At Home With Dad

I know… I know… It has been awhile since I’ve posted about the vegan shift in our family. Many of you are like, “Thank God!” But, others of you are asking about it so here ya go.

We’re doing great! Salads rule the day. Beans and nuts are quite common. Life is good.

Cheese is still a dark monster in our life though. It is so tasty… As Nicole likes to say “we still buy the cheese because Mama LOVES THE NACHOS!” (emphasis hers).  Cute, right? Recently I’ve been rereading Eat to Live and have been reminded of all the horrors of this dark master: cheese. Ugh… It just isn’t good for our bodies.

Otherwise, the kids are starting to even order salads on their own at fast food restaurants the few times we visit them. That’ll make you smile.

We still cheat from time to time, but are really enjoying eating a vegan diet. After some reading, we’ve learned that we aren’t true vegans because we don’t subscribe to the militant approach to animal protection in all facets of our lives. But, oh well… From a health perspective, veganism is hard to beat.

Michael Pollan lays out his premise of his book In Defense of Food right in the introduction. He presents a manifesto. Simply stated his manifesto is: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

It doesn’t get much easier to follow than that.

A buddy at my community garden mentioned the book to me last week and I finally got around to checking it out. Pollan’s premise is right up my alley and tackles many of the issues surrounding food and how we get it. He is skeptical of the food industry (and probably for good reason) and seeks to get back to food that doesn’t come packaged, boxed or shrink-wrapped.

Here are some of the more interesting quotes:

“If you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a strong indication it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.”

“Most of us no longer eat what our mothers ate as children or, for that matter, what our mothers fed us as children.”

Pollan’s point here is that we eat food that is packaged. Gone are the soups, casseroles, and other goodies made fresh in our kitchens. They’ve all been replaced with processed food that is made quickly and cheaply, but is it food? That is the question.

“In January 1977, the committee [the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs chaired by South Dakota Senator George McGovern] issued a fairly straightforward set of dietary guidelines, calling on Americans to cut down on their consumption of red meat and dairy products. Within weeks a firestorm of criticism, emanating chiefly from the red meat and dairy industries, engulfed the committee… The committee’s recommendations were hastily rewritten.”

Call me a skeptic, but I really believe the lobbyists continue to dictate our country’s health recommendations and policies. When someone steps forward recommending a dietary change, they had better hope there isn’t a well funded lobby group for any product that might see decreased sales as a result of the recommendation. Michael Pollan offers several examples of this in action in American politics.

As a result of this incident, McGovern and his committee began to focus on nutrients rather than specific foods. No more mention of red meat or dairy products, but rather focus on reducing fat intake.

Mentioning foods specifically took a back seat to the specific nutrients in food. Don’t eat more carrots, but get more beta carotene. Don’t stop eating red meat, but lower your intake of fat.  This begins to explain why there are all these specific pills for the newest “thing/nutrient” we all need to give more attention (Omega 3, carbohydrates, fish oil, etc.).

The food lobbies are just too powerful to be called out. Instead, our government started dissecting the food into its various parts. Problem? Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll have to keep reading to see where we land on the issue. (But, I think I see where he is going.) Interested?

Our Community Garden Plot

Another View of Our Community Garden Plot

Our plot at the Lake Highlands Community Garden is coming along quickly.

This past week, we built up the garden bed to make the soil deeper insuring better root development for the new “death row inmates” – I mean veggies. Compost is going to be delivered Thursday and then the planting can begin.

The kids are so excited about the whole process and are learning a ton about plants in the process. They even helped hammer together the supports for the garden box.

On tap for planting:

• Summer Squash
• Watermelon
• Pumpkins
• Cucumbers
• Black Turtle Beans
• Some Marigolds

My indoor lettuce experiment is going very well. All the lettuce is potted and sitting in various window sills around the house.

Some of the larger growth is from transplants and not the seeds. One seed is doing much better than another, but both types are still sprouting well.

Transplant lettuce mixture.

Seedlings & Transplant in back corner

Well… I guess technically it isn’t a new garden just yet, but the community garden is almost ready for compost and new seeds. They are saying next week everything should be ready! I can’t wait. We have melon, bean, and cucumber seeds on the “death watch” – I mean – ready to be planted.

This is our plot with framing materials ready to go.

Another angle of the plot site.

More of the community garden. Bee hives in the far corner for pollination.

