I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!Okay, okay, so I've already posted twice today, but I could not let this occasion pass. My blog hit one million hits tonight! Hee.
And just to talk about something financial...I think I mentioned I have been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma. Well, I really do think I am going to have to find a way to start buying organic, grass fed, wild caught, or free range protein from now on. The more I read about the industrial food industry, the sicker I get.
It just frustrates me so much, because a pound of organic, grass-fed hamburger costs $6 a pound and a pound of hamburger from a corn-fed feed lot steer is $2.50 a pound on sale. I say corn-fed, but eww, the stuff that goes into that feed is just...icky and not just corn that's been stripped of it's nutritional benefit. Plus the poor cows. Their stomachs cannot actually digest corn properly and they have to do unspeakable things to the poor beasts to release the gas it causes them. It also allows bacteria to grow in their stomachs that they cannot fight off because they were never meant to eat corn. It is sad. I won't go into details because they are very gruesome, really.
So plans so far are to buy a half a side of beef in the fall from this little farm in Bow, but I need to investigate chickens and lamb, too. In my state it is easy enough to buy wild fish at the store and stay away from the farm fed stuff. It's weird. I don't have an issue with paying $7 to $8 for wild salmon, why is it so hard for me to pay that much for beef? Or chicken? Maybe that is just something I will have to get past.
I think ways to manage it, is to have smaller portions of meat (hard for DH particularly) and fill up more with organic veggies and fruits. Organic veggies like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and cauliflower are pretty cheap here as are bananas and quite often strawberries. I still have a huge supply of frozen blueberries from the back yard. Organic potatoes and sweet potatoes aren't too expensive either, and that is a good filler upper food. We can grow a lot of green beans here, that is one thing that never fails so we can put those up.
I also can go back to baking more rolls and bread again so I can control what is in the food. There are a lot of corn products that go into commercial bread, things I never knew were forms of corn syrup like maltodextrin. I knew it was a sweetner but not a form of corn syrup. As are polysorbate, glucose, and dextrose. I always thought glucose and dextrose came from fruit and I'm not sure where I thought maltodextrin came from. It's kind of scary how they can disguise it. Just like they do with MSG.
And don't get me started on what's in a certain fast food place's nuggets. Suffice to say I wish I'd known before eating there the other night. TBHQ? Really? I think I've finally found a way to set the fast food switch to OFF for good.
You know, I thought this book was awfully simplistic when I started reading it, but the more I get into it, the more horrified I am. I consider myself fairly well-educated when it comes to the food industry, but now...well, now I think my eyes were only half open and if I am going to protect my health, I am going to have to find a way to spend the money on real food. I also realize why my allergies have been so awful these past few years. And my kiddos, too.
I guess it's time to go back to serious meal planning again.
One Million Hits! and the Food Budget Will Have to Change
April 20th, 2012 at 03:34 am
April 20th, 2012 at 03:59 am 1334894381
April 20th, 2012 at 04:00 am 1334894409
Oy, my husband has sworn to stick with the organic and local meats as well. We are seldom beef eaters anymore (1ce a mo about?).
I may have to read that one, though not looking forward to it.
April 20th, 2012 at 04:03 am 1334894628
April 20th, 2012 at 04:09 am 1334894988
Congrats on the 1M hits! I know I've been clicking my share.
April 20th, 2012 at 04:21 am 1334895688
We are finally switching to BPA-free canned tomatoes. Hunts and Muir Glen are both BPA-free now, so the next time we buy tomatoes we'll buy one of those brands instead of the generic or cheap ones.
Congrats on a million! I'm up over 900K so maybe I'll join you by the end of the year. It's great that so many people are engaged in our little community.
April 20th, 2012 at 06:54 am 1334904859
PCJ--We really like our beef here, we probably eat one potroast (with leftovers) a week and hamburger at least once either in tacos or burgers. It would be hard to once a month it.
Thrift--I think the price difference isn't that bad when you are buying in bulk and right off the farm. It's when you are buying it in the grocery store a bit at a time that it really gets you.
April 20th, 2012 at 06:56 am 1334904979
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April 20th, 2012 at 12:09 pm 1334923771
Congrats on 1 million!
April 20th, 2012 at 03:18 pm 1334935117
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April 20th, 2012 at 03:40 pm 1334936409
April 20th, 2012 at 04:58 pm 1334941096
The halal/kosher suggestion is for things like lamb and perhaps beef. I'd also explore independent butcher shops and distribution nodes; they are out there and it seems to be a loose, unadvertised network. One in my neighborhood is the Better Meat Company in Greenwood, Seattle - when we got our cow, it turns out that our sausage order was delivered there and they sell meat.
April 20th, 2012 at 08:08 pm 1334952487
Joan--Thanks for the info.
Baselle--Oh, I love venison. That does sound like a perfect fit for me. I feel bad about the idea of eating rabbit, but my mother used to trick us when we were kids and not tell us it wasn't chicken and it was really good. As for duck, my mom raises ducks as pets and I think it would make the kids very upset if we ate duck, though they don't seem to have the same problem with chicken!
We do have an independent butcher shop out in Custer that has organic beef for sale. It's just back of beyond so I haven't really ventured there yet. I probably should. We probably have somewhere that is halal/kosher, too near Lynden as there is a huge Indian temple and community. Sikh (spelling?), I think. And I could ask them in at Indian Flavors restaurant if they know of one. Thanks for helping me think outside the box.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:21 pm 1334960503
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wshlnRWnf30
They spin the remaining bits of fat, sinew, tendons in a centrifuge and spray it with ammonium hydroxide to kill off the remaining bacteria. Then they mix it into your ground hamburger and call it "extra-lean". The food industry is making us all fat. I went vegetarian (mostly, every now and then - I must have chicken) after I read a book about how your diet can help with depression. Feel so much better...amazing. I truly believe the additives and fillers the food industry is putting in our food supply is the main cause of obesity.
April 21st, 2012 at 07:02 am 1334991728
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April 23rd, 2012 at 12:22 pm 1335183752
I'm about 3/4 of the way through, and he's talking now about foraging for mushrooms and other things.
The thing about the industrial farms is pretty sad, for chows and chickens, and i imagine anything else grown in the massive quantitites needed to feed people.
It's really opened my eyes to the confusing array of labels on stuff at the supermarket. "Organic" won't mean the animals are at all humanely treated, or that they ever see a blade of grass in their lifetime.
And he was so true when he said you really have to do a disconnect between what you eat and where your food comes from if you still want to be able to eat meat, and that the industrial food industry is aware of this and makes sure there is no transparency.
I've done a number of online surveys sponsored by various food companies and they often want to get at what exactly drives you, the consumer. Is it that you want organic, pesticide-free foods? Or is your beef (no pun intended) with how the animals are treated? Or something else?
April 23rd, 2012 at 12:24 pm 1335183881
It's heart-warming to see so many here are in one stage of another of eating healthier.
April 23rd, 2012 at 02:03 pm 1335189802
April 25th, 2012 at 10:08 am 1335348522
I completely agree about eating smaller portions of meat and filling up on veg - I think a lot of people make that error and actually the majority of us could do with upping the quantities of fruit and veg in our diet and reducing the amount of meat we consume.
I love making my own bread when I have the time - it scares me the amount of salt manufacturers put in to their loaves.
April 25th, 2012 at 02:25 pm 1335363933