you like baking/cooking, which I think you do.)

To make all this less overwhelming, I'll be doing a post about food each day this week.
Monday: Food Rules
Tuesday: Ingredient Lists
Wednesday: Animals RULES! (eating meat)
Thursday: Why Organic is Expensive
Friday: Community-Supported Agriculture

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