One Meal at a Time

My parents came over for Easter dinner yesterday.  And as we were sitting in the living room, visiting and waiting for the Ham to cook- we started talking about food.  I'll summarize for you, but basically- my Dad, who does all the grocery shopping and cooking was stating how the price of meat (not organic meat) has gone up.  How it's difficult to feed all 8 people in their household with the rising costs of food in general.

I totally get it.  Food is expensive.  And good food is extremely expensive.  Sadly, the cost of organic is out of reach for many.  And yes- I know you can coupon, shop the sales, buy in bulk....yada, yada.  I know how to save at the grocery store.  So let's just put that aside for now.  The fact of the matter is that organic food costs a shit ton more then conventional.  There are less coupons and less sales on these items and typically the packaging is smaller.  So not only are you paying more, but you're also getting less.

For my parents, and I'm sure many others out there, eating 100% organic is simply out of reach.

So as the conversation progressed, I expressed to my parents that instead of stressing out about the rising costs of meat, how about simply eating less of it?  This will save you money, I said.  Plus it's better for you!  I went over some alternatives that are healthier and cheaper- foods like lentils, barley, beans and quinoa.  These items are very easy to make, most people like them and they are cheap.  Even the organic versions are fairly inexpensive.

Now, my Dad, who is a MEAT LOVER- said this will simply not work at their house.  Everyone in their household eats meat daily, almost at every single meal.  Is your house like this?  I'm sure you can relate....bacon or sausage with breakfast, ham sandwich for lunch, chicken at dinner and then repeat.  Day in and day out.  Trust me- I know.  I grew up eating this way and for the first few years after moving out, I continued eating this way.

So here's the question that I posed to my Dad and I want you all to really think about what your own answer would be.

If you knew 100%, without a doubt, that eating meat every single day would give you cancer, would you continue to eat it?

Then I followed up with this question-

If you knew that reducing the amount of meat you eat would drastically cut your risks for getting cancer, would you eat less meat?

Now, you may be thinking....geez, that's a pretty crazy question.  But the reality is that eating lots of meat, especially conventional meat, will increase your odds for disease, especially cancer.  Google it- no joke.

So here's what I challenged my parents to do.  Simply start by making one day, one meal without any meat.  Do not add meat to the side, do not center your meal around meat and do not cheat and go eat a turkey sandwich later.  Just make the decision that you will make one night per week meatless and stick to it!  You have to start somewhere and there is nothing wrong with taking baby steps.  That's how my husband and I did it, so I know it works!

I sent my parents home with a fool proof recipe, Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn & Cilantro.  It combines yummy Mexican flavors with beans and quinoa for a protein packed, satisfying vegetarian entree.  It's easy to make and can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a larger household.  And best of all- it's cost efficient!

They said they will give it a try and I hope you will too!  Challenge yourself and your family- making positive changes doesn't have to be difficult, it can be as simple as making one meal.

Want to read more?

• So You Want to Eat Less Meat?
• An Organic Cow is a Special Cow

Interested in finding out more about the amazing benefits to adopting a more meat free life?  I highly recommend you check out the documentaries, Forks Over Knives and Vegucated.  And of course, if you haven't watched Food Inc yet- you simply MUST!  Here's a short clip below from Forks Over Knives.

An Organic Cow is a Special Cow

My Dad and many others have always made fun of me because I like to eat meat that has lived the good life.  You know- raised with love and care, fed off the land and no nasty chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.  Last Christmas- to his horror, I paid well over $50 for a turkey that had lived such a life.  Seriously, this turkey was treated like a King and then he fed my family.  Thank you turkey.  You were tasty.

But in all seriousness- it's very important to know where your meat comes from and what it's eaten, how it's
been raised, how it's been killed.  Why you ask?  Why is it so important?  Well the meat industry is the largest consumers of antibiotics.  That's right- these animals you are eating are full of them.  Yuck- poor critters.  Then of course is the fact that sanitation, factory farming and unethical treatment of animals also occurs.  Every time you make a choice not to spend your money on the cheap $1.99 ground beef at the grocery store- you are taking a stand for these animals.  Vote with your dollars folks!

