Back in the Groove, Sorta

Well, it’s been quite a crazy few days. Between attempting to move in the rain, trying to get everything moved (still not accomplished), and attempting to unpack and get organized (not accomplished either), I really just feel like lying down and taking a nap.
But, there’s still much to do.

Saturday night after moving the big stuff, we went to the grocery store. I had planned out our meals for the week and made a list accordingly. And then we spent almost $200 on food—for two people. We were starting from just about scratch, so it makes some sense, but it still was outrageous. But, we bought a lot of produce (mainly organic) and a lot of meat (R. is still not convinced a meal can be a meal without meat, so I only have one meatless meal and will be slowly weaning him down to smaller portions of meat). I’m hoping that as we go along with this I can come up with more cost effective choices for meals and bring that grocery bill down.

Well, it’s back to school and work with intermittent unpacking, organizing, and cleaning of the old apartment. Still, I should be back to posting a bit more regularly.

And lastly, thanks to Katie for answering my last question. Informative and helpful! Thanks, Katie.

It Feels Like Spring, But It's Still Winter: What Should I Be Eating?

Oh, my, but it’s been a busy few days. We’ve actually gotten some cleaning and packing done (not quite as much as I’d like though). Not to mention the weather has been delicious. I sat outside yesterday morning eating my breakfast realizing this was the first February in a while that seems to have flown by… and now it seems like the last week will last forever.

I am ready for warmth and sun. More ready than I thought I was. Sitting there, soaking it all in, even with the cool slightly chilling breezes, I was desperate for those gorgeous spring days of low 60s, sun, still a little cool but in a nice, refreshing way.

Still, despite the warmer temperatures it’s still winter and still a long way off from fresh produce. So, I have a bit of a question for all you lovely people out there: what are you eating this time of year?

Since this is my first year entering the whole eating local/eating organic lifestyle, I don’t have anything frozen or stored from last year. Also, I’m really picky and don’t like a wide variety of vegetables that most people would consider staples (potatoes, peas, spinach, basically any vegetable that is cooked and green… or cooked at all).

I was planning our meals for next week, trying to come up with a few meatless dishes—or something where meat wasn’t the main part of the meal, and I was having a hard time thinking what I should be eating right now… what would be local or in season? Add to that, what would I like? I’m open to trying new things (which is why I have some squash recipe in my meal plan), but I’m also woefully ignorant.

So, what are you guys eating this time of year (whether it's from your freezer or from the store)? What kind of good winter/early spring recipes do you use that utilize more seasonal/local/organic ingredients?

More On Food

This goes a bit with my previous post, but I thought I’d keep it separate anyhow.

On our last grocery trip, I made a bit of an effort to pop some organic items into our cart. I know, these organic items are probably from a large organic company not totally working in an ecological way, but I figure its one step closer—and that’s the process I’m going for.

One of the things I bought was tomato sauce for this recipe we, in my family, call goulash (I don’t think it’s anything like real goulash—it’s just macaroni noodles, hamburger, and tomato sauce—so it’s really more like a spin on spaghetti).

I made the goulash with the tomato sauce. I actually didn’t like this organic tomato sauce as well… because it was too sweet—in other words, it tasted more like a tomato probably should taste and I’m not a big tomato fan. I’ve grown up with such tasteless, manufactured food that I actually don’t like the fresh as much. (This happened to me as well when I bought fresh green beans and didn’t like them at all, when I can eat whole cans of green beans by themselves. I didn’t like the real flavor; I liked the fake one). Still, I think that I will begin to accustom myself to fresh food or organic food and begin to like it more, it will just be a process on weaning myself off the salt, bland and preservative.

I must preface this next part with the fact that R. and me are not the cleanest people on the Earth and have the terrible habit of not doing dishes right away. Usually, this isn’t much of a problem.

This time, it was. We didn’t wash out our goulash bowls or the pan it was made in. And the next morning there was this smell. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. We hadn’t made anything that I thought would smell after only a night. At first I thought it was the dishtowel, then I thought the garbage disposal. I tried numerous things and still the smell persisted.

