It’s been a heavy few days here at kickyboots.com, hey? All this talk of childhood obesity and wounds which mar the souls of our youth and, most recently, mention of slaughterhouses and cruelty to animals. I am still processing everything but am feeling a little less overwhelmed (until I actually stop and think about it) and ready to start making the differences we are able to.
Presently our freezer is stocked with a quarter of a cow that we bought last fall from a local farmer who lets his animals run free and eat apples. The beef is organic and hormone-free and delicious. It doesn’t make sense to throw it away, if you ask me. It is as good as beef gets, but I just don’t feel quite ready to eat it yet.
Today I went to the Whole Foods Market and felt like a fish out of water. The store smelled funny, like hippies. I was so confused by everything there: some of it was gluten free, some was organic, some was the exact same stuff I see in the local grocery store, and all of it was insanely expensive. I left. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for, or hoping to find. Maybe a nice, friendly hippie who sensed I had just watched Earthlings and would walk up to me, the scent of patchouli swirling around her, and say, “Hey, man. Can I help you? You look a little lost and as though you have just learned about the injustice of commercial farming. Here, let me lead you through this complicated maze of a store and together we’ll pick out the things you need to make your life better and to also save the world. Then we can go smoke a doobie.”
I made vegetarian chili for dinner tonight and it was OK. Nothing to write home about, but at least I could eat and not think of a heifer dangling from a wire with its insides being poured out onto a concrete floor. Beans are just so nice and friendly and non-dead. I like them.
I hope this disjointed post is the cherry on top of your sundae of a Tuesday.
34 Comments
Beans are nice and friendly. I have a recipe for roasted chickpeas that I make all of the time! Yummy for snacking on and waaay better for you than chips! Camille even likes them.
Around these parts we call Whole Food “Whole Paycheck” and it is not too far from the truth. My feelings about them are ambivalent. On the one hand, it has a monopoly on the health foods market here and it pisses me off to not have a choice. Plus it is, as we have touched on, expensive. I am a student and a health-conscious person and I’m stuck between wanting better for me and the world food and wanting to pay my rent. One tip I have for you is to look for the Whole Foods generic brand “365” it is often cheaper (though by no means “cheap”). One plus side is that the higher prices have changed the way I eat – I buy way more fruits/veggies fresh stuff because it is MUCH cheaper than their packaged, pre-maid stuff.
Going to the Whole Foods Market is likely your priciest option. Almost all the grocery store chains carry organic food now- from produce, to crackers, milk, etc. I know Safeway and Superstore/Extra Foods even have their own store brand organic stuff now.
Start small. Decide what is most important to change. It’s often suggested that you first change what your family eats most of. If you are milk guzzles, switch to organic milk first. If you eat a lot of fruit, find out which are most heavily sprayed and buy those organic. If it’s the meat that’s bothering you, do as you are doing and start incorporating more and more vegetarian meals into the mix, using beans, seeds, and other meat replacements in your regular recipes (veggie ground, tofu, etc.)
Anyway- this was more like an e-mail than a comment. If you want any more help, you know my number. :)
Nutrition and figuring out what really is good for your body vs. what you’ve been told by Everyone (because everyone has something to say) is very confusing. I’ve recently been doing a lot of my own research on the subject (I have a blog post in the works about what I’ve decided works for me). My favorite two books I’ve read about whole foods and eating right are In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (I can’t recommend this enough) and Real Food by Nina Plank (http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?page=real_food_book).
The world of food is confusing and strange and counter intuitive, but since I’ve found what works for me it’s been so freeing (and tasty).
I could go on for pages about this subject! Good luck on your journey (now THAT definitely sounds like the hippie in me coming out).
I’m a Whole Foods chick. The Safeway organic is actually more expensive than Whole Foods. There are definitely some expensive items at Whole Foods but they offer a lot of selection and you don’t always have to choose the priciest option, no matter how tempting! I actually find the 365 brand extremely reasonable and try to purchase this brand most. Although every now and then I’ll splurge! And as mentioned above, the fresh produce is usually very good quality and much cheaper than prepared foods. Be smart about how you shop and the bill won’t will be equal to or even less than most other stores.
Slight typo in the last sentence of the prior post…sorry!
Be smart about how you shop and the bill will be equal to or even less than most other stores.
Good luck. We’re having a similar struggle right now.
