Food, Glorious Food!
| July 13, 2010 | Posted by Luschka under Carnival of Natural Parenting, Food |
Welcome to the July Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let’s Talk About Food
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about their struggles and successes with healthy eating. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
***
It’s always been an issue in my life. It’s not that I eat too much of it – on the contrary, I sometimes don’t enough – or at least, don’t eat often enough. As a working woman, I often didn’t eat anything all day, until home time when I would pass the snack bar and perhaps grab a bag of crisps.
As a mother, I’m sorry to say, these habits have only marginally improved.
But as my daughter Ameli has begun weaning, and we have chosen baby-led weaning to do so, we have certainly made attempts at improving the way we eat. We are not the ‘drastic change’ type of people. Emptying the cupboard of anything remotely unhealthy is more likely to steer us towards a shopping trip than a healthy lifestyle, so we’ve had to make small steps. So far, we’ve made three.
Firstly, we now receive a weekly organic food box. Whenever people hear this, they
raise their eyebrows as if to say, “isn’t someone living in luxury?â€. That was what we always thought too. The truth is, buying a £10-£15 food box once a week has saved us a fortune.
Picking lime leaves for dinner
If we look back on our bank statements pre-December and pre-food box, there are almost daily transactions in one of the numerous supermarkets in our area. Need milk? Well, pick up some fruit, a fantastic looking dessert and some mushrooms to go with dinner. Need salad ingredients? There’s a two-for-one offer on this brand of tomatoes, so even though experience tells me I’ll be throwing away (at least) one punnet of tomatoes, I buy two-for-one of the more expensive brand, because maybe this time will be different!
Sound familiar?
Well, with the organic food box, we only go to the supermarket once a week, and we plan our meals around what arrives in the box. And yes, sometimes I think if I see another leek I might shove it down the lovely delivery van man’s throat, but then I can change to one of the other boxes, thereby varying what we get every week or two.
Sometimes we have a quiet week, or we’re away, so I won’t get anything delivered. It saves so many trips to the supermarket, the food lasts longer, it’s healthier and it’s tastier.
The second thing we’ve done is to begin attending Invisible Food talks and walks in our area. At these sessions we walk around the area looking at what’s in bloom, what’s available and what we can use it for. Plants such as dandelions, elderflowers, yarrow and so on make delicious food.
So at the moment we live in a big, built up city and our options are really limited, but it is my hope that I can learn as much as I can, both from these talks and from the many sources available on the internet. That way we learn to rely more on our immediate environment for sustenance, we spend quality and educational time together as a family, we can have a sense of pride in the food we put on the table and Ameli can learn from a young age where what we eat comes from, and why that matters.
A third change we have made, which has been beneficial to both budget and health, is to have at least one meatless dinner per week. There are a wealth of resources around for meatless meals: Breastfeeding Moms Unite, for example, hosts a Vegetarian Foodie Friday Recipe every week, and Green Families UK has a Meatless Monday post too.
Making small changes to our diet and to our way of eating has made a big difference in our lives. There are still many areas we need to work on, but we now have variety in our vegetables, and we try new and unusual things and we are much better off for it.
***
Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be updated July 13 with all the carnival links.)
- Welcome to Two — All About Food — In case you hadn’t heard, there is a conspiracy afoot from the two year olds of the world. Shana at Tales of Minor Interest stumbled onto their newsletter!
- Four Seasons of Eating Locally — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has pointers for what fresh produce can be found year-round. (@MBJunction)
- Happy Families Can Have More Than One Diet — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now has figured out a way for her family to live happily as vegans and vegetarians with relatives who eat meat. (@DebChitwood)
- My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante prioritizes responsible consumer choices for her family.
- No Gluten — No Cry — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned to cook balanced meals when her son’s food sensitivities prompted a diet overhaul. (@kitchenwitch)
- Try, Try Again — Stefanie at very very fine has become an enthusiastic consumer of locally grown food.
