On Sunday, Shaun and I watched The Cove. It is the Oscar winning movie (for best feature documentary) about the dolphin trade and killing that goes on in Japan.  Here’s a great 1 minute explanation of the movie and the issues with killing these dolphins and what it could be doing to the Japanese people.

I HIGHLY recommend watching that short explanation.  I don’t know if I can recommend watching The Cove and only because it was so heartbreaking and hard to watch.  It’s a well done documentary and it has me thinking (and feeling sick). The movie goes much more in depth and explains why Japan wants to kill these dolphins and why they see an importance in whaling.  Basically, dolphins and whales (which a dolphin is just a small whale), are eating fish that Japan could be catching to sell to the world at huge profit, so they want to get rid of these “pests” as they call them.  It’s sickening.

After watching The Cove, I don’t want to eat fish anymore.  I can’t stomach the thought of eating fish anymore.  I went to the store yesterday and barely bought anything because I was so upset after watching this documentary.

I try not to talk about my food issues very much because I find them annoying so I’m sure that you do too.  Right now I am not eating gluten, corn, any animal that is fed corn (and yes almost all “grass fed beef” is fed corn-I’ve talked to all the ranchers at the farmer’s market), and I try really hard to stay away from sugar-even naturally occurring sugar like in bananas and honey. I’ve found that all of these things make me feel really horrible and when I cut them out, I feel much better.  That means that I eat fish, eggs, occasional dairy, beans, vegetables, tofu, nuts, and the occasional piece of fruit.  My doctor is 100% aware of my diet and 100% supports it.  I am getting all the nutrients I need and I feel much, much better.

Now, I want to cut out fish and I wonder if that is being too drastic?  It makes me think of vegans and I can fully understand why they eat the way they do.  I will say that I have no issue (personally) with eating milk products, eggs, or honey if sourced from a non-factory farm type supplier.  My milk, eggs, and honey all come from local and cruelty free farms.  I’m not as good at buying Shaun and Lu’s cheese from these sources but I would like to get better at that-the Farmer’s Market will make that easier (and more affordable).  Yesterday I didn’t buy any cottage cheese because all of the options were from factory farms.  Does anyone know where I can non-factory farm cottage cheese?

I also buy meat for Shaun and Lucy and lately I’ve fallen off the local meats (it’s much harder in winter) and have been buying the cheap (and cruelty-full) stuff from Winco.  The Cove has inspired me once again, to spend the extra money and buy them only local, cruelty-free meats.  Again-thank goodness for the Farmer’s Market and the Co-Op!  Last night I bought chicken, beef, and pork from the Co-Op and it wasn’t that much more than what I would have paid at Winco.

So here I am with all these freaking allergies, or sensitivities, or whatever you want to call them, and I want to cut out another form of my protein.  I know it can be done and that I just have to do it.  I won’t lie, it was convenient for me to eat fish because then I could at least have some meals with my family and it’s easier to find meals when I go out to eat.  If I cut out fish, I would basically be making 2 meals every night.  Shaun is a meat eater and there is no changing that-and I have to respect that and just buy the best possible meat that I can.  When I make 2 meals, I usually try to make mine as similar to the meat version as possible and then I give Lucy both the meat and the non meat protein and she gets to choose what she wants.  Sometimes she eats both, sometimes she only eats the meat (usually when it’s tofu-she doesn’t like tofu), or sometimes she only eats the plant based protein (usually when it’s beans-girl loves her some beans!). I can do this and I’m going to try to do this!

Now off to find some cottage cheese that isn’t made from factory farm milk…

Have you seen The Cove?

What are your thoughts on cruelty free eating?

Not eating meat has helped me TREMENDOUSLY.  I haven’t felt this good in YEARS.  Maybe since the last time I didn’t eat meat or dairy?

(look at that glow! It could also be that I’m 24 in that picture not almost 30!)

But! I’ve found that I’m so unmotivated to cook anything for myself.  I’ve kind of been living on rice and beans with a little tofu thrown in. I’ve also found that I’m ravenous at night and can’t eat enough.  Last night I broke down at midnight and ate:

-A GF tortilla with melted cheese and hot sauce
-A bowl of rice and beans (surprise) with melted cheese
-about 15 slices of Pepperoni-WTF?!?!  It was Gluten Free but really Chelsea, really?

I then dealt with gastrointestinal issues for a good 2 hours after that.  Thankfully this morning I feel okay.

Here’s my deal, a meal without protein feels so WRONG to me and doesn’t feel like a meal. BUT when my only source of protein is either tofu, beans, or nuts (which don’t really feel like protein) I feel stuck and like it’s Groundhog Day.  I KNOW that there are a TON of blogs out there that are dedicated to this but I just don’t have the time to search OR I guess I haven’t made it a priority.  I need to.  I need to get back on the cooking band wagon and make myself some real food!

Any ideas?  Suggestions?

Oh and I’ve been CRAVING a bacon cheese burger with avocado for about a week now.  I’m tempted to just go get one and deal with the consequences and have that be a lesson to me to never eat it again.