Friday Food Interview - JVonD

Friday, November 14, 2008

Today, The Reluctant Eater speaks with JVonD (yes, that is the preferred way to address him). A vegan for the last 7 years, he hosts and produces local TV shows and vidcasts in Boulder. In addition to striking a healthy life balance between the online and offline worlds, his primary role is as a Trance/Ambient recording artist. Or in his own words, a "Caring Compassionate Environmental Proactive Beer Drinking Weirdo Vegan Bar Fly Recording Artist"!

TRE: What is your current relationship with food?

JVonD: I like it!  I used to eat everything but now I only eat plant based foods meaning that I don't eat parts or any type of expulsion involved animal matter.

TRE: Why did you make the switch?

JVonD: Mainly from adopting my cat Fatso who passed away and having such a close relationship with her that reached well beyond communication boundaries.  Having to care for her during the second half of her life was tough and it made me think about how great animals are and how selfish and just plain evil humans are to the Earth especially toward animals in general.  So I started a compassionate lifestyle for my planet Earth.

TRE: Did you just go cold-turkey one day, or was it a gradual process?

JVonD: Well, I became a vegetarian cold turkey, then one day, about 3 months later while thinking about the dairy industry, I was like "What the F am I thinking".  I should have quit that right away but I was to stupid to realize that one is just as bad as the other and in certain situations even worse. I feel really bad every time I think of my total disregard for those animals.  To have compassion for one and not the other is a big personal issue with me.

Like recently when a person burned her dog Bobo and was arrested for animal cruelty, I kept thinking about all these people who felt so bad for that dog but probably go to McDonald's after they donate money and contribute to even worse cruelty themselves.

TRE: Do you miss the things you used to eat? How much of an adjustment was it for you?

JVonD: I miss a lot of foods I used to eat.  I was a hard adjustment.  Much harder than anything else like quitting smoking cigarettes.  My family fed me everything and being from Buffalo NY with its "consume everything" lifestyles and things like Buffalo Wings its been tough.  I understand how easy it is for people to fail at a vegetarian lifestyle.  My reasoning is strong though.

TRE: How has your body responded? Do you feel different? Are there nutrition supplement considerations?

JVonD: Well its been about 7 years now and is seems like my body has responded just fine.  My doctor has always says my blood work is great.  I can eat as much as I want and not get fat.  I don't take supplements for any health or energy concerns.  I very rarely throw some Spiru-tein Banana supplement powder into my smoothy but I don't take it on a daily basis.  I just like the taste of it mostly.

When it comes to feeling different, I don't notice anything different.  For example, I can rock climb just as hard as when I was training and stuffing my face with a high protein meat diet.

TRE: You've attended a few Vegan meetups recently, how did you find that group and what has it been like?

JVonD: They are very nice people and are pretty interesting to talk to.  There are usually a few non-vegans there who are interested in the lifestyle.  Each meetup is mainly a big potluck but every once and a while there will be a special event.  I feel kind of weird sometimes when I'm there because I don't necessarily enjoy talking about my veganism.

I mainly just wanted to meet people with like mind.  Unfortunately for me there's not a lot of single ladies. Haha. I'm new to the group but so far no one has made a vegan tofu dish that even came close to yours Ryan.  =)  Thanks again.. 

TRE: You heard it here first ladies - JVonD is available! It's funny, most of the people I have interviewed don't often get involved in food related conversations, even though it's a subject everyone can relate to! But I understand where you are coming from, I don't usually have those conversations either. Maybe there is a way we can make it happen without being preachy?

You seem to be pretty involved in the local scene, what other stuff do you do (besides eat!)?

JVonD: Yes, as much as I disagree with most people I still enjoy good company.  I host & produce a couple local TV shows and also volunteer on a few others to help get the communities word out there.  The one I'm most know for is the Boulder Vidcast which I consider "Boulder's Community Vidcast".  I cover live events, people, and business and always encourage call ins on the live streaming shows or voicemail comments so that anybody can participate and get heard.

But I mainly consider myself a Trance/Ambient recording artist and enjoy performing around town with my one of a kind workstation called the BEATOMATIC III Turbo.  I don't know what it is but I really enjoy being a "bar fly".  Talking to friendly folks over beers is probably my favorite thing to do.  I stay busy trying to get my "JVonD Productions" business off the ground which is a combination of a couple startups I've been messing with.  Streaming & hosting media relay servers, video production, audio productions stuff.  Hoping to redesign my sites soon to offer more participation from the community.

Mainly though I really enjoy being a "real" person.  All though I have a strong internet presence, I strongly encourage others to "stop hiding behind your internet avatars" and get involved.  For example, go tell your city council what you think instead of ranting on a blog about it kinda thing.

TRE: Interesting...it's easy to assume that "bar-fly" and "people who care about what they eat" are two mutually exclusive categories! Do you see veganism growing at the same pace as the organic movement, or are they separate?

JVonD: No, I don't see it the same at all.  That's a great question.  Thanks for bring that up Ryan.  It really bugs me sometimes.  Mainly the organic movement is about "self". People doing things for their own personal reword.  Organics will bring them better health.  Vegans are usually trying to better others, willing to give up health for overall bettering their environment.  But in return vegans better their own consciousness.  I guess it's a karma thing.

The worst is when you meet an individual who considers themselves a vegetarian just to realize that they are only concerned with their own well being and not actually trying to help the planet in general.  Although a good vegan diet can be amazingly beneficial, its really hard to do it right.  I've been a vegan since about 2001 and I will be the first to admit my diet is horrible but the human body seems to have the ability to conform to extremes.  I ate processed veg. foods for over 6 years and now my diet is non-processed and no-MSG and I'm still alive in this "cruelty free" lifestyle.

But seriously, "I'M WILLING TO DIE" before I participate in my old habits growing up in this new "somewhat evil" uninformed civilization.  It's unfortunate that people are blind to the practices of the world around them.

TRE: Interesting. I'd never thought of organic vs vegan being a matter of being interested in self vs others. Do be careful about generalizing to everyone though...before I started eating locally & organic, I had cut out probably 80% of the meat in my diet mostly for "be good to the planet" reasons.

I'd heard that people often GAIN a lot of weight when they become vegans, and you mentioned that your diet is horrible. How specifically is it horrible? And is that the way it has to be for vegans?

JVonD: Thanks for cutting 80% of your meat intake.  That's really cool!  I'm sure many of our fellow earthlings thank you too.

Gaining weight from a Vegan diet?  I haven't heard about that.  My personal vegan diet being horrible meaning eating lots of processed food and stuff containing MSG.  I'm getting better though.  Considering the majority of people I know are concerned with some sort of balance in their intake whether it being vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc..  often taking pills and now almost every talk radio station has some sort of fish oil supplement commercial.  I don't really keep track of things.  I just eat what my body tells me to eat.

There are so many vegans that can cook amazing nutritional foods.  I have trouble coming up with good recipes and often would rather save my time for other things than to have to prepare a big meal.  My new food processor is helping me get a bigger variety foods by making purees all at once.

Sorry if I come off as a jerk sometimes.  I don't mean to piss anybody off. If you don't mind, why do you have a 20% meat intake?

TRE: Hm, good question. I haven't stopped eating meat because 1) There are plenty of places you can buy meat raised responsibly (with no cruelty and little environmental impact). The ethics of eating another animal doesn't bother me...everything we eat is a living thing. 2) My wife isn't interested in being a vegetarian. We used to eat separately, but we ate crap. Cutting back on all that processed food (which has huge negative health and environmental impacts) seems to me like a better compromise. Reason #2 is weak, but basically it explains why we occasionally have meat in the house. Regardless of that, I would probably still eat some meat if that was what was served at a party or friends house.

