A new approach

Rather than to continue boring you to death with what I ate for breakfast last Tuesday, I think I'll shift this journal to a more encyclopedic approach. To be fair, there are days where I just eat leftovers and salads. How boring. So, I'll take a topic (today's happens to be mushrooms) & expand on it until I'm totally out of ideas. Sound good? Okay.


What we recognize as a mushroom is actually the fruit of a fungus. While off-putting in description, the deep, earthy flavor of a mushroom is one of the most palatable. Mushrooms are a rich source of glutamic acid - the natural verson of MSG, and so they enhance the flavor of any savory food they are cooked with.
They soak up the essence of whatever they're cooked in - the thinner the slice, the more flavor that can be absorbed.

I prefer mine stuffed with spinach, onion, parmesan and garlic. Better yet, a grilled portabello cap makes for a delicious alternative to the everyday burger. Sandwiched in a whole wheat pita & topped with feta, lettuce, tomato, and an olive tappenade - it doesn't get much better in my book. My husband prefers his decorating the top of a still-mooing sirloin, drizzled in a creamy peppercorn sauce.

Common culinary belief states that mushrooms should never be washed with water. They are very porous, and washing them in water will render them soggy. Instead, mushrooms (which are now grown in pasteurized compost, NOT maneure) should be cleaned using a brush.

I find this completely annoying & unnecessarily time consuming. Not to mention, I always thought it was a load of crap.

Last year this "common knowledge" was tested. The results found that 4 ounces of button mushrooms only drink in .2 oz of water when submerged for ten minutes. .2 ounces is a little less than a teaspoon (an actual teaspoon, not what you use to eat your cereal). I don't know about you, but I don't plan on submerging my mushrooms for ten minutes, so I wouldn't worry too much about rinsing them under running water for a few moments. It's also my belief that the fibrous stem does much of the soaking... however that hasn't been proven.

Fun mushroom fact: The cell walls of mushrooms are made of chitin - which also makes up the exoskeleton of insects & crustaceans

Stuffed Mushrooms (my mother's recipe)

36 button mushrooms - cleaned & stems removed (chop the stems)
two 10 oz packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 large yellow onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced (I use 5)
1/2 cup panko
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter ( I use 3/4 stick + 1/4 cup olive oil)
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg (I've actually never used this... I guess I should use recipes more?)

Cook the onions & garlic in the fat until translucent. Add mushroom caps to coat with butter. Place the caps on a sheet pan. Add stemps, spinach, and remaining ingredients to saute pan & mix well. Stuff the caps & bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Serve hot.


I'm really beginning to miss bread, by the way.

Cravings.... the start of many.

Bagels. The big, fluffy kind - the ones with 500 calories and a chewy exterior.

Back when I went to college there was a Dunkin' Donuts situated between my house off campus & the college itself. On either side of it sat the only two bars within walking distance from school - so you can imagine it got a lot of business, especially late night. I always had a love/hate relationship with this place - I would say they had a 40% accuracy rating when you went through their drive-thru. It was like dealing with the soup nazi. You got what you got, and you didn't complain... lest they actually remember you next time & spit in your order.

So you ordered a plain bagel, toasted, with light cream cheese and a small iced coffee? Chances are, the surly woman (who clearly was way too important to be dealing with you in the first place) with the 4 inch  orange fingernails would hand you a vanilla chai tea and a paper bag that contained a stale powdered donut with 5 packages of jelly. Bon appetite, and better luck next time.

Why even bother with a place that got so much business it didn't even care what product it handed out? The bagels were amazing. Those 4 out of 10 times they actually took the energy to get my order right made it all worthwhile. For some reason, the bagels at other Dunkin Donuts just weren't as good. Maybe it was the anticipation - I would convince myself not to get my hopes up. And then, the satisfaction - knowing that I was lucky to actually get what I ordered, that made it all the more savory. Whatever it was about the bagels, this is what I woke up craving this morning.

While I don't miss bread yet, I can tell my husband is starting to get antsy. The man would routinely eat half a loaf, smeared with butter, for breakfast. Thankfully my aunt has been generous enough to offer me her breadmaker - I will be picking it up on Thanksgiving. In the meantime we can do without... but I will be researching the best way to make bagels at home

Days 5 & 6

Over the past two days I've made granola, salmon with lentils, lemon garlic roasted chicken over hominy, chicken stock, and more baby food. Our son is already 20 pounds, and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. I've had to double my recipes for baby food over the past month, I can't even imagine how much food we'll go through in fourteen years... aigh.

