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Jan
19
I’ve been cooking quite a bit lately, which is new for me. There are all kinds of reasons home cooking tumbled down my priority list for so long, but it’s something I really wanted to change in 2010: less prepackaged last-minute foraging, more thoughtful planning and preparation.
It seems like I kept thinking about it but not making any actual effort to change our eating habits, and then I saw Food, Inc. Holy god, you guys. All I can say about that documentary is that it gave me the exact kick in the ass I needed to stop thinking and start acting.
I really don’t want to be an Obnoxious Food Douche on top of being a Tiresome Fitness Douche, so I won’t bore you with all the details of our newfound organic craze (although I am of course writing about it here, because if there is one thing I can’t get enough of, it’s obsessively documenting the minutiae of my thrilling day to day existence. Why, you should see my food journal!), but I will say how rewarding it’s been to put some actual effort into creating our meals. Instead of tearing open a bag or opening a can or just rooting in the fridge, I’m flitting between pots and pans and cutting boards and poking my face in the oven and doing millions of loads of dishes and jesus my feet hurt from that hard-ass tiled floor but it’s all making me so happy.
I’ve spent the last few years relying heavily on Amazon’s grocery delivery service. It’s been enormously convenient, and the fact that I can place an order in the morning and have it waiting for me when I get home from work has been awesome. But for all the time it saved me, I lost any feeling of connection with what I was buying and what we were eating. I shopped by clicking heavily branded product links, one after another, the exact same way you buy anything else on Amazon. Hell, they’ve even got user ratings on each food item, because god knows we all need to know if other buyers thought that bread was worth 3.5 or 4 stars. (Too bad they haven’t yet included reviews.)
I was falling into a rut of coming home from work and downing a bowl of cereal, the kids having already eaten PB&Js or macaroni and cheese for the thousandth time. We bought the same things week after week and rarely dirtied a pan. Things were constantly rotting in the vegetable crisper while the shelves contained an overabundance of colorfully-packaged things loaded with corn syrup and processed flour.
Planning, shopping for, and preparing our food is a big change. It requires time and effort, whether that’s actively working in the kitchen or thinking ahead to the next few meals. But you know, it’s funny, I feel so much better—not just because I believe we’re eating healthier food, but because I’m addressing a part of our family life I think was starting to fall apart. It isn’t always possible to have a nice sit-down meal with two working parents and two young kids, but we’re doing it a lot more than we were before, and cooking—really cooking—the food that we eat seems to . . . I don’t know how to describe it, exactly. It’s like some broken loop is being closed. Like something I didn’t even know was so important to me is finally being addressed.
Plus, homemade bread. God damn.
(Click through for recipes.)
Comments
91 Responses to “From scratch”
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Yum! This is one of my priorties too.
I have a question though – do your kids actually eat any/all of the stuff? I feel like we spend a lot of time and effort to cook good food, and then my (3yo) son turns his nose up at it. (Our rule is that he can eat something else, as long as we don’t cook it. So he ends up eating a lot of organic lunch meat. Which I guess is OK, but it’s not exactly the Grand Family Experience I have envisioned.)
YUM.
I’ve been making much the same effort you have this year, to Wife’s delight. We still use grocery delivery for the staples (canned tomatoes, beans, rice, etc), but I’ve been doing a lot more in-person shopping lately. I can’t wait until the rest of the farmers’ markets open in the summer! We really only have one good (largeish) winter farmers’ market here, which I know is more than most places, but I miss summer.
I’m just disappointed there isn’t more white space and BOKEH in the food pictures. Isn’t that a requirement? I keeeeed. Great job!
Family sit-down supper hour was a special time for us when the kids were young, all the way through high school. We both worked, kids active in sports/music/etc but we always made time, even when I cooked in a hurry after work. When else can you both marvel at your younguns, share a laugh and an occasional scolding, hear about everyone’s day? Good times, indeed.
We sit at the counter now that the kids are grown and gone, and I miss that time that we all had together. Besides the better food, you are making wonderful memories. Good luck, you are on your way!
This recipe for granola bars is FANTASTIC!
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/09/granola-bars/
I expected just a blah taste but feeling good about controlling what goes into the bars. But I actually like them better than store-bought!
Wow! I’m inspired!
