I bought organic cheerios yesterday.
Really, Elizabeth? Organic cheerios? As if breakfast cereal could actually be healthy anyway. Two years ago I would have shaken my head in disgust at this. Organic was for pretentious people with money to burn. I actually cried at the thought of going into a Central Market because I found the whole thing to be a pretentious and intimidating show. Seriously, I cried.
And yet somehow it happened. I became that all-natural-craving mama who wants to petition her subdivision to change its rules to allow residents to raise chickens. I'm buying natural bug block bars and quizzing local farmers on how big of a deep freeze I'd need to store their grass-fed meat and perhaps I'll try my hand at making my own vanilla extract while I'm at it and oh you say there's a webinar on culturing your own dairy products? Sign me up!
I suppose it was a natural progression, from NFP to breastfeeding, to cloth diapers and alternative vaccine schedules and a host of other crunchy choices. And then if you're being so careful about what you're putting on and in your baby's body and she's about to start eating the same food as you, of course you have to reanalyze that! And somehow I slipped from being the skeptic who was going to research everything first to eagerly browsing the grocery store's organic aisle. Slow down, sister!
It's just that the little bit of reading I did made a lot of sense. Without time to do further research in the hustle and bustle of moving, I decided maybe we should play it a bit safer. And trust the research that people like Katie of Kitchen Stewardship do, seeing as she has a similar worldview and approach as I do (ie, she's an NFPer who researches the heck out of everything before she does it).
That doesn't mean I'm sprouting grains or making my own cleaning products or completely ridding the house of sugar. I haven't gone completely overboard. I suppose what it does mean is that my skepticism has shifted.
And as long as those organic cheerios are on sale, we'll have them in our pantry.
Until I replace all our breakfasts with homemade yogurt and soaked oatmeal, that is.
Related:
How One Woman Became "One of Them"
Oh no! You're a hippie! Haha, I'm just kidding. I've often thought about my "natural" choices and how crunchy of a person I am. I'm totally an in-betweenie weenie!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I actually made our laundry detergent this time around - and was pleasantly surprised when our clothes were actually, well, CLEAN - ha! It was waaaaay cheaper than buying detergent, I can pick my own fragrances by adding essential oils, AND it was super easy to make (a lady sells the soap mixture that she mixes up to our local co-op and I just add to follow the directions).
ReplyDeleteAs to buying organic food, I like it when it is in the regular isle and I compare the labels - that is how we ended up with organic ketchup ;). I could see for myself the difference and decide if it was worth the extra expense without having to traipse back and forth across the grocery store.
Look out! You're headed down the slippery slope! Today organic cheerios, tomorrow you may be getting rid of all the sugar. :)
ReplyDeleteI second that - such a slippery slope:). I started with a lot of that when Ethan started eating and kept adding things - I do make our own yogurt and granola bars, just to name a few and just had that talk with Jim about our own chickens - lol. Jim said if I wasn't so Catholic, I may become a hippie:). We gave up on the cloth diapers though for my sanity sake and a few other things we tried out, but it's hard not to consider all of that when your kids are involved.
ReplyDeleteHaha! It's all relative. I've been doing natural cleaning products and want to start sprouting grains! I'm there with ya.
ReplyDeleteHa HA ! Very funny.
ReplyDeleteI have certainly (in the past) made my own cleansers and completely removed sugar from my home in the past. Yet I have never bought organic cheerios.
I mean, if you are going to go natural...go natural. To buy another product is just a more expensive choice. Of course, that's my opinion.
Whatever you do, stay away from organic milk. It's barely milk in the sense that it is ultra-pasteurized in order to endure the longer journey from source to store. Oh, and that ultra-pasteurization actually makes it shelf-stable. Milk should not be shelf stable! Just go dairy-free if you go that route! Email me if you need more convincing!
Lol, I'm the same way! I tried so hard to resist the pull of organic groceries but...I keep finding out more yucky stuff about ordinary food and I cringe when I give it to my girls!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club. :) Nice to have you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, hubby was reading over my shoulder and said "That's sounds familiar."
Especially the part about the chickens. I am obsessed {ish} with getting some chickens. Stupid regulations and ordinances.
This is hilarious! It happens to the best of us though, I suppose. And trust me, making your own cleaning products is next on the agenda. :)
ReplyDelete