What a Week...
This has been a very long week.
At school, we have been dealing with the death of one of our first graders. Needless to say, the mood in the building this week has been tense. As adults who understand the ramifications of the loss, we have been walking around on egg shells all week long. The kids only understand it in as much as it directly affects them right now. So as far as they are concerned, their classmate is just absent. They can't comprehend the permanence of it. I suppose that is for the best. Personally, I can't stop thinking about the parents. They lost one child already, and are in Denver, waiting to find out about the fate of another. I just don't understand how you bear up under that kind of loss.
Other things have been kicking around in the shadowy recesses of my brain as well. For some reason, I have been thinking a lot lately about environmental issues- both global and personal.
For the past year now, I've been reading up on the link between the way Americans eat, their health and the state of the environment. It is truly an ugly equation.
And for about the same length of time, I've been struggling with as yet un-named health issues. I have taken off some weight, but according to my doctor, more needs to come off. Well- I knew that even if the doctor didn't tell me, but for some reason, hearing from someone in a white coat drives the point home.
I have come to the conclusion that drastically cutting my intake of meat is the best thing for me personally, and for the world at large.
If you are curious to read up on the correlation between the way we eat and damage to the environment, I suggest reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman.
All 3 of these books will open your eyes about how important it is to know from where your food comes. The benefits of eating locally and organically go way beyond personal health. I think it will come down to the health of our whole planet.
Anyhoo, I have decided to cut our meat intake to 2 meals a week. The other meals will be plant based. I'm sure at first this will be a hard sell with Dev. But I know he'll go along unless I spring something really weird on him (he doesn't much like pinto beans or cottage cheese, so as long as I steer clear of those things- or hide them well, I should be ok).
Today I stocked the freezer for the rest of the week. I made a huge batch of marinara sauce, a big pot of chicken stock, a big pot of brown rice and some salsa. All are resting comfortably in the freezer, waiting to be defrosted at some point this week.
I even went to the library yesterday and checked out some vegetarian cookbooks, to get ideas for midweek meatless meals.
So- I suppose I will update you on my progress along the way. This should be an interesting journey.
At school, we have been dealing with the death of one of our first graders. Needless to say, the mood in the building this week has been tense. As adults who understand the ramifications of the loss, we have been walking around on egg shells all week long. The kids only understand it in as much as it directly affects them right now. So as far as they are concerned, their classmate is just absent. They can't comprehend the permanence of it. I suppose that is for the best. Personally, I can't stop thinking about the parents. They lost one child already, and are in Denver, waiting to find out about the fate of another. I just don't understand how you bear up under that kind of loss.
Other things have been kicking around in the shadowy recesses of my brain as well. For some reason, I have been thinking a lot lately about environmental issues- both global and personal.
For the past year now, I've been reading up on the link between the way Americans eat, their health and the state of the environment. It is truly an ugly equation.
And for about the same length of time, I've been struggling with as yet un-named health issues. I have taken off some weight, but according to my doctor, more needs to come off. Well- I knew that even if the doctor didn't tell me, but for some reason, hearing from someone in a white coat drives the point home.
I have come to the conclusion that drastically cutting my intake of meat is the best thing for me personally, and for the world at large.
If you are curious to read up on the correlation between the way we eat and damage to the environment, I suggest reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman.
All 3 of these books will open your eyes about how important it is to know from where your food comes. The benefits of eating locally and organically go way beyond personal health. I think it will come down to the health of our whole planet.
Anyhoo, I have decided to cut our meat intake to 2 meals a week. The other meals will be plant based. I'm sure at first this will be a hard sell with Dev. But I know he'll go along unless I spring something really weird on him (he doesn't much like pinto beans or cottage cheese, so as long as I steer clear of those things- or hide them well, I should be ok).
Today I stocked the freezer for the rest of the week. I made a huge batch of marinara sauce, a big pot of chicken stock, a big pot of brown rice and some salsa. All are resting comfortably in the freezer, waiting to be defrosted at some point this week.
I even went to the library yesterday and checked out some vegetarian cookbooks, to get ideas for midweek meatless meals.
So- I suppose I will update you on my progress along the way. This should be an interesting journey.
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