Cooking can be one of the most rewarding tasks of all our essential daily chores. Sometimes when we cook it’s just to get nourishment into our bodies such as frying your morning egg. Other times it can be a long process…combining your favorite elements or ingredients to create a mouth savoring masterpiece.
Do you ever stop and take time to understand the food or ingredients you use to cook your meals? Are you concise about farming or production techniques used to harvest your bounty? All these questions and many more were presented to me during my tenure at ASU while studying sustainability. From class-to-class and semester-to-semester there were introductions, discussions and presentations of information on food and the concept of sustainability. It wasn’t until I took a whole course on Sustainable Food and Farms did I truly get the breadth of knowledge that I have today.
During this time, we had our first child and she was beginning into the world of food…real food! Pureeing and making her own baby food from fresh organic food that was sourced at local farmer’s market was already on the weekly agenda. We were venturing into solids and meats. Several discussions leading up to my course on Food and Farms was steering me to question where was the meat I was eating coming from? About three weeks into the semester I decided to take a 30-day challenge to eat strictly vegetarian (animal byproducts ok, just not animals). I found this a lot easier and exciting than I originally anticipated. I was excited to raise our daughter on a diet that promoted whole grains, fresh vegetables and occasionally meat alternatives. Making sure to always provide a balance of proteins, carbs and fats to my growing child.
This is not a PSA for vegetarianism…it is just a story about how I became one for 4 years…until the pregnancy of my son. He wanted meat and so for about 9 months I listened to what my body and son wanted and ventured back into eating meat occasionally. Just remembering to question and source out the highest quality meat– organic and grass fed whenever possible.
Whether you are eating a vegetarian, paleo, or full-on T-rex diet you can stop and question the quality of your products, where they were sourced (locally or abroad), and even how they have impacted the environment. A lot of good information is out there on how eating an organic diet can not only improve your health but can also help the sustain the earth’s resources. Stay tuned for more information on these topics.
D.S.
Viable Creations