Live to Eat: Part 2 of 2

Although I certainly didn’t mean to wait almost two months before writing the second part of Live to Eat (here’s the first part, in case you missed it), it probably worked out for the best because now I’ve had some time to give the whole “local meat only” thing a test. (Also, apparently, we are coming up on a little-known, week-long celebration of meat called, appropriately, Meat Week. How’s that for me being timely and topical?)

I’m sure that, in addition to your jobs, and dealing with winter and other stresses, you’ve been thinking of me often and wondering whether I survived on only local meat (although, I guess I wouldn’t be writing this if I hadn’t survived, so that may not be the nail-biter I was going for). You probably spent some sleepless nights, wondering whether my experiment would have a big impact on the future diet of my family. It was, frankly, rude of me to keep you out of the loop for this long.

In a nutshell: In the past eight weeks I have eaten meat probably two to three times a week (down from at least four-five servings), and I’d estimate that at least 80% of that meat was purchased at a local farm and prepared by me in my own home. Considering the major holidays that were celebrated during this time I was, frankly, impressed with myself. I was also surprised by how easy it was.

To be clear, part of why the experiment was so easy was that I was not hardcore about it. I still cooked soups and pastas with chicken stock, and a couple of times I shared entrees which contained meat and just left the meat for David. One time, when friends were over, I made a warm beet and bacon salad and it looked so good there as no way I was going to pass it up (it was, by the way, really really good — let me know if you want the recipe). And, lastly, I even totally forgot my experiment several times; I’d be socializing and perhaps drinking some wine and, without even thinking, I’d pop some meat-filled appetizer into my mouth. Whoops!

Overall, though, I’d say I decreased my meat intake by about 60%. And since I do almost all the cooking around here, David didn’t have much choice but to come along for the ride. (He does, however, hold a lot of business meetings over lunch, so for all I know he could be tearing up a rack of lamb or a Cornish game hen on a regular basis. If he is, more power to him; I’m not one to foist my experiments on anyone else.)

So, to re-cap: Blah blah blah local, blah blah blah yay me. Who cares, right? I mean, yes, I do feel a sense of satisfaction when I think about what I am not ingesting. But my diet was really quite healthy to begin with. Where we have real problems is with the diet of a certain someone else who lives here. Hint: It’s not me, or David, and it’s someone whose height is still measured in inches. And it’s not a dog.

I’ve noticed a couple of things about parents, their kids, and their kids’ diets. First, parents do not like to talk about what their kids will or will not eat; it somehow seems like a personal failure if your child does not love raw broccoli on top of brown rice. And second, once you do get the parents talking, you have opened the floodgates and you will hear some funny and some disturbing stories, many of which will involve projectile vomiting, and all of which will make you feel better.

I’ll start the true confessions. Here’s the biggee: My daughter does not like ANY vegetables. None. Not even corn-on-the-cob, not even if I melt orange cheez-product over them, no, no, none. I used to be able to sneak some in there in a meatloaf, but now that she is four+ she will examine anything on her plate — anything that is not a chicken nugget, white rice, or fruit — and point at the tiniest speak of green and say “What is THAT?” And once she has asked that question, it is over. Unless, of course, you are from that school that thinks kids should not be allowed to leave the table until they’ve eaten all the veggies. Insert projectile vomiting story here.

To make matters worse, the list of things that she will eat is constantly being edited. Example: Until recently, she would happily eat a hard-boiled egg (all “yellow part” had to be removed) but then, one day, she decided that didn’t like eggs, either. It is, conversely, rare for an item to be added to the list. This girl is stubborn like a mule (neither David nor I can figure out how that happened) and even my desperate pleas, like “ALL KIDS LIKE CORN ON THE COB!” are useless.

The point is, my daughter will not be joining the local meat experiment any time soon. We already have so many dietary constraints that I’m just happy I was able to switch her from the gross, dino-shaped nuggets to Bell and Evans. Seriously, a small triumph.

And that’s what were all about over here. The small triumphs.

[I'd love to hear about what you or your kids are eating or not eating. And, ya know, while I enjoy some parenting advice from time to time, I'm not so into it when it comes to the topic of food, since I really feel like I've tried everything and I'm doing the best I can -- and, also, that I was the same way at her age and it will all work out fine in the end -- so, if you would, please save the "Dora popsicle=child abuse" rants for one of those Moms-Being-Mean-to-Each-Other forums. There's plenty of them out there.]