Too bad there is no Trader Joe’s where you live. I work there, and I love their food! There are a million combinations I could reccomend to anyone and trust me, you won’t miss the meat at all! One of my faves: Cuban style black beans with pico de gallo and melted jack cheese on flatbread. Like a mexican pizza! Delish. tonight I had a vegan stir fry with napa cabbage, bok choy, celery, carrots, onion and spinach with Thai red curry sauce over brown rice. Damn. now I’m hungry again.
haha…that made me laugh. that’s how i felt when i first walked into a whole foods. it is crazy expensive and i agree with lisa – too bad there’s no trader joe’s there. they have decent prices (better than WF) and they have excellent food. funny thing is, the beef they sell there in my opinion tastes awful. i loved whole foods when i was a single nanny only supporting myself, i could afford it then. my husband & i went there once after we were married and got not even half a grocery cart full and spent nearly $100. not cool at all. not worth it. if i go, it’s for one specific item that i may like. anyway – i have found some regular grocery stores (at least here in the states) have begun their own store-brand line of organic foods at a much lower price. not sure if that helps.
“The store smelled funny, like hippies.”
Thank you for giving me a good giggle, first thing in the morning. And thank you for perfectly summing up the scent of Whole Foods. I hadn’t been able to put my finger on it, until now.
I like that your beans are “not dead”. You see this is the whole reason I never watched “Supersize Me”. I like McDonalds, I know that the movie’s going to make me not like McDonalds for really really good reasons but wouldnt you prefer to live in blissful ignorance (if you can even call it ignorace because really, I know how bad it is for me) than give up triple deep fried fries and mkchicken for the rest of your life?? BLISSFUL IGNORANCE!!! Documentaries are way over rated :) jk… good for you for taking a stand.
I was also going to sing the praises of Trader Joe’s … but I guess there are none near you. Boo. :(
Anytime you change a significant part of your life, there is an adjustment period. Let yourself be lost for a bit and see what good stuff rises to the surface. Very soon you will begin to develop a knack for finding organic food (for less) and for creating or finding recipes that are delicious and friendly to your state of mind.
I’m a big believer in things showing up in your life when you are ready. If you are looking to make changes in your life that feel better to you from a moral and health stand point, then the answers will start popping up everywhere. Just pay attention and take a deep breath and go easy on yourself. And also remind yourself that even the tiniest of changes and steps are meaningful and create an impact on your life.
Take your time and best of luck.
I agree with everyone…take your time, shop around, and figure out where to start. I eat meat, and I have no intention of giving up meat. But there are people all over now who raise animals with their welfare in mind, and see to it that they are also slaughtered humanely. And yes, look at this as a journey. I started out by cutting out as much refined foods as possible. Good luck!
“Nice, friendly and non-dead” is a perfect way to describe beans. You make me laugh. (Happy! Wednesday)
Thanks for sharing your “journey” with us! I have felt convicted/convinced/persuaded to move to a more organic diet – with much less meat, but haven’t been able to make the steps necessary yet. Thanks for giving insight for the change!
I actually thought of suggesting organic/free range meats after reading your last post. Not that there’s anything wrong with nixing meat altogether, just may be an easier transition? Cooking Light and foodtv.com I’m sure will have excellent vegetarian recipes. Beans rock, as does hummus on pita. Yummmmmm.
I know exactly what you mean about being disturbed about the way animals are slaughtered. I watched Fast Food Nation a few months ago, and they show similar disturbing scenes. It’s hard not to forget it. But I am not a vegetarian, and I can’t imagine giving up meat for good. So what can we do? Try buying free range I suppose.
Whole Foods offers a ton of great products. But seriously, who can afford that. I already spend a ton of money at the normal grocery store. If I shopped at WF, I’d be bankrupt.
I live in a tiny little rural town in Oregon and we have no organic stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joes. We have a Safeway and we have a Fred Meyers. During the winter I buy from Fred Meyers but during the summer go to our local farm market. It’s a lot cheaper and the carbon footprint is TINY, since the food comes literally from right across the street. We grow veggies in our tiny yard that we use a lot too, like tomatoes and beans and cucumbers and bell peppers. You could go to farmer’s markets in your area and get food cheaper probably.
Also, when I started following Weight Watchers I found myself unconsciously eating a more vegetarian diet. We eat meat only about once a week anymore and I feel so much better about it. My favorite non-meat meals are yakisoba noodles (can find in safeway in the produce department) with a veggie-stir fry, curry lentil stew, baked falafel sandwiches, parmesan and garlic pasta, potato soup, cheese-less pizza (just diced tomatoes, onions, garlic and olives!), baked potatoes, lentil burgers, and quinoa with black beans and corn with tortilla wedges. All of those are seriously delicious and lol, non-dead.
Oh, my. I just watched “Earthlings” because of this post, and I must admit that I cried, cringed, and covered my eyes multiple times. Then I sent an email home about how we’re going to Change! Our! Habits! when I get back. Would it make you feel better to know there’s someone else going through this ethical crisis with you? How about knowing that I’m in the Czech Republic and a broke college student, which will restrict my diet to cereal with water and overpriced fruit? :) Amen on the Whole Foods intimidation, but I’m sure it’ll get better.
