For 3 1/2 years, every operational business day, I have tried my best to serve the children in my care the best food I could afford, and the cleanest food I could--free of preservatives, disguised ingredients, and hidden sugars. As my knowledge has improved, I have become more astute in playing the "food game" where marketing terms and brown packaging don't really mean that something is "natural" or "healthy". In fact, you could shop in a grocery store at least 1/4 your current store's size if you took out all the junk--food that has no nutritional value whatsoever.
I don't want you to feel badly; instead, I want you to feel empowered. You see, in taking shortcuts, using mixes, and eating out as much as we eat in, we have given up our power. Not many restaurants feed you nutritionally sound food because it is not profitable to do so! We rely on the latest nutritional advice sponsored by the milk board or the cheese council or the soy folks, and even physicians to suggest what is right for our children. The thing is, most of this information is just bunk or a marketing ploy to sell more stuff. Our country's food pyramid is absolutely upside down . . .eating government subsidized grains in excess makes you a diabetic hog. It makes our families sick. What mother wants this? What father?
The most important thing you can do for your health and that of your children is to become a quasi-nutritionist. Whatever it is that your family eats--challenge yourself to make it as clean as possible. Challenge yourself to make it yourself with 5 or 10 of the highest quality ingredients possible, and organic as much as possible. Think you can't afford organic? Try shopping just for organic ingredients that are seasonal or on sale, and let that guide your weekly menu. Start your own organic garden. Freeze and preserve food for later as our parents and grandparents did. If someone else makes the food for you, i.e. something prepared or semi-prepared, make sure you can pronounce and identify everything in it.
My sister has gone to great lengths deciphering labels, planning healthy menus, and sticking to a strict food budget for our small school. I believe larger schools can do the same, maybe even saving themselves money! In our homes, both my sister and I have added more and more fresh ingredients, and we've tried to feed our own families of four and five, respectively, with $100-$150 each week using nearly all organic and grass fed/humanely processed meats. None of this has been easy--it would be way easier to have a Sysco truck pull up to the back door of our school. BUT, if we can do it, you can, too. You can!
Please, please take 21 minutes of your life to watch Chef Jamie Oliver accept the 2010TED award in Los Angeles. The TED organization is dedicated to funding "ideas worth spreading"--ideas that the winners identify as their "wish to change the world". Bless Jamie Oliver for having the balls (yes, I said balls!) to call America out and the heart to fight for change.
You know, the best health care option would be to invest in healthy food and make it accessible to all people. The best health plan would call for better regulation of all food and food production in our country. The best health plan would encourage people to be physically fit. The best health plan would make sure our drinking water is optimum.
As a fellow parent and community member (and for some of you, the person that feeds your child 2, 3, or even 5 days a week), I urge you to join me in ensuring that the food we put in our families' bodies is life-sustaining, not debilitating.
Q/A
Do we eat fast food and restaurant meals? Yes, occasionally. We like a good burger and fries. We love to treat ourselves to a night out of the kitchen. It is true, though, that for the same money we spend eating out, we can serve a gourmet meal at home.
Do we fret over what we eat when we are out? Since seeing sick animals dragging their legs to slaughter on "Food, Inc.", yes, we do. So, we try to pick restaurants where meat is from a decent source.
Do our husbands get concerned about our food budget? Yes, but if momma's not happy and healthy, no one in the family is.
Do our husbands and children have trouble making changes to some whole grain products, organic products, or making other dietary changes? Yes, and we don't stop trying.
Do we have our own problems with weight? Yes, and that will become our focus this year. With healthy food in place, we need to focus on our own fat-making stress levels and physical fitness this year. To that end, we will begin work with a professional in April.
Do I have to clean out my fridge, freezer, and pantry, then start over? For me (Leslie), that works. I am sort of an all or nothing girl. I cleaned out everything and generally haven't gone back. Janie wants you to know that she thinks this would have been overwhelming for her. She did a small initial clean-up and has since taken one step at a time, eliminating MSG and preservatives. She has tried to buy very few boxed or packaged items, and focuses on everything going into the fridge, freezer, and fruit basket. For both of us, our pantry items are "pure"--brown rice, organic pasta, etc.
~Leslie
P.S. Thank you to one of our teachers, Jennifer, for first sharing Jamie Oliver's speech with me. She's one smart girl!