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Ten Good Things

Note: First thing this morning I stated that I would update my blog today. Cut to end of day: It’s New Year’s Eve, I have 45 minutes until it’s time to leave for dinner and I have not showered or changed…so, it looks like Part 2 of Live to Eat, which I was intending to write today,  will have to wait for another day (another life?) when I have more time.

For now, I will take the suggestion of my friend-and-neighbor, Jonathan Sherwood, and whip together a Top Ten list. Because anyone who has ever had a writing assignment knows that it requires way less thought to write a list. And that is good news because as I write this there is a dog trying to play a game with me, and a four-year-old having a full-blown conversation with me, despite the fact that I’ve plopped her in front of Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, her new fave. So without further ado, I present to you…

Ten Good Things from 2009

Was 2009 a flawless year? HA! Not by a long shot. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, as I’m sure is the case with many of you – things that never get posted to Facebook or Twitter. As we get older, life gets more difficult, fraught with losses too painful for words and challenges we never knew existed. But in a way, that’s what made me write this, as a reminder of all the excellent memories and accomplishments from 2009. It could also be called Ten Things for Which I Am Really Grateful. In no particular order:

1) Trip

We had an amazing trip to California in August. We visited the north and south, spent time reconnecting with friends we hadn’t seen in years, went boogey-boarding, swam, ate good food, and relaxed. It was truly one of the best trips of my life.

2) Escape

Last February, we spent the entire month in FL and, despite the utter weirdness of that entire state, it was spectacular to escape the cold and snow and swim in the perfectly heated pool every day. Lucy the bulldog was with us, and we spent lots of time with my parents. The drives down and back were actually fun, and we saw family along the way, as well as cities like Savannah and Charleston. A total adventure.

3) Garden

While in FL, David and I both read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and decided to plant a garden. In the end, David did 90% of the work but I greatly enjoyed the fresh produce all summer and into the fall. It changed the way we think about food and we are already planning next summer’s garden (golden beets, anyone?).

4) Tennis

A silly one, perhaps, but fun nonetheless — David and I separately started playing tennis earlier this year (me with my parents, and David with his friend Jeff) and it’s turned out to be a fun hobby that we can also do together. I got a sweet new stick for Christmas (that’s a racquet, if you’re not up on the lingo) and we joined an indoor club. We’ve already played a few times this month and while the suckage level is quite high at this point, it’s something I look forward to continuing in 2010.

5) Cooking

Another excellent new hobby of mine! It’s funny, because, historically, I’d always hated cooking — I mean, just the list of ingredients would make my back start to spasm, never mind all that chop, chop, chopping. These days, I am on a cooking and baking tear. I’m constantly looking for new recipes and learning new things about combinations and techniques. And the pay-off comes in numerous ways: we eat better, we save money, and I have fun!

7) Izzy

On a sad note, 2009 was the year I lost my Lucy, and I still miss her all the time. I knew I could never replace Lucy, but aside from missing her specifically, I also found that after about six months I also just missed having a dog. What can I say — I just love having a four-legged friend here, lazing around and making me laugh. And despite all my claims that “my next dog will just be a pet: no sleeping on the furniture, no expensive food, no falling in love ” (me with it, that is), along came Izzy with the ridiculous spot over her eye and I was left powerless. She can be a naughty puppy for sure, but ask anyone who has met her: The Izzer is gentle and mellow and a great addition to the family.

8) Work

Oh, wait — you didn’t think I meant ME and work, did you?! Hahaha: NO. I am in early retirement. I meant David. He’s had some great professional success this year, well deserved after all his years in the trenches. He is currently the founder and CEO of his new venture, Performable, and I am really happy for him.

9) Milestones

Oh, uhm, I turned 40 this year — I guess it’s debatable whether that’s a good thing, but I think we get to choose so I’m going to say YES. David and I also had our ten-year wedding anniversary and that one is more black-and-white. (It’s good.) In addition, Caralena turned four this year and it is such a fun age. The thing about these milestones is that they make you think, about what you want and what you have and I can never think about any of that stuff without coming to the same conclusion: Man, I am lucky.

10) Friends

People can talk all they want about how FB is lame, and silly “older” people like me have taken it over to talk about our lame lives blah blah blah. I say, FB is as good as the friends you have who also use it. I have had a blast on FB this year, reconnecting with “long-lost” friends from high school and college and NYC, and receiving great recommendations on books, recipes, Christmas gifts and way more. I’ve seen new babies, heard happy and sad news, and bantered with people as if we hadn’t been out of touch for 10-20 years, and I’ve loved all of it. I look forward to hearing more from all of you soon.

Happy New Year!

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