So they sell scratch in Seattle now?
http://notalwaysright.com/barely-scratched-the-surface/3507
Felicia: Riley’s quite picky so I try and give him the parts of our meals I know he’ll like (pizza with the top scraped off [WTF], pasta with no sauce, just the noodles from the chicken soup, etc. I also make certain meals just for him, particularly when we’re eating something I know he won’t touch (stuffed peppers).
Seriously, you’re super mom :) Blahblah CORNY but you are totally adding to the healthy family bond you already have by giving your kids homemade nutritious food *and* teaching them good eating habits that they’ll remember once they’re out of college and sick of value meals :)
My GOD, you are so inspiring these days. I mean, if you can cook from scratch with two small children, a husband, etc., just what’s stopping my lazy, single ass?
this looks great! If you continue with the CSA box it gets easier and easier to use all of that too, with standby recipes and go-to cookbooks you find along the way…eventually you will be annoyed at having to think about what to buy at the market/amazon instead of just getting it sent to you. Try some mats/small rugs where you stand most in the kitchen, it really does help!
Damn, girl…you go!
I have to admit, I hadn’t been preparing as many meals from scratch the past four months or so, but I’m gettin’ my groove back in the kitchen as of late. I have made more French dishes in the last week than I have in two years. It was yummy, of course, but I think my digestive track needs a break. Maybe I’ll eat a lettuce leaf tomorrow.
Glad you’re finding joy in wholesome food prep.
Nothing like reading Fast Food Nation and Omnivore’s Dilemma in the same decade (and surely seeing Food Inc)to make you realize shopping for food, cooking and eating is a really important act.
Hey, good for you! Bonus that it actually feels rewarding. When I was diagnosed with celiac disease a couple years ago and had to get super anal about what I eat/prepare/buy I started cooking almost everything from scratch. We were already pretty dedicated to organic & sustainable (& local when possible) food, but what was hard was axeing all the convenience and prepackaged items, and cutting back about 99% on eating out. It was so extreme, and I resented it for MONTHS. I’m accustomed to it now, and despite the time suck out of every day, believe it is a good thing both for me and my family. But making peace with it wasn’t easy… I’m so glad for you that this change feels GOOD to you.
Food’s always better tasting when you make it yourself, in my opinion! Family dinner is one of my best memories of childhood, and it’s cool to see you working on that in your family (and liking it)! Let me know if you’re interested in the bread recipe that is *strikingly* like City Subs. All the yum without the 9 hour drive!
Those meals look wonderful! You’re making great changes, and because you’re doing it while your kids are so young, hopefully they will never remember eating any other way. That’s my hope for my kids, at least–that they’ll think super processed, unhealthy foods are the strange foods, not the healthy ones.
@Felicia-What works for our family as far as getting the kids to eat meals goes is that we make one meal. They don’t have to eat it, but they don’t get anything else either. In addition, I always include SOMETHING I know they’ll eat. The other night, I made baked salmon, brown rice, roasted brussels sprouts, and a green salad. I knew my son wouldn’t touch the brussels sprouts, but he ate some of everything else. I knew my daughter wouldn’t eat the salad, and only a little of the salmon, but she ate lots of brown rice and brussels sprouts. They both filled up, at healthy foods, and they each tasted a little bit of everything. I’m good with that. Dessert isn’t really offered in our house either. Don’t get me wrong, they do get treats occasionally if they’ve eaten a decent dinner, but it certainly isn’t a given, and there’s no bargaining over it at dinner.
I so hear you. I don’t have kids, thank the heavens, but cooking for oneself takes a discipline that I am attempting to cultivate. I realized recently that food that you cook (or that someone you know, and preferably love, makes foryou) TASTES SO MUCH BETTER. And it makes you feel better. I swear I can feel the care, the kindness, in it. It’s part of the value of food that I have been overlooking for some time. Thanks for reminding.
I had two working parents growing up and a tiny kitchen, but it was always a BIG DEAL for us to all sit together for dinner for a homemade meal. In high school, the only reasons we were allowed to skip dinner was because of a legitimate extra-curricular, Friday night date night, or Saturday, which was usually “graze the fridge” day.
I think it’s made me a very picky eater (I’m not prone to eating bagged crap), but also a very conscious one. I always feel lacking if I grab a frozen entree because I’m stuck at work, or eating crackers out of a sleeve because I don’t feel like cooking for myself.
