Meatless May

Thus far in 2014, I've been meal planning a month at a time.  We've experienced many benefits to this process that could probably be their own post.  In mid-April, I began to think ahead about events, trips, and meals that would occur in the month of May.  I can't recall the exact inspiration now, but I decided to discuss with hubby the possibility of having a meatless month.  We had successfully experimented with some meatless recipes and I felt we could take on the culinary challenge rather tastefully.  To add to the challenge, we are basically dairy free in the house because we all have varying degrees of sensitivity to dairy.  So we couldn't just eat a bunch of meatless lasagna, mac and cheese, or quesadillas.

Steve and I both grew up, like most southern Americans, in steak (cubed, that is) and potato homes.  Since we've gotten married, we've loved trying new recipes and cooking methods.  Somewhere along the line, we added "Meatless Mondays" to our repertoire.  It felt quite radical at the time. :)

Being the nerds, I mean intellects, that we are, we enjoy watching documentaries of all types.  Our favorite genre is food related documentaries.  Approximately 4 or 5 years ago, we watched the movie Food Inc.  Our eyes were opened about a lot of things in the food industry.  Food Inc. is a movie I highly recommend that everyone watch.  Regardless of whether you are a foodie or what type of eating habits you ascribe to, you can take away important information from the documentary.  

Other inspiring documentaries we've watched include Forks Over Knives and Vegucated.  Both of these movies discuss veganism.  Veganism goes beyond vegetarianism to eliminate dairy, eggs, and other animal byproducts. The advantages of veganism are not only health related but also environmental:

• reducing risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity
• reducing carbon footprint created by the meat industry (fossil fuels from animals and processing facilities)
• reducing water usage from watering animals and animal feed

(Source: sustainabletable.org)  

Now don't get me wrong.  We Ate Meat in May.  We attended Steve's brother's wedding in Kansas City.  How can you go to KC without eating some BBQ?!  It was so delicious!

But what did we take away from a month of meatless meals at home?

1. We feel better after a meal that does not contain meat and especially dairy.  We leave the table satisfied but not bloated.
2. Meatless meals can be exciting to create.  We found recipes from around the world.
3. Basing meals around legumes, grains, and beans rather than meat is much cheaper.  When we purchase meat, we purchase high quality meat.  So the savings added up quickly.

What are we doing going forward?  I hope we will continue to eat mostly meatless meals.  I am not opposed to eating meat and definitely not opposed to eating eggs at this point in our culinary journey.  I am personally going to do my best to avoid red meat as I seem to have digestive issues with red meat.  We will likely plan meals with meat at least once a week.  And we will not avoid meat away from home. 

More than anything we are inspired to continue educating ourselves on what we're putting into our bodies.  We are, afterall, what we eat.  We may look back and laugh at what we thought was healthy based on the information we have now.  But at least we can pat ourselves on the back for thinking outside of the meat case and attempting a new challenge.

There's no such thing as a free lunch

We are so blessed to be spending our 3^rd summer as part of the Governor’s Scholars Program.  There are so many benefits to being involved in this community, not the least of which is not having to cook for weeks!!

At lunch and supper every day, we choose between two fast food chains, an asian station, a pizza station, a grill (hamburger/hotdog), a hot line with rotating entrees, a sandwich station, and a salad station.  While Steve and I are attempting to eat as healthy as our will power allows, we’ve had a little more trouble convincing Katie to eat a variety of foods.  Bless her heart, she is drawn to the apple & orange case every time we go to the cafeteria. So at least there’s that and a few random fruits and vegetables she’ll eat from the salad bar.

In college, one of my professors shared the economic idea that there is “no such thing as a free lunch.” At the risk of sounding completely ungrateful, I’d have to say the same applies for our family this summer.  No I don’t have to cook, or clean up the dishes, or plan the menu, or even pay for the food!  BUT, I miss cooking, and planning the menu, and purchasing the types of foods I want to eat. (notice that I still don’t miss washing dishes. J ).  So the “cost” of our luxury is not measured in dollars and cents per se.  It’s the compromising of many of our views on food.

I definitely do NOT want to come across as a food snob whatsoever.  However, Steve and I have been making changes through the years, and even moreso in the past few months, to eat what some online foodies classify as “real food.”  The definition of “real food” can mean different things to different people.  For us, it means eating foods with the least amount of ingredients (especially those we can’t pronounce), and as close to how God intended.  We often buy certified organic products because we feel that the price difference is justified by reduced health bills now and in the future.  And frankly, most organic foods taste better!

It saddens me how much American society has normalized unhealthy food choices.  Yesterday I overheard some women at a museum talking about how you shouldn’t eat bananas if you want to lose weight because bananas do not contain as much water as other fruits.  To be fair, I didn’t eaves drop on the rest of the conversation, but I couldn’t help but wonder, what do they feel is an acceptable substitute?  We are bombarded with images of low calorie, low fat, low whatever else products that contain ingredient lists longer than the Los Angeles phone book!  And we’re exposed to these ideas at such a young age, that it’s definitely an uphill battle to unlearn these habits.  From experience I can say that your body craves whatever you eat.  When I ate overprocessed foods, I craved and overindulged in overprocessed foods.  When I ate “diet” foods, I craved and overindulged in diet foods.  Now that I’m attempting to eat more whole foods, I truly do crave fresh foods.  In my opinion you cannot overindulge in fruits and vegetables when they are prepared in a healthy way.