Ok, now that we got that out of the way...what meat is ok to eat?  Well, for beef- we only eat organic grass fed beef.  It's expensive.  Take a deep breath because this switch is going to hit your grocery budget more then any other.  Grass fed cows are allowed to fatten up naturally on, you guessed it- grass.  It's food comes from the pasture and it's not finished up with a diet of grains, hormones & supplements.  This is a much more humane way for the cow to gain weight.  This is also healthier for the consumer because the cow's diet means it's less fatty overall and has more healthy fats- this is a good thing.  Plus we aren't eating the bi-products that this cow has consumed.  And that's not even taking into account the environmental benefits of allowing a cow to graze as nature intended.  This is simply, a Win-Win for all involved.

Now let's move on to chicken.  We are not big chicken eaters.  In fact, my husband and son really don't care for it.  However, every once in awhile I will buy a whole organic chicken or some organic chicken breasts.  Buy local if you can and always organic.  I also really try to find "free-range" organic chickens.  Free range simply means that my little chicken has been allowed to run freely outside.  He can stretch his little chicken legs and run wild with the wind flapping through his wings.  This makes me happy.  Plus it's SO much healthier for the chicken.  Remember Food Inc.?

Fish.  Try as hard as I can but I just can NOT get my husband and son to eat seafood.  Shrimp is pushing it, salmon- maybe.  But that's about it.  However, every so often I will buy some mahi mahi or halibut and do my best to get them to at least try it.  This usually ends up with my husband escaping upstairs because "ah God it stinks" and my son sitting at the dinner table with a chip clip over his nose.  So I will be honest here and say that I just don't buy it that much.  It's expensive and usually I'm the only one who ends up eating it.  But when I do buy it, I buy local, fresh & wild.  There's really no such thing as organic seafood.  Although researchers are working on it.  But they are also working on the frankenfish.  So I think I'll pass- for now.

That brings me to pork.  I don't buy it because we pretty much don't eat it.  I personally haven't had it in over 15 years.  I made the choice way back in junior high school that I didn't want to eat the cute little piggies.  I still don't.  When my husband married me, I warned him there would be no pork sausage, no "real" bacon, no pork roasts etc prepared at our house.  So the only time he really gets pork is if he orders a bacon burger.  My Dad also makes a mean ham for Easter and both my boys love it.  This is pretty much the extent of our pork consumption.

I buy our beef from a fairly local farm, Blue Valley Meats.  Our poultry comes from a local grocery chain, PCC.  Even my Christmas turkey who lived like a King, came from a somewhat local turkey farm, The Diestel Family Turkey Ranch and was delivered to PCC with my name on it.  Yep- that's Chrissie's happy Christmas turkey.

For things like hot dogs, lunch meats, pepperoni and other processed meats- I love Applegate Farms.  It tastes good, it's not too expensive and their products are free of processed junk, plus it's organic.  We don't eat processed meats frequently but when we do, this is the brand I usually buy.

Now- as far as the grocery budget goes, this switch to organic meats has hurt my grocery budget the most.  Compare the price of $1.99/lb for regular ground beef  to organic, grass fed beef at $6.99/lb this is almost 4 times the price.  4 times!  Yikes!  So my answer to keeping myself somewhat in budget was to simply buy less meat.  I just can't afford to feed my family meat at every meal and it's really a lot healthier for you if you don't.  So learn how to cook healthy meat free meals and incorporate meat into your diet perhaps once or twice per week instead of daily.  The easiest way to do this is to simply start by making Mondays meatless.  That's right, Meatless Monday.  Yay!

And the last step- please watch the documentary Forks Over Knives.  Like Food Inc., it will be life changing for you.  I promise.  Here's a clip of the trailer below.  The premise behind Forks Over Knives is that we can prevent and reverse common diseases by simply eating a plant based diet.  That's amazing.  And I must confess that it's my deepest desire to convert my family to veganism.  I'm working on it.  I hope you'll think about it too!