Conscious Choice: Organic Family Makeover

November 2005

Organic Family Makeover

Dear Diary, I have 50 days to convert my family from processed to organic food. First question: What’s Organic?

by Mia Tennenbaum

Day One (June 19, 2005)

I’ve agreed to take on the challenge of documenting my attempt to change my family’s eating style to a healthier/organic diet during the summer months. But after thinking about this for two weeks, I am somewhat freaking out over this commitment. First of all, I am not really certain what it means to eat “organically,” so I need to educate myself. Secondly, I am relatively certain that I can achieve this for myself, but convincing my husband and three kids ages 9, 7, and 1 and-a-half, is going to take some serious PR. In the scope of what American families are eating today, I would place bets that we are on the “healthier” side of the scale, but with significant room for improvement. This is going to be a challenge and I’m going to take my time. Here’s the plan:

• Learn more about what it means to eat healthier/organic foods (along with where to find them).

• Take a close look over the next few days at what we are eating and what would need to be changed or added.

• Casually feel everyone out about the idea of making some changes and see what the reaction is.

• Stop eating butterscotch chips while journaling this journey.

My motto for this process is going to be: “Let the process unfold naturally.” I hope this is what happens.

Day Five (June 23, 2005)

I looked up “organic” in the dictionary and think the most relevant definition is: “Simple, healthful and close to nature.” Another good definition was: “Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals.” For the purposes of this “organic eating” family make-over (and so I don’t totally overwhelm myself) I am going to start by looking at the foods in my kitchen and try to keep those which seem to be “simple and healthful” and then add those things which are “raised/conducted without drugs, etc.” In the meantime, I have been paying close attention to what my family eats and have come to these conclusions:

1. Generally, our kids eat a very healthy breakfast. Much to my delight, none of the cereals we have in our house are “sugar cereals” and several of them are organic! I have already been eating some of the veggie/soy products for breakfast and the baby often eats organic yogurt with fruit for breakfast. I am giving us some serious points for breakfast and feel a little better about this process.

2. I am utterly appalled by what my two sons are eating for lunch. My husband is responsible for making lunches each day, so I don’t want to come off as judgmental. I just need to provide much better options. Buying lunch items that come in bulk aren’t going to cut it for this project. I was literally nauseous as I read the ingredients on some of the snack-type items that are being sent with them. Nothing but food coloring, sugar and chemicals. And, of course, the kids love the stuff.

3. Dinner. A couple of the nights I was able to pull together meals that had all of the “healthy” components: protein, carbs, vegetables that I actually cooked. But other nights I found myself scrambling just to make “dinner from a box,” as I call it. What is the nutritional value of a veggie corn dog? I’m not sure, but it can’t be great. In thinking about dinner, the greatest challenge is shopping effectively to have everything that I need to make better meals. Unlike many American families, we never eat at some of the more popular fast food eateries — I have no desire to “super size” my family and for some ridiculous reason feel a sense of pride in writing that. In the meantime, I’m still eating butterscotch chips right now.

Day Six (June 24, 2005)

I did some scouting and found out that we live in the epicenter of healthy eating! In addition to the regular grocery store, we live not far from two specialty and organic chain grocery stores and, after about a 10-minute car ride, we can hit some great farmers markets this summer. On top of that, my friend just e-mailed me to tell me that her friend is an organic vegetable farmer who takes advanced orders and sells by the case. I’ve got options.

Day Ten (June 28, 2005)

An unexpected twist: I went into some of the healthier stores and realized that it is quite a bit more expensive to buy organic products. This could be a large part of the reason why more families don’t do it. It will be interesting to see how the grocery bills compare (organic vs. non-organic) for a family of five. I may have to pick and choose which items are worth the extra money. In the meantime, I have been slowly changing my own diet over the past several days. Basically, I’ve been doing the following. I look at a food and put it in one of two categories: Good For Me, Not Good For Me. If it’s not good for me, I don’t eat it. I know this sounds simplistic, but for someone trying to learn the basics it is actually a very manageable approach.

“Good for me foods” follow the “simple, healthful and close to nature” definition. Of course, if the label says “organic,” then that is a huge bonus.

“Not good for me foods” are those that contain sugar as a first, second or third ingredient, and food with things on the label that I cannot pronounce and have not a single clue what they are. (I can only assume that they are preservatives and additives, so I am steering clear of those things.)

