I missed my father, as I do every holiday since he died. Otherwise, it was the best Thanksgiving ever. Makes sense seeing as I have more than ever to be thankful for this year. My son, Michael Alexander is a joy to care for, always happy, healthy and a trooper even during two five-hour drives that should have taken just three hours each. He slept much of the way. Even though he was annoyed as his parents about gridlock and stop-and-go nonsense caused by bad drivers, he barely peeped other than to giggle or let us know he was hungry.
Thursday was a big day for Michael Alexander. Even though he hasn't cut any teeth, he consumed as much organic turkey, three varieties of locally-grown squash and apples as most two-year-olds. Maybe more than most. He's had tastes from Daddy and Mommy's plates. Many tastes, ranging from fennel-infused clam broth (with local littleneck clams on Cape Cod, of course), to soups Mommy crafts from Farmer's Market veggies, organic protein and whole grains. He loves to eat everything, even his organic baby food despite its lack of grown-up seasonings. He mostly likes to eat what everyone else is eating: slow cooked, organic, locally sourced foods. I was blessed like my son. My parents and grandparents only fed me only homemade foods from the best local ingredients. Boxes and cans were for cleaning supplies and car parts, never food. It is important that my son know and appreciate whole food, healthy food. It is also critical that he understands that eating this way is ethical. We may in live in the heart of Manhattan, but he meets the farmers and farm workers at Union Square Greenmarket when we go shopping for fresh veggies, herbs and other natural, whole ingredients. I do shop at Whole Foods and other small markets, but select only the natural or organic ingredients I can't get at Greenmarket. I hope he will learn from my actions and maintain this lifestyle when he's on his own. I am so thankful that Mike enjoys and appreciates cooking as much as I do, and that we share the same philosophy about sourcing our ingredients. I cannot imagine being married to someone who didn't share my commitment to buying and preparing natural, fresh, whole ingredients, with lots of herbs, spices and hot peppers. It shocks and saddens me when I meet adults who don't prepare their own food or who eat packaged and process foods. It amazes me that any educated person would ingest poisons like trans fats and high fructose corn syrup that pollute processed foods. I don't buy the excuse that it's too expensive or too time consuming to buy and prepare whole foods. I challenge them to examine the price per ounce or pound of any of these toxic foods, to consider the cost of the non-chemical ingredients that could easily be purchased whole and prepared simply and quickly. In the time it takes to open a box or can of processed food, they could prepare a healthy, tasty simple meal with locally sourced ingredients.
We have plenty of dear friends who enjoy cooking as much Mike and I do, but there is still a global threat when it comes to making the ethical, healthy choices by shirking processed, poison-packed foods. "Packaged Food 2010 - Part 1: Global Market Performance," a market research report recently published by Euromonitor International, found “While the recent global economic downturn had a comparatively minimal impact on packaged food sales, continued economic anxiety and the (specter) of public spending cuts across much of Europe means future growth prospects are far from guaranteed. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, general consumer preferences have not necessarily changed that much when it comes to packaged food, but consumers will shop smarter and seek out value for money in whichever retail formats they can.” Rather than teach our children how to read nutritional labels, let's teach them that nutrition comes from foods without labels. Funny how children with the least resources are instinctively making the right choices. A new study found that children in Karnataka, a state in South West India, are refusing to eat the packaged food given to them, saying it isn’t edible. Karnataka is reportedly the only state in the southern region which serves packaged food, despite the Integrated Child Development Scheme project clearly stating that only cooked food must be served, to meet the nutrition-deficiency among women and infants. The Indian government's National Family Health Survey (NFHS) says that Karnataka ranks third after Bihar and Madhya Pradesh with the highest number of malnutrition cases in the country. As many as 8% of children are anemic, 38% under the age of three are stunted and 41% are underweight. Clearly these aren't the same problems facing American children. But we're all facing the same choices. And the ethical choice is the same for all of us: buy and prepare whole foods, not boxed and canned foods. Your children will thank you!
Shopping for food is just one ethical decision we make during the holidays and every day. Michael Alexander's first Thanksgiving was lovely for many reasons, including the bounty of delicious whole food prepared by my mother, sister and me. There was no strife or stress. Just the joy of family. The day after Thanksgiving was equally tranquil. Mike and I went to the gym and shopped only for protein shakes to feed our muscles and champagne to fete my sister and John's anniversary. No shopping centers. No sales. That Friday has become a very dark one for America. People flock to shopping malls and big box behemoths for sales on a day that exemplifies the greatest evils of capitalism. The thought of waking at dawn, or camping out, to be first in line for a major marketing scam is disgusting and disturbing. Equally appalling is the television and print news coverage of "door busters" that claim to stimulate the economy. These "sales events" and the hordes who fall for the major retailers' brainwashing are destroying our economy, one independent business at a time. Stop shopping at these ethically, socially and morally bankrupt retailers and support small businesses where owners and workers are often treated like human beings. Ban the Wal-Marts on Black Friday and every day.
I am proud of the example we set on my son's first Thanksgiving. I cherish the memories of Thanksgivings spent with my father at the head of the table where I now get to sit. The banter retains my father's spirit and irreverent sense of humor, though some of the foods have changed. For one of my father's last Thanksgivings, my mother make a pecan pie, his favorite. Pecan pie would kill Mike, who is allergic to tree nuts, so I made an apple pie with whole wheat crust and agave nectar. It was tasty, but not nearly as topical as that pecan pie. John, my brother-in-law who was raised in Greece said it reminded him of the pie his grandmother used to make. John explained how she'd use ash from the fireplace to create this treat. "What was this pie called?" one of us asked. My father's eyes bulged as he responded to what he heard: "Ass pie! Ass pie?" My mother laughed hardest of all. "No, no," John quickly clarified. "I'm not sure how you say it in English. Ash pie. Ash, not ass." Ash pie, ass pie, whatever. At least it doesn't come from a box!
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