The point is that cooking for your family makes a HUGE difference in their lives. It’s a difference that means the world to me, and hopefully, to both Riley and Dylan.
I’m really impressed that you are doing this with two small children, a job, and a husband. I was so proud that I have been baking bread and making “real” meals, and it’s just the two of us. And I work from home about 50% of the time. But seriously? Homemade bread, mmmm….For a treat, there is a buttermilk quick bread from Cooking Light that I just tried that is seriously addictive.
Two questions:
1. What is “oat bran cereal”? Is it necessary for the oat bread? [I never eat cereal...I feel so...out of touch.]
2. Nevermind. My other “question” requires clicking on the pizza picture to see the dough recipe you are using. :)
Oh, right – a comment on the bread not rising. We keep our house at about 63, so bread *never* rose for me. The trick, for me, is to try to coordinate baking bread with other uses of the oven. That way I can put the dough on the stovetop to capture the warm air coming up from the oven. Another option – I will also put it in the (gas) oven (turned off). The pilot light makes it a little warmer than our (admittedly chilly) house. And I give it a LOT of time to rise – usually a lot more than what is listed in the recipe. Friends have also put the dough on top of the dryer while it’s on, and another friend with a close-by hot water heater swears by putting her dough near that. Anything that will make the ambient air a little warmer.
Look at you with your photos and your recipes! You some kind of food blogger now? The picture of the pasta is particularly nice. I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself with this!
This post makes me tired. I mean, yay! Good for you!
I started eating less processed food (almost none) a year ago. I still buy bread for my son, though I avoid all gluten. I buy tortillas, almond butter and a few other processed things. I look for three or fewer ingredients when I do get something processed.
I can’t cook much during the week so I make things in bulk. Examples: grass fed beef taco meat with bell and poblano peppers, mexican grilled chicken thighs, Joe’s special, green chile ckicken enchiladas…We keep these things in the fridge and eat them all week. We can make tacos, quesadillas, nachos, with the meats or just eat them plain reheated. There is always a bowl of hard boiled eggs as well.
I always have a bag of ready to cook greens and spinach(I put them in a scramble with other veggies and some eggs.) We always have a lot of fruit on hand, both fresh and frozen (mmm smoothies).
For snacks I’m partial to Lara Bars and Kind fruit and nut bars, also almonds.
I can’t tell you the difference this has made in how I feel and also my athletic performance.
I love to cook too. If you want some really, really good bread that is crazy easy to make look for the book “Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day”. They aren’t kidding and it’s fantastic! Also, make Allrecipes.com your friend.
Like I’ve said before, we make time for what we want to make time for.
And I’m so glad you are finding this not only rewarding but fun. My kids scoff at me and then demand pretzels and cheese, though.
Have you come across the book “Super Natural Cooking?”
It was one of the books that really made a difference in how I view food and cook.
From the website:
Written and photographed by Heidi Swanson, creator of 101 Cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking guides cooks toward a more natural (less processed) palette of ingredients and recipes. Everyone knows that whole foods are much healthier than refined ingredients, but few know how to cook with them in uncomplicated, delicious ways.
Here’s the link
It looks terrific. All of it. I wish I had the motivation to cook, but I don’t. I’d come over for dinner, though. If you invited me!
Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? It’s super-inspiring/wake-up call-ish in the same regards that Food, Inc. is — but it’s also a personal story…super great read.
I’m reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma right now and it’s fantastic and informative but also kind of horrifying and bewildering.
Kudos to you for doing the meals-from-scratch thing. You are some kinda super woman.
I’ve been an obnoxious food douche for a while now, although I keep pretty quiet about it. I focus mostly on local, rather than organic, because usually local IS organic, and because of the big food business that organics have become. See? Am douche.
You know, I meant to ask you before: have you considered going in on a (butchered) cow with a friend or two? I know that sounds nutty, but we did it, and have a ton of fresh, awesome, local beef in the freezer — all kinds of cuts, and it’s really nice to have, if you can swing it, space-wise.
Our local farm CSA is up my ass to get me to buy GOAT MEAT and boy howdy, let me tell you, I may be a hippie localvore, but I AIN’T READY FOR THAT SHIT.