I’m also saddened by how hard it can be at times to raise a family on real food.  At least twice in the past few weeks, complete strangers have offered Katie ice cream and cookies when she was upset about something.  Thankfully the offers have been made directly to Steve and I, and by some miracle of God, Katie either didn’t hear or decided not to protest our gracious decline.  We want our girls to have a healthy view of all food.  Ice cream, cookies, fast food, etc. can be tasty and perfectly fine to partake in on occasion (ideally less than once a week in my book).  We don’t want them to have any sort of eating disorders because we were so strict on food that they either feel ashamed to join in celebrations or go off the deep end when they are old enough to buy their own foods.  We want them to have control over their own bodies and decide which foods make their bodies feel the best.  But I am so done with the belief that we should let “kids be kids” and let them eat all kinds of junk. 

This is by no means a knock on the amazing service we are receiving in the cafeteria.  I feel that many of my complaints are merely a small example of the huge problem we have in this country with nutrition.  I could probably ramble on about this subject for days.  In fact, many people do as there are entire blogs dedicated to this topic.  And I don’t really have the energy to turn this into an activism post.  I just hope we can stay focused on our family’s goals while at home or away. 

One of my favorite blogs on real food that includes an extensive recipe index.  I also follow her on Pinterest and Facebook:  http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

Our breakfast every morning is a variation of Dr. Sears’ smoothie recipe.  Gives us so much energy and is such a tasty way to start the day: http://www.drsearslean.com/resources/recipes/#breakfasts

~Carla

My name is Katie. I am three! I would really like to see a tree...

A few months ago, I started asking Katie what theme she might like for her third birthday party.  I love to get all crafty and plan ahead.  She had become obsessed with the Lorax movie around that time and decided she wanted a "Lorlax birthday."
 
The main premise behind the Dr. Seuss book and movie is that the Lorax character is the guardian of the trees.  When the Onceler starts chopping down the Truffula trees to makes Thneeds (a fine thing that all people need), the Lorax sets out to warn him about the dangers of cutting down the forest.  Can I just stop here and say how warm it makes my heart that my daughter is a tree hugger at her core? No brain washing needed. :)

Keeping with the environmental awareness theme of the story, we used no disposable kitchen products other than the flexible straws that we decorated with Lorax mustaches for the kiddos to use.  I really appreciate our family and friends going along with keeping up with their plates, napkins, cups, forks.  Next year I'll try to remember that it would be nice to have separate plates for dessert.  To me, the clean up was really not much more work since we just put everything in the dishwasher.

Here are some shots from the festivities:

Truffula tree light fixture

Katie's artwork for the party.  The Lorax on the left and the Onceler on the right.  I am extremely biased, but I see a little bit of a future Picasso in her collages here. ;)

 

Trina and Levi playing pin the mustache on the Lorax.  He was a little dizzy from spinning in circles before making his move. ;)

Cake! Made with almost all natural or organic ingredients.  Used spinach for the green icing color.  Truffula tree tooth picks from Target and Barbaloots made out of Teddy Graham crackers.

Happy Birthday to you!

A few of Katie's friends enjoying cake.

I am the Boo.  I speak for the trees.

Since her birthday actually falls on Easter this year, we thought a "small" party with her little church buddies and a couple of cousins would be easier than planning a big shindig right before Easter.  By the time we added in parents and siblings, we had a house full.  And the kids partied hardy!

A huge thank you to all our friends and family that helped us get ready for the party and celebrate!  We are so blessed to be surrounded with love!

~Carla

Honey Granola Recipe

The term "crunchy" in "crunchy mama" is a wink and a nudge to the use of the word "granola" to mean hippy.  So I guess every good crunchy mama needs a tasty granola recipe.  Here's how I found my favorite.

Steve and I came across a show on the local NBC station called, "The Kentucky Proud Kitchen."  This show was made for us as it combines our love of cooking, Kentucky, and local products.  A recent episode featured various recipes with local honey as an ingredient.  One of the recipes was for a simple and nutritious granola sweetened with honey.

I've been on the search for an easy granola recipe for several years.  I've focused on attempting bar types because I thought they would be the most appealing to Steve for his lunch.  He had been taking various brands of processed store bought bars as a workday snack.  However every recipe I tried either ended up stuck to the pan or too sticky to be enjoyable.

I was intrigued by the basic ingredients of the KY Proud recipe and thought I would give it a try even though the end result would be a crumbly, traditional granola rather than a bar.  I was also excited that the granola would feature local honey which is a great way to cut down on seasonal allergies and is a healthier alternative to other sweeteners.

Honey Granola:

• 6 cups old-fashioned, rolled oats (I use a combo of Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal and store brand)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ½  cups honey
• ½ cup oil (I use coconut)
• 1 ½ cups sweetened dried cranberries (or less)
• Other suggested add-ons: 1/2 cup chopped almonds, chopped all-fruit leather, shredded coconut, flax seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and cinnamon.  Add honey and oil, mixing well to combine.  (Honey can be gently heated in the microwave to make it more fluid.)  Spread oat mixture onto a baking sheet which has been greased (I brush with coconut oil).  Bake oats for 20-25 minutes, turning mixture over with a spatula every 5-10 minutes to ensure even browning.  Remove from oven, mix in dried fruit, and return to oven for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Remove from oven, allow to cool, and transfer to an airtight container.

After letting the granola cool, I store in several different recycled containers.  I put smaller portions in old baby food jars for Steve's lunch each day.

We have all enjoyed eating this granola, or as Katie says, "granole."  Steve says that he doesn't mind that it's not a bar and thoroughly enjoys the little bit of something sweet/protein boost for his school day. 

Here's a picture of my little granola making helper sneaking a bite:

 

And here's a picture of her drying out black walnuts to hopefully be included in future granola.

 

~Carla