Ants and M&M's

So, someone from our small group asked me this week if I considered myself one of those “organic” people. I guess they assume because I am always bringing some kind of fresh dish to group...or deer meat.....that I fall in the “Asheville hippie organic crowd” .

But oh contraire! Organic I am not. At least, I don’t consider myself that.

There are definite things in my life that take me out of that category BIG TIME.

For example: I discovered a new love this week while walking down the isles of Target:
Pretzel M&M’s....Oh good golly! If you haven’t tried them, you should! Food coloring, chocolate and salt never tasted so good.

Bad, Bad move buying that bag and putting it in my desk drawer.

Things like that make me not the true “organic chic” you were hoping for. And it doesn’t stop there. I have other vices that throw me WAAAYYY out of the organic eating category too.

Cheeto’s, Doritos, Coke Zero, fruit by the foot, French fries, chick-fil-a... Just to name a few. You know all the traditional junk food items that have loads of coloring, fat, and crispy fried goodness.... Sorry, but, sometimes it just tastes good to eat all that....junk.
Not all the time....but on occasion....when life warrants a breakdown of my “health conscious” will.

BUT....in saying all that, I wouldn’t put myself out of a “natural” eating category. Just wouldn’t call it “organic” eating per say. A Holist maybe?

Sounds funny to even say that because the color left behind on your hands after eating a bag...*clearing throat*...I mean....a handful of Cheeto’s is defiantly ANYTHING but natural. (And no, the “natural” Cheeto’s defiantly do NOT taste the same as the original.) And if Coke Zero has zero sugar and zero calories....then what does it actually have in it?

But when a Cheeto attack happens, what else do you wash down the orange crispy goodness with?
Water just wouldn't suffice.

I guess what I mean to say is I choose fresh items over pre-packaged, processed items most of the time. And, contrary to what I just wrote, I strive for natural and healthy choices about 70% of the time.

For example:
I try to stay on the outer perimeter of the grocery store when shopping. Sticking with the veggies, meat, dairy...well, you get the point.

We buy only whole milk. I am not really a milk drinker anyways but again, why would you buy white water? If God intended milk to be skim, don’t you think it would come out of the cows that way in the first place?
Now, for the record... I do buy organic milk.

I use REAL butter. *Gasp!*....and it tastes soooo good. And contrary to what you may think about margarine being better for you and having less fat and calories in it, butter is actually healthier for you. Google it.

I try to buy my produce from the local stand down the road. Or beg, borrow, and steal from my Mom’s garden as I have no sunlight at my house to grow anything of my own. :-)

I would rather gather my own fresh eggs then buy them. Hence, “the girls”. They taste different. Really they do. ...oh wait...the EGGS taste different...not “the girls”...well, come to think of it... “the girls” probably taste different too...but that is beside the point.

I haven’t bought beef from the store as we have survived on our two deer for almost a year now. (About at the end of that though and anticipating hunting season. Defiantly need to be sure to shoot a FULL grown deer this year...more meat)

When time permits, I would rather bake my own bread. Not happening as often as I would like, but defiantly worth the work when I do make the effort.
And I would rather make my own jam.
And bake my own cookies....and pies....

I have gone three times now down to our secret blueberry patch to gather gallons of blueberries to last us throughout the year.

I have been going to the farmers market and freezing and canning up a storm with my mom in the past few weeks. Tomorrow we are canning homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Salsa. A few weeks ago it was corn and peaches. My freezer is filling up nicely.

I mean, stuff just tastes better that is....natural. Non-processed. I was raised that way and have recently been finding myself getting “back to my roots”.
Is it work?
Well, yeah....but it is all in how you look at it. It isn’t hard despite what some make it out to be.
This year in particular, I am making the time to “store up for the winter”.
There is a verse in scripture... actually there are several...that talk about this principle.
I remember learning about this particular passage when I was a little girl. There was a song about the ants. I think maybe it was from my “Psalty the Singing Songbook Days...”

Anyways,
I like the way the Message puts it.

Proverbs 6:6-9 (The Message)
A Lesson from the Ant
6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions.So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed?A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

Ok, maybe a bit harsh coming from The Message. Kind of a slap in the face I know.
I work 40 plus hours a week too. And I get tired.
And taking naps on the weekends are wonderful!

But, really, we SHOULD learn from the ant and not be lazy and store up now for the winter...Especially when we live in such a place that has a bountiful supply of the good stuff right now.

AND, I can honestly say that it isn’t really hard for me to do because I enjoy the process of doing it. It isn’t really work for me. I would rather be in the kitchen then behind a computer any day of the week. So for me, it is an “outlet” of sorts. I find great joy and satisfaction in it.

Anyways, amazing how one question can made me think so hard about something.
And all that thinking has made me hungry.
Guess it is time for a Coke Zero and some M&M’s.