Real Food for a Year

Let's see, a little over a year ago, I made a commitment to change the way my family eats.  To support the people in my community that are trying to produce food the right way.  To be the change I want to see in the world. 

Real food became my new passion, in other words. 


I signed up for a bajillion real foodie blog feeds.  I read all the reasons why I should choose raw dairy, cook with real fats, pick only pastured eggs, and eat seasonal vegetables.  I learned about the prevalence of genetically modified food in the U.S. food system, and how the only tests that have been done show horrible health repercussions.  Then I looked at the rising percentages of children with allergies, autism, and ADHD.  It all made sense to me: What you eat directly affects your health.   

We started going to the farmer's market every Saturday, joined a raw milk group, and the learning began.  I recently wrote a list of the changes we’ve incorporated over the last year.  It is long.  I can definitely say that it has been a large lifestyle change, that many of our friends think we are crazy, and that it is worth it anyway.   

And now, for those interested parties, the list commences:

 
1 - First we switched to raw dairy.  I remember trying the milk for the first time, wondering if I was going to get sick.  Then I had to remind myself that according to recent statistics, it is next to impossible to die from raw milk consumption.  It is safer than lettuce, according to recent statistics.  In other words, don’t let fear run rampant.

The milk is delicious.  The yogurt is killer good.  The cheese... well, have you ever had cheese you didn't like?  Me neither.  The best part of raw dairy for us, though, is the fact that our kids aren't allergic to it.  No more ear infections, y'all! 

So actually getting the raw milk can be a circus act, but there are ways.  All I can say is, a year later and we still think it is worth the hoopla.

The cows at our milk farm

2 – We started going to the farmers market every Saturday.  We always buy eggs, but we also occasionally buy meat, mushrooms, kombucha, olive oil, honey, extra vegetables, etc.  There are many markets to choose from in Austin, and we have gone to most of them.  Our favorite by far is the downtown market.  Over the last year, we have gotten to know some pretty cool farmers!  We really enjoy seeing them every week. 

The market is a family activity for us, one of our favorites!

3 – Then we committed to the CSA box.  Yep, even all those WTF vegetables.  The boxes are quite large, so I get one every two weeks that lasts about a week and a half.  Since I go to the farmer’s market every week, I just supplement with a few from there.

There is skill and technique involved with handling the CSA vegetables.  They are so super fresh, and some of the varieties have to be used really quickly before they spoil.  Some, however, will store for weeks.  It is a learning curve to figure it all out, but worth it!  I never used to crave veggies before like I do now. 

Every box I unpack makes me happy, makes me wonder at the miracle of life and the people that know how to produce it.  I love that my kids get to see it all fresh, and then see it cooked on their plates later in the week.

CSA bounty

 

4 - Local, pastured meat was our next venture in real food.  At first, we tried different types and cuts available at the farmer’s market.  This was probably the hardest step for me – meat is the most expensive, and I hate to waste good food due to a cooking mistake on my part! 

However, we immediately noticed how much better the meats we were buying tasted versus grocery store meats.  I also had been reading up on the grossness of commercial feeding operations and believe strongly that animals deserve to be treated better.  Plus, we are what we eat eats, and lots of CAFO’s feed their animals GMO feed.  It was worth it to me to learn.

So I did.  Now we have a side of beef in our deep freezer, with a side of lamb on the way.  We buy our chickens exclusively from a local farmer at the market that we dearly love.  The local pork is also amazing.  Helpful hint: It is definitely more cost effective to buy local meat if you buy in bulk!

 
5 – Speaking of money, some of you are starting to add all this up in your head, thinking how expensive it must be to eat this way.  Actually, the budget really opened up when I stopped buying most of what I used to buy at the grocery store. 

On top of that, we eat out a lot less.  Currently, I eat about 10% of meals out, whereas I used to eat out about 43%.  (Yes, I’m that dorky to figure that out.  But really, I used to eat lunch out almost every day and dinner 2-3 times a week.)  It’s helped that my son and I have a newfound gluten intolerance, which further complicates restaurant choices, but it’s also easier because I have a freezer full of meat/fish and a refrigerator full of veggies.  It literally takes me less time to cook dinner at home than to get everyone ready, carted to the restaurant, wait for the food/service, and then travel home.  It’s not as social – but it is good for us and helps our toddlers have a nice weeknight routine. 

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s been a couple weeks for me now since I’ve had a good meal out, and I am starting to get a little burned out.  It’s worth some GMO exposure now and then to have a little balance in life.  J 
 

6 – We also changed the fats we use at home.  I mostly used a lot of olive oil, but once I learned that it goes rancid at high temps, an alternative was needed. 

There are several; my favorite is coconut oil.  I use it for frying pancakes, making popcorn, kale chips, smoothies, chocolate… oh, and I use it on my skin as a moisturizer.  I don’t know how I lived without it.
 
Other real food fats include pastured butter, ghee (clarified butter), lard, and tallow.  I’ve experimented with them all.  Tallow makes insanely good fried rice and French fries.  Ghee is great for everything, but it’s pretty expensive.  Lard is a little too piggy for me.  Butter, duh.  Love it, but it browns too quickly for high temp use. 

Having all this knowledge about fats has also helped me cut down on the boxed/processed food I used to buy.  Basically if it’s in a box, it’s going to have some PUFA (polyunsaturated fats – canola, soybean, cottonseed, etc.) or GMO ingredients.  I’ve been reading ingredient lists for 5 years now – there are some things you literally cannot buy at the store if you really want to avoid those things.  For example, it is next to impossible to find a chip or cracker product that doesn't contain them!  Usually I will just opt to find something else for us to eat.

7 - Finally, we added living foods to our diet in the form of fermented foods, which has been a traditional method of preserving food for thousands of years.  Research is showing that some of the unhealthiest people have the least beneficial bacteria in their gut, and that the more varieties of beneficial bacteria, the better.  Think of it as a real food probiotic supplement.  I make milk kefir with some of our raw milk each week, and use it in smoothies.  My husband and I love kombucha, though I have been buying that as of late from a local vendor.  And I am learning the art of home fermentation, which has been really interesting.  So far, I've been successful with carrots, beets, salsa, ketchup, and peppers.  I have tried making sauerkraut several times and haven't gotten it right yet - but it is *almost* cabbage season again, and I will keep trying.  In the meantime, this local vendor makes the best sauerkraut I have ever tasted!

 

If you’ve made it this far, I figure you are either a newbie real foodie that is eager to learn, or you are reading this with the kind of curiosity you normally reserve for Hoarders.  I don’t blame you.  It is easier to ignore all the evidence that our food supply is tainted and go on to live a “normal” life - that’s your choice! 

The good news is, I am not alone in this endeavor.  At first it felt that way!  But there are so many communities with like-minded people that are willing to share information and encourage each other, that it was impossible not to join.  My kids have had great attitudes about choosing foods with real ingredients.  My husband is behind me.  I have enjoyed learning how to cook a different way than I did before.  I feel like I am contributing to a cause I believe in. 

And now that I know what the hell I’m doing in a “real food” kitchen, I’m not turning back.  It’s been quite a year, with many more to come! 

This blog post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays.  Cheers to Kristen and her team for teaching us so much!