~ A study has linked television viewing time and diabetes. For every 2 hours of TV time the risk of the disease goes up 20%. Is it exercise related? Is it food related? Even more reason to avoid the toxic box!
~While Emily tried a whole foods diet (see the Lean Cuisine article), Canadian Geographic is encouraging homes to go on a diet as well, an “Energy Diet.” Think of your household consumption of energy as similar to your personal consumption of food, and enjoy the benefits of tightening the belt!
~ These times they are a changin’- Areas across the country are imposing legislation that will charge for plastic bags in-store, or eliminate their distribution altogether. But, don’t wait around for lawmakers. Eradicate your need for plastic bags now! It is easier than ever to share mothering Mother bags with others – check out our Holiday Sale!
The mothering Mother newsletter seeks to address how integral food and its connection with the Earth is to our everyday lives. Eating healthy foods is easy if you buy healthy and natural ingredients. Get familiar with your produce and bulk bags. You do so much for others, now do something for yourself. Buy fresh produce, fresh seeds and nuts, and follow the recipe below to good and natural eating.
Can we eat our way out of the environmental challenges? One thoughtful meal at a time. See the continued “Eating Our Way Out” article at the bottom of this newsletter. Share your joy for the world by using cotton mothering Mother bags and sharing your home cooked foods with others.
As I write this, a large pot of lentils, carrots, and onions seasoned with thyme, pepper, and bay leaves simmers on the stove; Simon and Garfunkel plays in the background; and I sit in bed with a cup of tea – a lovely Sunday afternoon. This was not always my routine.
One month ago I made the decision to go on a whole foods diet, meaning nothing processed. This represented a radical change for me. I was a self-proclaimed Lean Cuisine fanatic. I absolutely loved it. It tasted good, offered variety, and most of all could be nuked in 5 minutes flat (3 minutes for the Mediterranean Stir Fry).
My approach to food was convenience. I would come home from work very hungry – the last thing I wanted to do was launch into an hour of complicated dinner prep with doubtful results. That’s not to say I was the most unhealthy eater. My day usually started with a low fat yogurt or a bowl of cereal, a sandwich and chips for lunch, and of course the obligatory lean cuisine for dinner. Then one day, I read an article about what’s in Lean Cuisines. The article concluded with the line, “Bottom line; Lean Cuisines are OK every once in a while, as long as you’re not living off them.” I did a quick self-assessment. I was living off Lean Cuisines.
After talking with Sydney and doing a bit of online research, I decided to take on the challenge of a month without processed food. I thought I was changing my diet (and perhaps my waist line). Instead I found a change of mind and a sense of peace. For me there were three transformational aspects of the diet: the food itself; the practice of preparing the food; and, the impact of the food on my body.
First, the food itself. When you eat a whole foods diet, your grocery cart becomes a basket of colors. I loved standing in the produce section picking through the zucchinis, squash, avocados, and tomatoes. Each vegetable was so unique – some misshapen, some overly large, others small, some with bumps, some without. It gave me a sense that the lettuce I was holding was a living thing, planted in soil and grown by the elements of the earth. This process of picking out the vegetables that were to come into my home gave me a feeling of connection with my food.
The process of preparing the food became almost therapeutic. In my previous Lean-Cuisine-life the microwave had been the only tool I used in the kitchen. Now I found myself using every pot and pan in my cupboard (admittedly there aren’t many) and dicing, simmering, and stirring like a champ. I found I loved watching my food transform before my eyes. Preparing oatmeal for breakfast or couscous for dinner became a quiet part of the day when I could reflect and breathe instead of rushing to sit in front of the TV.
Finally, my body had an overwhelmingly positive response to eating whole foods. I didn’t feel sluggish or bloated after meals; I didn’t need to exercise serious portion control (as the produce was pretty innocent in terms of calories); and, as an added bonus, I lost a few pounds. But above all I really adopted a new attitude towards my body. Before, I respected my body, but often thought if I could just fix this part, make this part a little smaller, make that part a little bigger. Once I started thinking through with each meal how I was going to nourish my body, my relationship with it changed. Now, my body was something I cared for and nurtured. I realized after a few weeks that those previous thoughts of judgment had slowly started to be replaced with a feeling of happy acceptance and love towards the body I lived in every day….flaws and all.
