Ranting About the Issues: Circumcision and Intactivists

One of the biggest issues that comes between Jewish crunchies and the rest of the crunchy universe is circumcision.  Intactivism is a pet cause for a lot of eco-hippie minded people (and others, to be sure), and perhaps more than any other issue, it induces mouth-foaming rage.  I know people who have dropped off of crunchy discussion boards and even lost friends over this one issue.

They say it's mutilation.  They say it's wrong to do it on an unconsenting child.  There have been movements to ban it altogether, and people have been arrested and prosecuted for it in some places.  Luckily none of those efforts have born real fruit yet, but let's not kid ourselves: if it happened to shechita in Switzerland, it can happen to bris milah elsewhere.  Aaaah, galus.

On Milk and Honey (well, sugar)

There's some debate in the crunchy community about the relative benefits of local food vs. organic.  It can be argued that local is better for the environment while organic is better for the body.  Local food should be fresher, and buying it supports the local economy (and often small farmers and other businesses as opposed to megacorporations) while organic items are guaranteed to be "cleaner" from pesticides, artificial hormones, and so on.  Check out some articles that discuss it here and here.

This debate came to a head for me this week as I discovered that a neighborhood supermarket carries "local" milk - it's produced within 275 miles of where it's sold.

Things My Husband/Toddler Eat: Green Chips

So, QE and I had some fun making green chips last week.  Kale chips are the hottest healthy snack going these days, and for good reason - but lots of frum people are put off making their own because curly kale can be a pain to check for bugs.  But one of my CSA newsletters last year mentioned that you can make them with other types of sturdy dark greens, which, it turns out, is the solution to the whole thing.  Collards are as cheap and easy to come by as kale, but the leaves are flat - so rinsing and checking is WAY quicker than with more complicated veg!  They taste more or less the same as kale chips once baked (ie: like salt and garlic), they're just slightly less cute.

Even with reducing wash-and-check time, making green chips is a bit of a drawn out process because you have to put them in a single layer on the pan and watch like a hawk so they don't burn.  But the satisfaction of seeing QE snarf her leafy greens makes it all worthwhile.  (To be honest, if you call anything a chip, she'll eat it). It's a fun afternoon activity around here.  Here's what to do:

• 1 bunch of collard greens (Or kale if you got some in your CSA or feel like dealing with it.  Or chard or mustard greens if you feel like being creative - anything sturdy and green)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Paprika

Um, I don't really measure with this one.  I wash the leaves, cut out the thick spines, and slice/tear what's left into small-ish pieces.  I drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss them around in the bowl til they're all more or less coated.

Ok, here's the chap: because collards are flat, they can be annoying to lay in a pan and they don't bake quite as nicely as kale.  So what I did the other day, to good effect, is crumple some aluminum foil and put it in the bottom of the pan.  Then I lay the pieces in a single layer over that, allowing some airflow all around.  Bake 'em at 350 for around 10 minutes til crispy, but check frequently.  I'm in the habit of letting them burn.  Remove crispy pieces from pan, add more, and put back in oven.

BSB is lucky if there are any left by the time he gets home.

Post-Paleo Week Roundup: Lessons Learned!

Ok, it wasn't all frustration and cash outflow. Paleo week had some positive outcomes, and it more or less achieved its purpose. If you haven't been following along, I decided to make a crazy drastic change in eating habits because I consumed so much sugary junk over Pesach that I scared myself. I felt pathetic and insatiable.  Paleo seemed like a good way to thoroughly cut out the sugar and unhealthy carbs long enough to maybe get over it, while still being allowed to eat my fill of "approved" foods.

So, limiting myself for the week should have been very upsetting, but it mostly wasn't. I found out that I can get by eating less frequently (I'm a grazer by nature, which is part of my problem to begin with) and a different variety of food choices than I'm used to.

Post Paleo-Week Round-up: Ranty Pants Edition

Here's the whiny version of my post-paleo week feelings; I'll post the more worthwhile ones separately, so you can pick the half-full or half-empty version as you see fit.

Paleo week kind of went out with a kvetch.  Thursday afternoon was one of those crazy ones where one kid was clingy and the other was whiny and there were heaps of unwashed dishes strewn around the kitchen.  So I busted out the hotdogs (and a homemade veggie soup!) for supper.  Hmph.

Then I went to Whole Foods in search of some ingredients for Shabbos.  And I came to the final conclusion: the paleo diet is something dreamed up by bored wealthy gentiles.  It will not work for me/my family.  Healthy and delicious, yes.  Affordable?  Heck no.  And if you don't have a dishwasher or a maid or at the very least two sinks, it ain't happening.

So far so good

Well, it's 2 1/2 days into my "Whole7" and I haven't cheated yet.  Except for an accidental taste of QE's popsicle and licking my fingers while cleaning up from her meals once or twice... but that totally doesn't count.

I made veggie egg muffins for BSB to take in the car for breakfast, but I hate that kind of thing, so I've been experimenting with recipes for "fauxtmeal"

I can't believe I'm doing this...

I'm not the diet kind of person, I'm really more into moderation in all things.  I know people on the vegan end of the food spectrum and people on the paleo end, and I can tell you right now that neither lifestyle is for me. I can't live with the lack of variety inherent in either of those eating extremes.

But the fact is that over Pesach I ate way too much junk, candy specifically, and ended up sort of appalled at myself.  I felt gross, and also felt like I couldn't help eating more and more of it once I got started.  I don't especially like feeling that way, so I'm doing something this week that I've never done before.

I'm going on a diet.