Day 15 of Daily Footprint Project. The day for round two of gum surgery. Oh, joy! I am to eat only soft food for the next few days. Fortunately, there is Whole Foods and its well stocked deli section.
The split pea soup with ham struck my fancy. I filled up the biggest size carton. Prad did the calculation. Per ounce, it is really the best deal.
As of late, I am relying more and more on Whole Foods and other outside cookeries to supplement our menus. With the children less and less home for our family dinners, cooking has lost some of its appeal. In fact, it has become a chore, that detracts from other creative activities I’ d much rather be doing. Blogging, exploring ideas for green ventures are where my heart is for now.
I may be happy away from the kitchen, but what does that do for the environment? The image of the throw away soup carton is haunting me. With each take out, I add to the landfill pile. I could go around the problem, by bringing my own containers. I have never seen anyone do it, but maybe I could start a trend. Actually, it would be kind of cool to see what people say. The more I think about it, I totally dig the idea.
Until I get a bike – number one on my green to do list – , there is also the issue of driving to get the soup. I can rationalize by thinking that I would need to drive anyway to buy the ingredients to make the soup. The answer to that one is twofold: one, get a bike, two, plan better and make less trips to the grocery store. Even more ambitious, would be to also cultivate my own vegetables. I am learning to be practical, however, and to consider only what I know myself capable of sustaining in the long run. Gardening is just not my thing. Better scrap that idea.
There is a third problem with relying on take out. Food sourcing. I give up any control on the types of ingredients that are being used. Same when I eat out at a restaurant. In both cases, I am abdicating my responsibility as a responsible consumer, leaving it to others to decide what goes into my food. Once you start, this kind of logic can be crazy making, and realistically, I am not going to give up eating out. Still, there is some truth in the thought, and maybe reason for a compromise. Like air traveling, the idea is not to give up such indulgences altogether. More sensible, is to limit them to special occasions, and make them the exceptions rather than the norm.
I can think of one good argument for not cooking in my kitchen. Foodpooling, as in carpooling. I just made up the word. It is much more efficient to cook for hundreds of people at once, as is the case for Whole Foods, than to each cook our separate meals. I am not aware of any study on the topic, but I am ready to bet that the energy saved must be substantial.
To summarize, if I manage to bike to the grocery store, and bring my own containers, I will come out pretty clean here.
Daily Footprint Project Daily Log Day #15 Water personal: flush toilet 3 wash face 2 brush teeth 2 wash hands 4 shower 1 full load laundry mom: rinse dishes communal: run full dishwasher Electricity/gas personal: electric toothbrush 2 microwave tea 2’ microwave oatmeal 4’ microwave soup 4’ microwave milk 2’ laptop on half day full load laundry washer & dryer mom: communal: lights run full dishwasher Food personal: oatmeal with organic milk organic persimmons tea organic milk takeout split pea soup from Whole Foods organic apple sauce organic chocolate mom: organic apples communal: Waste personal: toilet paper mom: communal: 3 newspaper plastic wrappers five day leftover chicken soup Recycling personal: mom: communal: 2 papers milk carton glass jar apple sauce Transportation personal: drive to orthodontist 5 miles mom: communal: Non food shopping personal: mom: communal:
La Marguerite 
gum surgery – ouch! I did that in 1991
I have pretty strong feelings opposite your views about cooking
your family and you need you to cook
I feel cooking is ceremony, tradition, family home – as much as the pace of our everyday 21st century live has us moving faster, quicker, zippier we have lost the family meal – i savor that time of day to cook for my family
if we don’t example it the next generation they will bypass it all together
is it boring, work, tedious, work, clean up, work – a gotta gotta?? Yes
does it interfere with other things – like what —more time in front of the computer?? we work tooooo much!!
Cooking is pause, ceremony, therapy, fueling our ever precious vessel called our human body and spirit
and at the table it’s also pause, thanks, gratitude for each other’s company and the ONLY time in the day we are together
this is when we actually talk and foster our affection for each other
I think convenience is an addiction
is cooking green ?
when I left the oven on last night — no probably not
I haven’t thought about it
I know it saves me a ton of money
could we go back to fire – what a novel thought – give me a hole in the ceiling anyday ( smile!!)
I eat out sometimes – it’s not honest for me to say I don’t but I typically eat out what I can’t make – special stuff
I wish i had a whole foods close and could apply the european ways to walking and gathering foods in season etc – give business to the locals, that ceremony too I think is a practice we all could start here in this country
add a siesta and were a completely different society
i parallel it to the tone of the house and my role – is it sexist – perhaps but when I don’t feel like keeping the house clean or having a good attitude – the entire family eco chain dissolves – I am the barometer – whether I like it or not
hint for take out – when you take your plate or bowl to the whole foods have them weigh it empty – this is part of how they price things – each container has a tar weight ( i think that’s what it’s called) some stores are more particular than others
Mother Earth
http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com
Thanks Karen. I agree with you, in theory, about the whole cooking as celebration and family glue bit. The reality for me, is my kids are grown and busy with their own activities. One in college, and the other one, about to finish high school, and enjoying her growing independence. I am also in a very creative phase in my life, where domesticity is simply not a priority. I have found that I cannot be creative in two areas at once.
You mention the sexist part. Prad is retired, and there is no reason why he can’t cook. In fact, he is an excellent cook. Family dynamics are fascinating, as are cultural stereotypes.
And I like what you say about convenience as an addiction. That is a huge problem in our Western culture, even more so in America. I am not immune to it. That is an area, I need to probe more, definitely.