Confessions of a Traveling Food Snob

Thanksgiving was Thursday
I tried to find an Organic Turkey
$244 for a bird was the BEST I could find
We ate Free-Range CHICKEN instead

Confessions of a traveling food snob…

Yes, that’s me.  I’m not really sure when my “foodie-self” was born, but it could date back all the way to my infancy and early years as a child of a trail-blazing, food co-oping, no-sugar-eating, homeopathic-believing hippie of a mother.  Seriously, one year I had the privilege of having a boiled cauliflower as MY BIRTHDAY CAKE!  Like I said, trail-blazer.

(I hope this makes you laugh mom and not jump a plane to come reprimand me!  Actually, jump that plane you hippie mama!  I miss you!) 

Chemicals, Sugar, and Food Dye, OH MY!

I have had my ups and downs when it comes to food – even now I am bingeing on a bag of kettle potato chips as I write this because, why not?!  I have my vices.  Don’t we all?  Chips – my downfall.  I will spare you my entire food journey, but let’s just say it has come full circle and now I am the hippie mom who makes her kids drink kombucha, take probiotics, eat all their organic (when possible and affordable) veggies, washes all of her fruit in an apple cider vinegar/water mixture to take off any chemicals, gets overwhelmed by how SUGAR IS IN EVERYTHING and possibly freaks out when her kids consume too much sugar (and by too much, I mean A sucker).  Don’t even get me started on FOOD DYE!

{Back in 2002, my first year of teaching 2nd grade, I began what became an 8-year informal “personal study” on the effects of food coloring and sugar on my students…the results were terrifying, yet not surprising.  I’ll sum up what I learned in four words – FOOD DYE IS EVIL.}

Yes, my mom has told me many times “I told you so!”  She was right back then (when I cried over the fact that my friends got to have ‘real food’ and we had to eat crappy ‘tasteless food’) – I now know eating whole foods is better in so many ways.  And it’s not tasteless, not even in the slightest.

I have slowly learned as an adult with autoimmune issues and as a parent of children who also have food sensitivities that food has the power to heal, but also the power to destroy our immune systems.  This is why I have made it an absolute priority for our family to eat as clean as possible.

We choose organic over non-organic.
We choose free-range over caged.
We choose grass-fed over grain-fed.
We choose NO sugar over sugar-free.
We choose REAL (whole) over processed.
We choose naturally colorful over artificially colored.
We choose preservative and additive free over ingredients we cannot even pronounce.
We choose local farms over commercial farms.

I am a food snob. 

However…We choose these things ONLY when they are available and affordable.  Because something else I have learned is the balance between eating clean and eating without fear.  Part of my food journey dealt with a “healthy” obsession, which ironically was the most unhealthy time in my life.  It wasn’t until a dear friend shared the idea of eating 80/20.  Eat clean 80% of the time and give yourself freedom/permission/space to let loose the other 20% (most of my 20% consumes chips and wine).  I aim for realistic and wise decision-making about how we spend our money and time shopping/prepping/searching for our food.  Eating clean is NOT cheap.  I realize this is not necessarily an accessible way of living for many.  It absolutely SHOULD BE (but that’s a post for another day).  We are working hard to not take it for granted, especially while we are traveling.  And I am trying hard to not get my britches tied in a knot when our 80/20 is more like 50/50!  

Traveling and Food

Does $244 for an organic, free-range, 20 lb turkey seem a tad pricey for you?!  Yeah, me too!  That’s what I am dealing with here in Oz.  As much as I would LOVE to support the local organic farmers by purchasing one of their ‘clean’ birds, there is no possible way I could EVER justify spending that amount of money for one meal, let alone the main dish!  Last week I scoured the internet for possible farms, butchers, or grocery stores that sell fresh ‘clean’ turkey (not even organic because that is clearly a luxury).  However, I came up short.  I quickly gave up my desire to provide a fresh, clean turkey for our first Australian Thanksgiving.  Accessibility to clean, whole foods here is difficult – it’s just so darn expensive.  Luckily, two free-range chickens saved Thanksgiving!  The bacon, the maple/bacon fat gravy, the ultra-buttery mashed potatoes (I used 4 sticks – it was organic butter), the stuffing, the sweet potato casserole, the homemade pumpkin pie, and the blue whipped cream (yes, I grabbed the wrong can) were the highlights of our meal.  We had a feast, stuffed our bellies to the max, and I didn’t think twice about the ‘wholeness’ of our food!  Balance.

I will keep aiming for this balance as we navigate life here in Oz.  Currently, we are eating at about 50/50…we are slowly making sense of what we can afford and what is out of reach, aiming for our 80/20 balance!  Until then, we will continue to enjoy, explore, and be unapologetic for our splurges!  Although, once a food snob, always a food snob, so I may battle our options and food choices every now and again!  #reallife