I realize that we could do the same without any meat, and maybe that will happen someday, but idea that everything has to be so black and white is too big of a roadblock. If we "allow" people to start changing their consumption habits little by little in the right direction, it will have a greater net impact than criticizing them for not "going all the way" (not to imply you are criticizing).

In the end, the short answer is that, while I am against the systematic animal cruelty of the industrial food machine, I am not against eating animals that have been raised responsibly. Again, maybe that will change someday, but right now my convictions are not strong enough to make me eat zero meat.

I'm curious, what's your reaction to my explanation?

JVonD: I really appreciate your reply Ryan.  It's really hard for me to discuss my vegan lifestyle with people, and some other vegans I met at the meetup agree, because it always ends in some sort of negative argument that darkens the vibe.  It doesn't bother to much to hear about people eating meat, but mentally I envision horrible abuse and suffering.  Especially when someone drinks milk, I gag.  I used to not be that bad.  As long as it makes you happy, then success!

About "no cruelty or environmental effects", I'm curious to how that's possible but I'm just satisfied that somehow you make it happen and I'm happy to leave it at that.  Again, I really try to discourage arguments.  I really think your low animal intake is such a positive thing I just hope more people out there can find at least a day out of there week to find a way around it and eat plant based foods.  For me its all mental, it really makes feel good about myself.

Unfortunately I have a problem when someone has to eat meat/dairy around me as if they couldn't live without it for a meal.  I just want to say "Hey! I've done it for over 7 years straight, do you mind?" but I obviously wouldn't say it...

TRE: Thanks for sharing so openly, I really appreciate it. It's definitely made me think even more about the food choices I'm making. Do you have any last bits of advice or wisdom for our readers?

JVonD: Well thanks a lot Ryan.  It was really nice chatting with you.  Before the interview when we talked, I realized that you are someone who openly listens, making our conversations positively constructive and I really appreciate that.  I just hope that people will listen, giving their veg. friends a chance because they really care and are compassionate for all, looking out for the planet in general.

My advice is to do what you can to get your hands on Ryan's amazing tofu dish.  Its the bomb!

Friday Food Interview: Jen Marshall

Friday, November 7, 2008

Jen Marshall's natural products background began by slinging organic food for The Sunflower Restaurant and nutritional counseling for dogs and cats at Colorado Canines. In 2005 she created a media awareness program for CORE, Colorado’s sustainable business trade association. Managing the promotional campaigns for the 2006 and 2007 Sustainable Opportunities Summit, Jen honed her skills of juggling numerous tasks at once. She was a member of the Naturally Boulder Taskforce helping to organize networking events. Jen’s career at The Fresh Ideas Group began in 2006, and she has since landed many influential stories for her clients.  During her free time you can find Jen hiking with her dog, practicing yoga, seeing live music and attempting to speak Spanish.

TRE: Hi Jen, thanks for chatting with us. What is your current relationship with food?

JM: Ha!  That is complicated question.  I was raised in a food-loving Italian family - lots of pasta, bread and meat.  I always loved food because of the long, drawn-out dinners.  Still, my favorite thing to do with my friends is cook dinner together or go out to eat.  However, I discovered in my late-20's that I had an intolerance to gluten and dairy.  My eating habits changed drastically and now I still eat for pleasure, but with an added does of healing.

TRE: Many people with food intolerances don't even realize it, how did you first discover that you needed to change what you were eating?

JM: I just felt bad - all the time!  I was working at the Sunflower Restaurant in Boulder at the time.  Back then they really catered to special diets and allergies.  I learned a lot from the owner and executive chef at the time (they are under new ownership now) and my co-workers on the "dangers" of food and the benefits of eating right for your body.  I began to seek more and more information and finally landed in a place and time when I was ready to make changes and sacrifices.

TRE: Going gluten-free is an intimidating prospect, tell us - how hard is it? Be honest!

JM: It's hard!  However, 6 years ago it was harder. Back then, I completely stopped eating bread, bagels, pasta, burritos, etc.  I found myself eating rice and beans for breakfast!  Which is actually better for you then cold cereal anyway.  Eating on the go is really hard - traveling is worse.  I have to plan ahead and pack my meals.  I always had a bag of nuts or jerky in the purse.  I do have to say that the product innovation in the last couple of years has significantly improved.  I can find gluten free breads, cookies and pasta that is actually really good!  It is still a challenge to find them dairy free too.  Pamela's cookies are amazing!  Udi's gluten-free bread is good to, but not dairy free. I also just came across goodEbar, which are protein dense snack bars, but more like a dense piece of banana bread.  Delicious!

TRE: It's funny you should mention goodEbar, I ran into the founders Chuck & Tori at least 4 times during Naturally Boulder Days (read my coverage of the PitchSlam, goodEbar was the fifth pitch). Gluten-free certainly seemed like a consistent theme, with many new products on the horizon. So, obviously the sacrifices have been worth it?

JM: Yeah, I also really enjoyed meeting Tori!  The sacrifices were definitely worth it.  I feel much better and am just happier. 

TRE: So you mentioned working at a restaurant, is your current job food related as well?

JM: Yes.  My personal path of healing and nutrition coupled with professional marketing training led me to The Fresh Ideas Group or FIG, a strategic communications agency specializing in the organic and natural products industry.  Personally I work with food companies – R. W. Knudsen and Santa Cruz Organic, Whole Foods Market as well as other “green” companies such as Eco-Products, which is a manufacturer of compostable food service items – cups, plates, bowls made from plants not oil.  Additionally, I work with Naturally Boulder, a trade association which supports and fosters growth of natural products companies in the Boulder area.  FIG is the perfect combination of my interests. 

TRE:  How large is the education gap right now between people who care about healthy, whole foods, and those who don't? As a marketer, I'm sure this is one of your primary challenges?

JM: We do deal with that a lot, however the gap is narrowing.  Unfortunately it is because of actual tragedies and scares - children getting sick from cold medicine, E-coli found in meat, toxins in plastic, etc.  But as evidenced by more and more companies creating healthier products and large brand names "catching on", consumers are paying more attention. If Clorox can create a line of botanical cleaners, shoppers start to wonder if there is something to that.  When Wal-Mart began to stock their shelves with organic products, making them more available and more affordable, shoppers learn more about the benefits.  The natural products industry continues to grow by double digits each year and is now at $62 billion in sales.

TRE: I recently read that shoppers at natural & organic supermarkets are not especially price sensitive. However, it's a different story at Wal-Mart. Will organic prices will come down as the market matures and demand increases? It seems that price is the biggest sticking point for the majority of Americans.

JM: Where is my crystal ball?  Economics 101 would tell you that would make sense.  With bigger players like Wal-Mart it is starting to happen. However, probably not fast enough for most Americans.  I'll admit that I'm a rarity (outside of Boulder).  I will pay more for quality and healthy food for me and the health of our soil and people.

TRE: I often wonder when I would have discovered healthy food if I hadn't read In Defense of Food. If you didn't have problems with gluten, do you think you would have still discovered healthy food?

JM: Yes, I was headed that direction. First, by my love of eating. Second, my moving to Boulder.

TRE: You've lived here longer than I have, how much social pressure is there to eat healthy in Boulder?

JM: I don't think any.  It's a choice.  You can easily go to King Soopers and Safeway and shop as you like and many people do.  I think that the education of healthier food is prevalent in town by the number of Whole Foods, organic restaurants, juice bars, etc.  If you want it, it is there.  If you want to ignore it, that may be harder.

TRE: If you had to suggest one thing we could do (individually or collectively) to help the movement towards a better relationship with food, what would it be?

JM: Pay attention and read ingredient labels.  Seriously, try to read what goes into that processed food.  The less shoppers can understand on the food label, they will start to question it.  I got into the habit because of the food sensitivities, but every time I point out a label to someone, they stop and say, "...but I don't even know what all this stuff is.  I thought these were crackers." 

