A friend of mine has just laid a challenge at my feet: to blog about my food beliefs. So here goes:
I believe food is more than just calories. Food is more than just a way to fill up, to keep going. It is more than cravings or flavor or convenience. To me, food represents energy, art, health and family. I am responsible for feeding my family and with that comes the job of teaching them about nutrition, how to cook, how to take care of themselves and make choices about what they put into their bodies for the rest of their lives. I only have a small window of time in which to make what I do count. To have some influence, to create memories and tradition and habit. I take this responsibility seriously.
To present my beliefs less seriously (because, you know I can be heavy about this topic) I give to you, my food beliefs, as expressed on T-shirt logs:
As if you didn't already know this. I do love me some veggies. I love the color and the flavor and the whole concept of high vibration, live plant energy. Who knows if that has any bearing on how healthy my body is or how I metabolize it. I probably blow it by adding the cheese or oil and clogging up that raw veggie goodness, but at least I get those veggies in. Anytime and anywhere I can! If I only had to cook for myself, I believe I could easily be a vegetarian. Not a vegan (although I think that just sounds cool), but I could be a pretty darn good vegetarian. I almost never crave meat, I won't buy steaks to cook and the idea of large scale animal production does skeeve me out. Given the diabetic and celiac cards we have been dealt, it looks like meat will be part of our lifestyle until and/or unless we learn that our nutritional needs can be met with a more vegetarian focus. Right now, I just don't have it in me to work that hard.
Next:

Or more accurately, I drink greens. In my mind, veggies and greens are two distinct groups. We eat lots of veggies but we drink juiced greens. We are kind of addicted, actually. However, if my husband suddenly went on strike and stopped juicing for us, I probably wouldn't go through all of the work to do it daily. Juicing is kind of like working out: a partner helps keep you accountable.
Even though this image is not from a t-shirt, I love that it represents food as art. Isn't it pretty? I love creating and consuming colorful, beautifully arranged, intentional food. Big sloppy portions of heat and serve crap (a la most chain restaurants) just doesn't do it for me. I'd rather cook at home, then really enjoy a great meal at a small batch, privately owned, preferably ethnic establishment.
I've noticed that I rarely shop at "regular" grocery stores anymore. I've been finding great things at health food stores, ethnic grocers, farmers markets and Trader Joes. I'm even weaning us off Costco grocery shopping. I have to say I am so much more attracted to the smaller health, ethnic and farmers markets than I am the big supermarket. One big difference is, being the voyeur that I am, peeking into the baskets of my fellow shoppers at say, the Asian market I see TONS of veggies and unique looking fruits and I find myself wondering, "Hmmm, I wonder what she's going to do with that?" I feel inspired. At the supermarket (Ralphs/Albertsons/Safeway/Krogers/Piggly Wiggly) I peek into the cart in front of me and when it is loaded down with cases of soda, bags of chips, stacks of Lunchables, some nitrate infused lunch meat, white bread and cellophane wrapped bakery goods....I'm not so inspired.
This leads us to my next t-shirt:
If you are having a hard time with the small font, it reads: "Stop Poisoning Your Body With Food!" with a screaming woman. I wish the checkout clerk would wear this at the supermarket.
True or not. Healthy or not. Sane or not, I can't help but look at food with a dubious eye and silently evaluate which choice will do the least harm. Maybe this is a symptom of my own "issues" with food, like, you know, joining Weight Watchers for the first time at age 11 or still carrying the baby weight from my first pregnancy 10 years ago....but to me, food has always been a bit of a foe. After learning how to eat for blood sugar control for my husband and then how to eat to eliminate gluten for our daughter, I can't help but keep that raised eyebrow on our food choices. When I think about how careful we are with nutrition and how careless others are with theirs, well, let's just say I can totally relate to that t-shirt. I'd never wear it, but I can relate.
And finally:
Ahhh yes, a few well placed carbs can create such happiness. I tend to place them a little too well, a little too often, but they deserve a place in my Food Beliefs T-shirt Collection, because they are part of the whole picture.
Growing up, my family ate every dinner together, around a table, discussing the day. TV was never even in the vicinity. Our meals were often simple, with a regular rotation and they were real and whole and made by mom's hands. Sunday dinners were at the ranch with my grandparents and we loved her regular rotations and handmade pies. I never realized it before, but I guess these memories created my belief of tradition and ritual as it relates to food.
Now I challenge you to think about your food beliefs. Blog about how you eat and why. Then post a link here so I can learn about you. I promise I won't show up in my "Stop Poisoing Your Body With Food" T-shirt to read your blog.