I feel some hippie coming on
If you knew me several years ago, you’d remember me as a kombucha brewing, kefir guzzling, goat milkin’, wheat grindin’, as-granola-as-they-come hippie chick.
I still am, but much to my chagrin it is to a far lesser degree.
I have several things to blame for this.
(It’s not my fault, after all. Tsk.)
First, moving to a different home is hard on my scobys and living grains, as they tend to be forgotten in the hoopla and chaos. If they do survive the cooler ride, settling into a new place still upsets my routine of making batches with them. If things like that aren’t used occasionally, they tend to die. So suffice it to say, between two moves and a baby being born… yeah.
Then there’s the hard to accept fact that our raw cow’s milk supply ended. So that means no homemade yogurt or kefir. Yeah, I still get raw goat milk, but I just don’t like to make cultured foods with that. Speaking of, I have to admit that I don’t even drink the raw goat milk anymore. There. I said it. Oh, my kids and hubby inhale it still. But, me…? I don’t know if it’s just that my taste buds changed with this last pregnancy and never went back, or if it’s because the herd is no longer 100% LaMancha (they are known for their mild milk) but… Ew.
Probably the biggest factor is our ever widening circle of friends and people we hang with. No longer are the majority of them health freaks just like me. For most of my friends, their idea of a balanced diet is to have something from the 4 standard food groups every meal; Dye, HFCS, MSG, and partially-hydrogenates. (If you don’t know what those are, consider yourself an example of what I’m talking about, since you likely eat them all the time.) So, when we get together (which is often) I tend to just eat what they are having or have brought, as not to step on any toes. Unfortunately, I see some of that sliding into the rest of the week.
There’s another side effect to eating and preparing food with this larger group of people, and that is the fact that I have started to buy more packaged food (to save time) and also prepare food differently. Why use my more expensive ingredients for those who do not care or appreciate it? So, for the first time in years, I often purchase store bought baked goods and have white sugar and flour in my cupboard to use when making things for people other than my family. But, of course, I and the children eat it too, and it just opens the door to continue in that direction.
And last but not least, living so close to restaurants makes it far too easy to grab take-out or fast food, and I could easily justify it.
So you see my great quandary.
Oh, I still grind my own wheat. Sometimes. I still bake homemade bread from scratch. Occasionally. I still purchase most of our meat and poultry from local farms who don’t use hormones. I limit packaged foods. And last year I still managed to grow a lot of produce despite where we live. But there are so many things that I have let go. And, really, there is no excuse.
Friends who have more recently learned about whole foods, and soaking grains, and sprouting, and culturing, and canning, and natural fermentation, and sourdough starters, and on and on, have sparked my interest in these things once again. It has challenged me to brush off those dormant skills and put them to good use.
So if I seem a little more hippie the next time you see me, tell me so.
I’ll be thrilled.
I just joined a group where I can purchase raw cow’s milk/cheese/etc. I’ve got my membership card and everything. I also went online and bought my fermented cod liver oil, and some books like Nourishing Traditions, etc. And I signed up for a traditional foods cooking class on the GNOWFGLINS blog (God’s natural organic whole foods grown locally in season). I found it through one of the web sites you gave me. I might seem a little more hippie soon, too! I’d rather be a hippie than hippy! (I will always be hippy, and a dork. Some things you can’t change without surgery. LOL)
I used to feel the same way about not wanting to “waste” my more wholesome ingredients on those who don’t appreciate them. Then I realized how incredibly dumb that sort of thinking was; if anything, I think I should be more likely to share those things with those who don’t normally eat them. After all, they need it more than me! And when they can taste and feel the difference between shit food and real food, an interest is more likely to be sparked, and perhaps a change in their eating habits will occur. If we never expose them to real food, how will they ever get a chance to enjoy it? That’s our job, as far as I’m concerned.
That’s awesome, Jessica! I signed up for the GNOWFGLINS course too. There’s not much that looked really new, but Skylar and I are planning on doing it together as part of her schooling. How I would’ve loved to know this stuff 20 years ago!
I always appreciate your honesty about such things. I wasn’t even near as crunchy, but with baby number four almost here and 3 moves in a year and a half our eating is less than stellar. I try to at least balance it by adding plenty of fresh fruit (veggies too, but fruit is much easier). So it is nice to know that a die hard crunchy/hippy mom has struggled due to circumstances. I just remind myself that life won’t always be in chaos and try to keep at least pointed in the direction of natural health.
Hope you guys are doing well. I think of you often as you are such an amazing example of freedom in Christ, love, and seeking Him. I hope you guys win with the farm.
Love,
Julie
You make a great point, Hannah. And if I have someone over, or even a family, I prepare food as I normally would, with healthy, whole foods and the best ingredients.
BUT, regularly having 40 people in my house on a weekly basis, it changes things a bit. I would either have to purchase/prepare EVERYTHING myself, or tell everyone exactly what to bring. (Become one of those know-it-all snobs, lol) As it is, people are encouraged to bring stuff to share, which translates to fluorescent soda and lists of chemicals disguised as food. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? I’m educating, slowly but surely…
I guess that came off more abrasively than I intended. I completely understand how it can get hard to feed that many people good food (grew up in a family of five kids myself, with guests constantly coming over).
Oh, I didn’t take it that way, Hannah! I know your passion comes from knowing how much food affects us and wanting others to also understand and receive the benefits of eating well. Your blog is yet another voice out there, reaching the masses.
I know all about how moving and changed routines can mess up good eating practices.
I’m fortunate that most of the people we have over/spend time with are currently on a similar page, enough so that those who aren’t are a minority and the food is pretty good. But it is a hard balance to strike between gracious and enforcing the food preferences you have for your family.
The home diet has completely become whatever he buys. After half my life of eating fairly healthy I get sicker and fatter. A typical meal would have normally consisted of lean meat, veggies, salad and occasionally a baked potato. Always have had sugar but always buy cane sugar. Never the sugar beet crud.
I was never prissy about it, but now I know almost everything in the house has all those things in it that you mentioned and very little nutrition to promote healthy cell structure. There are no excuses. Just the facts, maam! I may have to go on a freeky fast, because the more you eat poison the more you want. At this point I just haven’t found the strength to take control. (It isn’t his fault, that he is trying.)
Now, I am craving Red Velvet Cake.