Thoughts on Food

I have been thinking about food a lot lately. What to eat, why, and how much. Over the past few months I have really wanted us to eat less meat because I know of the poor quality of mass meat and poultry production in our country, not the mention the impact on the environment. If you do not know much about this, I suggest the book "Omnivores's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. If you don't have time to read a whole book, then watch the documentary's "Food Inc" and "King Corn."

You will be shocked to learn that much of our food can be traced back to corn, genetically modified, full of pesticide corn. Our animals, especially cows eat this corn which makes them sick, so then they are pumped full of antibiotics, not to mention the hormones they are already given in order to help them grow and gain weight faster. This all gets transferred to the meat that we eat daily. So needless to say, I have had some concerns.

 I recently watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives." This documentary focuses on the benefits of a plant based diet vs. the typical American diet with meat and dairy products. It correlates meat and dairy consumption with the prevalence of cancer and chronic disease in the US. The initial response after watching this compelling program is to cut out all dairy and meat, but I as I thought about it longer I felt like the film did not show the whole story. It didn't talk about why suddenly meat is so harmful to us. I don't argue the fact that plants are healthy and we should eat more of them. I spend 90% of day promoting more vegetable intake to every patient that I see. What I struggle with is that I believe God created animals for us to eat and it doesn't make sense to me that in their natural form, eating animals would cause disease.  As I have tried to wrap my brain around what to do with the statements and stories in these films I have watched and how to translate them to my own diet and how I teach patients I have come to a few conclusions.
1. I do not believe that meat and diary not inherently "bad" for us. I don't believe that they cause disease and cancer in their natural form. What I do believe is that over the past century, as we became wealthier, we have begun to purchase more meat and eat larger portions of it. This caused a huge increase in demand which as led to food industry responding. Apparently the best way for them to keep up with the demand for meat is to have terrible feedlot and animal fattening and slaughtering practices. It has lead to hormone and antibiotic filled meat which is causing a host of medical problems in our bodies when we consume it in large portions on a regular basis. What I am going to do and my recommendation is to find meat that is not part of industrial meat found at large scale, chain grocery stores and eat it in moderation. Remember that an adequate portion of meat is 3 oz. When was the last time you found a 3oz chicken breast at the grocery store or were served 3oz of meat when eating out?

Right now we have freezer full of grass fed beef from a ranch in Montana. Next year I will probably look for some grass fed Minnesota beef. When I buy chicken and eggs I get organic, free-range. Our fish from now on is going to be wild. We are only eating meat 1-2 times a week currently as a result, because buying these sources of meat is more expensive. The rest of our meals are full of beans, lentils, whole grains and vegetables.

I am still deciding what to do about dairy. We have been purchasing organic milk, but the more I am reading about this, the more I am learning that pasteurization, although a good invention for food safety, apparently destroys many of the nutrients in dairy. This may be why so many people have intolerance to milk. Recently we have started drinking almond milk instead which tastes great and was really not a huge change.  I do love yogurt though. It has been one of my favorite foods for as long as I can remember and I am not ready to give it up at this point. I will get Greek, organic for now and continue to look at other options.

2. Plants are best-purchase organic and local when possible. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains should be the basis of our diet. If you can, purchase organic when possible. "Organic" is not highly regulated and can be vague, but right now it is the best term we have to get an idea of how something was grown/produced. I think it is especially valuable to purchase organic products of the foods that you eat regularly. If you can buy local, do it. Food production is expensive and a huge demand on our environment. If you can buy an apple from 20 miles away instead of 1,200, think of the savings just in gasoline. We joined a CSA and I can't wait until June when we can start getting our produce directly from a local farm. Support your local farmers market and farmers when possible. Consider joining a co-op if you have one. I am planning on visiting one close by this week as another option for the best food products.

I really don't believe that eating should be complicated, but with all of the controversy surrounding food right now, I encouraged you to become educated and make food decisions based on what you believe is best for the health of you and your family. These are just some of my thoughts on food right now. As you know there is always more research that needs to be done or will be coming out, so what we are concerned about in 20 years may be completely different. Let's choose the best foods that we can for today and enjoy them.
Laura

Hello 2012

2011 was a big year for us. We have been truly blessed to be able to celebrate our first year of marriage, go to the Superbowl, travel to Asia, start new jobs, and move to a different state. It was a lot of adventure and it will be interesting to see what 2012 brings! Aaron suggested that we share some of our goals for this next year, so I have been muling over my goals for 2012 the past few days and thought I would share them.

1. Budget. This has always been considered a bad word to me. I am not good at it and was more than happy to give the financial concerns over to Aaron when we got married. But, budget is good and I really want to spend our money wisely. Plus we need to save up some more for future "Russell sprouts" and a house someday! We are going to a cash system meaning that weekly I will take out a certain amount of cash for groceries and household items. This will mean being a little more creative with what we already have, especialy by the end of the week, but that's not a bad thing. I think I am up for the challenge.

2. Local/Organic. As part of spending that grocery budget, I am going to focus even more on local and organic. We recently have been enjoying some grass fed beef from part of a cow we purchased from Montana. Buying organic has been a lot easier since moving to Minneapolis and having Trader Joe's and Whole Foods so close by, but we can do more for buying local.  I signed us up for a CSA yesterday which means we will enjoy locally farmed produce for 18 weeks this summer/fall. I can't wait! I have been wanting to do this for years, but I recently read "The Dirty Life" which spurred me into action. The premise of this book first intrigued me because it is written my a girl who was a journelist living in New York City who leaves the city to marry a farmer. What? After having just visited New York and loving the excitement and energy there, I find this unbelievable. So I read the book. What I learned was how hard having a farm really is. I mean, I had no idea. These people work harder in one day than I have worked in all of my 28 years so far. I want to support farms in a any way that I can. With commercial food, farmers are struggling, which should never be the case. I know our one farm share does not really make a big dent in this problem, but it is a start for us.

3. Reading. Have you heard of the website Goodreads? It is a fun way to organize the books you want to read, are reading, and have read. I have always loved reading. My summers growing up were especially filled with book and more books. My mom will tell you that they had a hard time keeping new books in the house for me to read. Since college and then graduate school I haven't been able to read as much as I would like, so that's one of my goals for this year. I plan to put aside at least 30 minutes per day and want to add 24 books to my "read" shelf on Goodreads. Doable? I think so.

4. Exercise. Since college I have been pretty consistent with exercise, can't say I have always enjoyed it, but I've tried to be pretty consistent. Last year at this time Aaron and I were even starting P90x. If you have done it or have heard about it, then you know it is pretty intense. I didn't love it, but it got the job done. Since moving here and since winter has set in, for some reason my drive for exercise just hasn't been there. Plus I have this idea in my head that I have to have at least 45-60 minutes to exercise and it needs to include intense cardio and/or weights in order to be worth it. That is simply not true. So instead of finding excuses for not haveing time or energy for an intense 45 minute workout, I am going to focus on 30 minutes every day. 30 minutes of walking or stationary bike if that's all the energy I can muster up. I am going to simply my idea of exercise, keep it enjoyable and see what happens.

There are other "small" things I want to do like organize my piles of recipes, learn to play guitar, learn to speak Spanish, that are nice goals that may or may not happen, but I am committing to at lest working on the above goals. What are your goals for the next year? There is something about sharing them out loud (or online) that makes them real and sets you in motion! So, onward to 2012! Happy New Year! (more recipes to come)