And then, that night, it clicked—it was the tomato sauce. Without the preservatives in the tomato sauce I usually bought, it had decomposed and gone to smelling overnight. Convenient? Not so much, but it made me feel a lot better about eating something that seemed real. Tomato sauce that never smells… there’s something wrong with that. Why would I want to put that in my body?

In other news, we’re supposed to get a lovely warm spell this week. I can’t wait! Also, you should check out this post http://simplereduce.blogspot.com/2007/02/sense-of-entitlement.html over at Simple Living. I couldn’t agree more.

A Post About Food

On Losing Weight


I have been thinking a lot about food lately—in a variety of capacities. First of all, I want to lose some weight. I am not overweight, but I know if I ate a little better and exercised a few times a week, I could be at a much more satisfactory weight—not to be “skinny” but to be healthy and feel more energetic.

I happened across this amazing website that helps you track your meals, gives you ideas for what to eat and how to exercise. For someone like me, this site has been a revelation. (And it’s free!)



Get a Free Online Diet

First, it allows you to really easily track your food intake and the calories/fat/nutrients you’re getting in the process. I used to think I ate pretty well since I don’t like a lot of fatty things, I had no idea the amount of empty calories I was taking in on a day. And how much I lack in eating good things like fruits and vegetables. And how little water I drank in a day, and how much fat and nasty stuff comes from just one meal eating out.

Which is where all this weight loss talk ties into this blog—it’s all about the fruits and veggies—fresh ones, preferably. I haven’t really been eating much fruit or many vegetables because nothing is really local right now. Now that I know I want to buy local, I am hoping this will help me plan for the next winter season—so I have local on hand to eat.

It’s also about planning so it isn’t easier to say, hey, let’s get Taco Bell. It’s going to take a lot of planning and work and dedication to wean myself off the desire to eat a meal out so often—not in an effort to lose weight or save money, but really in an effort to be good to my body.

With all of these outbreaks of salmonella and e.coli it’s a wonder more people aren’t realizing the problem is in our food system as much as it’s a companies mistake. Society puts such importance on quality goods—clothes, technology, houses, perfect lawns—why aren’t we putting any importance on the quality of food—one of those basic needs?

I suppose because it’s easier to just buy a frozen pizza or get a hamburger at McDonald’s. It’s easier not to think about food and what it is—and if we’ve grown up knowing no different, why should we be expected to change?

I’m not one for super activism. I believe what I believe and don’t try to push my beliefs on others. I often keep my convictions to myself because it’s not my job to change someone’s mind. But, I’m beginning to feel a little bit differently on activism and this issue. I think this is one issue (quality of food) that most people don’t think about because they’re ignorant—they grew up as I did with trips to the grocery store, meals out every week, and no emphasis or thought put on to what we’re putting in our bodies. If we don’t know or see that something’s wrong why should we change it?

So, from here on out I’m going to start telling people why I’m doing what I’m doing and why. Why local and organic are better choices. They don’t have to agree, or listen, they can even laugh—but if knowledge is power, then I feel it should be part of my responsibility to spread my knowledge—I am going to be a teacher after all ;)

Crazy Week

So, it's been a crazy week between snowstorms, terrible roads, signing leases and trying to get ready to move. And, now, I'm catching a cold and feeling quite puny. I am totally overwhelmed by the disgusting, messy, disorganized slop of our soon-to-be-former apartment and I'm a bit worried that it's physically impossible to clean and pack everything before next Friday. We shall see.

Due to the craziness and the messiness and the total lack of planning shown on our part, we have been eating out way too much (McDonald's, Arby's, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut in the past week). And then there's all the Valentine's Day candy I've inhaled. It's amazing how much food can effect your health--and oh what a difference a homecooked meal or fresh fruit/vegetable can make on energy levels.

I've got a lot of plans for the new apartment--plans that likely will fall apart, but one can dream. In an effort to be more organized, I want to start meal planning and grocery shopping accordingly. This is difficult because neither R. nor I have normal schedules in work/school so it's hard to know who's eating what and when. Still, I'm going to give it the old college try.