Exactly!

TRE: Thanks so much for chatting Jen. Any last words of advice and/or not-so-subtle self-promotion?

JM: Nah, I think I've said plenty.

I met Jen through her association with Naturally Boulder Days. Read my other posts about Naturally Boulder Days.

Friday Food Interview: Meredith Niles

Friday, October 31, 2008

Today, The Reluctant Eater is honored to talk with Meredith Niles (who just returned from a conference regarding green farming in Mozambique!). She is the Coordinator of the Cool Foods Campaign, a non-profit organization which challenges harmful food production technologies and promotes organic and other sustainable alternatives. Meredith writes extensively about agriculture, food, and climate change in a weekly guest column for Grist Environmental News and has contributed to National Public Radio, Environmental News Network and Political Affairs, among other outlets. Previously she worked for the U.S. State Department in International HIV/AIDS assistance and taught outdoor and environmental education.

TRE: Hi Meredith, what is your current relationship with food?

MN: I’d say my current relationship with food can be equated to that of a slightly overachieving mother.  Nurturing and comforting overall, but perhaps a bit critical and always pushing for improvement, in hopes to achieve the best result. 

TRE: What makes you "always pushing for improvement"?

MN: Because our food system has many opportunities for improvement and all people have the right to fair and real food.  Our current food system is rife with externalities that are imbedded within our environment, our health and nutrition and social inequalities.  I am hoping to educate people about some of these issues and decrease or eliminate many of the problems.

TRE: What are some of the biggest problems right now?

MN: Our food system is failing in many respects often driven by subsidies and corporate control.  But overwhelmingly, as our food has been de-localized it has resulted in fewer people knowing or understanding where their food comes from, increased environmental pollution, and a real challenge for food safety regulation.

In the United States one of our greatest failures has been our agricultural subsidy program, initially designed to help small farmers.  Today, we subsidize the production of major conventional crops, many genetically modified, including corn and soy that are among the most damaging for both the environment and our health.  They are the biggest consumers of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and the crops most often fed to livestock or turned into by-products for heavily processed packaged foods.  So rather than giving support to small scale family farmers producing real whole fruits, vegetables, and pastured animal products, we are giving money for the vast production of corporate industrial agriculture.  It is this very type of production that contributes approximately 20-25% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

TRE: Let's say that the movement against corporate industrial agriculture explodes, and all of the sudden millions of people won't buy their products. Where will all these people get their food from? Do we have enough small farms to be able to support an increasing demand?

One of the biggest myths in our food system is that we don’t have enough food to go around, and thus have to produce more.  In fact, in the United States there are more than 3,500 calories available for each person.  Globally, the figure is above 2,700 calories- more than the average person needs each day.  So first, I think we need to understand that we are already producing a lot of food.  In fact, it’s estimated that almost 15% of our waste is from food- so we have a lot of resources that we aren’t even using.

In reality, I don’t think that millions of people are going to wake up one day and vow off corporate food, but rather, I think that we will see a continuation of what is already happening- millions of people throughout the United States and the world who are choosing a new way of eating.  Farm to school programs, urban gardens, CSAs and farmers markets are all a testament to the rise of a movement that is taking over a huge part of America.  At the same time, we are seeing a growth in small farms again in the United States as well as a very strong interest from young people to get into farming.  Women farmers are increasing significantly as are young farmers.  And I also think its important to not forget the ability of small home gardens to provide a large portion of our food.  

One of the greatest examples of this success can be found in Cuba.  After the embargoes, Cuba was not able to purchase fertilizers and import a lot of food.  As a result, and quite quickly, they transformed their agricultural system into a highly efficient, organic system.  Cuba became food sovereign and was able to utilize urban centers and people’s own backyards to increase its food supply.

TRE: Actually, when I read The Omnivore's Dilemma, a part of me wanted to become a farmer - something I had never considered before. What are some of the biggest challenges in getting people to pay attention to what they eat?

MN: Well I think the reality of many people’s lifestyles often prevents them from thinking much about where their food comes from, or what some of the issues may be associated with their food.  A lot of our foods are designed for convenience now, and in this processing step, are less recognizable as food.  All of the packaging and processing and additives that we are adding to “fast food” or “convenience food” are not only questionable for our health but also for the health of the earth.  But, I certainly understand that people feel challenged to try to prepare meals or eat healthy when they are very busy.  I struggle with this myself sometimes.

Sometimes it is also hard to encourage people to change their eating habits based on environmental issues.  Many people struggle just to put food on the table and in our increasing economic woes, this will only become more true.  But, in reality, many of the things that are better for the environment are actually better for people’s wallets as well- like buying in bulk or buying unpackaged foods.

One of the places that people always seem to pay attention to their food though is when it comes to the health and safety of the foods they are eating.  No one wants to eat anything that has been tainted with harmful chemicals or pathogens.  The salmonella scare of the summer was certainly a testament to the way that people will change their purchasing habits if they believe that something is unhealthy.  But, perhaps people do not realize that the types of foods which are healthiest for us- animals raised in humane conditions, organic produce and local foods are also those which are best for the environment.

TRE: It's always inspiring to see people turn their passion for food into a career. Tell us about what you do for work.

MN: I work at the Center for Food Safety, a non profit organization that works to protect the environment and our health by promoting sustainable agriculture and working to change industrial agriculture.  We work on many different issues including GMOs, the organic standards, irradiation, aquaculture, climate change, and chemicals/hormones in food.  A lot of our work is focused on policy, legislation and education and the organization has more than 67,000 supporters.

I have the privilege of running a campaign that we just started this year called the Cool Foods Campaign.  It’s a public advocacy education campaign designed to teach people about the impact that their food and our food system has on global warming and to help people make and find foods that are better for the earth.  We are advocating for organic, local, whole and unprocessed foods as well as decreased consumption of conventional meat and dairy products.  The campaign comes at a very crucial moment, since it is estimated that about 25% of our greenhouse gas emissions are from the food system.  Considering that everyone eats, we have the opportunity to help fight global warming every single day just by changing a few things in our diet.  I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to work on such an exciting campaign and to be able to work on something I am so passionate about- I think its quite rare.

TRE: How did you end up working at the Center for Food Safety?

MN: Actually I think that my job here has been more than a dozen years in the making.  My interest in food issues and the environment began when I was a teenager and decided to give up meat for environmental reasons.  I was always into outdoor activities and the environment as well as cooking and food.  But, it wasn’t until I was in my last year of college and took a course called “Food Politics” that I realized that my environmental and food passions could come together.  I worked as an outdoor and environmental education teach for awhile and also traveled and lived abroad, spending some time on farms in New Zealand.  When I was ready to move back to Washington, CFS just seemed like the perfect place for me.

TRE: Okay, this is probably an impossible question, but I must ask it. How do you measure the success of the Cool Foods Campaign? And a problem I deal with myself is that it's so much easier to reach the people who are already educated about food. How do you go about reaching those who aren't?

MN: This is, of course, a crucial question and a very important one.  We struggled with this question as we were developing the program which is why we came up with the Cool Foods Pledge- a non binding pledge that gives people, businesses, schools and other organizations the opportunity to commit to changing the way they eat.  The pledge has 6 statements and it has been helpful for us to sign on a variety of people and organizations.  This is one tangible way to see how we are reaching people, but we also utilize mass media to try to reach broader audiences.  

It is always challenging trying not to “preach to the converted”.  One of the ways that we have been most successful with this has been some of the media that we have been able to work with.  While it may seem common place to discuss food and environment issues in say, Environment Magazine, we have aimed to go further.  The Campaign has been featured in much more mainstream publications including Oprah Magazine, Food and Wine, Martha Stewart Radio and Today’s Dietician.  I think that it goes to show that the average person really does care about these issues and they are eager to read about what they can do.