- CSA — Week 1 — Casey at What Love Is wants her children to know where their food comes from, so she joined a friendly CSA. (@CBerbs)
- Food: Parenting or Homemaking? — Michelle at The Parent Vortex sees food as part of a parent’s nurturing role. (@TheParentVortex)
- 5 Tips to Help Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits — If you struggle with healthy eating, helping your child develop healthy habits might be a challenge. Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares five easy tips that will help your kids learn to make good food choices. (@CodeNameMama)
- Family Food: Seeking Balance Between Healthy, Sustainable & Affordable — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings has a whole list of ideas for how she can improve her family’s eating, both now and into the future. (@sunfrog)
- Whole Foods in, Wholesome Feelings Out — Jessica at This is Worthwhile has turned her back on the processed, preservative-ridden food of her childhood. (@tisworthwhile)
- When to Splurge on Organic (and When It Is Okay to Skip It) — Becoming Mamas tell you what foods to prioritize when buying pricier organic food, and where you can find it cheaper. (@becomingmamas)
- A Locavore’s Family Meal — Acacia at Be Present Mama tells a story in pictures of her family taking a trip to the local organic farmers market and then preparing a summer meal together with their bounty.
- Eat Your Food, or Else — Why should we not bribe a child to eat? TwinToddlersDad from Littlestomaks (Science Driven Real Life Toddler Nutrition) explains. (@TwinToddlersDad)
- Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild)
- Celebrating Food — Mrs Green at Little Green Blog believes in food as medicine and thinks it’s worth paying more to keep healthy. (@myzerowaste)
- Oil and Yogurt — What have you been motivated to do with the current oil spill crisis? midnightfeedings has started making her own yogurt. (@midnightfeeding)
- Growth-Spurt Soup (AKA “Beannut Stew”) — BeanMa has a special stew to help her baby through growth spurts that keep her up all night. (@thebeanma)
- Why I Love The Real Food Community — Much like many people who follow AP/NP values, Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! takes the parts of the “real food” philosophy that work for her family and leaves the rest. (@bfmom)
- Feeding a Family of Six — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children gives helpful tips for feeding a family of six.
- Starting Solids at 6 Months — Did your doctor recommend that you give your baby cereal? Sheryl at Little Snowflakes discusses how whole foods are so much healthier (and more delicious) than traditional cereal. (@sheryljesin)
- Am I What I Eat? — Andrea!!! at Ella-Bean & Co. has figured out a way to avoid grocery stores nearly altogether.
- Are We Setting Our Kids Up To Fail? — Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias found that cutting out the junk also transformed her sons’ behavior problems.
- Changing your family’s way of eating — Lauren at Hobo Mama has techniques you can try to move your family gradually toward a healthier diet. (@Hobo_Mama)
- Real Food — What kinds of fake foods do you eat? And why?! Lisa C. at My World Edenwild talks about why she chooses real food.
- A Snackaholic’s Food Battle — Julie at Simple Life wants to stop snacking and get into the old ways of cooking from scratch and raising her own food. (@homemakerjulie)
- Food, Not Fight — Summer at Finding Summer doesn’t want her kids to grow up like her husband: hating everything green. (@summerm)
- How Do You Eat When You Are out of Town? — Cassie at There’s a Pickle In My Life wants some tips on how to eat healthy when you are out of town.
- Carnival of Natural Parenting: Food! — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker hopes that by serving her children healthy, balanced meals, they will become accustomed to making good food choices. (@sybilryan)
- There’s No Food Like Home’s — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing revels in the Bajan food of her upbringing. (@BlkWmnDoBF)
- This Mom’s Food Journey — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment made a journey from not paying attention to food to growing her own.
- Who Knew Eating Was So Hard? — The challenges involved in changing to healthier eating habits take on a whole new dimension when you have a child who has difficulties eating. kadiera at Our Little Acorn shares her own experiences. (@kadiera)
- Loving Food — Starr at Earth Mama truly believes food is her family’s medicine and is willing to spend days preparing it the traditional way.
- Food Mindfulness — Danielle at born.in.japan details how her family spends money on each category of food. (@borninjp)
- Food for Little People — Zoey at Good Goog wants to bless her daughter with happy traditions built around good food. (@zoeyspeak)
- Eat Like a Baby — Have you been told that you should not equate food with love? Kate Wicker at Momopoly shows us why that’s not necessarily true. (@Momopoly)
- Food — Deb at Science@Home tries to teach her children three rules to help them eat a healthy diet. (@ScienceMum)
- Healthy Eating Lactose-Free — MamanADroit gives us tips on how to eat healthy if you are lactose intolerant (or just don’t want cow milk). (@MamanADroit)
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
Thanks for the mention! You are so lovely and kind! I’m so impressed with your commitment – and I agree that small changes to our way of eating makes a big difference in our lives and our childrens’ lives! As a side note, have you seen the Veg Box Recipe site? They have a great index of recipes (you can search by ingredient which really helps me when I’m stuck trying to think of something creative to do with the last broad bean) http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/recipes-index.php
Jessica’s last [type] ..A Guide to Biking with Young Children
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
@Jessica, Yeah! It’s a great site. Definitely worth remembering (I often forget when I’m staring dully in to the interiors of the fridge!)