Incidentally, the other day I came up with this genius idea to blend almonds, dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips together for a snack. I was SO PROUD of this achievement, and delightful new taste treat. And then I realized I just “invented” trail mix.
We eat pretty organically to begin with. At the very least all natural, and GMO’s are a big sin in our house. But I’ll tell you, man, Food Inc. Holy mother of GOD. That just made me want to run off and buy a farm somewhere, and never leave my little bubble. And now even the processed organic stuff I eye suspiciously.
This is a major missing link in our household. We’re in the opening cans and turning the TV on rut and I hate it.
I have to get me in a better place before I can get on top of that place.
At any rate, I find this inspiring, not annoying.
Um, YUM. Can I please come over for dinner? Food, Inc. changed our lives too. I’m a vegetarian, my husband is not, but it finally woke him up to my cause. He’s not converting, but he has finally decided to purchase local meats and happier eggs. It makes me crazy happy that a movie can affect positive changes among families like ours.
Ooooh, I would love to hear about your food douchery.
I read Fast Food Nation, etc., and Food Inc is on my Netflix to watch.
I can’t always buy organic, but I try. And I am a big believer in staying out of hte middle of the grocery store and shopping around the outsides. You are what you eat, that axiom is STILL true.
Also, have you read The Chemistry of Joy? It’s a great book about how different foods can affect your moods. Obviously, not all or much will apply if you’re not struggling with depression, etc. (and I’m not, not that there’s anything wrong with that a la Seinfeld), but I still found it fascinating on an intellectual, scientific, and yes, even a sort of self-helpy level.
If you’re an Obnoxious Food Douche, then so am I! And I’ve loving hearing about ALL the journeys you’re on…especially the Food and Fitness ones. SO inspiring. I love that you’re doing more cooking at home too. I try to do that as much as possible, which is hard considering I work 3-11:30pm. But it’s so much more satisfying to do it yourself.
Food, Inc. has been added to the Netflix. Can’t wait to watch it. I have a feeling it’ll kick MY Food Douchery into high gear. :)
I think that family dinner time is important regardless of what is being eaten.
Try a pair of Crocs for your cooking comfort. It’s very Mario Batalli-esk, but I bought the hubs a pair on clearance and tried them on…COMFY!!! Looking to aquire some for myself. They make great house shoes and come in fun colors & styles.
You rock and are very inspirational to everyone, not just women, on striving to be your best everyday. Thank you.
Welcome to my world! (and I mean that in the best possible way) :D
Probably the single biggest appliance that has saved my hide with cooking for the family is my new (used and found for $50 on craigslist) chest freezer. I find a recipe I like that freezes well (your bread, pasta, pizza crusts and stuffed peppers would all be great freezer items!) and then I pick a day when I have no one in the kitchen and I cook, like, 6 of the same recipe and freeze them in foil catering containers that I get from Cash & Carry.
It’s a great way to have healthy, organic, home-cooked meals even on the nights that I don’t want to cook.
Oh! And I was going to add that getting a CSA box always feels like an Iron Chef challenge. What can you make with this weird root vegetable (once you identify it and stop laughing at its grotesque phallic shape, of course)? Fun!!
With a 45 minute commute, I started partially cooking dinner in the morning and would finish it when we got home. Then I got into a rut of “quick” recipes. I missed cooking and playing in the kitchen so started hunting again. A few months ago, I stumbled upon Once a Month Cooking. I don’t have time to do a whole month at a time but on the weekends, I usually do have time to do at least a week, sometimes two, at a time.
I’ve also started cooking some of my own stuff and checking ingredients lists more carefully – looking for few ingredients, no high-fructose corn syrup (good luck!) and no words I can’t begin to pronounce.
Good luck to you on your quest as well!
Oh, oh, oh, I forgot our FAVORITE- pita bread. (I sub in lots of whole wheat flour, flax seed, wheat germ etc). This recipe is great, adaptable, and my kids LOVE seeing the pitas puff up. It’s here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
(We eat this with chicken, lettuce, any other veggies on hand, and Catherine Newmans’ “hummus among us”. (Actually, the kids just eat the bread. With MAYBE some cheese). Delish!
Oh that all looks so good! Never tried buying my groceries online before – will have to give it a go.
