Changing my way of thinking about food.

[Early Bird]

I recently checked out a library book: Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.

I meant to use it as a world-cultures intro for my 9-yr-old.

Instead, it's making me re-think my family's cooking and eating. And, of course, budget.

It shows pictures of families in about 25 different countries, and everything the family would eat for the week. It was eye-opening.

Here's an NPR review, with some good pictures from the book: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=5005952

And it made me resolve

* to not be so wasteful.
* to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our diet.

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You might want to see if your library has it.

[Nada.Leona]

Sorry, but here I go.

The thing that baffles me is the amount of meat consumed by North Americans. I'm vegan, so I don't eat meat of course, but I cook it for my guests.

Our daily recommended amount is 2 to 3 servings, and a serving is the size and thickness of a deck of playing cards, or about the size of your palm. Gotta tell you, that 12 oz. T-bone that's taking up the majority of your dinner table is NOT the size of a pack of cards, even after you take out the bone and cut off the grissle. It just astounds me.

Another thing that is really surprising is the amount of pastas and rices we eat. The carbs cover at least half of our plates, when really they should cover no more than 1/3 of the plate, and really, they should only cover 1/4.

The whole world would benefit considerably if we all made the concious decision to cover half our plates with fruits and vegetables.

Ok, I'll get down now. Sorry for the rant.

[Vannie]

This is very interesting. Just a quickie comment concerning the family in Germany and the family in USA. I am wondering if $70 is about average for weekly beverages for most families where there is a little more money to spend? It seems like a lot to me, but I drink mostly tap water and OJ.

I will be getting this book from the library would love to read about the other families

[homesteadmamma]

I just picked this book up a couple days ago from the library. I'm working at finishing off another book and then I'll start reading it.

[halloweenfreak]

ahhh but what about those of us who are allergic to fruits and veggies? i tried to go meatless once, i found myself very limited and very hungry.

[canadian gardener]

I am another one.

I'm allergic to all legumes. I face the difficult choice of eating animal protein (and btw I'm mildly allergic to milk and eggs, cashews and I have to be careful not to overdo nuts such as almonds or walnuts)

or not living at all.

I got my allergy by overdoing legumes, in an attempt to go vegetarian with a vegan emphasis since I love animals and am concerned about the planet's resources.

Forgot that along with my well meant desire to eat a more "sustainable" diet, that my ancestors all ate meat and came from cold climates

and what is more telling-- I have allergies and constant exposure to any one protein

WILL POP ME INTO A SENSITIVITY TO THAT PROTEIN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.

I began suffering severe fatigue, but chalked it up to the move, and to stress etc, and while those were a factor, what was interesting was that I tried to treat that

by going more vegan and got worse and worse.

My joints got involved, the fatigue was so bad I could only do 5 minutes of anything before needing 15 to 20 minutes of rest, I had memory problems, the brain fog was terrible.

When I got to the point that the arthritis was preventing me from vacuuming even in my 5 minute bursts, and I couldn't hold a trowel to garden I began to pray and ask God to give me some direction.

I'd tried every naturopathic trick in my books (and I have an extensive knowledge of that) along with homeopathic remedies (I'm good at that too) and several herbals.

After that prayer I felt as if God asked me the question I always ask a person with unexplained allergic symptoms

WHAT ARE YOU CONSUMING THE MOST OF IN A DAY, EVERY DAY???

Bingo, LEGUMES

soy and tofu and TVP
peanuts
lentils
beans of all kinds
green beans and peas
EVEN things like RED CLOVER TEA are LEGUMES!!!!

And about this time my thyroid suddenly swelled up and became painful. I had some type of auto immune thyroiditis.

I immediately quit legumes and within 6 weeks the joints were better, the fatigue started to go away (not all though) and most of the brain fog started lifting.

I found out that vegetarian diets are low in an amino acid called CARNITINE (found in animal flesh) and that SOME PEOPLE are not able to get along well without this amino acid-- it is vitally involved in energy production within your body cells even though it's not considered one of the essential amino acids. No surprise then that fatigue was one of the long slowly increasing problems for me, since carnitine is stored in the body and takes a few years to deplete.