The next week + may be a bit disjointed and crazy, but I'll be doing my best to post as much as possible. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Fill up your Wednesday with love whether it be from a S.O, a friend, or a family member, celebrate your warm, gushy feelings today!

I, for one, have to work this afternoon/night while my boyfriend is on a midnight shift and sleeping during the day. And due to the snowstorm yesterday we didn't get any presents for each other (we're procrastinators, what can I say?) So, we don't have anything special planned, but I still love this holiday for some reason. The hearts, the smiles, the CANDY!

So, no matter what you're doing or who you're doing it with, enjoy!

Scoffing at the Weathermen

Well, I admittedly scoffed at the prediction of snow last night. I mean, I went to bed at 3am and it was still merely rain. I figured that this cold air they were talking about was a no-show. I felt my assumptions were valid when I woke up around 7 and still no snow. Then the boyfriend said there was ice around 8, and then I woke up to this at 10:

Of course today we are supposed to sign our lease and get our keys for the new place, as well as do some Valentine’s Day shopping, and I have class—at a school than never cancels classes. I’m a little worried about the weather adversely affecting all of these plans, but I suppose that’s life with Mother Nature.

If it ever stops blowing, I may try to take a walk around and get some wintry pictures that aren’t taken behind a window.

Birds and Grandma

We had a lovely break in the weather yesterday (sunny and in the 40s!), so we decided to go for a hike. I brought my camera, but forgot to take pictures since we took R.’s family’s dogs with us.

It was nice to get out and move… I haven’t done that in a long while. I’m a bit sore today, but that’s good, right?

I’m not much of a bird person. When I was very young, my Grandma had a birdfeeder out in her yard. She lived in a very rural area amidst woods, creeks, and farms, so the birdfeeder was almost always full. We would sit at the window and watch the birds eat, and she would tell me what each bird was, or I would get out her bird books like A Field Guide to the Birds: Of Eastern and Central North America and figure out which birds were feeding.

I have since forgotten most of the birds. I can still identify the easy ones, Blue Jay, Bluebird, Robin, Cardinal, Woodpecker and I still remember names like nuthatch, sparrow, and finch. I could recognize the call of a bobwhite or a whippoorwill. But, most of my bird knowledge has gone by the wayside.

Yesterday, though, I remembered those winter afternoons sitting on the window seat next to my Grandma watching the birds at their nest. We saw plenty of birds. On our drive out to pick up the dogs, we saw 4 large bald eagles in an open field. It seemed odd and out of place, but I suppose we were only 4 or 5 miles from the Missouri River (by road). I heard two woodpeckers, though never got a look to see what kind. And, all the sudden my mind has gone blank on the two other kinds we saw on our hike.

I’d kind of like to get a birdfeeder someday, and sit with my children and learn the names of the birds from a worn, old bird guidebook. I suppose that has more to do with my Grandmother than the birds, but I think that’s one of the best ways we can instill a love for nature on our children or grandchildren—spend time with them in nature, teach them about nature, show our own love for nature and the beauty of what we have. By making those connections about people as much as about animals and plants, I think it makes a much more powerful mark.

A Miscellany

I want to thank Liz and Katie for their answers to my question about local vs. organic, when given the choice. I think both their answers reinforced what I had been leaning towards, which is always good!

In terms of the container veggie garden, things are on hold while we move. I was hoping to start the arugula and a few other plants indoors by the end of February, but it looks like the move won’t be a done deal till the last weekend in February, then I have to spend a week at my parents house watching my little sister while the parents go on a Caribbean cruise. Some people have all the luck. So, now we’re looking at mid-March and I’m not totally pleased about it. Still, I think it’s important that we get settled before I tackle a project this big. I want to succeed at least with something so I know I can do it.

