I had a very specific purpose for the spinach leaves - spinach pesto. I love pesto and don't mind buying the prepared stuff, but I like to customize mine when possible to boost the nutritional value. A few years ago, I made a spinach, parmesan cheese, and garlic bread for Halloween, a recipe I got from an episode of 30 Minute Meals, and the color and flavor reminded me of pesto. Then, I read about adding kale to pesto to boost the nutritional value, and I was reminded of the spinach mixture I spread on the bread. Thus, spinach pesto was born. I made a batch and made some sandwiches and tossed it with two different pasta dishes, then froze the rest in ice cube trays so I can defrost and use it whenever I'm in a pesto mood.
(I'd post a recipe, but I don't really have one - it was a container of spinach, 2 cloves of garlic [too much], a lot of basil, a handful of parmesan, zest and juice from one lemon, and olive oil blended in the food processor. No pine nuts - I have a fear that my husband, who is allergic to some nuts but has never had a reaction to prepared pesto, will die if I put them in and I'll get arrested for murdering my husband - but technically they should be in the recipe too. You figure it out.).
As I shopped for my organic spinach leaves, I found myself questioning why I had to buy organic spinach leaves. I knew from experience that the frozen spinach didn't work as well in the pesto (too much water, even if it's squeezed out really well). And because the spinach would remain raw, I knew I needed to be especially aware of the chemicals and pesticides. So I shelled out an extra two bucks for the organic spinach.
It struck me as silly that I was buying spinach leaves, let alone organic spinach leaves, to make pesto when I could so easily buy a container of pesto that would probably be cheaper. Sure, it may not be as nutritious, but I could easily cook some extra vegetables to go with my meal and still come out ahead money-wise. I was also bothered by the price of the organic spinach compared to the pesticide-laden variety. If the chemicals and pesticides are really as bad as we're told, shouldn't they be banned?
As I tooled around the grocery store picking up a few other items, I felt like I was being ripped off. Organic milk costs twice as much as regular? Whole wheat bread is 50 cents more? Generic cereal is a dollar less but has more sugar in it?
I hear and read news reports about how American, and children in particular, are injesting too many chemicals, eating too many empty calories, and not eating enough greens or whole grains. In those same articles, I hear calls for the end of convenience foods, the end of hormone injections, the end of processed sugars! We must save the children!!!
I'm very fortunate to be married to someone who makes a good salary, but I don't have amnesia. That is to say, I remember 10 years ago when I was in grad school and I had to buy books at the beginning of each semester, so I ate ramen noodles for three weeks because they were 10/$1. I'm thankful I'm not in that position at this point in my life, but I'll also never forget those days either. Some might call that experience "character-building." I call it being broke and doing what it took to get by.
The thing about that time in my life is that I was extraordinarily busy. I was taking 14 credits each semester, which is full time for an undergrad and super full time for a grad student, and working 20 hours at a graduate assistantship that covered 9 credits of tuition each semester. I also had an unpaid internship as part of my schooling that was supposed to be 16 hours each week (it was always more). I left my apartment at 7:30am and arrived home around 9pm Monday-Thursday, studied into the wee hours, and worked all day Friday as well.
Ramen not only fit my budget, it fit my lifestyle. I was busy, I was broke, and I didn't have time to grocery shop or cook. In retrospect, I was pretty much eating salt and getting no nutrition except the calories I needed to function on a daily basis. But, bad for me food was better than no food at all and that was a decision I had to make. I got by.
I made my schedule like that out of necessity. I had to work, I had to take my classes, and I had to pay for it. I empathize with people who have to live and work this way. In this economy, it seems more people are working just to make ends meet and everyone seems to be looking for ways to save money. At the same time, everyone is looking for something quick and convenient because they just don't have time to cook. Everybody is working more, running from one commitment to the next, and doing more with less.
And as I wandered around the grocery store with my organic spinach, something just clicked in my head.
We eat based on our lifestyle. We buy foods we can afford, and we buy foods we can prepare in our given schedule. We don't eat organically because it is expensive. We don't buy fresh fruit and vegetables because they go bad. We buy prepackaged food that is loaded with sodium and fat and preservatives because we only have ten minutes to make and eat dinner. We live in urban and suburban areas where houses are built on top of each otherwith no room to grown our own gardens, and where farmers markets are run on Wednesday mornings while we're at work or Saturdays when we're running kids to soccer games (and don't forget about the lack of parking!). We get fast food because it's all of the things we need - fast, convenient, and (usually) cheap.
I've read all sorts of articles, blogs, and comments about how we need to change our behaviors and change our mindsets in order to be healthy Americans. But as I think about how I ended up as a real housewife of Charlotte - essentially out of economic necessity- I wonder if we really can change. Sure, I'm a housewife who has the luxury to buy organic spinach so I can spend the time to make spinach pesto - but could my friends? Could I do this if I was a single girl, living on a social worker or teacher salary?
And frankly, if I was a single girl, living on a social worker or teacher salary, would making organic spinach pesto even be a concern of mine?
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