Wow, and you have been making AMBITIOUS meals. I make dinner every night, but during the week it’s usually something very simple. A book that helped me figure out how to make fast, healthy, delicious dinners is the Monday to Friday Cookbook by Michele Urvater. http://www.amazon.com/Monday-Friday-Cookbook-Michele-Urvater/dp/1563057484
Once a week (usually every Tuesday, a day I’m home with the kids), I make a list of the dinners for the week, write down the ingredients, and go to Trader Joe’s & our local market, Henry’s. The awesome thing about Trader Joe’s is that even their prepared foods have nothing scary in them. Every now and then I scan through the ingredients of the few prepared foods I get from them and I’m impressed, again. Oh, Trader Joe’s, I love you and your cute, friendly employees.
Anyway, great work. Glad you’re having fun feeding your family.
Truly inspiring. I am amazed by what you’re able to accomplish on any given day. And you’re right. When you take the time to cook real food it’s better for everyone. You and your husband are setting such a great example for your sons. I’m happy to see so many comments touching on the importance of local and organic foods. Every decision we make (even the tiny ones) make a big difference.
1. You’re making me hungry, and
2. I better not watch Food Inc. because I already cook pretty much everything from scratch but I’m pretty sure making homemade pasta would kill me. Or cause me to throw it angrily at the wall. Just because.
I’m about to start doing more of our cooking again too and can I say? Your pictures are making me DROOL. Seriously.
You are NOT an Obnoxious Food and Fitness Douche. You motivate me in ways that I have never been motivated before. You have no problem taking a hard look at your life and changing what you don’t like and I find that inspirational! Keep writing about what YOU are passionate about and if other people don’t like it, they don’t have to read!
Much love!
Did I just read you MAKE bread in top of everything else?!? How do you DO it? Weep.
Uh, yeah. I want to BE YOU.
try this granola – better than store-bought:
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/06/recipe_detail.html?id=6646
SO happy for you! :) I was lucky to be raised on “real food” and man, what a gift you’re giving your kiddos — not just now, but when the time comes for them to make their own menus. I don’t follow the good example set for me as often as I should, but it still makes a world of difference.
Looks great. I havemade friends with my slow cooker again. Our lives are crazy busy right now (working parents, kids in basketball, ballet and other clubs) Using the slow cooker really helps us stay away from the processed food for dinner, yet it makes the cooking process so much easier. I made this last night and it was a HUGE hit (and only took 15 minutes since I “baked” the potatoes in my crock pot!
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/baked-potato-eggs-10000000659302/
Don’t know if somebody already mentioned this, but read: “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan and “Food Matters” by Mark Bittman.
Our family really started cooking EVERYTHING from scratch when I found out my twins had very serious food allergies (911-type allergies). The enjoyment we’ve gotten out of really learning to cook and eating actual real food has been the silver lining to their allergies. I realized I became a food douche over xmas when my sister-in-law hosted. She served a Stouffer’s lasagna! With out-of-the-package garlic bread! Oy. I was mightily unimpressed. But then I saw that she had almost no dishes to wash….those were the days. Now we get our rocks off watching America’s Test Kitchen on PBS. How life changes.
Do you know what I appreciate about you? That when you decide to do something you do it ALL out, man. I am a pretty hard core dedicated person when I want to be but holy cow you blow most people out of the water with the hard core! Good job on the changes to the diet…
I have no time between the job, the kids and the house. I love the idea of home cooking everything and last year I made a concerted effort to change but then I started running and I realized something had to give. I still cook “homecooked” meals everyday but yes some of it is from pre made stuff. I figure if I use the whole wheat or organic parts of the recipes I am doing well.
I have read and watched these kinds of documentaries before and they made me crazy. OMG The Jungle? GAW. Fast Food Nation. Ummm, never eating out again. It goes on and on. I try to find a balance between freaking out and making good decisions for me and my family so that we are all happy.
Susan,
I just started reading “In Defense of Food” and HOO BOY is it way less preachy than so many others of those books.
I want to learn, people, NOT be condescended.
Michael Pollan seems to do a great job of that.
Ah, you are so West Coast with your ham and pineapple pizza. It made me smile. I miss seeing that as standard on a menu.