Granola

3 cups rolled oats (not the quick-cook!)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
any dried fruit you prefer - I like dehydrated blueberries

Preheat your oven to 250*. Mix the ingredients (except for the dried fruit) in a large bowl, and spread a thin layer on two half sheet pans. Bake for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Add in your dried & store in an airtight container.


Salmon with Lentils

I used Ina Garten's recipe -- found here

Before last night, I had never cooked a lentil. I was a little freaked out - they didn't look very appetizing. It turns out that they're suprisingly tasty - and contain as much protein per serving as beef, without the fat and only 70 calories. I'll have to experiment with different spices, as they can be bland.

Whole vs. Organic

These two concepts may seem interchangable, but they aren't. I thought all morning how I could best explain the difference, and came to the conclusion that Wikipedia (in it's infinite, unchecked wisdom) was the best way to go about it.

"Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.^[1] Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry, and fish; and non-homogenized milk.
The term is often confused with organic food, but whole foods are not necessarily organic, nor are organic foods necessarily whole."

"Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food's total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States,^[4] Canada, and Australia) and any non-organically produced ingredients are subject to various agricultural requirements. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed so long as they are not synthetic"

So, to summarize:

Whole food is unprocessed, not necessarily organic.
Organic can be processed.

While I am striving to incorporate as much organic food into our diet as possible, I'd like to stay reasonable. Organic is expensive. Organic isn't always realistic. We exist solely on my husband's paycheck, and I'm not about to compromise our future savings to ensure that every little thing we consume hasn't been touched by chemical pesticides. To me, not everything is worth the cost. If I intend to continue this lifestyle, it has to make sense, financially.

I have at least half a dozen bags of frozen fruit & other "out of season" produce in my freezer - none of it is organic. Why? Because a bag of frozen organic broccoli was $5.50, and the non-organic was on sale for $1.25. Organic condiments are, on average, twice the cost of their non-organic counterparts ($9.50 for a small jar of organic almond butter? I'll pass....) And to be completely fair, just because something is labeled organic, doesn't mean that 100% of the ingredients are.


What I buy organic:

Meat & Dairy
Celery (it has no protective skin)
Peaches
Strawberries
Carrots
Lettuce
Pears
Tomatoes

I pass on the organic with these fruits & veggies

Onions
Avocado
Asparagus
Broccoli
Eggplant
Pineapple
Sweet Potato

Day 4

The big excitement of day 4? Using dried beans for the first time. I know, not that enthralling... but I had never considered buying those enormous bags of dried kidney beans for $1. Sorting, soaking overnight & cooking them (in a slow cooker) for hours isn't as efficient as opening a can... but not having to deal with that viscous, mucous-like goo the manufacturers can the beans in was nice.

I seasoned the beans with cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne. After they were cooked I mashed them to create a substitute for traditional refried beans.

Breakfast
Oatmeal with blueberries
tea with lemon
1 egg, scrambled with tomato & scallions


Lunch
Vegetable barley soup
carrots, celery & cauliflower to dip in hummus


Dinner
Turkey tacos with beans & pineapple black beansalsa, wrapped in romaine lettuce
spicy brown rice

Pineapple & Black Bean Salsa

1.5 cups black beans
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno diced, remove the seeds for less heat
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
3/4 cup fresh pineapple, diced + 2 tbsp pineapple juice
handful of fresh parsley (or cilantro), chopped
the juice of 2 limes
salt & pepper to season

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl & refrigerate

Day 3

I honestly can't even tell you what I've done these past 2 days (I swear I've been busy). I know I went food shopping at some point and the endless cycle of housework has been kept up with, but beyond that? I have no idea. Baby wrangling now consumes the majority of my waking hours... and he isn't even crawling yet. He scoots all over the place, our two monstrous dogs cautiously inching behind him in amazement that the little, noisy, drippy thing is mobile.

While this is hilarious (it's impossible to watch him scoot & be in a bad mood), it's time consuming. Something as simple as loading the dishwasher now takes three times as long, since I'm constantly looking over the counter to make sure he's on his play mat... and he never is, so baby wrangling I go.