TRE: Thank you so much for your time Meredith. Any last words of wisdom or advice?

MN: Yes- I just want to say that we should never underestimate the power of just one person and their food choices.  You know, I tell people now that eating is a political act, which may sound strange but truly it is.  When we purchase our food we are participating in a system and voting to show the type of food system that we want.  So as we think about our upcoming election certainly it’s important to vote, but I hope people also remember that we make many political decisions everyday, including with our food choices.

I’d also encourage everyone to check out the Center for Food Safety at www.centerforfoodsafety.org and also the Cool Foods Campaign at www.coolfoodscampaign.org and to sign our Cool Foods pledge!

Thanks for having me Ryan- it was a pleasure to contribute to The Reluctant Eater.

Friday Food Interview: Andrew Schwerin

Friday, October 24, 2008

Today the Reluctant Eater talks with Andrew Schwerin. His interview below provides great insight into his long resume of food "life experience". He particularly loves Glacier Ice Cream's Key Lime Pie ice cream (not the sorbet, mind you) and can't understand why it isn't more available. To keep his mind limber, he plays ultimate, lifts weights, rafts, climbs and snowboards and dabbles in pottery and silversmithing. He is currently in his third year of graduate studies at CU working on a high-efficiency solar cell.

TRE: Hi Andrew, thanks for talking with us. What is your current relationship with food?

AS: That's a pretty broad question, so I'll just pick one inroad and start there. I worked on a vegetable farm for two seasons after college. Actually, to start back even farther, I worked on my college garden. I went to Dickinson college, and I graduated in 2004, so at that time a movement toward sustainability, good food, all that stuff was starting to grow in the college. It wasn't just students; it was professors and administration too.

Now, it's huge there; it's one of the things the college prides itself on most. But to get back to the point, back then, we had a garden. It was about 1to 1 1/2 acres at that point. To put it in perspective, this is about the size of your average lot of land in boulder, house and all. So we had about 30 outdoor plots, 3 feet by 8 feet, plus 3 greenhouses. One of my favorite things was getting turned on to Asian greens in the early spring and late fall. Bok choi, tat soi, hun tsai tai, autumn poem...all good stuff. In fact, there I really got into salad altogether. Salad wasn't just this afterthought or this stuff you at because you felt like you "should," when you have those really fresh greens, like, you can taste the life right in them, it really explodes. I guess if I could pick a beginning for my conscious relationship with food, it would be then and there.

 

I graduated college. I knew that a few of my friends from school had worked for Chip and Susan Planck in Virginia. They run Wheatland Vegetable Farms in Purcellville, which in the Appalachian Piedmont, about an hour from DC. I got down there that summer and worked for them for the full season, until election day, 2004. That was around their 20th or 25th year and they're still at it, although they're planning to wind down soon.

 

There were a lot of college students, recent grads and people taking a semester off working there. Chip and Susan wrote this 4 page brochure for prospective workers. The gist of it was, "We work very very hard, in the hot sun and in the rain, and in the peak season, we'll work harder then you ever imagined was possible. We've also had some great conversations, some great meals, and earned pretty well." That sums up WVF.

They weren't trying to scare anyone off, just get people ready for what they were getting into. You have to understand that, as good as this change in consciousness is, with people getting into better eating, people's notions of farming now are so romanticized. They had the occasional person showing up that would think that they were going to frolic in the meadows and play medieval ballads on the lute to goats or some bullshit (I'm not making this up), and they would inevitably have to work, and they'd cry, and quit. So Chip and Susan tried to minimize "situations" like that.

 

It was true, too. I worked some eighty hour weeks and some twenty hour days. I was also pretty happy nearly every day there. Not to sound trite, but I just really believed in what we were doing, and I had awesome friends to do it with. Without that belief, I couldn't have worked that hard. To me, we fed the city. Our stuff looked awesome at the markets and people lined up for it and paid what we asked them. That's success right there. And it never got old for me. At nearly every market, I was just blown away how our hard work really shined through in how good our food looked.

You would think that for Susan, after twenty years of this, SHE would be tired, but no. If I had a picture or a video of this spectacle it would all make sense and you'd be shocked, but use your imagination: it's 7:30 AM, Falls Church VA, and she's skipping up and down the aisles of our market stall, clapping and yelling about how good it looked.  

 

So, back to food. If it wasn't apparent from above, let me drill this in to your heads one last time: OUR SHIT LOOKED AWESOME. Rather, OUR SHIT WAS AWESOME. In fact, more than anything, our food kept us working hard. If there was one thing we learned, and only one thing, it was that there is right way and wrong way to pick vegetables. There's a window when it will be optimum quality. I wouldn't say a small window, but a window, nonetheless. I know how amazing it can be to see a giant zucchini, but I just think "seedy, tough, yuck." I've also seen these tiny zucchini in packs and I think "useless." Chip and Susan would check our pick and check for aberrantly sized vegetables, and believe me, if it was poorly picked, they caught it.

 

We were all about that optimum size before it gets seedy and the skin gets tough. That went for any vegetable. I remember I had some squash once that wasn't picked right and it was tough and seedy! I eat like a beast but I can't eat stuff that's past it's prime like that.

 

DC has an awesome market system. At the big ones like DuPont Circle, there were vegetables, orchard fruit, cheese, meat, prepared food, milk, soaps, and fish. There were a few vendors in each category too. So, we had all of these vegetables, what were we going to cook with them? We got good beef and chicken from Polyface, Joel Salatin's farm. I think every week we tried a different cut of meat. Flank steaks, rib roasts, all kinds of stuff I never would have thought of, but since he raised the whole beef, he had to sell every part of it, so he made it his business to market that stuff.

I'd been a vegetarian up to that point, but all the hard work, and all the good meat available made me switch sides. A lot of times, people take up vegetarianism against the factory farm system, but why not buy some well raised meat? (TRE: this is exactly the stance I take)

 

You could call it an experimental phase. We made tons of crazy food because we had access to it and we were creative and just curious. Once we made fish stock with fish heads from Buster, the guy at the DuPont market. Tons of good vegetables from our farm or the farm next door, fresh fish heads, good well water. Glory times. We had a neighbor shoot a deer that was eating our vegetables. You want local raised? That thing was from 50 feet away.

We butchered it; gave him one tenderloin and we kept the other. We used some of the bones for soup. Then we had a barbeque and roasted a leg all day. It still had the hoof on it. I think some vegetarian was appalled. The shock of seeing a hoof and knowing it was a real animal that was once alive...or because I was drunk and chasing her around the farm with a deer leg and hoof. If you're reading this, Samantha Kushnick, I'm sorry.

 

All that stuff left an impact on me. I consider myself a pretty good eater and a good cook. I know how to cook at a lot of different levels: I can cook a few courses for guests coming for a dinner, or I can cook for myself and make sure I eat well with relatively little hassle all week. It's like going to the gym, in that it may be a little slow to start up, but I have to do it. Sunday will roll around, and I'll be all "Alright, let's get this thing rolling" but then I'll be cooking and having a blast.

I was reading the Ween page (click on the pic there for the rest of the story/recipe) and Deaner wrote how he likes to get nice and drunk when he's cooking. It totally reminded me to lighten up Cooking is this energetic exchange. I can bang that shit out just so I can eat, but that's no fun, and that'll come through in the product. IOW, it'll be shitty. If I set aside a little time, get nice and drunk, and have some fun with it, I've got some good food for the week.

TRE: Wow, what a complete response! Going back even a little further, what was the food environment like in your house while growing up?