About a year and a half ago I decided to stop eating meat, and it forced me to really do a huge overhaul on how I buy and prepare our meals etc, and caused me to put so much more thought into preparing menus and meals. You’re right… it feels really good! I discovered how great it felt to cut up fresh veggies, use fresh herbs, cook things from scratch. It’s hard to find the time to do this every day after work obviously, so I’ve come up with a lot of quick, but healthy staples throughout the week and try to spend more time making something different on the weekends. Your pics all look delicious!! And your right Food Inc…. omg… seriously… scares the crap out of me! lol
homemade food=wonderful
I’ll second the link to http://www.smittenkitchen.com – never a bad recipe :-)
Have fun!
When I watched Food, Inc. I was also reading a book called The Unhealthy Truth. Between the two… I don’t know. It’s overwhelming, but I’m thinking of the small changes we can start with. It really is important.
Allow me to introduce the wonders of cooking healthy food at home while working…do you have a crockpot? If not, run out to Target or Bed Bath & Beyond and get one for $30-40. While making dinner when you get home is rewarding and yummy, some days you still want dinner to be ready when you get home. This is where the crockpot comes in, and no, this is not the stereotypical crockpot that your grandmother and/or mother had when you were growing up. There are a lot of misconceptions with crockpots these days (trust me, until 2 years ago, I was a skeptic…but then my sister got me hooked, and since then, 2 of my close girlfriends have gotten crockpots too–one of whom doesn’t even have the gas turned on in her apt because she DOESN’T COOK. Like, I’m not sure if she really and truly knows how to boil water, and I am not exaggerating. But she & my other friend looove crockpot dinner night at my place!)…there are so many yummy healthy meals out there–google them, or pick up a copy of “Fix it & Forget it, Light”…it is truly easy & wonderful to come home to dinner ready! You can’t leave the pasta recipes all day long (save those on the weekends when you only need about 2-3 hrs to cook them), but beef (roast & beef stew), pork (omgz pulled pork, you will never go back), chicken (”Super Easy Chicken” is actually a recipe I make on a regular basis)…11 hours on low baby. You can control your ingredients (healthy/organic, etc.), and have I mentioned how easy it is?! Ok, stepping down from soapbox…
Yay for you! I saw these photos yesterday in your flickr stream and was very excited for you. I love cooking and have actually missed it these past two weeks while moving into our new house. A girl can only eat so much take out. (An aside on your bread, check the date of expiration on your yeast) I’m very excited to try out your pizza crust recipe.
Eating at home with my family was something I loved growing up, and something I plan to do with my someday in the future children.Go you!
YAY, YAY, YAY, YAY!!!!!
I am an Obnoxious Food Douche. There, I said it.
And HOLY HELL YES: Food is so important socially, culturally, ritually… that it really does nourish us in so many ways. I love that you are writing about how you feel a loop has been closed – YES, YES, YES!!!
And there is no better thing than homemade bread. The smell, the first warm slice with (real!) butter melting into it…Oh, my!
If Food Inc. got you thinking – please, (PLEASE!) read Omnivore’s Dilemma. Michael Pollan is a smart, smart man. That book single handedly made me rethink what I ate. Food Inc., Fast Food Nation and various other books/movies followed, but Omnivore’s started it.
It all looks yummy, especially the pizza!
Another good book on this topic – Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. Another reason to love Jillian.
I made this same switch over last year and I’m proud to say we’re still going strong. Changing over to organic health foods is one of the best things you could possibly do for your family! My switch inspired me to become a Holistic Nutritionist (my certification is completed this summer!) It’s been an amazing eye-opening experience that has changed how I look at food (and farming/gardening/etc.) forever!
I’m the stay-at-home parent and cook everything from scratch. Seriously, I am in that fucking kitchen for _hours_ every day, chopping, stirring, scrubbing… I do it because I like to eat good food, and I want my kids to like real food, too. But damn it is a lot of work. If you can manage this while also working outside the home – you rock! Have fun with it!
I second the recommendation for Heidi Swanson’s wonderful website 101cookbooks.com. Her book is also great. Her site has totally changed the way I’ve been cooking. I love to cook, but my husband and I are huge junk/fast food lovers and the past year we’ve been really overdoing it, hence the 20 lbs I’ve gained. Egads. So a few weeks ago I went back to Heidi’s site not just to drool over her beautiful photography, but to GET STARTED on making a change. Her recipes have introduced us to grains and spices I’ve never heard of but that are actually available even in my small NC town. Her combination of flavors are complex and unique, yet her techniques simple and to the point. Every recipe is an adventure.
