I am so excited to be joining in this culinary adventure with one of my best buds, the Nothing-atarian. The blog world is a very new experience for me, so there isn’t a better way to take the big leap than with a good friend that shares in many of your lifestyle convictions. Now the homemade, organic, and locally produced market was not always part of my family’s repertoire.
In my teen years I was plagued with the many unpleasantries of what can best be described as a complete internal upheaval. It sounds as unglamorous as it actually was. Not the kind of topic that comes up during polite dinner conversation and goes undiscussed even between close friends and relatives. It is just the kind of embarrassing condition that makes the normal turmoil of adolescence a complete nightmare.
Suddenly my junior year of high school there was a ray of hope. I was invited to spend three weeks on a farm in Austria with a long time friend and her family. That trip literally changed my life. The knowledge that I gained there was both bitter and sweet. I learned that all of the problems I had been experiencing were all self created, but could be completely eliminated with a change in lifestyle. It was an indisputable revelation since all the meals we enjoyed in the countryside were unprocessed and chemical preservative free. This was a dramatic change from the much more readily available processed meal in a box, packaged goodies, and soft drinks that I was used to back in the States. Well, three weeks of getting our daily bread from a true working bakery (no bag white bread to be found), getting our meat from the butcher, milk and butter fresh that morning right from the farm, picking wild berries and mushrooms (my friend’s grandfather was very knowledgeable about the edible kind and the only person I trust picking mushrooms from the wild, Thank you Opi!) in the Black Forest, and long walks in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth was truly transformative.
Upon my return home to Virginia not only had I lost a healthy amount of weight from the regular long walks (and I was by no means a slouch in high school running both track and cross country) but my body was rejuvenated and toxin free. I was well aware that my Austrian lifestyle would not translate seamlessly to my American lifestyle but with a few small changes here and there I would be able to maintain my state of well being and share its benefits with my family and friends.
First order of business was to phase out all the meal in a box, frozen dinner nonsense that often landed on the table for dinner or in the snack bowl, with made-from-scratch and more real food options. Not only does it command better flavor, but you also have the power of knowing exactly what is in your food. It is as simple to cook an entire meal from start to finish full of only fresh ingredients in the amount of time it would take to reheat frozen lasagna in the oven, and we are not talking about salad here! Fresh spaghetti sauce, eggplant parmesan, chicken chow mien, and lamb curry are some of my favorite go-to recipes. Cooking from scratch does not mean you have to make your own potato chips and always bake your own bread (although you could)! I am a major potato chip junkie and I seldom have the time to bake bread in morning. It is merely about making wise choices such as preservative free whole grain breads from your grocer and moderation with processed junk foods that we all love to gorge ourselves on occasionally.
The second task was to incorporate organic, locally produced ingredients. Locally grown produce on average is fresher and more nutrient rich than the same product brought in from across the country, picked unripe and expected to reach a mature ripeness in a wood crate. Buying local also supports your community economy and is much more environmentally friendly. Not to mention the benefits of having friendly relationships with your local farmers; which is definitely helpful come canning time!
But, I digress, this has been a hefty post but a very important back story that I hope will get others to jump on the bandwagon and understand why changing our lifestyles has been so crucial to me and the Nothing-atarian. I leave you all with a parting gift----a charming, healthy rendition of a classic Mediterranean style take-away, the Mediterranean Veggie Pita; and the promise of more to come. Enjoy.
F. Beastie
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