AS: Pretty good, actually. Both of my grandmothers were pretty solid cooks. My Bubbee made all the stuff for holidays: matzo ball soup, tzimmes, brisket, kugel. Heavy Jewish food. We had a high standard for what a "good bagel" was too. Grandma Schwerin was a cook and a gardener up until her really late years. She had an excruciatingly high standard for beans and corn. Plus we'd always have a perfect roasts. We'd stay down the shore every summer, so tons of fish, a few rounds of lobster, clams...my fishmonger just closed his business in August and I was way sad.

 

My mom cooked a lot. Dad grilled a ton. There are some recipes, I wouldn't call them family recipes since it sounds Hallmark-y, but there's still some recipes we haven't stopped using. There's this pork tenderloin with honey lime marinade that kicks ass. Only now that there's been this overall change in consciousness, they're way into shopping for better ingredients. More than I ever thought you could be. In Philly they go to the Clark Park market in West Philly.

 

We're a product of our times, and we're not totally in control of our environment, so I ate pretty well, all things considered. I know that especially In those teenage years, there must have been a pretty solid window of about 10 years of slurpees and McDonalds, which probably fucked my head up. I can't look at the stuff now. It's not a statement or anything, I just don't want to eat it.

TRE: So it sounds like even though you did have somewhat of an epiphany moment in college, there has has always been a strong emphasis on food in your life. Do you have anything to say to people who don't put much time and effort into what they eat?

AS: I'd say, "Quit eating crap!" No...I'm not dogmatic about it. But sometimes I do sit and wonder how people can get through their lives feeling like feeding themselves is a chore instead of a joy (one of my pet peeves is when waiters ask if you're still "working on that." Again, like it's a damn chore to eat their food.) So I'd say to make some space in your day or week to enjoy food. One meal...and start there. Just enjoy it.

Now, nothing good in life is going to get handed to you. Just like searching for a good job, staying in shape, or learning an instrument, it takes some work. You'll need to put a little work in to eating well. But once you build it in to a part of your lifestyle, you'll look at how you used to do things and wonder how you got by like that. 

TRE: A little birdie told me that you occasionally pick your own mushrooms. Can you tell us about that?

AS: Sure! I heard about it when I was back on the farm. There was Wachington Mycological Club, WMC. I never got to go out with them, but when I got out here, I found a club, the Colorado Mycological Society. I learned from some people there and then went out on my own. It's fun. I have this "It's just a walk in the woods, and if I find mushrooms, it's gravy" attitude. You know that expression "The hungry don't get fed?" If you go out all hungry to score, you'll be sad.

 

The season runs from about June to September. You need rain, so in Colorado, you need to go higher. There are some on the Front Range, but higher is better. Boletes are good - you get a lot of meat on each one and they're easy to identify. I like to fry them in butter, oil and garlic, and have them on some bread. Then you soak the bread in the oil and it's great. I usually bring a little stove and a pan when I go out, especially with newbies. that instant reward usually hooks them right into it. It's funny that in so many other countries, it's just your hobby and everyone does it.

TRE: Actually, that "bring a little stove" part is a great hook, maybe that's something I will try next season? I continue to be surprised how pervasive the natural food culture is here in Boulder, is that something you will look for if you ever decide to move?

AS: Not specifically...I feel like it's become part and parcel with so many other things I'm into, I wouldn't worry about moving somewhere and not eating well there. On the other side of the coin, I know there are some regions that really have a lot of regional pride in the food they produce: the Northwest and all those fish and mushrooms, the all that well raised meat in the midwest. I think it's going to be there if you look for it. So I would just be amped to check out what other regions really have.

TRE: Here in Colorado, what do you do after the farmers market has closed up for the season?

AS: I know a few farms, like Abbondanza and Jay Hill do greenhouses and do vegetables pretty late through the season. I'll do that this year. I have a chest freezer so I freeze a ton of stuff: cherries, peaches, blueberries. But I really crave fresh greens in the winter time, so I'll hit those farms up. Other than that, I just get what I can at the grocery store.

TRE: Thanks so much for sharing Andrew. Do you have any final words of wisdom or advice for our readers?

AS: I think I've got it all out, thank for the talk.

Friday Interview: Sue Campbell

Friday, October 17, 2008

Today, The Reluctant Eater talks with Sue Campbell. Sue is a freelance book designer; a baby boomer, wife, mom, grandma, and struggling writer—never published—but working up the nerve. She has been a domestic diva, a goat-milking, cheesemaking, chicken tending, vegetable gardener, and organic food maven before she even knew what that was. She's an avowed suburbanite now, a Californian by birth and a Coloradoan by choice. She has a new blog called Sue Campbell Writes http://suecampbell.wordpress.com/ where she writes about books, design, publishing, and writing.

TRE: What is your current relationship with food?

SC: Ha Ha, well as you can tell...we're not strangers! I love to cook and also eat. One of life's great pleasures is discovering new tastes and new foods. Today we are so lucky to live where we do and to have the wealth of multi-culturalism here and with that comes great food. 

TRE: Which do you prefer, cooking for yourself, or others?

SC: Well when I cook for myself, it's really for my husband and me. He's open to trying new things and he has learned to eat mostly vegetarian with me. It may be old fashioned, but I really love cooking a nice meal for him as an act of love. (I do most of the cooking, though he's a pretty good cook, being a cajun.) Entertaining a crowd is more stressful, but I enjoy that challenge too. I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year, and since I pretty sure the family won't go for "tofurkey" I'll be doing the traditional bird—hopefully with a twist or two.

TRE: Thanksgiving seems to come up often in conversations with vegetarians, I think because it is a cultural tradition built around eating meat. Have you ever felt like being a vegetarian is an issue of contention with your husband or family?

Not really. I am not a strict veggie person. I eat fish a couple of times a month and very occasionally, chicken. I must confess that when on vacation I succumbed with gusto to consuming an In and Out burger in California. But only once, and it's been almost a year—in fact I made the decision right after Thanksgiving last year. I thought I would miss meat more than I do, which is hardly ever. My husband doesn't mind that much, in fact less than I bet he thought he would. It's amazing what a large variety of good tasting other foods can do in satisfying you. We did have some red meat still in the freezer over the year and I cooked it for him sometimes, certainly don't mind when others want that around me. 

The family doesn't hassle me about it either. I tell them to make whatever they would normally and I eat the parts of the meal that I want. If I were a strict vegan I imagine that would be harder. There are two other vegetarians that come to family gatherings so I have company.

TRE: Have you had pretty consistent food habits, or have there been changes throughout your life?

SC: One thing that has been consistent is that I do love vegetables. My grandparents were tenant farmers back in the "old" Great Depression. They continued to garden throughout their lives and they developed in all of us a love a fresh bounty from the garden. Nearly all of the family has gardened at one time or another. During the 1970s there was a "back to the land" movement leftover from the hippy era. I was part of that. 

My first husband and I had five acres stocked with chickens, ducks, and goats, plus a huge garden, about 50 by 100 feet. We grew most of what we ate, bought grain from a local farmer and made bread. We milked the goats and I made cheeses. We canned, and froze veggies. I even made my own baby food! There is a great sense of accomplishment in putting a complete dinner on the table made entirely of what you produced at home. We also ate our animals too, which meant killing and processing our meat. 

It wasn't that experience by the way that prompted me to become a vegetarian, butchering I mean. I'd been seeing it done since I was a child and it didn't bother me that much. It always hurt a little to have to kill a creature, but farmers grow philosophical about it. I think you have much more appreciation for the animals you eat if you make the connection between their deaths and your life. We had the solace of knowing that our critters were well cared for and happy for their time on earth and that they didn't suffer in their deaths. I don't think you can really say that about the meat industry as a whole.