Wow! For someone who doesn’t cook much, you’re sure making some tasty looking cookbook cover worthy fare there!
We also just saw Food, Inc. and while I do most of my cooking from scratch, I was not buying organic and such. That movie made me so scared about the meat we’ve been eating. Seriously.
Someone above touched on the ritual of food prep – everything pre-made in the store, even the organic stuff, has been made by machines. No heart, no love, no RITUAL of making food for your family. The giving and the eating of a meal prepared from the heart, with love, for your family – well, corny maybe but the connections of life are formed during food prep and meals.
Oh, stop me.
I haven’t seen Food, Inc. yet, but I am reading “The Unhealthy Truth” by Robyn O’Brien (saw it mentioned on amalah.com). This book has changed me in a BIG way. I’m not even done with the book and we are buying almost totally organic now. I’m packing my son’s lunches for daycare instead of letting him eat there…sure, it’s more work, but now that I know what I know I can’t believe we’ve been eating this crap for so long. And why isn’t anyone DOING anything about it? Why are corporations taking the crap out of their food in other countries but not the US? I’m pissed, and I’m going organic. My husband and I are even talking about getting chickens. Heck yeah.
The movie that motivated my husband and me was “Processed People”. We’re not as die-hard as most of the people on there regarding meat and dairy – but we have changed our food and it has changed our lives. Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food” is a great book and I heard it runs along the lines of “Food, Inc.” which I’m excited to watch. I agree – cooking and food seems fun again.
It’s hysterical that Obnoxious Food Douche’s like you think you’ve invented the concept of cooking for your family. Oh wow! So revolutionary.
This is what people have been doing for centuries.
Hey Tina: It’s Obnoxious Food Douches—plural, not possessive. You’re welcome, and please do continue having a wonderful day.
Plural, not possessive. Snarf! :)
Tina: what the heck about this is obnoxious and/or douchey?
I can’t wait to try the Stuffed Pepper recipe. You continue to be incredibly motivating Linda….and seriously funny.
It’s cool, Tina. We are all aware that people have been cooking from scratch for quite some time now. This is Sundry’s personal blog detailing her life, LE DUH.
Sundry, the pictures look awesome! I’m sure it was yummy!!
Tina: The point is that there are people in the world that think cooking real food IS douchey and obnoxious. It’s those people that keep the Big Food Companies in business after all. If Linda can convert one of those people, and convince them to think about what they’re eating, then she IS revolutionary. And your holier-than-thou attitude about it is what turns those same people away.
On that note, VIVA LA REVOLUCION! I’ve found some great recipes on http://www.organicvalley.coop/recipes, and organictobe.org. Where I live it’s been really hard to find good organics – there isn’t a Trader Joes or Whole Foods in good ol’ Toledo, but Fresh Market is okay for some things – so I’m looking forward to moving back to “granola country” soon.
This is how I cook now and I’m realllllyyyyy hoping that I don’t have to let it go entirely once our baby boy is born in April.
Isn’t cooking fun?? My husband and I both enjoy cooking and we’re getting our 15 year old daughter involved too. It’s more fun as the kids get older and their tastes get more adventurous, lol.
After watching Food Inc. we’re also trying to choose more carefully, buy organic when we can, etc. It really does make a difference, both in how things taste and how we all feel.
I could just totally relate to everything you said in this entry, and the photos are fantastic! :)
I cried at the end of Food, Inc. Is this normal? :-p It just touched me so much!!!!
I cried a little at that movie, too. It has CHANGED my life and the way I eat!
Ooh, I’ll second ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ by Barbara Kingsolver? Great book.
On another note, I hope that’s an organic stick Tina has shoved up her ass.
Oh, I watched that documentary the other night after my sister in law recommended it to me and honestly, I had the same reaction as you! I’m not usually one to really get involved in things like this – I don’t have a major cause I stand up for (except breast cancer) nor have I ever really given it any thought. But my husband heard the movie in the background and actually got interested in it while I was watching it. Now there are certain brands we’re trying to avoid, if possible – and we’ve never been people to ’shun’ products or companies before – this really opens your eyes! (wow, I sound a bit crazed here!)
