February 27th: Something I Ate...

Seriously?  Something I ate?

My first thought was that it would probably be a more visually pleasant photo assignment if it was phrased, "Something I'm about to eat."  But sometimes the old English teacher in me can't seem to help the way words paint pictures in my mind.

I digress.

This picture contains products I have eaten...though I actually only ate one of them today.  That Chobani passion-fruit yogurt!  Gad zooks!  I love that stuff!

 Yep...that cereal (and the wonderful bread made by the same company)

is a recipe from the Bible!

The reason these items have posed for a still-life together is that they were all purchased from my food co-op, and today was co-op day! 

For the uninitiated, a food co-op is a group of people who get together to order, distribute, and share healthy foods--often in bulk.  Truthfully, some of the items available through the co-op are much cheaper at Sam's Club or WalMart...or on Amazon.  Where the co-op is really worth its weight in gold is when I order 50 pounds of organic rolled oats or 25 pounds of white popcorn.  The shipping on that stuff is a real killer!

I realize that not everyone has a 5-gallon bucket of brown rice in her pantry, but for those of us who cook for a crowd, buying in bulk can be a real money- and energy-saver.

Of course, there's also the health aspect of buying whole foods...and this is where I chase my own tail a lot!  In a perfect world, where I had unlimited funds, I would probably buy more organic and natural foods for my family...but as much as I would like to be able to feed them the very best food, they also seem to like wearing clothes and having a functioning van to haul them around to their various activities.  Where do I draw the line?

Plus, I don't know how much time you have spent researching nutrition, but the sheer magnitude of information out there is horrifyingly daunting!  And the theories seem to change from one day to the next.  Should I go whole wheat or gluten-free?  Low-carb or vegetarian?  All raw foods?  A focus on the fermented and cultured?  And how am I supposed to bank-roll the dietary wisdom du jour?

I know some people who seem so anxious about doing every little thing right nutritionally-speaking that food (or at least the paranoia about it) appears to be all they think about.  Is that as far over the line in one direction as other moms go in the opposite direction...you know, the ones who feed their kids lots of processed convenience foods without a second thought.

Talk about walking a tight-rope!

It reminds me of a Beth Moore Bible study I took once.  Possibly Breaking Free...but I don't remember for sure.  Beth told a story about a woman who confessed to having had a struggle with her weight.  Here is the story as I remember her telling it:

I have been everything from a size 6 to a size 16, and what I've learned is that around a size 12 is where I'm not sinning.  Yes, I can become very thin, but in order to maintain it, I have to think constantly about every bite I put into my mouth and every minute I spend in exercise...to the point that it becomes idolatry.  If I'm a size 16, I'm not concerning myself whatsoever with how I treat my body--which is also sin.  Somewhere in the middle, I can be rightly concerned with respecting the temple without worshiping it.

I really like that.

And that's sort of the position I have taken with planning the meals I serve my family.  I want to make wise (but not anxious) decisions, while also being a good steward of every month's grocery money.  I want to do a good job of feeding all the little (and big) bodies God has entrusted to my care, but I also want to confidently trust Him to fill in the gaps where I'm not perfect.

Practically speaking, that means I'll still be dividing my money between Sam's Club, an assortment of grocery stores, and my trusty Rainbow Food Co-op.  It also means that I'm trying to make more things from scratch using whole-food ingredients.  And I'm going to give myself a little grace (and a lot of Greek yogurt) in the process.

Blessings!

Missy

Man shall not live on bread alone, 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:4b