Wishing everyone a safe and blessed holiday filled with generosity, love, happiness, and hope!
Peace,
Natalie & Shane
Sunday, December 25
Saturday, June 11
Sustainability in our Diets
I learned of Food Inc. while eating at Chipotle in NW Indiana, about a month or so before meeting Shane. There was an advertisement for a free screening in Chicago that evening, and a co-worker and I attempted to make it in time, but got stuck in the unexpected-to-an-inexperienced-Chicago-tourist evening rush hour on Lake Shore Drive and missed the show…
Fast forward to almost two years later: Shane and I were having one of our frequent moments-of-indecisiveness about what to do after dinner, so I began browsing Netflix for some mindless entertainment. Until I remembered that I’ve been meaning to watch Food Inc. since that missed screening!! And now, more than ever, we’ve become eager to educate ourselves in becoming sustainable in one yet another, and may I stress, our favorite part of life: eating!
Of course, food is not the only way in which we’d like to move toward a sustainable lifestyle. We’ve already begun researching ways to reduce our carbon footprint at home, we take public transportation when available and possible, we’re planning a wedding while trying to focus on sustainability, so it’s been leading to this for a while, but our biggest struggle was finding the resources to learn more about sustainability in our dieting habits. I would get overwhelmed (disclaimer: this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, I am frequently overwhelmed when I have too many choices!) at the grocery store between all of the options that claimed to be better that XYZ Brand, but I really had no clue what to look for. I felt almost helpless!
I had no idea how to “do my research” to get informed about “good” brands and companies that fit our lifestyle changes and choices. I could go browse the company’s website, but who knows what sort of things they made up for PR purposes. And I could Google the company, but I worry that the bad reviews are from competitors and the good reviews are from the company’s staff. Basically, I was just leery, distrustful and generally skeptical of my identity-lacking Internet-acquaintances and their advice (although, Shane did share this site with me, I just have yet to make better use of it. He will post more about its uses later...)
So here I am, after having finally watched Food Inc., and I’m feeling like for the first time I have a starting block! The movie directed viewers to their page on Take Part website, and I started peeking around there a bit and discovering the “5 Things You Can Do Right Now”. Shane also decided to check out Joel Salatan’s farm website which was featured in the movie, and they give resources to find local, sustainable farms: http://www.localharvest.org/ and http://www.eatwild.com/ can help you discover farms located, or with delivery locations, in your area! Like any other lifestyle changes, it’s important for us to keep in mind that this is a process!
We are trying new things as we research and investigate, but we are making this transition slowly. Mostly because we’re learning as we go along. But also because we’re trying to be more strict about maintaining a budget, and we need to figure out the puzzle of balancing some of the more-expensive healthy options (ie organic milk, sustainably raised meats, etc) and the more-affordable items (I enjoy reading the (never home)makers tips for eating healthy on a budget.) We’re also trying to keep in mind that there are somethings with that lovely “organic” label on them that are either a bit misleading or are just not really necessary: specifically regarding “the dirty dozen” and the “clean fifteen.” (or go here for a pocket guide)
We would love any feedback that you can provide on the topic of “Sustainable Eating.” We’re interested in books, articles, magazines, websites, and really any resource that could be of assistance and educational value to our diets!
Additionally, I want to share that at this time we are both meat eaters, and although we are actively trying to cutting back on that product, we are not (currently) planning to remove meat from our diets. To all vegans and vegetarians out there, let me tell you that we fully respect and SUPPORT your decisions! I appreciate the efforts you’re making toward more ethical and sustainable choices, and we ask that you don’t hold our choices against us as we continue to learn more about our dietary decisions!!
We did try our hand at black bean burgers last night, and boy were they tasty! I think burgers are one area that we can commit to eating meat-less. I’ve also just started reading Eating Animals, I’m only a few pages in and it’s already hammering on my emotional/sensitive side... I guess we’ll see where the rest of the book takes me.
We're extremely excited about sustainable food now that we've been discovering more resources, and we are happy to be on this adventure, and we hope you’ll enjoy it with us! Even if only by means of moral support :)
Fast forward to almost two years later: Shane and I were having one of our frequent moments-of-indecisiveness about what to do after dinner, so I began browsing Netflix for some mindless entertainment. Until I remembered that I’ve been meaning to watch Food Inc. since that missed screening!! And now, more than ever, we’ve become eager to educate ourselves in becoming sustainable in one yet another, and may I stress, our favorite part of life: eating!
Of course, food is not the only way in which we’d like to move toward a sustainable lifestyle. We’ve already begun researching ways to reduce our carbon footprint at home, we take public transportation when available and possible, we’re planning a wedding while trying to focus on sustainability, so it’s been leading to this for a while, but our biggest struggle was finding the resources to learn more about sustainability in our dieting habits. I would get overwhelmed (disclaimer: this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, I am frequently overwhelmed when I have too many choices!) at the grocery store between all of the options that claimed to be better that XYZ Brand, but I really had no clue what to look for. I felt almost helpless!