I’ve started taking a closer look at organic selections, seeing what I can make at home rather than buy pre-made, etc.
I’ve always loved to cook but I had fallen into a rut – my husband and I are each gone twice a night, leaving only three nights I had to worry about meals and those became so boring, quick, even a lot of fast food.
After seeing the documentary, it has kind of renewed my desire to start cooking at home more (as cheesy as that seems!).
I’m so glad somebody else had the same reaction to the movie I did. I’ve been passing on the name of it to several of my friends, but they all are refusing to watch it, thinking that I’m trying to turn them into vegetarians or to boycott national compaies, which is simply not the case, just trying to make them aware of what goes on behind the scenes of the manufacturers of products they are buying.
I work for a major national grocery chain so my efforts with my work friends may not take off, but I’m hoping that my non-work friends take note.
Thanks for posting the mention of that video on your site!
I hope you keep us posted on the recipes you’re trying out!
I must confess I do very little home cooking and buy a lot of take out, albeit healthy take out, like roasted free range chicken, sauces, bagged granola, and steamed veggies from the deli (shame on me for not even mustering up the few minutes to steam veggies! Now there’s something I could easily change).
I do excel at, and take pride in salad making, however, which is strange because making salads is time consuming (all the cleaning and chopping).
I admire all your home cooked meals up there and realize I am such a relentless hog when it comes to carbs, I could probably never make my own 10″ pizza without eating it all in one sitting. And I am hopeless with bread. And what usually goes on bread. So I keep my pantry largely carbless, with the exception of the odd binge now and then.
Funnily, years ago when I knew nothing about pasta (except that it tasted good), I believed it grew on trees. Now there’s an embarrassing admission.
Wow, those all look delicious! I’m particularly impressed with the homemade pasta – that always looked so difficult to me.
I really like the Cook’s Illustrated 30-minute cookbook. Unlike some other 30-minute cookbooks, all the recipes are delicious and fresh (and not prepackaged or “semi-homemade”) and 30 minutes is often all I have to give on a weeknight. But cooking for the family is fun and satisfying. I hope we hear more about this!
I’m in this boat too, becoming an Obnoxious Food Douche (singular). My biggest obstacle right now is convincing my husband. I still have Food, Inc from Netflix & the first chance I get, I’m going to have him watch it with me.
The homemade pasta recipe looks super easy! Do you know if that would translate into ravioli? I make delicious chicken and dried cranberry meatballs that I think would be a great ravioli filling: Dice your chicken breasts and dried cranberry, toss together with some thyme, chives, salt and pepper. I usually bake them and then smother them in an alfredo sauce (which you could easily lighten up by having a light hand with the butter and only using milk).
OK, so I’m a bit late on this but I had to comment. I am *so* renting Food, Inc. when I get the chance. My husband was laid off recently so he’s been doing the cooking for us. I had to recommend that you subscribe to Everyday Food Magazine because each month is chock-full of incredible & healthy recipes.
both of these books by Sandi Richard have been lifesavers for our family…. very very simple recipes, but the encouragement to organize has meant a lot less junk and takeout.
http://www.amazon.com/Sandi-Richard/e/B001JS1998/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
I’ve been an Obnoxious Food Douche for a couple years now, becoming more so. For me, it started with Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. We’re lucky enough to have a great farmer’s market here in Halifax, and I do most of my grocery shopping there now. I recently read Unhealthy Truth and found that eye-opening in some ways, as well.
Perhaps you can start a Food Douche’s site?
new blog for you: Food Douche. I would totally read.
I’ve been planning meals & shopping for a few years now and it works SO well. It takes time to plan, but it sure beats the last minute ‘foraging’ as you called it. It’s tough with both parents working and trying to find something everyone will eat, AND something generally healthy, AND something relatively easy. But sitting down as a family for a meal is something we try to do, at least a few nights a week.
Linda, these looks awesome and you have inspired me to start cooking again. You should check out Amanda Hesser’s(former NY times food critic) new website. She left the paper and started this with a friend. It is wonderful and right up your alley.
http://www.food52.com/cooks