What I Eat
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
“What I eat...It’s not as consistent as you might think.”
I try and publish a recipe every Monday for a dish that I have tried. I call these posts “Make It Monday”. Truth be told, I don’t get this done every week, but it has been a regular thing for me for a while now. The idea behind this series is to encourage people to do two things:
Cook at home.
Break out of the box, a bit, on what you cook.
If you have followed these posts you may have noticed a majority of the recent recipes contain no meat. No…I am not a Vegetarian, nor am I a Vegan. But I am focused on what I eat. I try to eat healthy and consciously (emphasis on “try”) and I am semi-successful at this (I think). At the risk of boring you, I will explain a few parameters of my eating habits.
Eat Real Food
There are, as my friend, the doctor David Katz, often says, no major questions remaining about the best way to eat. It’s food, real food, minimally processed, with as much as possible from the plant kingdom. Whatever went wrong with our diet — and we know that something did — it involves products of the last hundred years: factory-farmed meat, hyper-processed foods of all kinds (but especially carbohydrates) and lots and lots of sugar.
-Mark Bittman
I know Real Food when I see it. It is grown in the ground, or picked from trees, or comes from animals that are ethically and naturally raised on real farms. It is fundamentally different than the over-processed and manufactured food stuff that dominates the grocery aisles and fast food restaurants.
Steering clear of factory farmed or processed food products is not hard. It just takes a bit of awareness when shopping. Following Michael Pollan’s simple advice is a great starting point:
If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It
Don't buy products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can't easily pronounce.-Michael Pollan
We live at a time, and in a country, where we have access to an unbelievable bounty of real food. Our food supply chain makes it possible to have fresh vegetables and fruits in the dead of winter - something that was unthinkable a few generations ago. It is easy to take advantage of this assortment, all it takes is focus.
Buy Local
Wherever practical, I choose to buy local products. Chief among them is my local Farmer’s Market. I would encourage you to search out a CSA or farmer’s market near you and frequent it during the spring, summer & early fall. Farmer’s markets are wonderful.
The only way to get fresher produce is to grow it yourself. The food on display at the market was probably picked within 24 hours of your purchase and traveled a very short distance to get to you. There are also proven health benefits of eating food that was grown local to where you reside.
The selection at these markets is usually far greater and more interesting than you get in the big box grocery stores. The farmer’s tend to grow some unusual items and you should feel free to venture outside the box and try some of these.
The variety of items at the market moves with the season. There is something very satisfying about moving through the spring/summer/fall progression of farm products. Just when you are getting tired of the spring greens the tomatoes and cucumbers and squash start showing up. I love the challenge of cooking what is fresh from the garden, rather than picking an arbitrary recipe and going to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. This is the way the best chef’s work: they plan the menu around what is fresh and available. I find it fun to do the same.
I enjoy meeting the farmers. They are usually quite proud of their produce. They can tell you why the grow the particular items and how they might cook them. And financially supporting these local farmers makes me feel good as well.
There is usually more than produce at our farmer’s market. Locally produced meats, cheeses and baked goods are also in good supply.
Eat Ethically Raised Meat
Have you ever been in a commercial chicken house? I have. It is not a healthy environment for man nor bird. Have you ever seen a cattle feedlot? It is a disheartening and disgusting place which no living thing should have to endure. But there are farms that raise animals in an ethical and healthy way. Chickens that are free to roam about and cattle that have plenty of fresh pasture on which to graze. Pigs that get to root in open fields. These choices abound - you just need to look for them. If I am going to eat meat, then I want to be conscious of how that meat was raised and slaughtered. The meat will cost me more than the factory farming alternative, but, hey, I would do well to cut down on my meat consumption anyway.
Eat More Plants
OK. I’ll admit this is one thing I need to consciously work on. But I have found that once you venture down this path a little bit it becomes easier. There is a whole world of recipes for making plant-based meals that will surprise you with the depth of flavors and the variety of techniques. I don’t need meat on the plate to feel like I have an interesting and satisfying meal in front of me. Eating more plants have 3 important benefits:
It is better for us humans to eat plants. There are a wealth of nutrients and fibers and vitamins that we need ingest that are found in plants. The more variety we consume the more the benefits accrue. This is common sense, if not common practice.
It is better for the animals. Factory farmed meat production is a horror. If demand for meat went down then there might be fewer animals subject to this horror. You can’t change all of it, but every little bit helps.
It is better for the environment. This is also a truism: factory farmed meat production is an environmental disaster. ‘Nuff said.
Consistency Is Not Required
Sometimes I just crave a cheeseburger. You know what I mean. For you it might be a steak, or some ribs, or shrimp. Whatever. Just gotta have it! And that is OK. I will indulge those cravings and not feel guilty about it. I don’t eat that many cheeseburgers anymore so, when I do, it tastes so much better. And when it is possible, I will order that cheeseburger (or steak or ribs) at a place that offers locally-source meat as the ingredient. That is not always possible, but I might indulge all the same.
I will also roast a chicken or cook up some fish or make some chili at home. I also use eggs quite a bit. When this is the occasional meal, rather than the regular meal, it seems to me to be OK. Feel free to be inconsistent, but conscious, in your choices.
So there you have it. Not exactly a blueprint, but maybe an outline of how I approach the question of What To Eat. These are points you are probably aware of but, if not, I hope it inspires you to review your eating choices a little bit.