Let me tell you though, that lifestyle is a LOT OF WORK! That's probably why even though I ate a lot of calories I was in good shape, because I was on the move all the time. And I was younger. So yes there have been changes too. As a young person I think you can usually eat more, and less healthy and not suffer too much, as long as you also eat good foods too. Especially if you're an athlete. I was a skater as a teen, long hours everyday. I ate like a linebacker! And it didn't show, then. But give that up, get married, have babies and hello hips. 

Your body and your metabolism changes over the years, and maybe especially for women. I am post-menopausal now and prior to about age 35 I never had to worry about my weight. After that I only need to walk by food and it's my pal for life.  I changed my habits partly because of my weight gain. Now my body has adjusted to the new food and it's hard to lose any weight on my current diet. So it's a struggle always.

TRE: People often assume that "diet food" and "trying to lose weight" go hand in hand, but food advertised to people trying to lose weight often is only "healthy" if you strictly look at the numbers (calories, fat grams, etc). It's no secret that many people are beginning to doubt this sort of "food science". How do you balance healthy eating with a desire to lose weight without going crazy with 100 calorie packs?

SC: I admit to trying different fad diets in the past. I know better now. Or, I think I do. Diets don't work. Or they work, but as soon as you stop you gain it all back because your body is efficient at saving energy (fat) as a survival mechanism. Diet foods are often just phony food with the calories and the nutrition stripped out. If you are used to eating larger portions and suddenly you get those 100 calorie packs of Oreos you're not going to be satisfied with the tiny bits you get, so you eat more (maybe not of the Oreos but anything else). Because you're not satisfied, you wind up either being very hungry or eating more. 

The problem with "diet foods" that are made specifically for dieters is that they are often not satisfying, not tasty, and not nutritious. Are you better off being good (and unhappy) not eating any fats or sweets, or other stuff you love? Or eating the right fats, the right sweets, and things you love in moderation?  If you eat larger amounts of low cal, but high bulk food like salads and other veggies, and fruit, plus a healthy fat like olive oil (in moderation) you're more likely to be happy with a small piece of chocolate for instance than say, a quart of Ben and Jerry's because you've been denying yourself yummy stuff that your body craves. Also listen to your body! Push away from the table before you start feeling like an expanding balloon.

I guess that's a long winded way of saying that I don't really eat "diet foods" anymore with the exception of diet cola and only when I am out just because I like it. I've got a pretty good idea of what is healthy food and what isn't. I can recommend a good book on diet and nutrition, You On A Diet by Drs. Oz and Roizen. While it IS a diet book, it is really a very good primer on how your body and metabolism works. The diet is more of a life change and they teach you about healthy food.

Plus you really have to exercise! 

TRE: What would you say to someone who told you that food isn't an important part of their life?

SC: Really? You are what you eat, I guess.

TRE: Despite your healthy eating habits, are there any aspects of your relationship with food (or what you eat) that you'd like to improve?

SC: Well, sometimes I wish I didn't like it so much! Portion control is the hard one. When you find out what a portion really is? A half-cup of something isn't very much!! Also, I'd learn to drink more water. I often forget.

TRE: Thank you so much for talking with us Sue. Do you have any last words of advice or wisdom for our readers?

SC: Don't be afraid to try new foods. Fresh is always better. And, food is one of life's pleasures enjoy!

Friday Interview: Sue Bella

Friday, October 3, 2008

Today The Reluctant Eater interviews Sue Bella, a baby-boomer who has taken care of people for most of her adult life in one way or another. She has worked in medical imaging, radiation therapy and the cardiac cath lab, as a United Airlines flight attendant for ten years, and currently as an esthetician at Neroli Salon and Spa in Milwaukee. For exercise she bikes to work, walks herself and her dog, in-line skates, and is a sculler with the Milwaukee Rowing Club. 

TRE: Hi Sue, what is your current relationship with food?

SB: Hi Ryan, I have an nice opportunity now with our recent move to purge everything from my pantry and refrigerator, and replace it with fresh food and quantities that I can handle on a daily basis, or a few days at best. In the 'old days', I'd buy quantity rather than quality, and freeze things. Now, I want to buy my food as I need it daily and from a good source, like Whole Foods or the Outpost here in town. 

I am trying to limit my sugar intake and I am aware of food labels, sodium content and the fewer ingredients listed, the better...I love good food, and I've found from my travels that the simplest, freshest food is always the most pleasing. 

TRE: What has motivated/inspired you to change the way you ate in the 'old days'?

SB: Being a baby boomer, a child brought up in the 50's, it was a time when packaged foods first came on the market en masse, like TV dinners, Swanson, Encore, etc. I think my mom thought that this was a wonderful thing that she didn't have to work that hard to put a meal on the table, as she worked as well. My dad was a very picky eater who didn't like much variety or seasoning in his food. She lost interest in trying new recipes, so we ate pretty much the same things each week.

In my adult life, I didn't cook much until about fifteen years ago, when I traveled to Europe and Asia and tasted the wonderful simple, beautiful foods of Italy, France and Japan. I wanted to eat like that and I wanted to give my daughter the foundation of food that is fresh and simply prepared. I was never overweight, but didn't have much energy during much of my twenties and thirties, I wonder about all of the sugar and sodium consumption, some fast food and just plain junk food that I consumed at that time...

TRE: The countries whose food you loved, why do you think they've maintained a traditional food culture, whereas we have not?

SB: I really don't know the answer to that question...do they just see what havoc that industrialized food has had on our population and refuse to go that route? Not to say that McDonald's, etc. hasn't made a dent in their countries as well, but their way of eating is so deeply embedded and enjoyed that I think they would not give it up for anything. 

TRE: I haven't been to France, Italy, or Japan, but I can say from personal experience that in Thailand fast/processed food seems to be an increasingly important part of the middle class diet. In Bolivia, fast food isn't prevalent at all, but most of the little shops are filled with processed american food. Part of me fears that we're going to wake up and move away from that type of diet, while the rest of the world embraces our worst food habits.

To change the subject a little bit, do you promote healthy eating to your friends and family?

SB: Yes, I really try to promote healthy choices to my daughter, and i think it is pretty set in her brain with the way I cooked and packed her lunches for school. Her friends at school were always envious of her lunches...pasta, fruit, whole wheat wraps with turkey, spring mix...I try to steer my mom away from processed stuff as she is kind of addicted to buying frozen packages for convenience. The group of people that I work with at Aveda seem to bring really healthy lunches as opposed to when I worked at the hospital. I wonder if being happy at your work has anything to do with it...or a certain level of frustration...it seemed at the hospital there were always donuts, candy, tons of processed snacks, and take-out pizza for example.

TRE: I am always so surprised when I hear about people in the health industry making poor choices about their own health. Tell us a little more about Aveda, it seems like the kind of place that would attract people with healthy lifestyles. Has working there help to strengthen your own convictions?

SB: Working at Neroli has definitely strengthened my convictions to eat well and remain active. I am surrounded by my colleagues who reinforce my intentions each day. Not to say that there are not folks who drink sodas and eat chips etc...but, the hospital just seemed to be such a magnet for poor eating habits. Do you think that the level of frustration or job satisfaction has anything to do with eating choices? Or just laziness? Or poor education/ example while growing up? I can say that early in my adult life when I was frustrated or unhappy, I would pound pints of Hagen Daaz, chips or whatever was in my sight line. Now, I do not eat for those reasons. For the most part, I really think about the choices I make. 

TRE: There are just so many factors involved, and I believe you touched on several of them. Education plays a huge part. Many people think that all food is created equally, and it's hard to blame them for that. Diets and "food science" give everyone the impression that health is all about numbers (calories, carbs, fats, etc). Some people reject this and go one way (by eating all kinds of strange food...fried stuff, chips, ice cream), while others head the other way and try to eat naturally.