I was able to make vegetable barley soup, which turned out delicious. I wish I had a precise recipe to relay, but to be perfectly honest I rarely follow one, unless baking. I sauteed mirepoix, radishes, zucchini, garlic, & fresh spinach. Once seasoned, I poured in vegetable stock, threw in barley and a few fresh herbs... and waited an hour.

My darling husband even had a bowl for dinner - which is huge. The man wont consider himself "full" unless he's consumed a side of steer, or some other protein equivalent. This, so far has been my tallest hurdle - the whole foods way of living is largely plant based, which I interpreted to 50% - 75% fruits and vegetables. My husband's reaction to only eating red meat once a week was, well... less than enthusiastic. I chalk this up to the caveman that deep down, he really is. 

Day 3

Breakfast -
scrambled egg with tomato, fresh herbs & cracked pepper
1/2 cup yogurt (I am learning to love Stonyfield's plain organic) with wheat germ & honey
1/2 serving of strawberry smoothie


Lunch -
grilled portabella cap stuffed with crab
spinach, radish, carrot salad drizzled with lemon

Snack
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Dinner
aforementioned soup

Dessert

No-Bake Peanut Butter Coconut Spheres

2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 cup peanut butter (Smucker's Natural is good, and wont break the bank)
1 tablespoon vanilla
pinch of salt
Almonds, or whatever you'd like

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and shape into 1 inch spheres. I place mine on to a quarter sheet pan, lined with parchment paper. Freeze 2 hours, and enjoy!

Day 2

I had completely expected to wake up starving. I ate considerably less than I normally do at dinner, and there had to be some negative reprecussion. To my surprise, I wasn't! And so I began my day.

Breakfast:

Slow-cooker cinnamon oatmeal with cubes of Gala apples. (The house was perfumed with the scent of cinnamon - I recommend waking up to this as often as possible!)
Green tea with local raw honey

Lunch:
Chipotle sweet potato mash
4oz grilled garlic shrimp over a bed of spinach, with lemon juice & olive oil
24oz water with lemon


Snack:
sliced tomato and basil drizzled with balsamic vinegar


Dinner:
Broccoli-Ricotta calzone, with red sauce
spinach, radish, & carrot salad with lemon & olive oil


Pizza dough

3/4 cup very warm water
1 packet dry active yeast
1 tbsp honey
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or any seasoning you'd like)


In my KitchenAid with the dough hook attatchment, I pour in the yeast packet. Fleischmann's makes yeast specifically made for pizza (it comes in a strip of 3), which is faster. Add the water, honey & stir. The sugar from the honey feeds the yeast, so the dough rises better. In about 5 minutes, after the yeast has bloomed, add in the flour, olive oil, and salt. Depending on what I'll use the dough for, I usually add in garlic powder, oregano, or pepper. This is completely optional. Slowly start the mixer, being careful not to coat your kitchen in a thin layer of flour (a rookie mistake, I've done it several times when I'm in a rush) After 30 seconds or so, I increase the speed to medium & let the mixer do the heavy work for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes the dough should have formed a ball, which I then roll out onto a floured counter. A few minutes of gentle kneading is all it takes. Form the dough back into a tight ball & coat with a thin film of oil. Place the ball of yeasty dough back into the bowl, and cover for 20 minutes.

This recipe makes enough dough for 2 pizzas, calzones, or strombolis. To cook, heat your oven to 450 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

Day 1, take two.

Having kicked the cold to the curb, it was now (really) time to begin.

Day 1 - Breakfast

Superfruit smoothie
Organic yogurt, sprinkled with toasted wheat germ
Green tea, sweetened with honey

Lunch

2 grilled mushroom, red pepper, & onion skewers
4oz grilled tilapia with pineapple & black bean salsa
24oz water with lemon


Snack

1 cup edamame sprinkled with sea salt

Dinner

4oz grilled chicken parmigiana (with organic red sauce) paired a cup of steamy, garlicy broccoli
24 ounces of water with lemon



By the end of the day I was convinced that I was on to something. For the first time in a while, I didn't feel the need to snack after dinner. I was satisfied.

Superfruit Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen blackberries
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
3oz acai juice, 3oz pomegranate juice

Take it for a whirl (on low) in your blender for 4 minutes. Voila.

