The Conscientious Kitchen

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Hungry girl

So I don't always make the best food choices when I'm hungry. Given a choice between waiting the 20 minutes for rice to cook and the 1 minute it takes to order my Taco Bell bean burrito, I will choose the tube of beans 9 times out of 10. Convenience food is just too damn convenient. Who has the time or inclination to prepare a healthy meal every day? Especially when the fast food option is so cheap and accessible? I'm 20 years old, but I know better. I know I should know what goes into my food. I should know where my food comes from. I know I should know what effects it could have on my long term health. I know better, and I think most of us do. I know my mom knew better, but I still ate McDonald's breakfasts five days a week growing up. The thing is, knowing better isn't convenient. Sometimes, you just want to eat without contextualizing or rationalizing. So sometimes, you eat a $.99 burrito. Sometimes you feed your kid McDonald's pancakes complete with syrup cups and little sausage hockey pucks. I don't know how I feel about that. Though I do sort of miss the ability to eat those little syrup drenched hotcakes without feelings the cold grip of guilt moments after putting my fork down. (Also, those hashbrowns were killer.)

[conscientiouskitchen]

Farmville

I never realized how lucky I was to grow up in a rural area. My childhood home was directly adjacent to a big field. Every year, right around this time, the tractors would appear and plow over the ground which had been frozen solid for months. That first waft of soil-rich air, that first growl of the tractor, always put me in the mood for spring. Of course, within a few weeks the novelty would wear off. The smell of soil and fertilizer would become sickening, the constant sound of farm equipment and farm hands grating, and the daytime bustle of the field annoying. And yet, now I remember the smell of sun-baked soil cooling at twilight; the thrill of sneaking into the field at sundown to snatch a few ears of corn or fresh off the vine tomatoes. Those are memories are all too rare in a world where most kids only interact with food cellophane wrapped in the grocery store. (I write this while eating a salad someone else prepared for me, with vegetables shipped in a truck from god knows where. Irony.)

[conscientiouskitchen]

I had an interesting week in food that I thought I would share.

[conscientiouskitchen]

To read list

Michael Moss, the reporter whose Pulitzer prize winning reporting in 2009 popularized the term "pink-slime," has released a new book which has flown to the top of my to-read list. "Pink-slime"  refers to the disgusting meat byproduct used by many chain fast-food restaurants. While it once was secretly included in beef patties across the country, Moss's expose caused enough public outcry to cause many chains to promise to ban the slime from their products. Moss's new book, "Sugar Salt Fat" explores the more subtle ways food companies have screwed consumers in recent decades. Consuming sugar, salt, and fat has been proven in scientific trials to activate the pleasure centers in the brain. The book explores how food companies have intentionally manipulated the contents of their products to maximize their addictive power. Essentially, the book tells us what we already know: That processed foods which taste good are bad for us. But Moss's thorough reporting and exhaustive research promise to deliver this message with a more powerful punch.

[conscientiouskitchen]

Falling short

I do my best to live in a way that is consistent with my values. I recycle. I don't buy plastic water bottles. I try to by organic/free trade when possible. I avoid companies with dangerous or irresponsible environmental practices. I drive a tiny, fuel efficient car despite the fact that my 6'1" frame is more than a little condensed in said vehicle. And yet, and yet... Next week I am flying cross country for a few days. I am traveling nearly three thousand miles to attend a conference. The fuel used to get me from point A to point B and back again is surely more than the sum total of my (admittedly weak) efforts and conservation. Hello hypocrisy!

[conscientiouskitchen]

Numbers can be terrifying. Our skewed perception of reality is both shocking and dangerous.

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Food waste

Watched a interesting TED Talk the other day about food waste and freeganism.  A guy named Tristam Stuart talked about how much food we throw away on a daily basis, not because it is inedible, but because it is unappealing. Oddly shaped apples, bananas with brown spots, day old bread, restaurant leftovers, all tossed in the garbage because retailers can't sell them at their usual cost. Our priorities seem dangerously out of synch with reality. I always thought freeganism sounded ridiculous, but maybe you need to make a bold statement to bring the harsh realities of global food waste to light.

[conscientiouskitchen]

Did a little project on a subject which has been on my mind recently. I present a hodge-podge of information gleaned from months of random Google searches.

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Home gardening

Something about the coming spring has me thinking about starting my own home garden this year. As a vegetarian, growing my own vegetables would seriously cut down my grocery bill. And I can't help but think it would be beneficial to work for my food in a real, direct way for the first time. So, shall I go organic or make this process as cheap as possible? Compost? What to grow and when to do it? So much to learn! Time to get down in the dirt and do some reading before spring hits. (Update: I went with the composting. Not going to lie, the smell of decaying plant matter has taken a bit of getting used to. However, the soil in my garden is so rich and dark it would make miracle grow weep for jealously. So I think I'm on the right track here.)

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Stumbled across this website the other day, and what a wonderful website it is! For anyone on a budget, this site is a top-notch resource when it comes to saving without scrimping, and making do without depriving yourself. The "98 Cheap and Easy Foods to Make for Under $5" was a particularly useful assemblage of recipe ideas, from the common sense (peanut-butter and jelly) to the unexpected (goulash, anyone?). Some of the recipes do seem a little out there and not especially budget conscious. The Pear, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Salad, the Pesto, Pear, and Swiss Sandwich on Wheat Toast, and the Grilled Salmon with Lemon and Asparagus Spears all seem like items on a bistro menu more than money saving recipes, but if you can make it work on your budget, why not?  If nothing else, this blog offers some good ideas and inspiration pieces for your own money saving endeavors.

[conscientiouskitchen]

Thinking about Newark mayor Cory Booker's week of living on food stamps this past December, can't help but wonder how many people would voluntarily live on less than thirty dollars a week for their food budget. Tell me again how these people are "playing the system." Tell me again how the family of four, receiving the very minimum amount of government assistance required to survive is taking advantage. Tell me again that giving someone in dire straights the means to feed themselves and their family is a waste of YOUR money. Tell me again. Actually, just shut-up. I've heard it all before. Rant over.