My hunter-gatherer diet
Tomorrow marks two weeks that I have been eating what I am calling a "hunter-gatherer" diet.
The final straw was when I went to the supermarket and every single piece of pork there had a label on it proudly declaring that "for enhanced flavor" the meat had been brined in pork broth and that it may contain up to 12% water weight.
Think about this. I take it to mean that when the hogs are slaughtered, they are all soaked together in some kind of saltwater brine to "enhance flavor". That means that if one of those hogs just happened to have it's intestines cut into while being gutted, then ALL of the hogs have now been marinated in the same nasty germ ridden stew. Gross.
On top of that, we have to pay for the extra 12% water weight that the processor so graciously added. It's just wrong.
They have been doing the same with chickens for years. In a big automated machine the birds are run through a scalding tank to loosen the feathers for easier feathers and to distribute the fat under the skin for a nicer looking carcass. I'm not saying scalding is wrong, it's something we do at home too, but we change the water several times over the course of butchering day. A little cleanliness goes a long way with raw poultry...
So anyway, I've decided to make a clean break from modern processed food and take the plunge into home made everything. Some of it will be implemented quicker than other parts of it. Since it was an abrupt decision, I didn't have time to prepare for it by laying a supply of foodstuffs. For now, I've eliminated refined sugar and white flour. I'm pretty close to not having any meat in the house that wasn't butchered here (if not born here, that part takes a little time).
For breadstuffs, I am starting with whole grains. Last night's wheat and rye bread made with molasses was sort of a failure in that it didn't rise very well, but it really fills you up! For breakfast, I generally have rolled oats simmered with berries or nuts that I've crushed with a mortar and pestle. SOmetimes I simmer meat in it, like bacon or beef jerky.
Another breakfast option is samp, which is basically grits simmered with fish, fruit or meat. It's really good with clams.
I plan on freezing or drying as many wild berries as I can get this summer so I won't have to rely on frozen supermarket berries next winter.
I'll probably have to make a trip or two back to Massachusetts to stock up on "right off of the boat" fresh fish, which I will be able to freeze, salt, dry or smoke.
I drink around a gallon of unsweetened iced tea every day, and hope to phase it out in favor of foraged herbal teas (teaberry etc). I'm not a big soda drinker, but right now there is a 2-gallon jug of ginger beer "working" upstairs on the counter. It is made with an 18th century recipie using just a "hand" of ginger, water, lively yeast and molasses (to feed the yeast). This is the first batch I've made in years, and I'll keep the "lees" from the bottom of the jug for the next batch's yeast and to make bread with.
It may be a little late to do it tonight, but Caleigh and I will be starting seed for our garden indoors, so the plants will be ready to go outside ASAP when spring gets here. It's a much longer term project (in the smae way that raising our own beef is) but I want to plant some fruit and nut trees too.
I started eating this way on the 14th, 13 days ago and have lost 15 pounds so far. The only drawback is that I have an assortment of junk foods here that need to be eaten by somebody other than me. So if you stop by, be prepared to help me out by eating a Ring Ding...
Making my food entirely from scratch is a great feeling. Instead of just heating something up and eating it, I'm involved in the whole proces and thus appreciate it more. There is less to be taken for granted.
For instance, I'm going to go cook dinner as soon as I am done here. I'm having trout and asparigus, with homemade salsa on the side to be eaten with corn tortillas (pretty good livin' for a hunter-gatherer, eh?). The salsa is already made, the asparigus is easy to cook, but I'm going to complicate it by straining the water it was cooked in and saving it to make the next loaf of bread with. The fish will just be fried. The tortillas, however, need to be made from scratch. I'll probably have an hour into this meal, which will really whet my appetite.
It will cost the same, or maybe a little less, than a "storebought" meal. Better quality, better freshness, and as Wendy says: it's made with love. The only way this meal would be better is if I were to cook it over an open fire!
It's a good life.
The final straw was when I went to the supermarket and every single piece of pork there had a label on it proudly declaring that "for enhanced flavor" the meat had been brined in pork broth and that it may contain up to 12% water weight.
Think about this. I take it to mean that when the hogs are slaughtered, they are all soaked together in some kind of saltwater brine to "enhance flavor". That means that if one of those hogs just happened to have it's intestines cut into while being gutted, then ALL of the hogs have now been marinated in the same nasty germ ridden stew. Gross.
On top of that, we have to pay for the extra 12% water weight that the processor so graciously added. It's just wrong.
They have been doing the same with chickens for years. In a big automated machine the birds are run through a scalding tank to loosen the feathers for easier feathers and to distribute the fat under the skin for a nicer looking carcass. I'm not saying scalding is wrong, it's something we do at home too, but we change the water several times over the course of butchering day. A little cleanliness goes a long way with raw poultry...
So anyway, I've decided to make a clean break from modern processed food and take the plunge into home made everything. Some of it will be implemented quicker than other parts of it. Since it was an abrupt decision, I didn't have time to prepare for it by laying a supply of foodstuffs. For now, I've eliminated refined sugar and white flour. I'm pretty close to not having any meat in the house that wasn't butchered here (if not born here, that part takes a little time).
For breadstuffs, I am starting with whole grains. Last night's wheat and rye bread made with molasses was sort of a failure in that it didn't rise very well, but it really fills you up! For breakfast, I generally have rolled oats simmered with berries or nuts that I've crushed with a mortar and pestle. SOmetimes I simmer meat in it, like bacon or beef jerky.
Another breakfast option is samp, which is basically grits simmered with fish, fruit or meat. It's really good with clams.
I plan on freezing or drying as many wild berries as I can get this summer so I won't have to rely on frozen supermarket berries next winter.
I'll probably have to make a trip or two back to Massachusetts to stock up on "right off of the boat" fresh fish, which I will be able to freeze, salt, dry or smoke.
I drink around a gallon of unsweetened iced tea every day, and hope to phase it out in favor of foraged herbal teas (teaberry etc). I'm not a big soda drinker, but right now there is a 2-gallon jug of ginger beer "working" upstairs on the counter. It is made with an 18th century recipie using just a "hand" of ginger, water, lively yeast and molasses (to feed the yeast). This is the first batch I've made in years, and I'll keep the "lees" from the bottom of the jug for the next batch's yeast and to make bread with.
It may be a little late to do it tonight, but Caleigh and I will be starting seed for our garden indoors, so the plants will be ready to go outside ASAP when spring gets here. It's a much longer term project (in the smae way that raising our own beef is) but I want to plant some fruit and nut trees too.
I started eating this way on the 14th, 13 days ago and have lost 15 pounds so far. The only drawback is that I have an assortment of junk foods here that need to be eaten by somebody other than me. So if you stop by, be prepared to help me out by eating a Ring Ding...
Making my food entirely from scratch is a great feeling. Instead of just heating something up and eating it, I'm involved in the whole proces and thus appreciate it more. There is less to be taken for granted.
For instance, I'm going to go cook dinner as soon as I am done here. I'm having trout and asparigus, with homemade salsa on the side to be eaten with corn tortillas (pretty good livin' for a hunter-gatherer, eh?). The salsa is already made, the asparigus is easy to cook, but I'm going to complicate it by straining the water it was cooked in and saving it to make the next loaf of bread with. The fish will just be fried. The tortillas, however, need to be made from scratch. I'll probably have an hour into this meal, which will really whet my appetite.
It will cost the same, or maybe a little less, than a "storebought" meal. Better quality, better freshness, and as Wendy says: it's made with love. The only way this meal would be better is if I were to cook it over an open fire!
It's a good life.
posted by MVTCoPete | 7:47 PM
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