A note on acai: There are countless companies out there touting acai as a weight loss miracle. I don't buy it. However, fruit from the acai palm has more antioxidants than oranges or cranberries, which is why I chose its juice for this smoothie. As a general rule of thumb, the darker the fruit, the better it is for you.


Organic Tomato Sauce

olive oil
(2) 28 ounce cans of organic tomatoes (crushed, diced, whole... whatever).
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium white onion, diced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons organic ketchup <--- secret ingredient!


In a dutch oven, drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil & warm over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt & pepper, and cook until they're translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Add in the garlic & cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes, sprinkle in thyme, oregano, more salt & pepper, and on medium-low heat let it bubble away for 30 minutes. I find it useful to use a splatter screen rather than a lid, so excess water can vaporize instead of drip back into the sauce. Squeeze in the ketchup (for sweetness) and add the fresh herbs. Cook on low heat for another half hour, stirring frequently.

If I happen to have an open bottle of dry wine, this is when I will throw in a splash.

At this point I use my immersion blender to smooth out the sauce. You can also use a blender or food processor. This sauce is so easy to make, and you can double or triple this recipe to make it in bulk. The finished product is exponentially better than anything you could buy in a jar (and exponentially better for you). I hope to get extra credit for growing my own herbs next spring!

The First Week - days 1 through 3

I laid awake in bed the night before I was to embark on my culinary journey, plotting my menu for the coming days. I had a plan. I had the means. I was ready to go.

Eight hours later I drowsily woke to the sound of my son squealing with glee. He would wake each morning around 8am, and entertain himself in his crib until I made my way into his room. I had never been a morning person until he had started this tradition three months earlier.

Slowly, it came over me. I had absolutely no will to move, none the less make my own ricotta. My beautiful son had been kind enough to pass his minor cold on to me. What was a few days of sniffles & barely a cough for him had somehow translated into near death. My sense of taste was gone, I had no appetite, and worst of all, I had no desire to do anything more than what was absolutely necessary to make it through the day.

I took this as a sign from above that I should hold off on any major undertakings. The laundry went unwashed. My floors were littered with dirt and paw prints. Baby bottles were strewn about the house. I had my husband eat leftovers. This went on for three days.

The Exceptions

If I'm going to be completely honest, I have to divulge the exceptions to my self-imposed rules. Here they are.
Panko - I simply cannot replicate this. Kikkoman's version has the fewest ingredients.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda

Tortillas - In a perfect world, there would only be 3 ingredients; masa harina, water, and lime juice. I can't seem to find anything close to this so far. Maybe I'll break down and make my own?

Miller Lite - It will be a cold day in hell before my husband gives this up. I choose my battles wisely, and this is not one I will be partaking in.

Vodka - It's only fair that if my husband can have his beer, I can have my Belvedere. In moderation - and only mixed with whole juices. Besides, distilling is different then processing, right ;)

Organic Condiments - like tomato paste, horseradish, mustard, ketchup, light soy sauce, and the fabulous Carolina BBQ sauce sold at our farmer's market.

The Ground Rules

Before I could saddle up & go out into the big, scary world in search of a more pure diet, there had to be ground rules. Fumbling blindly through countless aisles of foods I'd never considered and sorting through bins of produce, wondering if paying an extra $2 per head of lettuce was really worth it for the sake of going organic would never keep my enthusiasm for this new way of living. I spent a few days researching - picking & choosing what I liked from various extreme diets, while trying to keep a level head about it.

By the way, I hate to call what I'm doing a "diet", in the traditional, restricting sense. I wont be depriving myself of anything. If I want a slice of cake, I will make the best cake possible & revel in each moist, sumptuous, and velvety bite. This isn't a low-calorie diet, however I have a feeling that a happy side effect of eating "whole" will be weight loss. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Back to the ground rules.

Any beef consumed (we're aiming for once a week) will be organic (not to be confused with the term "natural", which is unregulated by the USDA, and essentially meaningless) and grass fed.

