There have been two things that have come up this week after the last posting: A question and a comment.The Question:
If food is so vital for us to function, why is it that we have grown to be so far removed from its production?
It's a question that won't be answered in these blog posts but I think it's important for you guys to start thinking about.
The Comment: A reader got in touch after the last posting saying how living an environmentally sustainable life is really hard to do when you need to sustain a budget. It was a very fair comment and one that links very much to my questions about food and our relationship to it.
Not so very long ago David and I decided to clear our debts, cut the credit cards and live off cash. Oh, how halcyon! The idea was so simple, but yet the living out of it was astronomically difficult. However, the only way that I could manage the day to day living out of this dream was to take a long hard look at our larder, and this, dear readers, is where the question and the comment collide.
When we decided to look at how much we were spending, the kitchen took up a load of our budget and we had to start cutting back. It was at the same time as when we started looking into the environment and I started boring our dinner guests. The budget we had didn't seem to stack up with our way of thinking on the surface, but we learned that we had to think a bit deeper, act smarter and make some tough choices.Back then we bo
th worked five days a week and I also worked in the evenings, so both David and I knew that we had a limited time in which to get cracking on three levels: Our budget cuts, which took first priority, our environmental stance on organic and sustainable living and our big passion for eating.
We decided to cook from scratch and make lists. It's basic home economics, but I would sit down for half an hour and work out a meal plan, look at the ingredients for each recipe and write it down. I would then go into the kitchen and work out what I already had and what I needed to get for the week. This act alone cut the food bill down by a third and although we had to stick rigidly to the food plan, it worked well.
For dinner I started making extra portions, so if I was effectively cooking for four as this would give us both a good sized lunch box to have for work the next day and we didn't have to buy extra. This saved us a minimum of £8 a day, which adds up to about £160 a month.
The other thing was I started looking at how I buy food. When I push a trolly around a supermarket I buy loads more than I need: That extra bag of crisps, chocolate bars, three for two offers on orange juice that go off before we drink them all ... you name it, and I bought it because I was mentally flippant. So, I got on to the organic veg-box guys; Able And Cole. I still do my shopping with them as they can offer me the organic food I need that is sustainably grown by farmers who get paid a fair amount. Bonus, and I don't have to look at the candy stand!Then I chose the hard part. I started carving out three hours on my day off to make a 'tool box' of ingredients for the rest of the week. This is an idea from Skye Gyngell's book 'A Year In My Kitchen', a book I got for my birthday the year we started this mad-cap scheme! Basically, she cooks with the seasons which is great when you are trying to eat organically within a budget as the veg and fruit that are in gluts are a bit cheaper. However, the trick is to make things taste amazing with out feeling deprived and what Skye's book taught me was that if I made things like lemon oil, basil oil, mayo, oven dried toms, red onion chutney, braised lentils and the like once a week I could produce small batches in one day, have them ready to go when I was busy after working in the evenings and make dinners taste great. I now add bread baking to the list as well as making sure I have pastry, both sweet and savory, ready to go in the fridge. It was a tough decision to make the time, but it has paid off in so many countless ways!
Meat and fish is a big issue for people as it forms a daily staple for many. It's expensive to buy organically and I can understand why people take a step back and shy away from paying the prices as it's very tough to fit it into a budget for a family. However, it's worth the price, and David and I decided to eat less and buy it from the farmer where possible. I am now a veggie, but David enjoys meat and now when he cooks it he chooses to use it as a garnish rather than the main event. Also, we don't use it as our staple diet and have learned how to see it as a treat. David's advice to many has been to cut meat down, rather than cut it out, and keep it to twice or three times a week, buying only the best your budget can afford.
I am not pretending that this organic lark is easy. It's a life choice and personally it's one I made as I realized that our home planet cannot support us if we carry on the way we are. I would encourage you to make little steps rather than jumping in with both feet and be easy on yourself. Little and often is so much more sustainable than one big crash and burn.
If you want more advise on budgets and getting out of debt, I would advise Pam Young's The Good Book. Find out who is controlling your spending and see how you can change habits. I laughed all the way through the audio version!
So... where are we now? ... Happily, after a couple of years David and I did get debt free!! We have a credit card that neither of us use and we are saving. It's a very slow road and we don't get to splurge on things that we want when we want them. But I think we are happier and I know that we are eating really well! I also know that of course we are making a dent in the environment, but it is smaller than it could be and I'm o.k with that for now.
I hope you enjoyed the read today. I know it's a bit off the therapy beam, but I knew that the last post needed a follow up and I hope it's helped.
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