We're roughly a month into going green. I know my personality (and what my dear hubby can tolerate) so I'm slowly phasing into this. Otherwise, this is going to be a short-lived trend. I've decided to start with food. A month ago, my carnivore husband grudgingly allowed me to make one meatless dinner a week. Apparently, it went over well because last night I was granted permission to make two dinners a week without meat. Needless to say, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. What really changed his mind? He discovered the family that owns the local, grass-fed cattle ranch are members of our church. He despises corporations and likes the idea of supporting local businesses, especially local business people we know. Somehow, this has translated into more meatless meals. I don't pretend to understand his logic.
Other aspects of our food transition haven't gone quite as well as I would have liked. The natural style, organic peanut butter scared my husband. Like there's a big, freaking spider in the shower with me scared. Finding an inch of oil on top of the peanut butter when he opened it was off-putting to him. I tried to explain why the oil was on top but to no avail. Luckily, I found a no stir, organic peanut butter so I'll see how that works.
But the processed food is being used up and for the most part not replaced. Since I have two little girls, I have had to spurge and get some organic graham crackers. And I don't see goldfish leaving our house in the near future.
In some ways, this is like a edible game of Where's Waldo. I live in a small community and the nearest Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is two hours away. So my shopping is piece meal. But I am slowly claiming victory. The Farmer's Market supplies most of my produce and there is homemade ice cream there. It's made from local ingredients so the calories don't count. I've located local eggs, cheese, meat and chocolate truffles. I'm no longer sure this going green thing is good for my waistline!
It's also becoming apparent I'm not adequately communicating with my hubby. He was completely against organic milk. I assumed it was the price (it's double the cost of regular milk). But, no! When I finally confronted him about this he adamantly stated, "I don't want them drinking unpasteurized milk!" I explained it was pasteurized and what an organic label on milk actually meant. I got a "Ohh..." Lesson learned for both of us.
Thus far, no major hubby tantrums. Girls don't seem to care. And our grocery expenses haven't changed. So even my budget is happy! Time to see what happens in month two.
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Yay, im glad its going well! Its hard to "go green" with food here in RC. I was going to the farmers market but quickly discovered that although it was cheaper, the produce was not organic. Urg! So I have to pay a ton at the grocery store for organic produce and milk. I wish we had a Trader Joes or whole foods here. I pretty much just buy the produce organic and buy the organic whole milk for Evelynn but everything seems so much more expensive. How has your grocery bill not changed? Id love tips!
ReplyDeleteI love the non stir organic peanut butter, YUM! LOL. Going green is hard, especially here. But we've made do, even if it means driving out of town to do some of our grocery shopping. I adopted the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" concept from my cousin too, and I know that may be TMI, but I have to say, that even something like that seems so rewarding, like you are helping with something huge..LOL.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the transition, I know how difficult it can be, but it pays off!!
Michelle, ask the local growers at the market how close to organic their food is. It's expensive to get the certificate and one of the growers I buy from here grows it organically but doesn't label it as such. And some growers use IPM (integrated pest management systems) which use only small amounts of chemicals and are much safer than typical corporate farming.
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