Certified organic beef must come from a fully verifiable production system that collects information on the history of every animal in the program, including its breed history, veterinary care, and feed. Further, to be certified as organic, all cattle must meet the following criteria:

• Born and raised on certified organic pasture
• Never receive antibiotics
• Never receive growth-promoting hormones
• Are fed only certified organic grains and grasses
• Must have unrestricted outdoor access

Having been raised on a dairy farm, it's my belief that when cattle are given individual attention & treated with a certain level of respect, they produce a superior product (It's a fact that cows that are given names produce more milk than their unnamed counterparts). Going organic almost certainly guarantees this. Hokey? Perhaps. I've seen both sides of the spectrum & would rather give my money to the farmers that treat their animals with dignity.

Beef will also be grass-fed. While less flavorful, it's leaner. When you hear someone talk about how "flavorful" their beef is, you can take it to the bank that they're talking about marbling, which is, in essence, a high fat content.

On the subject of cows, we come to dairy products. This is where it got a little sticky for me. In a traditional whole foods diet, you wouldn't eat anything processed. 99% of milk you can buy is pasteurized & homogenized.  I don't consider this a bad thing. Pasteurization has saved countless souls from dying of horrible diseases. I'm not about to turn my nose up at such a scientific achievement, only to get my ass kicked by typhoid.

Homoginization is another can of worms. The process breaks down large fat particles in milk, so that the finished product doesn't separate. It isn't necessary, per se... but do you really want to drink milk that has a layer of fat billowing at the surface? I didn't think so.

Clearly, I cannot replicate this process in my humble kitchen. I'm not exactly in the position (nor do I have any desire) to buy Bessie & keep her in the back yard. As long as the milk and cream are organic, I'll allow it.

Organic sour cream & artisanal cheeses are also given the green light. If I can buy from local creameries & farms, all the better.

Poultry must be organic (I'm already getting sick of the word & this is only my third entry) and free range. The thought of thousands of chickens squashed together, never given the freedom to walk outside, and pumped full of hormones that make them produce more eggs than what their bodies would naturally, is enough to make my stomach turn.

We've never really eaten much pig. The smell of bacon has always nauseated me (I actually made my husband cook it outside on the grill when I was pregnant), we both despise ham, and I roast a pork loin maybe once a month. I have yet to really research this, and so I'll wait to share my opinion until I'm more thoroughly informed on the topic.

Seafood will be wild-caught. Remember the chicken visual? Apply this to hundreds of thousands of fish, tightly packed in man-made pools, unable to swim freely. This is a recipe for disease & parasites. The answer? Pump the fish full of antibiotics and the water full of pesticides.

There is one enormous con to eating wild-caught fish, and I'm still not sure if I'm making the right decision on this. Overharvesting has greatly depleated our oceans of fish (namely Atlantic Salmon - always go for Alaskan instead!). While it appears that farm-raised fish are the lesser of the two evils, environmentally speaking, I think we're going to stick with the wild caught. There's a wonderful article here on this topic.

Hot dogs, sausage, and any other processed meat (meat in tube form, meat that comes in loaves at the deli counter, meat that comes in nugget form, or any other unnatural shape) will not be touched. The last time I checked, there is no animal that has a muscle in the shape of a perfect square, or circle, or oval... Think about it.

If I want a turkey sandwich, I will go out, buy a whole turkey (or just a turkey breast), roast it, and slice it.  I could go buy some ominously slimy Hillshire Farms turkey in a reusable plastic container... but in my opinion, the only time a turkey should be wet is if it's standing in a field during a rain storm; Not when it's injected with a saline solution, sealed in a plastic bag, & stuffed in more plastic for human consumption.

I want to stop here for a moment. I know I've been advocating for organic thus far. I wont be doing this for everything. Animals are quite often injected with hormones in order to produce more meat, which are then digested by us when we eat them. While the jury is still out on the long term effects of all this, I can't imagine the outcome being very positive. Individually we need to decide what's worth it, and what isn't. I'm not out to influence anyone, or talk anyone into spending the bulk of their paycheck on organic food - it IS more expensive, and that's something to take into account as well.

Fruits & Vegetables

I will buy seasonal. I will buy local. I will buy from the farmer's market. I will buy frozen (as long as there are no additional ingredients or preservatives). I will not buy anything canned (with the exception of organic tomatoes, when they aren't in season). I will buy organic when possible, and not freak out if I can't.

