No Fast Food for Us!

Well, we made it to NY!! The kids were ecstatic to see grandma and grandpa and immediately ditched Matt and I. I can barely get a good morning kiss out of each of them!

The car ride went much better than expected. I made some mini-pumpkin muffins that were a hit. I also brought fruit. Tangerines peel very easily and aren't so juicy that they create a mess. I also made bread and sliced it. So, along with sliced cheese, nitrate-free meat slices, and peanut butter, I was able to make several sandwiches over the course of the two days. We kept our water bottles filled with water and didn't allow any sugary drinks or even juice (this cut down on bathroom breaks because the kids are less apt to drink a ton of water, whereas, they are more apt to drink a lot of juice). I did allow for some whole grain goldfish crackers, and fruit snacks (sweetened with juice - not sugar or artificial anything).

My sister, Sarah, taught me a trick a while back: Take serving size apple sauce (we choose organic cinnamon with no sugar added) containers and put a straw through the top. The girls loved to suck out the apple sauce and it created less mess. This is NOT an eco-friendly option because it uses so much plastic packaging. However, for the twice a year or so I do this, I don't really feel that guilty.

Other than that, I had downloaded some new music for the girls to listen to and we did bring the DVD player. We only use it on long trips, therefore, it's a real treat and keeps them pretty occupied.

There was a lot of: "When are we going to be there?" from Olivia and very little nap taking. That was hard to take from time to time. However, there wasn't a single family screaming match and for that I'm proud of us!

I'm also proud to report that we did not stop at a single fast food joint! We stopped for dinner at one restaurant and hit a Starbucks once (coffee only). In fact, no one even asked to drive through a McDonald's and no one complained about the food I served. I am so happy about this. You can travel over 1,200 miles by car and NOT stop at a fast food joint! You just have to prepare ahead. Now that we've done it, I don't know why I ever thought it was that hard. Stopping at a grocery store along the way, had we run out of food supplies, would not have been hard either. You just have to keep stock of what you have, what you want, and be quick about running in to buy it.

The girls have been sleeping well at night and napping well (so far). They are even sleeping in the same bed and making it through the night without getting up to play. There must be something about grandma and grandpa's house!

We'll be in NY for about a week and then we'll head to Vermont for a few days before starting that long drive over! We hope to see many of you soon!

There Is No Love In That Food

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing healthy food for my family. When I am not in the kitchen, I spend a lot time thinking about future meals, snacks, browsing blogs, magazines, cookbooks, and discussing food with friends and family.

Cooking is therapy of sorts for me. I frequently get asked if I actually like to spend so much time in the kitchen. I do. I love it. Cooking, to me, is as relaxing as crawling into bed with a good book, a long, sweaty workout that leaves me feeling flushed and tingling with energy. I rarely cook junk anymore and have been trying my darnest to put love and thought into the meals I serve.

So, it irks me when we pass McDonalds and my girls squeal with delight, as Lila did today. For our family, McDonalds is frequented on very rare occasions (as in, 3-4 times a year). A very rare "treat" and almost always with me in disagreement - even if I don't publically share my opinion, so as to not be rude or, possibly, offensive.

I had no response to Lila's McDonald's envy today. Except to say, "We don't eat there because it's junk food."

However, it's more than that, obviously. Those of you who know me, personally, can list off the reasons I avoid the place like the plague.

So, when I saw this post from Food Renegade today, I laughed. The explanation to Lila was so simple and, yet, someone else had to come up with it for me. I'll use this each and every time my family asks to go there as we pass (I'm not sure they've ever asked to go unless we have recently driven by).

There is No Love in That Food:

“Even though the food is bad, I really like McDonald’s,” my son explained.

“Why is that, son?” my husband asked. He expected to hear something about indoor play places or ice cream. Instead, my soon-to-be five year old continued, “Well, I think it’s special.”

“But they’re not special,” I interrupted. “Every McDonald’s is exactly the same. They all look the same, make the same foods. There is nothing special or unique about them.”

“The really special food is the food Mommy cooks for you,” my husband contributed.

“What makes it special?”

“All the love that goes into it. The food Mommy makes is full of love every step of the way — from the way the vegetables and animals were cared for and raised, to the way the animals were killed and turned into meats, to the way Mommy bought them and turned them into meals. But the food at McDonald’s, there’s no love in that food.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, maybe there’s love in the heart of the person buying it for you, like Granna or Grandad. But there’s no love in how the animals were raised or how the food was prepared.”

“What happens if there’s no love in the food? Can you eat it?”

“Well, you can eat it. But if all you ever ate was food without love, a little piece of you would die. You’d suffer in a world with just a little bit less love in it, and that’d be sad.”

“I don’t want to be sad.”

“Neither do I.”


Jump to the link below to access the Food Renegade blog:

There Is No Love In That Food

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