Food wise, I have yet to begin making major changes. Since R. does most of the grocery shopping/buying, I am having trouble convincing him of making conscious choices over cost/convenience choices. He’s beginning to see my point, but he’s still in the camp where convenience and price are the number one priority. Therefore, organic only wins if it’s around the same price. And, he has the notion that organic doesn’t taste as good. He’s having trouble distinguishing organic and healthy/low fat. So, we’re working on that. Luckily, he’s very on-board with farmer’s markets and buying food fresh, so once we get to summer he’ll be at least going in that direction.

I’d also like to start being better about our waste. We throw away a lot, and recycle very little since it is not offered in our apartment complex. It’s hard to change from being convenience oriented to being more mindful of what goes into your trashcan. But, I know I need to start making these changes now while I have the time and effort. That way, once I start student teaching and ideally getting a teaching job, the routine will already be in place and I won’t say—Oh, we just don’t have time to reduce our impact on the environment.

The minimizing/simplifying is going well. I filled up a large garbage bag full of clothes to send to Goodwill. R. doesn’t seem as excited about getting rid of all his unused stuff. He’s determined to keep all 8 million t-shirts. I’m determined to cut back significantly.

It’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway done with February. March doesn’t feel too far off. And April will be just around the corner. Sometimes, I wish I had the patience to savor each season, each week, each day instead of waiting and planning and thinking about the next one, but I suppose it’s partly this time in my life—filled with so much change, it’s hard to focus on the here-at-hand.

Question for the Eco-Blogosphere

As a person new to the whole eating local/organic/green lifestyle, I thought I would propose a question to the blogosphere out there.

Eating locally has become quite en vogue lately, and for good reason. Besides the fact that the transportation of most of the food in the grocery store impacts the Earth negatively, eating locally is oftentimes tastier and even more nutritious.

The organic movement has also gained speed. It’s good for the environment as well, but it’s also focused on not putting all these man-made chemicals in our bodies and in the Earth.

Okay, so say you are lucky enough to have the option of both—which is better to choose in terms of the environment. A non-organic but local farmer, or an organic but not local product? Which one has the least amount of impact?

I’ve thought a lot about this, but I really don’t know enough about either to determine which is more… Earth and body-minded. On the one hand, a local farmer means very little transportation costs. However, the practices used to produce this food might not be all that great for the environment, for the product, or even for the farmer. Would organic, grown or made with the Earth and our health in mind, be better despite the amount and cost of travel?

Like I said, I don’t have an answer and sometimes you really don’t get the choice between the two. And sometimes you’re really really lucky and have something organic and local. But, I was just curious on some others thoughts on the matter.

What do you all think?

Getting Rid of Stuff

Sometimes, throwing away things can be cathartic. Sometimes, it can be a bit emotional. I’ve never really had that emotional feeling until the past few days. Maybe it was the sheer volume of stuff I threw out:

And this was just from going through my school papers, my writing and my financial files.

There’s something comforting about having a lot of stuff. I keep a wide variety of clothes I don’t wear because I keep thinking someday I will find a use for it. I don’t spend a whole lot of money on clothes, shopping mainly at Target and Marshalls, but there’s something about having so many options that makes me feel less… bare. If I throw out all the clothes I don’t wear, my closet would be practically empty.

I was brought up in a society and a household that pushes material things. Not to say my family believes material possessions are the key to happiness, but they went from having very little to being fairly affluent. This made money seem…easy to come by and even easier to spend. I’ve always been somewhat of a cheapskate—never spending too much on one item. But, there was never much I felt I needed to have, and I think that’s the only reason I’m not more of a free spender.

If I want something (within reason), I generally get it whether by buying it myself or getting it for a birthday or Christmas. There’s not a lot I do without.

Currently, I don’t make enough to afford anything. While I go to school, the boyfriend pays most of the bills and rent. All I am responsible for is the things I solely use—including very expensive health insurance. These were things I never gave much thought to before the past few months—everything had been so easy (in the money department) up till then.

It’s hard making the adjustment from the lifestyle of my parents, to my lifestyle now. It’s hard parting with all this stuff and being left with very little. I’m almost afraid to let it go. I used to say it was because I was afraid I might need it someday, but I think it goes beyond that. I think it goes into more sociological factors. In this day and age the message is you are your stuff. Without stuff, what am I?

