Peas on Hiatus: The Right Way to Eat
It’s pretty amazing that I’m able to give you my last guest post from 30,000 feet. You’ve got to love technology (as I’m simultaneously watching The Blind Side and Dora while posting). It seems fitting that when returning home to Portland International Airport, I give you one of my favorite Portland food bloggers! I’ll be back tomorrow with a “regular” post, whatever that means 
. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Hi Pea-ers! (Isn’t that more fun to say than Peas & Thank You Readers? Mama should get shirts that say, “I’m a Pea-er!” I’d wear one. I know Gigi would.)
My name is Andrea and I write for a little blog known as Care to Eat. I have had the privilege of not only knowing Mama Pea through the blogosphere, but in real life as well.
Her posts and her friendship are a true inspiration.
But enough about Mama, let’s talk about me! Mama said she likes my food ethics posts, so without being too boring, here we go…
Hopefully you realize my title; “The Right Way to Eat” is tongue in cheek. A perfect diet is an impossible achievement – for every scientific article saying “Eat this, eat that!” there’s another one saying “Don’t eat this, don’t eat that!”
So, what are we supposed to do? How do we figure out our own optimal diets? For me, the answer is: Listen to your mind and honor your heart. When you start to do that, you start to figure out what is important to you when it comes to your food.
My diet has changed in many ways over the last two years and I’m sure it will continue to change throughout my lifetime. What will remain constant is my desire to be a conscious consumer of food – to eat in a way that is respectful to the planet and all it’s inhabitants.
For instance, I tried really hard to eat a vegan diet. I just never got to a place where it felt natural and comfortable. Dairy and egg substitutes are highly processed but when I tried to eliminate the substitutes, I just felt frustrated and unsatisfied. When I ultimately made the decision to eat eggs and dairy again on a regular basis, I had to figure out a way to do so without compromising my ethics.
I started getting my eggs from a local source – just so happens my co-worker has chickens, so that was easy! Milk was a little trickier. I would buy organic, but even then, there was no guarantee how the cows were being treated or where exactly the milk was coming from. So, I had to get local with that as well.
I’m really fortunate because I found a place within 10 minutes of my office where I can get organic, raw milk. It’s a family-run operation with just two Jersey cows (fist pump!). I got to meet the cows and see where they graze. The above picture is what I picked up on Friday and it was milked that morning. With the milk I can make my own yogurt and soft cheeses – the two things I missed the most when I wasn’t eating dairy.
In the past two years, my diet has evolved toward a more local, unprocessed one. Do I eat that way 100% of the time? Hell no! The handful of the husband’s Cheez-its I had last night are a testament to that. Will my diet continue to evolve? Hell yes! But, as long as my mind, my heart, and my stomach are generally satisfied on a daily basis, I’m happy.
The way I choose to eat will not and should not fit for everyone – we all have our own individual goals, ethics, and desires when it comes to food. What are yours? How do you listen to your mind and honor your heart?
Thank you for this. I think it’s incredibly important to realise that you have to live your life for what is best for you. I am going to live a vegan lifestyle for 95% of the time. If I got over to someones house and they’re serving meat (don’t read this MamaPea) I am eat some. At the end of the day it’s about finding balance and not beating yourself up.
Thanks for writing this. I love the approach that you’ve taken.
I love this post; thanks mama pea and andrea. I totally agree with this diet ethic, and I love that it’s a journey and there’s no such thing as a perfect diet. Being a bit of a perfectionist I often have to remind myself this. Thanks
Wonder if those cows miss Jersey life. Double fist pump.
great post! its so important to know where your food comes from. but be careful. people are greenwashing everything organic, local, sustainable…doesn’t always mean ethical, so like Andrea said, go to the source and check it out for yourself.
Love you A! This was a great post.
I do exactly the same thing! I also listen to my body because it will tell me exactly what it wants and when it wants it. This includes demands for wine and chocolate.
I think this is a great post! So often we see people who are able to cut out so much from their lives, and to others this often seems unobtainable. But it’s nice to hear how you are eating better & helping stay true to what you believe in.
Good for you! I need to see if there is any local milk in my area, as I don’t want to give up milk but would like to know where my milk is coming from and how the animals are being treated.
Love the post and Mama Pea – love your curly hair from the post previously! I know you talk about your ‘fro, but I think it’s wonderful.
You and your family are always glowing and your health and happiness certainly shows!
My way of eating is in the middle of a big evolution, and I’m sure it will continue to evolve. It’s similar to what yours has been doing. The best part of this – is that in showing my boyfriend Food, Inc – Food Matters, SuperSize Me etc – he’s decided to go veg on his own. Ok ok, pescatarian, but you know it’s really a start.
I’ve tried to go full on veg, but it just doesn’t make me HAPPY. We find wild caught, BC salmon as often as we can and I’m pretty happy with that. Sure, I’m not a purist and if I really wanted a bite of someone’s burger I wouldn’t deprive myself. But..that said in almost 4 months I’ve not been tempted. People think we’re crazy but it helps my heart to eat the way we do. I really appreciate the ‘honour your heart’ part. It really is the truth!
Beautiful!
What a great post! I am always trying to make my diet a little better, but no one is perfect. I love raw milk too, we have a place we can get it but it is a little far away
Great post! This is the conclusion I feel myself coming to where I try to be vegan wherever possible, but if it’s sometimes not possible, so be it.
Such a great post — thank you for this!! I feel so much guilt about not being able to go vegetarian, but when I realized how much happier and healthier my body was when I was eating meat (and how unsatisfied/sluggish I felt when I wasn’t), it didn’t make sense to stay vegetarian.
Now, I make sure to choose the most ethical animal products I can when I do eat meat/eggs/dairy, and my body thanks me for it. I think it is easy to forget that eating “right” is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.
you are so right to visit the farm and check for yourself. i do think that one can get eggs humanely if the farm is small scale and the chickens are not killed for meat. we would like to look into it eventually for our cats and dogs. i still wouldn’t eat eggs–never liked them anyhow!
Loved this post Andrea. I’m always getting wrapped in certain ways of eating, but then I always end up back where I started. So, I’m learning to listen.
I love that you buy raw milk. I used to buy raw goat milk yogurt, and it was so good. Hard to come by now due to state laws.
I say if you are going to eat dairy and eggs get it local!! You are very lucky Andrea!! I think everyone has to find what works for your lifestyle ; )
I really enjoyed this guest post, Andrea. I think your message to be a conscious eater is wonderful, and I love how you have adapted that message to fit your needs and lifestyle. Your efforts to eat this way are so commendable! So great that you can get such fresh, local milk and eggs
love you andrea!!! you are such an inspiration.
I love this: “Listen to your mind and honor your heart.”
I especially love it because I feel like this is what I am doing, so I must be doing something right