I’ve broached the subject matter with my two older sons and they looked at me like I was an alien. Once we started talking in more detail about what it means to eat healthy and take care of your body, they seemed more intrigued. I didn’t get into too much detail about what that would mean as far as foods they shouldn’t eat anymore. I figure I will introduce the new healthy stuff before taking anything away and see if it makes the transition any easier. I’m still very concerned about finding food for their lunches though. My husband seems reluctantly supportive but is going with the party line of needing to make these changes when it comes to discussions with the kids.

My next step is to actually do some grocery shopping. I think I may head to an organic chain grocery store this weekend and check things out. One other important note: I’m not eating butterscotch chips right now!

Day 15 (July 3, 2005)

Well, I wasn’t feeling well this weekend and sent my husband to do a first-run grocery shopping trip — it was either that or starve so I figured it was worth a shot. He actually did a pretty good job. For example, he told me the “Sweetened Corn Puff” story: While shopping at a “healthy foods store” he came across a corn puffs cereal box. He said that originally he thought it looked like a healthy cereal (and figured it had to be because the store is known for its healthy choices), but when he read the ingredients they were (in this order): Corn, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup. That’s horrible. So he did some comparison shopping and settled on a different cereal that had much less sugar (and it was the unrefined cane stuff). I was really proud of him for trying and for taking the time to read the labels. He bought some organic stuff but was reluctant to purchase the organic fruits and vegetables — he is not totally convinced that they are worth the extra cost.

His biggest complaint was that it takes longer to shop when you have to actually pay attention to what you’re buying. He didn’t seem to feel that this particular shopping trip was overly expensive, however he does have some very strong feelings about some other healthy food stores that focus on organics that he feels are outrageously expensive. I’m going to have to slowly get him warmed up to some of these places and see if he develops a better attitude towards organics.

Day 20 (July 8, 2005)

I went out to an organic chain grocery store and a mainstream grocery store today to do some comparison shopping for fruit and veggies. I bought apples, grapes, carrots and tomatoes. Basically I wanted to see how the prices compared as well as the taste of the organic vs. non-organic produce. Without question, the organic prices were higher than the non-organic ones — sometimes more than twice the cost (grapes).

The organic tomatoes were divine — juicy, ripe and some of the best that I have tasted. The non-organic ones tasted flat — they didn’t have anywhere near the taste and were not as aesthetically pleasing either. It was a tough call with the grapes — both were large, plump and juicy with a nice sweetness. Aside from the costs, it was very difficult for me to tell them apart. Most certainly my kids could not. With the carrots there was a noticeable difference. The organic ones were more sweet and moist with a crispier crunch, while the non-organic ones were somewhat dry and had a bit of a bite to them in terms of their taste. Finally, the apples were also tough to tell. The bag of organic apples had fewer mealy tasting apples than the non-organic, but otherwise they were both juicy and tasted great.

The one rather amusing piece to this was the psychological experiences of shopping at these two stores. At the ordinary grocery store, it was a very “whatever” type of experience. Grocery shopping is grocery shopping — get in and get out. However, when I was at organic chain grocery store, I must admit I got a bit of a rush standing amidst all of this organic produce. Everything was so bright and shiny and the smells were enticing. There is also something very subtle that I picked up on in this store: It is as if everyone shopping there had this unspoken understanding and shared the “we care about what we eat — too bad those other people shopping at those other stores don’t get it” vibe. I’m close to learning the secret handshake.

Day 22 (July 10, 2005)

We are still struggling with lunches. The kids are being extremely picky even without consideration of healthy foods. I am prepping them for the day soon to come when they are no longer allowed to have junk with absolutely zero nutritional value. They are resistant but understand why we are doing this. Interestingly enough, they have started to take notice of foods on their own. I now frequently get questions regarding the healthiness of various foods. Of course, that’s not to say that they actually want to eat those foods, but they are thinking about it, and that is great.

This entire process has opened the door for other conversations as well regarding portion control and pushing away from the table at the right time. We can all use a refresher course on what is considered an appropriate serving. Culturally we are challenged in this area — we have the “bigger is better” tendency, especially in American restaurants. I’ve been teaching them the non-scientific method of using their fist to determine a proper portion size: Their portion of food should approximately match the size of their closed fist. I choose the non-scientific method because on a personal level if I start with measuring and all of that I start to obsess, which makes an annoying process even more cumbersome.

Day 45 (August 2, 2005)

The last three weeks have been a complete and total blur and everything that we have worked so hard towards went completely out the window. Several nights of ordering in pizza, meals thrown together from whatever we could find in the freezer, and all because my husband and I were so overwhelmed with work that we could barely keep our heads above water. I guess we can consider this to be our two steps back in a lengthy learning process.