Some people and I think I am one, require regular amounts of carnitine in order to stay healthy while others bodies don't seem to need it as much and can stay healthy and energetic on a vegetarian diet for a lifetime.

BUT NOT ALL OF US ARE THE SAME.

It took another 2 years, during which I was constantly battling with my new thyroid problem.

One of the NASTIEST things I found out was this:

SOY PRODUCTS MAY CAUSE AUTO IMMUNE THYROID DISEASE!

(along with the increase in soy consumption, there is a nasty increase in thyroid disease, especially in peri menopausal women who are being encouraged to eat more soy in a "natural" approach to menopause)

Oh isn't THAT fun to find out, when you've been listening to all the soy propaganda that says it's good for menopause (and leaves out the risk factor of developing thryoiditis!)

I was angry at that point, I've since forgiven the well meaning people who like me back then, are just as ignorant about soy and it's dangers. And the carnitine problem.

It shouldn't still be happening, but it is, and books that claim to be well researched should follow good medical practice which is to inform the consumer of possible dangers whether it's western medicine or alternative.

However in the rush to make the planet vegetarian, some of those visionaries leading the charge, people who write these books, don't take the time to even consider that one man's meat may well be another man's poison.

After the dust settled, I have regained much, but not all of my strength and stamina and my immune system has more or less settled down.

But some damage is permanent. I am on thyroid pills for the rest of my life. AND it may have contributed to the worsening of my fibroids which led to a total hysterectomy, since soy may have indirectly helped that process along by inflaming my thyroid which made my particular 2 conditions --endometriosis, and fibroids-- way worse.

So now along with synthetic thyroid, I am on an estrogen patch, and while I'm very grateful for the health they brought, I would have been more grateful to not have the problems that bad in the first place.

Because I read that book and others, and thought it was safer and healthier I tried to go vegetarian, and was moving in a vegan direction.

Sadly I found out that it permanently harmed me.

Buyer PLEASE beware.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

[Early Bird]

Just wanted to say that it's good to have heard your stories. I hadn't heard about people with strong fruit/veggie allergies. That would be difficult.

But my typical diet: "Here, kids! Grab a chicken leg!" as we rush to activity #12 (for the week) isn't ideal. We often grab what's handy, instead of what's healthy. And high-fat, highly-processed foods are often what's handy.

The typical AMERICAN diet is even worse! I know one mom who often stops at MORE THAN ONE fast food restaurant for supper. "Well, see, Teddy doesn't like Taco Bell; and Joey doesn't like McDonald's and Susie wants a Whopper....."

My family's diet sure could use more fruits and veg. And even more legumes!

So could most people I know.

I've got houseguests coming this week, so my new resolve is getting put on hold while I feed them.

But, after that, there WILL be spinach on the table .... sometimes! And the kids will learn to eat squash!

[halloweenfreak]

im suppose to carry an epipen with me just in case, but i dont know my way around oklahoma city well enough to go get one. why i cant get it around here beats me, but anyway....
if i eat fruits and veggies it starts with itchy ears and itchy lips and then it closes off my throat. darn it, cuz i love fruit! i have to take a handful of vitamins a day to make up for it and if i skip a day i sure can tell it. (the potassium mostly, because my legs and feet will stay cramped all day.)

[canadian gardener]

get the epi pen any which way you can you need it.

My cousin has similar allergies to me, hers are way worse, she has the anaphylaxis reaction to legumes and she does carry that epi pen.

She can't eat in restaurants any more, she is allergic to the sulphates and sulphites as well, and soy is in stuff that even sulphites aren't nowadays.

EB I think it's a great idea to be adding more fruits and veggies and yes, replacing some meat meals with soy or bean products.

If you aren't dealing with allergies, or have a tendency to develop them, replacing some meat meals with beans is a GREAT thing.

Drops cholesterol, adds fibre, low fat, full of minerals and vitamins, what's not to like if you are able to do it.

I really miss the good Nava Atlas bean recipes I used to make.

I really wish I'd been more moderate, maybe I could still tolerate legumes on a once a week basis, and that would have been the best of all.

Check out Nava's recipes, she writes for the Vegetarian Times, and she has a website with a lot of the best ones in there, and Molly Katzen of the Moosewood books is another excellent vegetarian cookbook author whose recipes always turn out and taste terrific.