It's hard to say why people eat unhealthily when they are unhappy, but there is a little bit of self-destructiveness in all of us. When we are feeling bad, it seems like the right time to do something we shouldn't be doing...something that will make us feel better in the short term (but not the long term). I've written about this before, but usually this is the wrong strategy and we'd be better off doing the things that make us feel better in the long term.

I do believe unhappiness may cause periods of unhealthy binging, but on the whole I believe it's education and the examples set by your childhood and current support system.

I didn't start caring about any of this until I was close to 30, do you think your daughter cares about food for her own sake, or is just continuing the example you have set? Do you worry about it now that she has "left the nest"?

SB: I think that I gave Casey a pretty good foundation for food, and it seems that she has some very healthy choices at Emerson College. So, it will be up to her from now on. Boston is certainly a city of endless choice in food of all ethnicities, fresh seafood, vegetables, etc. I have confidence that she will choose wisely most of the time.

TRE: Thanks for chatting Sue. Any last words of wisdom or advice for our readers?

SB: My advice? Buy what you are going to eat only for today and so on...not always possible, but something to aim for. Food is such a joy, so enjoy it!

Friday Interview: Tillie Trimboli

Friday, September 26, 2008

Today The Reluctant Eater would like to welcome Tillie Trimboli.  Tillie is the Client Retention Specialist for an HR company in Boston. She has participated in everything from breakdancing to Tae Kwon Do to hackey sack, and recently retired from playing semi-pro womens football for the Mass Mutiny.

TRE: Tillie, can you tell us about your current relationship with food?

TT: Wow... the first question is a loaded one!

 

My relationship with food is frustrating.  I repeat what I eat a lot; I like a limited amount of things, so that makes sense.  But even though what I eat is repetitive, I have no rhythm or routine in my eating patterns.  Some days I eat way too many calories, and other days I eat far too few.  I have no consistency, except that I make poor choices.

 

The logical side of me knows that food is energy and that I only need to intake calories and energy to replace what I've used during the course of my day.  However, my emotional side takes that logic and decides to replace the calories I've burned off with comfort food, like pizza, burgers, soda, french fries, chocolate, etc.  

 

You wouldn't know it to look at me, but I actually don't eat much.  I simply eat all the wrong things.  Things that stick to my belly, thighs, etc.  Instead of snacking on an apple, I'll eat a Snickers bar.  Now, a Snickers bar alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you couple that with a burger and fries, or fried chicken sandwich, or mac'n cheese, (or other high calorie - low nutrition foods), a Snickers bar is the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.   I just make all the wrong choices.  And the really infuriating part is that I know I'm doing it, and I still make the wrong choices.

 

Sometimes I try to go without eating just so I don't have to choose, because I never eat the right thing because I don't like the right things.  Sad, right?  I'd rather avoid the unavoidable, then deal with my frustration.         

TRE: Have your eating habits always been like this, or is it a recent phenomenon?

TT: What I eat has been the same since I was little.  My eating habits have always been poor. I've never fancied vegetables, or many fruits.  I've always been a carbohydrates and sweets kind of girl. 

How I eat has changed with the phases of my life.  When I lived under my parents roof, I ate only slightly more balanced meals.  Like I said, I've never like veggies, so my Mom would make sure there was cranberry sauce, apple sauce, potatoes... things I did eat. 

 

During college, how I ate was time sensitive.  Being a 3 sport athlete and in the prime of my life, I could eat whatever I wanted- whenever I wanted- because I was burning through some many calories it didn't matter.

 

Post college, I am responsible for feeding myself, so I buy and make only the things I like.  I'd be throwing money away if I bought lettuce, carrots, corn, etc., but being with Jill has helped me a bit.  She likes healthy stuff, so I buy it for her and then try some when she is having it. 

TRE: Do you ever feel like your eating habits have limited you?

TT: Absolutely!

 

I seldom accept dinner invitations to people's homes because I'm a 'picky' eater and I don't want to appear rude, or high maintenance. 

 

Eating out for business functions is always stressful for me, because I don't eat "grown up meals".  Most of what I like comes from the kid's menu.  This is changing a little recently, since I have discovered I like BBQ ribs and grilled Salmon.

 

In addition to invitations out, my eating habits do not promote wellness.  My body would be a f*ing temple if I liked healthy foods.  I don't drink, I don't smoke, I love physical exercise and pushing my body to untested limits... but my eating sucks.  This causes lack of energy, lack of focus, and obvious weight issues. 

TRE: It's amazing you have such clarity about this. Why do you think you still have a problem changing what you eat?

TT: I have clarity about this because I think about it all the time.  I self-analyze a lot, and my eating habits are my weakest point.

That's the one answer I don't know.  Certainly, a lot of it has to do with will power, determination, etc., but lately I've been wondering if self respect isn't playing a role in all of this.  

When I play a team sport, I bust my ass to be the best I can be because I know my strength will only make the team stronger.  When I was in college, and then after, playing football, I was a workout warrior.  Being accountable to a team, and the thought of letting them down is a huge motivator for me. Now that I only have myself to be accountable to, it doesn't seem to matter if I am only letter myself down.  

In the beginning of September, in addition to my regular journal writings, I began keeping a food journal; tracking what I eat and when.  I am trying to focus on improving my relationship with food (so your interview couldn't be more timely!).  The follow is an excerpt from my journal:

"Tomorrow I will begin the Food Diary portion this journal.  I will weigh in once a week and write down what I eat throughout the day.  This will be an interesting exercise since I can be accountable to everyone but myself.  If I lie to myself then I'm only hurting myself and for some reason that's been ok.  Why?  I don't know.  I don't want to lie to myself anymore.  Hurting myself is not ok."

It sounds so cliche or pop-psychology to link poor eating to self-esteem or other psychological factors, but there may be a reason for it.  I don't know. Right now I'm focusing on things I can control, which is of course the choices I make.  I'm just trying to be more conscious of what my choices mean to my overall health.  I'm quite literally taking it one bite at a time.

TRE: We recently interviewed Jayme Otto, who is a cyclist and very strict about her food. I can imagine football is vastly different in terms of how you are encouraged to eat. Has diet ever been a topic of conversation amongst your teammates?

TT: Not really, and more so in my college days than on my football team.  My college teams had weigh ins, training programs, etc.  College was when I first learned about protein bars, shakes, supplements, etc. 

 

With football... the discussion seemed to differ from one position to the next.  No one wanted to be weighed down or dehydrated, but each person seemed to have their own system for giving their body what it needed to get through games/practices. 

TRE: Have you had any health problems as a result of what you have (or haven't) been eating?

TT: Not yet; but I'm pretty sure I can pencil myself in for Diabetes if I don't change soon.

TRE: It's great to see that you're finally taking some steps in the right direction (recognizing the problem, creating the journal). Have you been pressured much by friends and family?

TT: I've always been given grief about my eating by family, friends, co-workers, etc.  They pick and make jokes, but nothing harmful.  And it's not like anybody says something I haven't heard before, or told myself.  

My father is the only one who talks to me seriously about it.  He feels a lot of guilt about how I eat because I take after him in his eating habits.  My father didn't like healthy foods, he didn't eat a lot of veggies (corn, green beans - that's it).  He could and would eat a whole loaf of bread with peanut butter.  His portions were way too big.  I'm using the past tense because when he was 48 he changed.  He made really hard life-style changes to what and how he ate.  He now eats many veggies, smaller potions, doesn't drink with meals, and incorporated many other changes. He tries to be, and is, an inspiration to me.    

TRE: Thanks so much for talking with us Tillie, do you have an parting words of wisdom for our readers?

TT: This was an enlightening experience.  Thanks.