Complex Carbohydrates

Brown rice, wheat germ, whole wheat flour (and occasionally unbleached AP for baking), barley, corn meal, steel cut oats, whole wheat pasta, dried beans & lentils, and quinoa will be allowed. Eventually I will try my hand at making my own pasta and bread, but for now I will focus on the changes I've already put in place.

Nuts & Seeds

As long as they come in their purest form (the only ingredient should be the nut or seed itself) I welcome them all into my kitchen.


Condiments, Sauces, etc...

Now this is where the purists would come beat me to death with their burlap sacks of whole grain. While I consder myself an intermediate cook, I want to be realistic. Do I have the time to make my own fruit preserves? Probably not. Will I ever feel the urge to bottle my own ketchup? Not really. Am I going to make my own mustard? No chance.

So I decided to make my own rules. I'll allow it if it doesn't have:

partially hydrogenated oils
artificial colors or flavors
preservatives, stabilizers, or fillers
refined sugar
high fructose corn syrup (Sorry, corn refiners of America)
anything more than what I think should be in it


Simply put, I will strive to buy ingredients in their purest form, whether it's a dozen eggs or soy sauce.

The Start, part 2

When I first explained to my adoring, yet culinarily challenged husband that I wanted to shift our family on to a "whole foods diet", he just stared at me blankly. He thought I was going to go all vegan on his ass, ban his first love (Miller Lite), and expect him to eat quinoa and flax seed at every meal. After a few minutes of gentle nudging & promises that it really wont be that different, he agreed. It's not like he ever cooked, anyway.

Since my refrigerator had so conveniently been purged the week before, I only had to go through the pantry to weed out the remaining offenders.

At first it really wasn't as bad as I had expected. A few boxes of cake mix, several cans of cream of mushroom soup, three jars of peanut butter, a can of enchillada sauce & 2 boxes of stuffing. I was practically home-free. Then a container of Italian-style breadcrumbs caught my eye... and just for the hell of it, I took a peek at the ingredients. There were 37 ingredients in these breadcrumbs, half of which I had never even heard of. After that, I went through everything.

What I was left with was organic canned tomatoes, my collection of vinegars & oils, spices, dried herbs, capers, tea, whole wheat flour, brown rice, and a box of panko. I also kept the raw honey I bought at the local farmer's market, organic agave nectar, and raw sugar.

My counter was piled high with convenient, delicious, and chemical laden boxes, cans, and jars of saturated fat, sodium, and cheap refined sugar. As I bagged the groceries to take to a food bank, a twinge of guilt came over me. I was essentially handing off boxed garbage to needy people.

The Start

A funny thing happened over Columbus Day weekend. My husband had taken our 6 month old son to visit family out of state, graciously giving me my first weekend off since before the little one was born. I was elated, excited, and most of all, I was ready to relax. A close friend was driving in from Raleigh to spend the weekend with me, and I was cleaning the house that Saturday morning before she arrived. That's when I heard it.

Silence.

The house was completely quiet. Too quiet. The dogs were asleep on my husband's side of the bed, it was cool enough outside so I didn't need the air conditioner, but even still, something was missing. I walked through the house, trying to find what was wrong. When I made it to the kitchen, it hit me. The constant hum of the refrigerator was gone. It's something so small & constant that you don't even notice it, until it isn't there.

With trepedation I carefully opened the freezer, only to find, in horror, that a puddle of water & various juices from once-frozen meat had collected at the bottom of the door. The pink, murky water glided on to my foot. I had just gone food shopping at the Commissary the day before.

Ninety percent of the food was ruined, and it took my incompetent rental manager a day and a half to return my dozens of calls to her "emergency cell phone". My ever-patient & supportive friend was kind enough to help me take inventory of what was lost, so I could relay it to our insurance agent. (Thankfully USAA's renter's insurance covers such obnoxious situations.) I spat out the name of each item as I threw it in the trash, while my friend diligently wrote it down. Slowly, my irritation turned to embarassment.

Sure, there was produce. And yes, I had skim milk & lean protein in there. Unfortunately those items were only peppered in between bags full of processed "lime-flavored" frozen chicken and my husband's infinite supply of frozen dinners that he took to work.  There were half-used cans of Betty Crocker frosting, salad dressings with at least 30 ingredients, and "diet food" with enough aspartame to grow a melon-sized tumor in a lab rat.

It was ugly - and something had to be done about it.