I had no idea how to “do my research” to get informed about “good” brands and companies that fit our lifestyle changes and choices. I could go browse the company’s website, but who knows what sort of things they made up for PR purposes. And I could Google the company, but I worry that the bad reviews are from competitors and the good reviews are from the company’s staff. Basically, I was just leery, distrustful and generally skeptical of my identity-lacking Internet-acquaintances and their advice (although, Shane did share this site with me, I just have yet to make better use of it. He will post more about its uses later...)
So here I am, after having finally watched Food Inc., and I’m feeling like for the first time I have a starting block! The movie directed viewers to their page on Take Part website, and I started peeking around there a bit and discovering the “5 Things You Can Do Right Now”. Shane also decided to check out Joel Salatan’s farm website which was featured in the movie, and they give resources to find local, sustainable farms: http://www.localharvest.org/ and http://www.eatwild.com/ can help you discover farms located, or with delivery locations, in your area! Like any other lifestyle changes, it’s important for us to keep in mind that this is a process!
We are trying new things as we research and investigate, but we are making this transition slowly. Mostly because we’re learning as we go along. But also because we’re trying to be more strict about maintaining a budget, and we need to figure out the puzzle of balancing some of the more-expensive healthy options (ie organic milk, sustainably raised meats, etc) and the more-affordable items (I enjoy reading the (never home)makers tips for eating healthy on a budget.) We’re also trying to keep in mind that there are somethings with that lovely “organic” label on them that are either a bit misleading or are just not really necessary: specifically regarding “the dirty dozen” and the “clean fifteen.” (or go here for a pocket guide)
We would love any feedback that you can provide on the topic of “Sustainable Eating.” We’re interested in books, articles, magazines, websites, and really any resource that could be of assistance and educational value to our diets!
Additionally, I want to share that at this time we are both meat eaters, and although we are actively trying to cutting back on that product, we are not (currently) planning to remove meat from our diets. To all vegans and vegetarians out there, let me tell you that we fully respect and SUPPORT your decisions! I appreciate the efforts you’re making toward more ethical and sustainable choices, and we ask that you don’t hold our choices against us as we continue to learn more about our dietary decisions!!
We did try our hand at black bean burgers last night, and boy were they tasty! I think burgers are one area that we can commit to eating meat-less. I’ve also just started reading Eating Animals, I’m only a few pages in and it’s already hammering on my emotional/sensitive side... I guess we’ll see where the rest of the book takes me.
We're extremely excited about sustainable food now that we've been discovering more resources, and we are happy to be on this adventure, and we hope you’ll enjoy it with us! Even if only by means of moral support :)
Friday, June 10
Our Journey Begins
It’s funny how life works sometimes. Natalie had wanted to live in Chicago for quite some time. Because of this desire she was armed with loads of information on the city such as where to find free wine tastings (I love this about her) and already knew the public transportation system quite well. I, on the other hand, had grown up swearing off big cities. Too cramped, crowded, scary, wrong sports teams, blah blah insert your own big city stereotype here... It’s funny how a person can have such a negative image of something without having really ever experienced it (I rarely ever visited Chicago growing up). My stance on the issue softened as I went to college even though I still never really pictured myself living in Chicago. Then came Natalie’s summer internship after we graduated, our move to the city, and oddly enough I began hearing the lyrics “hey Chicago what do you say...” running through my head: we were city people.
Since moving to Chicago, we’ve spent considerable time exploring ways to make our lives healthier and more sustainable. Natalie is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and has been for some time now. I hadn’t really thought like that until I met Natalie. (It’s amazing how much more environmentally conscious you become when you have to pay your own utilities, but I digress). Together, we’ve begun reading anything and everything about how to live a sustainable life. This quest for knowledge has positively influenced every aspect of our lives. We have begun running and biking, utilizing the CTA, we are eating healthier, more environmentally friendly meals, we recycle and reuse, we donate, and we buy used. As a by-product of our “healthy lifestyle” thinking, our financial lives have improved too.
Natalie and I certainly aren’t doing everything perfectly and we’re okay with that. This is the start of a journey, of a lifestyle that we hope to carry with us for many years. We hope to learn and discover as much as we can, and make small changes as our knowledge increases. Our goal is to simply live healthier. We are excited to share our “green” journey with you.
Since moving to Chicago, we’ve spent considerable time exploring ways to make our lives healthier and more sustainable. Natalie is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and has been for some time now. I hadn’t really thought like that until I met Natalie. (It’s amazing how much more environmentally conscious you become when you have to pay your own utilities, but I digress). Together, we’ve begun reading anything and everything about how to live a sustainable life. This quest for knowledge has positively influenced every aspect of our lives. We have begun running and biking, utilizing the CTA, we are eating healthier, more environmentally friendly meals, we recycle and reuse, we donate, and we buy used. As a by-product of our “healthy lifestyle” thinking, our financial lives have improved too.
Natalie and I certainly aren’t doing everything perfectly and we’re okay with that. This is the start of a journey, of a lifestyle that we hope to carry with us for many years. We hope to learn and discover as much as we can, and make small changes as our knowledge increases. Our goal is to simply live healthier. We are excited to share our “green” journey with you.
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