I’m tackling my clothes next. Maybe, it would be good to be stripped of all this unnecessary stuff—to go bare, to go simplistic. It’s a scary prospect, but I think in a really weird way it could be freeing as well.

Disconnected Thoughts

Admittedly, I just don’t know what to write today. My mind is scattered. Every time I get an idea, it feels unfinished and disconnected.

It was bitterly cold the past few days, today was the first up in temps over 30. It’s amazing how warm 35 degrees can feel. And, it felt really good. Spring Fever has already begun and it’s only February 6th.

I’ve started the lengthy process of going through my things to see what I can get rid of before we move. I am a packrat and going from 2 beds/3 baths to 1 bed/1 bath means I need to consolidate.

I want the new place to be neat and organized and homey, despite being a small middle story apartment. I’m not good at cleanliness or organization, so I need to make some concrete goals and one of those is simplifying my belongings. There are plenty of things I don’t need.

Maybe tomorrow my thoughts will be more jointed and I can get something worthwhile posted.

Eco-Composition Sunday (On Monday): Haleakala National Park

Eco-Composition Sunday, a day late. With the freezing cold temperatures, I thought I might want to think about my lovely warm Thanksgiving Vacation to Hawaii. This is just one small portion of that visit.

Connection in Haleakala

I have had the great fortune to visit a wide variety of National and State Parks across the United States. I’ve always had a great affinity for plots of land set aside for wild places. Working at a local state park for the six months after I graduated college greatly deepened this affinity as well as respect for those who work hard at keeping these wild places a reality.

I first read about Haleakala National Park back in 2003 in Barbara Kingsolver’s collection of essays High Tide In Tucson. At this point in my life, Hawaii was as foreign as the other side of the world, and I never imagined I’d get any closer to Hawaii than California.

Flash forward to November 2006 and I’m stepping off a plane into Honolulu International Airport. We arrived as a disheveled family, tired, wired and more than little disappointed we had arrived in the dark.

My first glimpses of Hawaii were neon signs, construction blocks, and run of the mill busyness. In our evening drive from Honolulu to Waikiki, we could have been in any major U.S city. I had expected Hawaii to be this lush, tropical wonderland. That evening, I was struck by how familiar it all seemed. Where was the Hawaii seen in movies and pictures?

We arrived at our hotel—its lobby had few walls, only a ceiling as protection from the environment. However, the weather was so absolutely perfect, that the whole trip we never gave much thought to it until the trip was over and we were asked how the weather was.
We had all been up since five o’clock central time, so we found our rooms, ordered room service and collapsed into bed once it hit about nine o’clock Hawaii time.

The next morning, the Hawaii I had imagined was firmly in place outside our hotel balcony. To the north, past the high-rise buildings and hotels of Waikiki, Diamond Head loomed beautiful and dark. To the east, the ocean gently lapped against the white sands of Waikiki. Finally, we were in Hawaii.

On our second or third day, we were docked in Maui. The one thing I was hoping to see was the Haleakala National Park that Kingsolver had so beautifully written about. My family was less enthused about the prospect, especially after one already windy upward drive on the Road to Hana. Still, my persistence paid off and we were on our way to Haleakala.

We started at the Visitor’s Center, and I tried to imagine what it would be like to be a park naturalist in Hawaii. A little different than Missouri I would imagine. After discussing the silversword plant and nene bird that Kingsolver writes about, we were on our way up Haleakala.
My family did not want to go all the way up, so I had to be satisfied with stopping at the Leleiwi Overlook. Our drive up was cloudy, with patches of blue sky and sun. As we got higher, the clouds moved about like quiet ghosts.

Eager to see what I had read about, I bounded ahead of my family on the trail and reached the overlook first. Pictures don’t do it justice due to the clouds, but the beautiful canyon below took my breath away. For whatever reason, this was one of the few places on our visit that I had a connection with. Don’t get me wrong, Hawaii was beautiful, amazing and I would love to go back—but I didn’t feel much of a gut connection that I feel when I am driving through farmland or hiking through woods. Leleiwi Overlook was one of the two or three places I felt that wow. That physical and spiritual response.