Now that I finally have the chance to breathe and reflect, I am realizing how much stress takes its toll on a family’s ability to take care of itself. Eating fresh, healthy, organic foods takes time: You must shop more frequently because the food does not keep as long. You must take the time to prepare the foods and then you still need to be able to put things together last-minute when you haven’t had the chance to really think through a menu. I know that you can prepare foods and freeze them, which is still something I have not taken the time to master — mainly because when I have the time it is not exactly my idea of a fun to be in the kitchen preparing food for the next week. However, if I want to avoid a back-slide of ordering in and relying on frozen foods, then I guess this is a process I will have to embrace eventually.

The worst part of this last three weeks is the utter sense of failure! We had been working so hard at making this change, but tomorrow is a new day and I will just have to accept that until this healthy eating thing becomes second nature, we will have these cycles of keeping it together and losing it for a few days. I’m OK with that — I think.

Day 49 (August 6, 2005)

In an effort to regroup and get back on track with healthy eating, I loaded the entire family into the car and hit the local farmers market. Quite honestly, I had never been to one and was very excited about the whole thing. The experience proved to be well worth the trip! Not only did we buy a huge amount of produce for a very reasonable price, the kids had the tremendous experience of talking with the farmers themselves! The bustle of the crowds, the wonderful smells and the array of fabulous colors were a feast for the senses. The kids couldn’t believe that these people actually grew the fruits and vegetables themselves and then brought it with them to the market. They were amazed as they ran from booth to booth. Upon arriving home after the market, the kids were so excited about the produce that we had a “fruit fest” to taste-test all of the delicious goods! I see a healthy tradition in the making.

Personally, I came away from the experience with more than just good produce. The farmers market made me realize that it’s not only about the food that we eat, but it is very much about who is making the food and how it is being made. There were a dozen stands selling beautiful peaches — but I bought the peaches from the stand with the person that I connected with. Not to be dramatic, but this is true for everything in life: Connection to our food, our land, our neighbors and our families. It represents something that exists on a much more spiritual level. The shopping that we do for our food, our clothes or anything else deals just as much with the way it was created as it does with the quality of the item itself. It just feels better to know that what you are eating has been cared for by someone who takes pride in his or her work. Ultimately, will this make me healthier? I’m not sure. But if it makes me feel better emotionally to purchase and buy healthy, organic products, then I would certainly conclude that this can translate into feeling good physically. After all, the mind and the body are intrinsically linked. I would say that the trip to the farmers market was a very successful one and will now become something of a regular family adventure.

Day 50 (August 7, 2005)

Well, Day 50 marks the end of this formal documentation of taking my family from eating unhealthy, processed foods to foods that are healthier, organic and good for the mind and body. I thought we would be further along by now in this changeover, but this process has made me realize that old habits die hard — especially when you are making the change for an entire family and not just yourself.

All of these processed foods that we purchase off the shelves at the grocery stores are primarily for convenience. But the often unthought-of consequence is that we are cheating ourselves! Yes, it is much easier to buy things in a box that can be cooked in three minutes in the microwave, but we miss out on the natural vitamins and minerals that remain intact in the organic foods that are fresh. I’ve learned to be suspicious of anything that can last in the cabinet for months due to preservatives and chemicals. That certainly doesn’t mean I won’t ever use a processed food, but now that we have started to read labels and understand food quality, it is a difficult thing to ignore.

I wouldn’t quite say that the lunch dilemma is “solved” per se, but essentially we have done two things: We now simply do not purchase those items that are totally gross and we periodically give them things like chips as a special treat. The compromise is that we try to opt for the “natural” version of whatever it is that we are buying. Bottom line: lunches are a continuous challenge to balance things that are healthy with things that they will actually eat and not toss in the garbage can without telling us.

Making changes in your family’s diet takes a commitment on everyone’s part, but when you realize the positive impact that it can have on everyone’s health, it becomes much less of a burden and much more of a labor of love. We will continue on this journey of what I now see as a life-long path of taking care of myself and those I love.

When all is said and done, I am very proud of my family. They have worked with me on this even though there were moans and groans along the way. We have realized that there is an entire world of wonderful, good-for-you food if you take the time and look in the right places.

Mia Tennenbaum is a coach/counselor, educator and freelance writer in Northbook, Ill., who despite her best efforts still occasionally eats butterscotch chips while writing.

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