Planet Wilder

I am a foodie. I love all sorts of good food and I never count calories or figure its nutrient content as long as the food was made fresh. I got it from my grandpa and my aunt whom I lived with during my high school years… and kind of my dad although he can be off and on. I was taught that good food are fresh and made from scratch and that eating is not just about stuffing your stomach with edible (food like) content but it’s about nourishment. Without your body you’re nothing so you got to take really good care of it. If you have a family cooking is also a good way to show love. You love your family enough to make you want to wake up early in the morning to go to the market (to get the fresh and best picks) and spend hours in the kitchen prepping (this is if you’re in Indonesia). I was also told to eat proportionately and exercise (which I ignore right now – I am eating for two still) — dieting is stupid. Granted I had my share of junk food and even now and then I crave McDonalds (although I’d regret it half way through my hamburger) I can say that I eat well.

Food is very important to me and I’ve been very fortunate to have found partners who share the same food ideology. Due to a misdiagnosis my ex and I started eating organic and natural products. If possible we’d by our veggies from the Saturday farmer’s market. This was around 1998. Life took a turn and I met my husband — who used to eat cold soup straight from the can. The first time I made him fresh, from scratch, spaghetti he got heart burns. I thought that’d be the end of our dating life but he was willing to try again and slowly he became a foodie too — sometimes I think more so than me.

I’ve also been fortunate in terms of friends. Those close to me on a daily basis love food and are good cooks. It’s wonderful to be able to share recipes, new information, and things like that. The resources I’ve gathered from them have helped shape our current food intake.

This year we’ve decided to do more. On my part I wanted to make more things from scratch. On his part he wanted us to eat less meat. I’ve always wanted to eat less meat but coming from a family of meat eaters (I’m not sure if being from the South adds to it or not) it was hard to convince him. Michael Pollan convinced him and I’m glad.

Last week Drew started reading Omnivore’s Dilemma and today I started In Defense of Food. I read Omnivore over a year ago and that’s what made me get grass fed meat and more into growing our own produce. I know there are many books that talks about food but Pollan’s books were the ones we ended up with. We’d like to see Food Inc. Although we’d probably not want to eat anything but our own grown food after it.

To some we’re weird and it pisses me off. It’s not because they think we’re weird but it’s because my husband gets made fun of at his work for bringing real food. I’m very glad he’s the outspoken one but it still pisses me off.