Easy too!

EAT SOME FOR ME!!!!!

[Valerie in WA]

I read that book last month - well I didn't read a lot. I looked at pictures and read parts that interested me. As has been said, it was quite eye-opening.

I think my family is fairly modest with meat products (although we do consume a fair amount of egg, cheese & milk), but the thing that really 'popped' to me was processed foods vs those found close to their natural state. I think it was a family in Latin America: their food looked about the same as it does when you harvest it - and little or no packaging! And one of the Asian had TONS of vegetables, beautiful orange carrots, with bright green tops, and many other beautiful bits of produce - again with very little packaging.

The American family had packages from fast food restaurants, boxes of cereal (which may be about as far from nature as one can get - depending of course on the brand in question - I mean like what I refer to as Sugar Sh*ts), packages of this that and the other. Very little food resembled its natural state, and that which did was animal flesh. We as a culture even adulterate that: how far is a hot dog from it's natural state?

Nada is right about how our plates should be portioned. I'm pleased to say that my dh's diabetic education actually indluded that little recipe: 1/2 fruit/vegetable, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starchy carbohydrate (grains for most of us - but some differences for the diabetic) - not that he is yet following it, but at least they provided the information.

If we ate like that, I think our nation's obesity epidemic would be reversed. If one fills up on that much low calorie fiber (the fruits & vegetables), there just isn't a whole lot of room left for junk.

I've also found that when I consume certain products (those heavy in MSG - like certain potato chips that I love so much), I get a hung-over feeling. Hmm...come to think of it, I've got a bag of those in the kitchen right now - need to back off on those again.

Good discussion!

[foxxyroxie]

Well, I had a very eye-opening experience this month. I met a penpal that I met online. He lives in Maryland but was born and raised in Trinidad, West Indies. I spent two months researching and two weeks experiencing Trinidad/Caribbean/Indian food. What an eye opener. I realized that we eat way too much meat and we as Americans are much more picky about our meat too. We pick a few animals and pick a few choice pieces of that animal and the rest goes to 'waste'. They eat chicken, duck, beef, fish and goat. They also seek other alternatives to meat like split peas and bean/peas. I ate curried chicken, lentils, duck, curried chickpeas and potatoes (very good), curried goat on roti (a form of Indian bread similar to a tortilla), cow heel soup (tasted a lot like stew with a thick broth and veggies like carrots and green peas).
This experience has made me much more aware of how much meat we really eat. Personally I was very satisfied with the chicken, chickpeas, lentils and rice and give me some veggies and I'm a happy camper. I've been 3 weeks without pork (he doesn't eat pork either) or beef (other than the cow heel soup) and really haven't missed it. Roomies had steaks tonite and really they didn't look or smell good! I had a baked potato and leftover pintos from turkey tacos yesterday. The only thing I really miss is the pork, but it's made more aware of the turkey ham and sausage alternatives.
So for lent, I am giving up the beef and pork....and we'll see if I can go past that. LOL.

[i.m.cheap]

Wow! I can't believe how much the German family and the American family spend on beverages! I know our family (mainly DH) drinks alot of milk, but mostly we drink water. Here is a list of beverages we consume in a week:

2-3 gallons of milk, cost - $5-8
5 gallons of Culligan water (we refill our own jugs at the store, cost 39¢ a gallon, so cost for water is about $2.00
one half gallon of orange juice (I usually buy whatever brand is on sale, and use a coupon when ever possible) cost about $1.50
1 small can of ground coffee $2.00

So our cost for beverages is around $13 a week. We spend less than that on meat. We have meat two or three times a week, usually chicken breast, tuna, or salmon. I spend maybe $10 at most on meat in a week.

As far as fast food, or restaurant food, we just don't do that. We eat at a restaurant or fast food place maybe two or three times a YEAR. We don't get pizza delivered, either. I do stock up on DiGiorno frozen cheese pizzas when I can get them for about two dollars each by combing sales and coupons. That is our "treat" when I don't feel like cooking.

[canadian gardener]

Originally posted by foxxyroxie
We pick a few animals and pick a few choice pieces of that animal and the rest goes to 'waste'.