After a month, I truly feel I have just scratched the surface of this way of life. Although I will probably begin to reintroduce some processed foods, such as bread, I am committed to the new natural lifestyle this diet has given me.
Lentil Stew
This recipe is an alteration of a recipe by Isa Chandra. The weather has been vacillating between warm and cold, and after reading the first sentence of Emily’s article, I just had to put some lentils on to simmer. This stew has deep flavors with a hint of hot spice at the end.
Leftover stew is wonderful! It has a sweet taste the next day. Have it for lunch with a grain and add a green vegetable to the pan when warming it up, for added goodness!
Flavorful Lentil Stew
1 cup lentils (green or brown or French)
6 cups water
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T fresh ginger, grated
2 T ghee or olive oil
1 ½ cups diced tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
2 T tomato sauce
½ cup tomato juice (if using tinned tomatoes)
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
1 t salt
Spice Blend
2 t ground cumin
2 t paprika
½ t fenugreek, ground or seeds
½ t dried thyme
½ t ground cardammon
1/8 t ground cloves
1/8 t ground allspice
1/8 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t cayenne pepper
t=teaspoon
T=tablespoon
Rinse the lentils well in a strainer under running water. Put them in a saucepan with the water, bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. When lentils are cooked, and the mixture below is ready, strain the lentils and add to the soup.
In a large saucepan over a medium heat melt the ghee butter, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and spice blend and cook for 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add remaining ingredients and the strained lentils. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a very low simmer for 40 minutes.
Ideally it is best for the stew to sit before serving. This allows the spices and lentils to develop further flavor. As well the lentils become more digestible with the long slow simmer. Serve with a cooked grain, or corn bread, and cooked green vegetables. Enjoy the warmth of the spices and the wholesomeness of the lentils.
Eating Our Way Out
(Part 8)
Sydney MacInnis Founder mothering Mother Holistic Nutritionist and Yoga Instructor
So much to do, so little time! So much to buy, so little money! Time and money are two commodities that seem to be on the shortage list for many. Or should I say for most.
What is it that we do with all of this time? What keeps us so busy? Do you ever ask this question? I have, many times, especially when I was busy running like a crazy lady and a crazy mother, constantly thinking about the next moment. I started to ask what it was all about. I started to ask why it was like this, and did it have to stay like this?
The running around and busyness increased with conveniences. Plastic bags are an innovation that have played a role in this lifestyle. They have had their day. Despite their short 40 years of existence, they will be forever remembered. Every bag that was ever made still exists; these bags will outlive each of us, our children and generations upon generations thereafter. In fact they never go away, they only break down into smaller and smaller pieces. And the small pieces make their way into the systems of marine life, wild life, and us! We are connected with Mother Nature and the struggle will be shared amongst all of us.
Like a food consumed in excess can create an intolerance in the body, the excess bag consumption has become intolerable. Perhaps before it is creating great discomfort for humans, it is creating difficulties for marine life, where over 80% of marine garbage is plastic bags. When we discuss the cost of a plastic bag, we are only looking at the front end of that purchase, only looking at what it cost to create that bag and ship it. The real and much greater cost is at the back end- the disposal and recycling of the bags. Over 90% of plastic bags do not make it to recycling. Plastic bags for recycling pay out very poorly, making it difficult to justify the work involved in collection. The average bag is used for 12 minutes. Is it time to look at the cost of the lifetime of a bag?
While attending a town council meeting discussing a proposed ban of plastic bags, I heard the words “convenience for the customer”. While attending a marketing meeting for mothering Mother, I heard the word “convenience” again. Convenient according to whom? The person grabbing take out for lunch, or the sea turtle with a half ingested bag? What is convenient in the moment is ultimately creating great “inconvenience”.
We have the ability to shift from the place where we are. How we shift really depends on the talk that we give to ourselves and the value we place on an act. Doing for another shifts an act from the head to the heart, and acts from the heart flow with ease. It is from this place that we can make decisions and complete actions that ring true and ring through.