Just delurking to say how PROUD of you I am for seeing this light and wanting to make a change. You’re awesome.
I agree with everyone else….look at it like a journey. You can’t change everything in one day – thats what I tell myself anyways. I had a similar awakening awhile ago. Farmers markets saved my bank account! There is an organic farm here that you can order a box a week from in the summer, and then I just freeze everything extra that I can for the winter. Also buying locally raised meat also is cheaper and more ethical I think so we do that along with cutting back on meat in general. Save-on Foods has a lot of organic here that isnt too much more than regular for the things I buy which is mostly staples like flour, butter, oatmeal etc. What helped me a LOT with the cost of things is making more from scratch, yes the organic cookies, granola bars, crackers, sauces, salad dressings etc is freaking expensive but most of that stuff is easy to make from scratch and then you know whats in it. It is an adjustment to make stuff yourself but it does save a LOT of money in our house. The organic stuff we do buy are the “dirty dozen”, the worst offenders so to speak in the toxins etc (http://www.greenthinkers.org/blog/2006/06/organic_dirty_dozen.html) and then the dairy and meat as well.
Also around here the Seventh day adventist church offers free vegetarian cooking classes to the community…maybe there are some there too.
Good luck! Its only going to get easier. Blog land is full of resources and support too!!
Where in the world are you shopping? I’ve had the absolute pleasure of shopping at Whole Foods in many different cities including San Francisco, NYC, Austin and London, England and I’ve never smelled any hippies. That’s so cute! I have smelled coffee being roasted and bread baking, but alas, no patchouli. The secret to shopping at Whole Foods is to seek out and buy the house brand, 365. It’s very affordably priced and excellent quality. The problem is that it’s mixed in with all the fancy expensive items.
Trader Joe’s is a great store too! I love them both and am lucky enough to live in a city with both.
That is too funny! I felt the same thing the first time I walked into a Whole Foods. I was so overwhelmed I walked out empty handed. There are some great finds there, but I get so claustrophobic I just can’t bring myself to go back. So, I shop at Trader Joe’s or Henry’s or Sprouts.
I love hippie-ish things, not the whole dirty part. haha! but yeah, so I would like to say that it’s overwhelming, but really it’s still marketing. Having an understanding of what all those crazy ingredients are, then decide where you guys want to draw the line. Also I suggest trying a bunch of something before deciding you do or don’t like it. Lots of “natural” choices taste like cardboard, but they don’t have to. Haha!
If you ever wanna chat let me know.
Victoria’s so great for options like that…so many “organic markets” and the like. I have a cookbook from a restaurant here (the Rebar Cookbook) and it’s vegetarian and somethings are vegan. It has everything from salads and vinaigrettes to desserts and bbq sauce. Some things I’ve made Craig honestly hasn’t noticed the lack of meat…mmmmmmm…yam & pepita quesidilla….check it out (or email me and I’ll send you some recipes)
ouch! I didnt know I smelled like a hippy or that hippies had a certain smell for that matter.
But I do homeschool and buy certain organic (not ALL) products so….
Wholefoods is overwhelming, like Kaili said, if you dont know what youre going in for, just like shopping in any store that is new to you if you arent saure what it is all about. Do some online searching- some items are available at Costco at a much cheaper price, but certain thigns are only available at a health food shop- all depends what you want. I buy our Soy milk at the Save ON because it is cheaper.
And it smells like normal people :)
The ‘Whole Food’ stores in the U.S. as well as Trader Joe’s (awesome stores!!)are definitely way more economical than our Cdn. counter-parts. You can buy wine for heavens sake @ Trader Joe’s for $1.99! We are definitely ripped off @ our local Whole Foods.
I have a great vegetarian chili recipe I’d be willing to share with you that my fam loves & it’s economical to make too.
Hi Amanda,
Rosemarie and I went to Trader Joe’s today in Bellingham. Next time you are here visiting -check it out – take the Sunset Drive exit and head straight to it. Great little store.
Also, Costco has great veggie burgers.
Or Safeway with YVES – great for hamburgers, chili etc. Tastes good.
Do you have Thrifty Food Stores? They sell meat which was humanely treated. One out in Tswassen and lots on the Island.
Happy hunting.
WF is so cool but so, so overwhelming. We have one in our new city and we go there often. We always end up walking out after an hour, having spent like $100 on about two bags worth of groceries.
I always feel like I SHOULD love WF and I do for certian things (their meat and fish make me feel pretty confident that the animals were treated well) but some of it I just don’t get.
Their little restaurant – a lunch counter of sorts – it terrific and a great place for me to catch a good bite during my lunch hour.
I tend to do much mroe shopping a Trader Joes which I love.
Hi webmaster!
Hi webmaster!
Hi webmaster!
Hi webmaster!
Hi webmaster!
Comments are closed.