Nothing major to share, but some interesting tidbits from the Ritchie house:

• Lettuce: The inside lettuce growing is great. We have several different batches growing well right now. The next step is to see how the do getting to the salad bowl.
• Mermaids Go On-Line: Faith’s soccer team – The Mermaids – have their own blog. Check it out: Mermaids Soccer.
• Cat: The cat is no longer mad at us and is using the kitty litter again. Thankfully, we aren’t cleaning poop out of the fireplace daily. Yeah!
• MS150: Fund raising is going well for the MS150 and packet pick-up is today. It is right around the corner now.
• Camping: We went camping this past weekend at Cedar Hill State Park. We actually ran into some friends while we were out there. We were trying to camp and continue with our soccer duties as well. It didn’t work out too well and we were all exhausted from driving all over town instead of hanging out and camping. The camp had a great off-road bicycle trail that was a blast! The kids played with some friends while we were there. The winds picked up quite a bit and blew us right out of camping on the final day. We are thinking about renting a camper for the next journey. A/C. Stove. Awww… Yeah.
• Where are the pictures?: I’m going to try and get more pictures up on the blog. Pictures are just not my thing, but I know that several of you are asking for more photos. I promise to do better…
• Veganism: The vegan gig continues… No problems and the lifestyle is really setting in. No more major cravings for foods.
• Sonlight: We are loving Sonlight.  Rachel is getting the structure she craves and I am getting the freedom that I believe is important for the kids’ learning. They are really enjoying the books.

The vegan transformation is going well in the house. All the kids are on board and seem not to mind the lack of meat in their diets. As a matter of fact, they can often be found telling others that their food choices could be improved upon, which is a little embarrassing.

The other day we got caught out between family outings and swung through a McDonalds for the first time this year. The kids were all a little upset that they had to eat the McNuggets. They told several folks that they “had to eat” the McDonalds food. One of them didn’t even eat but two of the four Nuggets. They’ve come a long ways.

Rachel and I are pressing forward with the vegan eating plan. We’ve cheated a couple of times with a meat lasagna, fried catfish, and a pizza with hamburger topping (not all at the same meal mind you), but other than that we’ve done quite well without the meat in our diets this year.

It is amazing how much of the American diet is based around meat. There wasn’t even a meatless option for the McDonald’s Happy Meal. Sonic has a grilled cheese that you can couple with a banana to make a reasonably decent meal out of on the run. But, meat is just the mainstay in America – not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just that when you are trying to avoid it, some meat product is always staring you in the face.

Would I recommend it for others? Well, yeah. I wouldn’t condemn anyone into the decision, but the health benefits are pretty strong. Check it out…

This past weekend was filled with some good rest and relaxation, which is something that has been missing the past few weeks around here. Here are some of the highlights and thoughts from the past few days:

• Girls Soccer: Both of the girls had victorious soccer games. Nicole and Faith each scored twice as well. They are really catching on. Nevermind that the temperatures were in the low 30s with windchill temperatures in the twenties. Gotta love the Texas weather – going to be in the eighties this week.
• Trains: We took Dylan on his first train ride. He loved it and screamed when it was time to get off. He just didn’t want to get off the train. After some coaxing, mission accomplished. He loved it!
• New Garden: We are reading all about organic gardening in an effort to get our new garden up and running. We feel like we are on the tail end of the planting season. Our new bed might not be ready in time to get the spring crops rolling. This weekend while digging up the area (the city, not us) found some contaminated soil which needs to be tested before more work can be done. That gives us more time to read and figure out what we want to plant.
• Spin Class: I’ve discovered the spin class at the gym. I love it. Rachel and I went last night and really enjoyed the workout.
• Vegan: Our vegan efforts took a slide this weekend with pizza on the menu. Rachel was really craving it so we caved. My blood sugar levels went sky high. Time for some good foods again.
• Modeling Good Behavior: Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve just been worn out. I think soccer kicking up has me running all over town and just has me exhausted. As a result, I feel like I’ve been less patient with the kids and frustrated all too often. Last night, I watched the little ones bicker and nit pick each other. The light bulb went off  that I need to model better behavior around my little ones. New attitude on the way!

That catches me up on the some things. Yes, I’m in task mode this morning.

Our community has worked with the city over the past couple of years to develop a neighborhood garden on old government land. Last year, the Lake Highlands Community Garden became a reality. Now one year old, the garden is expanding and allowing more folks to enjoy this organic garden wonderland.

So… In the next couple of weeks, we’ll start planting our first organic garden at the Lake Highlands Community Garden. We are reading and learning what vegetables we want to grow. At this point, we are leaning towards lots of lettuce varieties, beans, cucumbers, california, kale, and other tasty veggies.

The task is daunting, but exciting all the same. As a family that is much better at eating food rather than growing food, we have a steep learning curve in front of us. If anyone has any good resources for us, leave a comment to help guide us along in this journey.

You’ve seen the videos… (If not, you can check just a few of them out here: Blended Iphone, Blended Glow Sticks, Blended Golf Balls)

And, now, it has come to the Ritchie home. Yep, the Blendtec Total Blender!

This little friend can blend the be-jesus out of just about anything. I love it! While some of my frozen and blended smoothies have given my old blender issues, this little guy just tears it up. What’s left? A nice, smooth smoothie.

By the way, where did those glow sticks go?