Thinking About Food

Kait

I also like the Fatfreevegan blog. It’s really helpful because even though as a vegan I eat all plant stuff, I also tend to get into the habit of cooking with with too much oil or using a lot of processed vegan margarine in dishes. I agree with the thought that “eating clean” and being vegan/vegetarian aren’t always synonymous. My sister loves this Dani Spies blog:

http://www.danispies.com/recipes/
it seems like it may be helpful for a novice healthy cook.

I love my Veganomicon cookbook: http://www.theppk.com/nomicon.html
It’s my most used vegan cookbook- even though I have like, 15 on my shelf!

Also, I would be lost without my grain cooker and am toying with the idea of buying a (new, improved, safer) pressure cooker for homemade beans and quick soup. One step at a time:) Good luck!

Tiffany

Hi Nicole, just found your blog and I love it. We are also very interested in passing on this food revolution, yeah! I’ve always been interested in the origins of our food, but since having a child, I’m quite obsessed with what goes into her tiny little, growing, bubbly body. The first step, is getting people to actually notice that somewhere along the way our ‘food’ turned into a ‘product’. Aye. That has to happen in multiple venues to reach all types of folks. Check out 2010-love.com: just our way of trying to get the word out about food and all things that need to get a little better in the world. 10% of our t-shirt proceeds go to Slow Food. Nice work on keeping the discussion going. Cheers!

Megan

We started trying to eat more real food in the past year. The two books that made the biggest impact for me were Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (which includes tons and tons of recipes!) and Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. As I am currently the mother of a 10 month old little girl, the Nina Planck book was especially helpful. It does a great job of talking about breastfeeding as well as what foods to introduce to your baby. We’ve been following what she’s doing and our little girl loves it. Good luck with everything. Oh! And a couple blogs to check out:

http://kellythekitchenkop.com/

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/

Both blogs have been incredibly helpful in dealing with how completely overwhelming it can be to try to feed your family real food.

jane

There is currently a farm-to-school initiative in Oak Park and the Chicagoland are—“Seven Generations Ahead.”
http://www.farmtoschool.org/state-home.php?id=35

So Eleanor might be in luck! :)

Nat

Nicole, congrats on making such a great choice for yourself and family. I did the same thing for my family after having my baby. And let me tell you it was not easy. To top that, we went no potatoes-rice-pasta or any other kind of grain. Just veggies, lots of poultry and fish, red meat once a week, more veggies, fruits, and lots of water. It was harder to come up with recipes for dinner that was filling (because eat-less “diets” are not for us) than to stay away from bread :) But 2 months down the road we feel a lot better/healthier, we have survived the initial withdrawal and even lost a few pounds in the process. And actually don’t crave any of that stuff at all. It has been a very rewarding experience for us, as we have habitually failed every other “diet” out there. And this way we were never really hungry as we ate as much as we wanted of what we could. oh, and we still drink coffee every day and no longer feel guilty or sick eating desert.
I’m not sure if this is going to be helpful to you. Just to say that a lifestyle change is so much more rewarding than any “diet”. I hate that word. And we have seen amazing results in terms of energy levels.
So, good luck with this great journey. Don’t get upset at small set-backs, and have fun! :)

Marie

So… when is the post on the layout of your new veggie and herb garden coming? ;)

Seriously though, growing some of your own food is one of life’s chief pleasures, especially with kids. There is nothing like a summer picnic with fresh mozzarella sandwiches drizzled with olive oil and filled with tomatoes and basil you grew yourself… and maybe a homegrown watermelon afterward.

If you do ever plant a little garden, tomatoes, herbs, and vine type things are easy to grow from seed in most conditions and produce a lot (think cucumbers, melons, squash)… nasturtiums are also a pretty (and yummy) addition to salads, and they grow really well in shade. And are hard to kill! ;p

JRM

Another thing that you can do, along the same movement, is reducing your acquisition/consumption of everything in general.

Tracy

you might be into Jamie’s book Family Dinners

we love it at my house and it’s full of good/hearty meals.

http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Dinners-Essential-Family-Cookbook/dp/1401301940

Elizabeth H.

Haven’t read all the responses, but if you liked In Defense so well, you HAVE to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It’s a must. I grow most of my own stuff and our family raises our own meat, but none of this happened overnight. Small steps are best when making these kinds of changes.

Bridget B.

have you heard of this site? http://brokeassgourmet.com/

their recipe’s are wonderfully simple and healthy, plus they have so many tasty ideas that i would never have come up with on my own.

the best part is the meals are intentionally made from inexpensive items and proportioned for two people. love them!