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! : Diary of a First Child [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
Oh, I love the idea of Invisible Food. I need to see if there’s a class like that here. We were just talking with friends about mushroom foraging and wondering if people still did that, and then the other day my son wanted a berry he found, but I had no idea what kind it was. I’d love to be more knowledgable!
These are great ideas. I love how specific they are, very doable. I think we might have to go back to a food box as well as more meatless dinners. Thanks!
Lauren @ Hobo Mama’s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday- Baby foodie
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 16th, 2010 at 9:37 am
@Lauren @ Hobo Mama, Thanks for the comment Lauren. We spent some time in Italy a few years back, and remember chatting to a guy who closes his restaurant every Friday so that he can go foraging with his father. I thought that was an amazing triumph of family values and quality time over commercialism – and this guy was in his fifties already. He’d been doing it every Friday all his life – except for when he lived in London for a few years.
The general rule of thumb, I guess, is if birds/animals are eating it, you can eat it. I agree though – there’s so much more I want to know about!
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
First, thank you for the extra link! Second, your mention of the CSA box has reminded me I need to find one in the new city we are moving to. I couldn’t do a garden this year because of the move but I definitely want to make use of locally grown organic produce.
Melodie’s last [type] ..Why I Love The Real Food Community
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Childdescribes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
We have a bi-weekly food delivery and it’s saved us tons of money. I plan all our meals around whatever we have (and whatever meats I’ve also ordered from local farms) and that’s it. And because the meat is a lot more expensive it means we eat vegetarian most of the week. I’m astounded at how much money we save, but the truth is, we don’t need to eat meat every single day to be healthy.
I love the Invisible Food idea! Oh man… I should see if there’s one in my town!
Jessica – This is Worthwhile’s last [type] ..Whole foods in- wholesome feelings out
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
@Jessica – This is Worthwhile, I hope you’re found one! If not there are tonnes of blogs with urban food gathering etc though, so there’s no reason you can’t do it on your own, I’m sure!
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
Wow, I wish we had food boxes!
BTW, what do you do with a lime leaf?
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
@Beanma, Apologies for the delayed response! We use them instead of vine leaves. Here’s an example: http://www.diaryofafirstchild.com/2010/05/30/foraging-for-food-lime-leaves-stuffed-with-bacon-barley-and-lentils/
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dionna Ford, DiaryofaFirstChild. DiaryofaFirstChild said: Food, Glorious Food! http://bit.ly/al1OFh [...]
I’ve been thinking about joining a CSA but after computing the cost on top of our regular grocery budget I decided against it this year. Reading your post made me realize I was looking at it all wrong. Your description of a trip to the grocery store is exactly the experience I have. (My husband and I say “there’s no such thing as a quick trip to Target” because we always buy much more than we went there for). I think that by having a box of food to work with and to base meals around each week, we would save money by reducing the grocery temptation buys. Plus, we’ll be eating much more healthy foods.
Jenn Collins’s last [type] ..Four seasons of eating locally
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
@Jenn Collins, So glad to have been able to help! Have you managed to get a food box sorted now? If so, how are you finding it?
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
I love your ideas. I also find that menu planning and sticking to a grocery list helps me immensely!! No impulse buys (which are almost always not good food).
Dionna @ Code Name: Mama’s last [type] ..Breastfeeding State Law Cards
[Reply]
[...] Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild) [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lauren Wayne. Lauren Wayne said: RT @DiaryFirstChild: #Food, Glorious Food! http://goo.gl/fb/av8Qz #consciousparenting #foragingforfood #freerangechildhood #herbs [...]
I loved reading about the 3 things you had done to improve the quality of your food. We too have an organic box, although I’m fortunate enough to have the farm shop nearby, so can pick and choose my own. Trouble is, by the time I’ve been tempted by all the other gorgeous stuff, I’ve spent about £25 LOL!
I love the idea of eating wild foods; sounds like you’ve discovered some amazing things already. I don’t do enough of that, although we did dry our own mint last year for peppermint tea
Thanks for the Green Families UK link too; I never knew about that site …
Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com’s last [type] ..Celebrating food
[Reply]
Luschka Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
@Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com, Pleasure for all!
Happy you liked it. Thanks for commenting!
[Reply]