Another Move = Procrastination and Convenience

Well, it’s official—another move will be underway by the end of the month. This is my third move in 11 months. I’m really really hoping this one can stick at least until we finish up our lease.

In the midst of a move, my boyfriend starting a new job, school and all the other things that accompany life, I have to admit my dreams of organic gardening, reducing, simplifying and enjoying more of nature have been put on the back burner. The focus has quickly changed from changing the world, to getting through the changes about to come at my world.

It’s a bit hard to change your habits—the way you do things and organize your world—when those habits are about to change anyway. The new apartment will be smaller, so it will be necessary to reduce and simplify the amount of stuff we have. We will have a patio, so I will still be attempting a container organic vegetable garden, but the amount of sun we get I am not totally sure about yet.

But, despite these things, I am not a good cleaner or a good mover, so the things I do in this area will boil down to convenience rather than responsibility. We’ve already started eating out way more than we should again, consuming sweets at alarming rates, we’re in pre-move mode where we just mope around listing everything we need to do without actually doing it.

But, in my many years of many moves, I can’t help but feel a bit excited—a blank slate. I can say, this apartment I will keep clean. This apartment, I will be organized. This apartment we’ll make regular meals in and grow things in and so on and so on. But, my track record is about 0 and fifteen when it comes to keeping these resolutions.
But, I have to try. I have to hope that this new apartment will help us focus on reducing our footprint… reducing our need and reliance on unnecessary things… begin a habit of eating better, eating locally and paying attention to how we’re living. I can dream, anyway. =)

(Eco-Composition Sunday is post-poned until tomorrow)

What if A River Could Go Uncrossed?

One of my biggest “phobias” is something I have to use every day: bridges. I don’t know how this phobia started, but ever since I can remember going over a bridge freaks me out a bit.

It could stem from this rickety old bridge my Mom used to drive over on the way to my Grandma’s. This bridge was wood and rattled and basically felt as if it could collapse at any moment. It was finally redone a few years ago and is now a smooth ride over concrete. Unfortunately, the materials of a bridge really have no bearing on my fear of them.

As I go over a bridge, I can’t help but think, what if the bridge collapses? What if I lose control of the car and go over the side? What if I get in a wreck and fall over? The list is really quite endless in the few seconds it takes to get across any bridge.

Last night, as I faced an empty bridge over the Missouri River in the middle of the night, the usual accelerated heartbeat and worse case scenarios beating through my brain, I tried to think about what made me so nervous about a bridge? What did I find so alarming?

I’m not sure it’s really the root of it all, but the idea that this man made structure was crossing something not meant to be crossed. Why couldn’t we stay in our own little places, content with what we had? Don’t bridges just increase the desire to have more, do more things, be more places than is really necessary? I suppose this is going a little overboard, but I think in a way it’s true. Sometimes, it’s okay to be content to stay in one spot and do what you can to make that one spot and what you’re doing in it the best you can be and do.
All of these thoughts reminded me of one of my favorite lines from Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible: “If only a river could go uncrossed, and whatever lay on the other side could live as it pleased.”

Welcome to the Longest Month of the Year

Well, today is only half way over and already most of my plans have been thwarted. Luckily, I don’t feel energetic enough to get all angry about it… yet. I hope this is not a bad omen for the rest of February.

February always feels like the longest month of the year. It amazes me, year after year, that this short month never seems to end. But, I start to get tired of the cold and coats and gray days. I start to make plans for the spring and summer. And somehow, the month just drags.

This month, a lot is going on. My Dad’s having back surgery, my boyfriend and I are moving for the third time in the past year, and said boyfriend is starting a new job. None of these things are overly fun, and most involve a lot of work and a lot of stress and worry.

So, I can’t help but look forward to March. Even though March will have its own stresses and busyness, the days will be longer and warmer, I’ll (God willing) be settled into another apartment, the semester will be half over and spring will be the light at the end of the tunnel.