Friday Interview: Jayme Otto

Friday, September 19, 2008

Today, The Reluctant Eater interviews Jayme Otto, a recovering meat-and-potatoes eater raised in the Midwest. Currently residing in Boulder, she works as a Database Analyst by day and freelance writer by night. She studied Ayurvedic Nutrition for two years at the Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga and Ayurveda and captains a womens bike racing team.


TRE: Jayme, tell us a little bit about your current eating habits and your relationship to food?

JO: I've basically subscribed to the "if you can't grow it, pick it, or kill it, don't eat it" philosophy. So that means I eat pretty simply - fruits, veggies, rice, whole grains, beans, fish, nuts. I choose organic whenever possible. And I stay away from heavily processed, manufactured foods. I do make exception for natural sports-enhancement foods like Clif Bars and natural whey protein powder. While these things are processed, they contain natural, organic ingredients, with no preservatives or colorants.

 

Which sort of leads into your second question about my relationship to food. As a competitive athlete, I view food first and foremost as fuel. I've experienced firsthand what it feels like to bonk in a race due to insufficient caloric intake. It's ugly. This makes things pretty cut and dry about food, and negates a lot of the emotional drivel and guilt surrounding eating that plagues our nation. I eat 5 meals per day starting with breakfast. Lunch and dinner are full-sized meals, the rest are smaller. If I don't eat enough, I can't compete at the level I do. But it's not just about quantity, it's also about quality. It's sort of like taking a high performance sports car to the gas station - you're going to use the highest quality fuel, right? 

TRE: It's interesting that you view food primarily as a fuel, yet still eat healthily. The "old me" viewed food as a fuel, which led me to eat a lot of processed food, and not being a high performance athlete, I didn't really notice the difference. Since I had never known what it is like to eat only "real food", how could I know what I was missing? Then again, like a lot of people, I do put the cheap gas in my car because I can't tell the difference in performance from one tank to another. As a captain of a race team, how much are you involved in making sure your team is eating right?

JO: Interesting. When I started viewing food as fuel, I got a lot pickier about what I put into my system. I had much higher expectations for that food, you know? Expecting a breakfast to carry you through a four-hour road race, puts alot of pressure on that meal. It's got to be solid. You need slow-burning carbohydrates and easily digestible fats and proteins, for example. Something like coffee and donuts would have spiked my glycogen nicely for the car ride to the race, but by the time I hit the race course, I would have already dipped into a food coma of sorts. That's no way to start a race.

 

As captain, my responsibilities focus mainly on race strategy. But I never miss an opportunity to talk food with the team. I go so far as to host team breakfast at my place prior to the race. I instituted this last year when my #1 rider showed up for a race after a breakfast of chocolate cake. She was young, and managed to race well that day, but that's not a trend she can keep up for long, especially as she ages. Stress is cumulative. You keep heaping it on with training, lifestyle, poor diet, etc, and eventually something has to give. So I think proper diet can be used as a competitive advantage in sports.

TRE: Have you always paid attention to what you eat, or has it been something you grew into as you became older, wiser, and more competitive?

JO: Nope. I grew up in the Midwest on a pretty strict diet of whole milk, roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans from a can. Once I moved to Boulder, after college, I started reading about diet and nutrition as part of learning how to cook for myself. That was 10 years ago. I was lucky because Boulder had a Vitamin Cottage, two Wild Oats, and a Whole Foods, all of which were chock full of handouts and brochures on nutrition. I also got a hold of a book called Digestive Wellness, by Elizabeth Lipski that really helped solidify the concepts I was reading about in the natural grocers' brochures.

 

One of the first benefits I recognized from my improved diet was that I stopped getting sick. I was frequently sick growing up. In grade school it was strep throat, about three times per year. In high school, it was mono, at least once per year. I also had chronic sinus infections. All of that went away when I changed my diet. I also noticed that I no longer had to sleep for 9-10 hours per night. 7-8 became just fine. And finally, my mood and energy levels stayed more even-keel. I used to be one of those people who went from really hyper to completely crashed out. I'd feel great right after I ate, and then awful 60 minutes later. It was like this awful glycemic roller-coaster.

TRE: I was recently a remote village in the Peruvian Andes, and someone asked: "What do they do when someone gets sick?" It was clear from our guide's response - they don't really get sick. Sickness has become such a part of our culture that people don't always understand its direct relation to our lifestyle choices, especially food. Do you ever try to educate friends of yours who might not realize the effects of their choices?

JO: Absolutely. I studied Ayurveda for two years, an 5,000-year old eastern medicine tradition that believes all disease begins in the gut. The moment your digestion is compromised, your immune system is compromised.

 

I think the germ theory of disease did much to advance our modern-day understanding of illness. But I also think it made people take an external view of health - they started looking at sickness as something that happened to them because they picked up a germ from somewhere or someone. In a way, people began to feel helpless.

 

What people don't seem to realize is that health begins from the inside out. We are exposed to bacteria and viruses every day. A healthy immune system is able to absorb and destroy them. A compromised immune system will not, and we'll get sick. What's the first way our immune system gets compromised? Through a compromised digestive system. When we eat poor-quality foods, or foods that are difficult to digest (like processed foods and junk foods), we are not assimilating the nutrients our bodies need to function at optimal levels. We don't fight off germs as well, we don't handle stress as well, etc.

 

The direct relationship of poor diet and disease is irrefutable. Our culture, for whatever reason, has been slow to understand that. I suspect the focus on big money pharmaceuticals to mask symptoms, instead of treating the root cause is to blame.

TRE: Describe your fantasy meal.

JO: Umm, define fantasy. 

TRE: Oh, oops! Well then, in the interest of keeping this rated PG: If you could have any meal, what would it be?

JO: Ryan [her husband] and I made up our own fish taco recipe, that's my all-time favorite. I sometimes eats it twice a week.

 

It's simple: Tilapia from Whole Foods pan-simmered in orgainc olive oil with cilantro and lime. We use a special rub on the fish that I can't divulge! We use sprouted corn tortillas lightly fried in olive oil to make them more malleable. Then it's a buffet of fresh orgainc veggies from the Boulder Farmer's Market: spinach, tomatoes, red bell peppers. We include an organic pepper jack cheese and a sliced avocado.

 

It just seems to have the right blend of protein, fat, and carbs. I always feel great after eating it. So great that it's become my pre-race meal the night before every race.

TRE: Mmmmm, tasty. I may have to try those sometime. Do you ever break down and eat something you know will make you feel lousy afterwards?

JO: No. I honestly have no appetite for things that aren't "real food." The thought of a ding-dong or a tv dinner or a meal from a B-grade restaurant full of sugar and margarine and other synthetics is about as appealing as eating cardboard with cotton in it.

With that said, put an artisan pizza in front of me, topped in something exotic like prosciutto, pine nuts, and fresh basil and I may just eat the whole thing, regardless of how I feel afterward!

TRE: Thanks for sharing Jayme, any last words of advice for our readers?

JO: I'd like to suggest that people take responsibility for how they eat. Don't leave it up to marketing, television commercials, or how your parents raised you to make the decision as to what you put into your body. There is plenty of easily accessible information out there on what is healthy and what's not.

 

As a final comment, eating healthy is fun and empowering. There's a perception out there that eating well means deprivation. I've never felt that way. Quite the opposite actually - eating well has opened up an entire new world of foods I never knew existed. I honestly don't miss the McDonald's burgers. I prefer a free-range buffalo burger with organic blue cheese crumbles, roasted red peppers, and organic spinach from the garden, all set in a sprouted whole grain bun. Yum!

(Thanks Jayme! If you or anyone you know would like to be interviewed for The Reluctant Eater, please contact me at: ryan@thereluctanteater.com)

Jayme Otto is a freelance writer who has been recently published in Velo News, and Rocky Mountain Sports. For more information, or to contact her, visit her website: www.jaymeotto.com