I've been telling my sister, Ashley, that I would help her go grocery shopping for a while. Unfortunately, since we live on different coasts, everything I tried telling her with the mission of being helpful sounded more like a lecture, inevitably sending the message that she was going on a timely, expensive venture. What I wanted to convey to her most was this: I care about the short and long term health of my family; what nourishes her babies, our parents, and our siblings.
Food is a touchy subject; people love to taste and eat the things of familiarity and comfort. Ingredients are a generational tradition, and you can't tell Grandma that the Crisco she's been using for forty years in her pie crust is actually doing more bad than good (despite its perfectly flaky texture). I want to let everyone in on a little secret: I love sugar, I love fat, and I don't own a microwave. But, the truth is, one sugar is better than another; fat and protein, especially from animals, should be purchased, eaten, and prepared with care; and we should always remember that some canned and most processed food is about as nutritionally valuable as a cardboard box.
What I hope to do is change the dynamic of your grocery cart. Going to the grocery store is an event, and picking the best produce and talking to (and trusting) your butcher is a tradition that's quickly dissipating. Do you wish to be healthy, raise healthy children (if you choose to have them), live a long life, and still eat the things you love? The real question is, who doesn't? So, my dear friends and family, this is a guide full of tips especially for you. I will take you deep inside the truth of your grocery cart, your favorite products, and even find out what you can buy in your area that is most in harmony with nature. You will want organic produce when available, and you will want to eat meat from cows that enjoyed their fair share of time in sunlight; and I will tell you why it's more beneficial to do so. I will decode tricky terms like organic, farm raised, pastured, pasteurized, homogenized, grass-fed, all natural, and whatever else you find on your labels from food-marketing masterminds.
From this blog, you will also have the opportunity to look closely at restaurants in your area who take pride in their ingredients, menus, and preparation of the food you are eating. I will spotlight the stars of your city; channeling the restaurants for their history, the ideals they have about food, and, yes, the menu.
I will give occasional surveys, have contests, and ask that you please keep light of the subject matter; food is at the very basis of our existence. Let's eat.