This is something that bothers me. I was brought up to eat kidney, liver, tongue, heart, tails. All it takes is knowing how to cook it.

Most of country Canada and Europe knows this automatically without even thinking.

Steak and Kidney pie
Tongue
Osso Bucco
Pigs feet
head cheese
liver and onions
tripe
sweetbreads
oxtail soup

the list goes on and on. But when someone with ethnic eating patterns mentions it to the standard city dweller from the States and a lot in Canada too

the automatic response is EWWWWWWWW!!!! Or complete astonishment, or curiosity as to what on earth IS that food.

I honestly think that is part of the problem. All that is needed is a little rural education.

These foods are cheap, tasty and really good for a person and use up every little useable bit of the animal,

instead of killing another one.

When my family goes hunting and this is how I was brought up, and how most native kids and rural Canada was brought up,

you don't waste part of the animal. it dishonours the animal you had to kill for food.

That is cruelty and waste because then you have to hunt again sooner than later, so you use it up, all of it that can be used up,

and we were brought up that you don't be like the trophy hunters that come up to Canada for "big game" and take a head and leave the rest to rot in the bush.

You should HEAR what is said about these kinds of "hunters" and their wastefulness by the natives and locals who could feed a whole family for weeks or months on what gets left behind.

it is SHOCKING.

Most of the rest of the world doesn't eat vegetarian all the time, they use meat as a condiment, as a vitamin supplement so to speak WHEN THEY CAN GET IT

but look at how they use it.

They value it, treat it as a valued commodity, and animal parts that America and part of Canada turns their nose up at, are treasured as the best parts.

When they get meat, they use it, and in the meanwhile they eat an ethnic diet of many fibre rich, vitamin and mineral rich foods that do contain incomplete proteins which combine over a weeks diet to form a good if sparse diet.

[canadian gardener]

and that is another point. Not everyone lives in a climate where food crops grow. So eating locally according to local native food patterns in my country means eating meat.

Beans don't ripen to the point of shelling and drying in most of Canada barring a temperate strip along the southern border.

Grains grow a little further north than legumes, but again, it's a small strip, an arable border.

The further north the less likely you will grow food crops.

Very few of the Innuit, or Canadian Indian tribes ate food crops, most subsisted on meat and fish with a few local vegetables or fruits that were gathered and dried in season.

(and the local stuff is sometimes very bitter or strange tasting as anyone who has eaten kinickkinick berries will tell you)

People who live on perma frost and muskeg are hunters by necessity.

This is a fact of life.

Nowadays we have food that is trucked all over the globe so you can have California veggies and fruit in the Yukon, but when I was a little girl, canned veggies and fruits were the norm and before that you lived on game.

My father grew up on a ranch where if you grew it in the short northern summer and canned it, you could eat it. So they pickled things, made sauerkraut, salted veggies, canned veggies and bought staples such as sugar and flour at the store

but the staple in their diet was game animals caught and eaten year round.

People like my dad grew up with the knowledge that you didn't kill the females of the deer or moose, you killed males, and you killed carefully much like the wolves who cull the weaker members.

I think it's a very different respect for the animal than say a vegetarian or a vegan have, but it's still the same in one way, you don't kill indiscriminately and only when you have to.

It is a fact of life now that due to cheap (relative) oil we can truck these non native foods all round the globe.

So an Innuit (eskimo) could theoretically eat a vegetarian diet, but should the supply of oil be cut off

we will all be back to eating local food.

And that brings up another point. In populations whose native foods are on the 2 extremes, very meat based or almost complete vegetarians, do they do well in terms of health, when they eat differently./

I don't think so. There is considerable evidence in the naturopathic community that eating the diet of your ancestors often cures some problems you pick up when you try to eat like someone elses culture eats.

So an Innuit eating like a southern Italian may run into big trouble, and a Spaniard who persists in eating like Innuit will have big problems.

I don't know that there is one size fits all diets for the whole human race.

[canadian gardener]

Which is why thinking about it, reading books that challenge our views are a great start even if they aren't the whole answer.

which brings us full circle back to the book Early Bird brought up. It's a great challenge to move us out of the American consumer driven mindset about food.

But in answering that challenge we need to take into account the different climates and ancestral food patterns that people have inherited.