3.26.2006

vegan firefighters--what?

in today's new york times (have i told you lately that i love you, new york times sunday edition?) there's a fun little write-up about a team of firefighters who are vegans. even better, they're out of a station in austin, texas. be honest, your first thought was that vegan firefighters could only exist in california or oregon. it's alright, i won't tell.

anyhow, it's nice to see that it's becoming a little more widely accepted to be conscious of what you eat, and it's effects on your body now and in the future. for those of you interested, the vegan-team has even posted an array of yummy recipies, here.

as long as we're on the subject, TLC is premiering a show soon called "honey, we're killing the kids". from what i gather, it's about children, their eating habits (which i am sure are horrid) and the enabling behaviors of their parents.

i've said it a million times--being pregnant was the best wake-up call for me, healthwise (and otherwise). i learned to eat correctly, instead of succumbing to the "eating for two" myth and gaining 70 pounds. i think i was a little underweight before getting preggers, but was pretty strict about what i ate from that point on. (as a fetus-bearer, you get only 300 extra calories a day, so you have to make them count.) i think that by the end of my pregnancy, i had gained all of 27 pounds, and probably 5 of that was the last month or so. evie was over eight pounds at birth, though, and very healthy, so my plan worked. (three cheers for peanut butter!)

i have to say, we've got to be smarter about what we eat. we'll blow money on getting the best cell phone, laptop, etc., but not spend the little extra for organic dairy/produce...we'll get our kids all the prepackaged crap they can handle, and then wonder why they are 40 lbs. too heavy at age 10. i saw a child and his mother at kroger a few weeks ago, spending 250 dollars on pre-packaged foods and snacks, and both looked like they were headed for diabetes. it makes me sad. so maybe this TLC show will make a little headway.

extra credit: read diane wakoski's poems, "the fear of fat children", and "greed: part 13", both in the butcher's apron. at evie's baby shower, diane told me that : children don't need sugar and the evening news, they need poetry and challenging lessons.

ok, stepping down from the ivory tower.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice advice from Diane!

angela said...

that's just because diane kicks ass...i like to think of her as one of the fairy godmothers of evie (a la sleeping beauty); i can always say, a famous poet bestowed upon my daughter many things, including a bassinette and a car seat.