Militant Nutrition

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Some gooder stuff

A psychic once told me that I starved to death in a past life in 1000 BCE China. So that’s gotta be the root of my obsession with food, right? Anyhoo, in the aftermath of our collective health scares, we’re going all OCD on our eating habits. The new plan: eat less meat and more fish; up the daily fiber; buy as much local and organic food as possible; eat low glycemic index/load foods; reduce fat & salt; and eliminate processed foods. In America, and maybe especially in the farm-belt state of South Dakota, this is like going back to hunter-gather mode—in the Sahara. We may eventually resort to a diet of only free-range peacock, rocks, and filtered water, though I’m highly suspicious of filtered water…

Jada's post-hedgehog-attack nap

In the past week’s effort to get on a better dietary path, we’ve been to four regular grocers, a health food store, and three Asian markets. Our fridge is jammed full of organic produce, cooked black eyed peas (that I now put in everything), a new batch of quinoa/bulgher tabhouli (with black eyed peas), and unhomogenized organic Iowa milk. The freezer’s stocked with wild-caught salmon and tuna, and free-range, grass-fed, local organic chicken, lamb, and venison (though the venison might be corn-fed, too). We’re scouring labels for any sign of corn-based products, which we’re also trying to eliminate (check here for the staggering list: http://www.livecornfree.com/2010/04/ingredients-derived-from-corn-what-to.html). And I’m now on a subscription plan to get 5 lbs. of Café Altura water-processed, organic Italian roast decaf beans delivered to my door every two months.

Canine cuisine: Basics food with yam & snow peas

In addition to our own burgeoning foodiness, we’re switching our two dogs and our cat to an entirely grain-free diet. We raised our Aussie, Jada, for her first two years on the BARF diet, because I believed in the idea of feeding her as close to a wild dog’s natural diet as possible (http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/evolutionary.shtml). But I eventually got tired of grinding up 40-lb. boxes of bone-in chicken backs with greens and veggies, so we switched to New Balance kibble, high-quality stuff with no by-products or preservatives. It was way more convenient for memememe. Then recently, I came across a photo of Jada back in her BARF days. I was shocked to see her gorgeous silky coat and clear, bright eyes. Now, she sheds by the handful, she’s arthritic, and she struggles constantly with overweight and allergies. Since our furry buddies are mostly in the house and don’t hunt to survive, they have ONLY us to depend on for her food, so…

Yogi: Is he smiling? Yes, I think he is.

We switched all our furry friends to Blue’s “Basics Grain Free” foods: Basics kibble “dressed” with a little Basics canned. In addition, they get table scraps, but only raw (Jada loves tomatoes, Yogi loves sweet potatoes, and they both adore snow peas), and no grains. The dogs love the change. Rickie Lee, resident feline, is more stubborn and will carefully nibble around each Basics morsel to get to her old Purina standby (we’re acclimating her with ½ and ½ for a while), but we have hope. We figure it will take a month before we know if the change is making a positive difference, but so far, no dog breath, and that’s a good thing, since we sleep “pack” style on a frameless king-sized bed (So 13-year-old Jada has easy access). And yes, it’s no longer exaggeration—considering price-per-pound, our furry friends ARE now eating better than we are. The Blue rep pointed out the irony (without realizing it) of healthier foods when she said that the Basics diet was more expensive because “they had to take a lot of stuff out.”

Rickie Lee: Serve me. Serve me now.

I’d love to think our bodies can process whatever abuse we hurl at them. I’d love to think the adage is true that’s it’s not as important what goes IN our mouths as what comes OUT. I’d love to think our bodies will crave only what they need for balance & good health. Or, I’d love to think that in the crapshoot theory of the Universe, it doesn’t matter WHAT we eat. And we will, no doubt, fall off the holistic wagon often (who’s gonna eat those Sixlets and chocolate oranges in the freezer?). But tonight, we’ll dine on tofu-falafel burgers and steamed fresh Brussels sprouts. And we’ll stop feeding the peaflock corn, just in case. And if nothing else fights off the fluffy, pasty, midlife Pillsbury Doughboy bodies we’ve been cultivating until now, we have acres of organic hardwood trees, and our teeth are still good…