Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

To resist the spirit of consumerism and materialism

We celebrated Gabriel’s baptism on Sunday.  The ceremony reaffirmed  my love for the inclusive, social justice oriented, faith community that is St. Cronan’s.

In keeping with the spirit of sustainability and simplicity, The Dude wore a baptismal gown made by his great-grandmother, previously worn by his father and uncle.

I’m not sure if you’re supposed to have a favorite baptismal promise, but this one is particularly meaningful to me, as a value that can and should be embraced by all humankind, regardless of faith or belief system:

Do you commit yourself to a gospel spirit of poverty and detachment – to resist the spirit of consumerism and materialism – to live a life of generosity – and to exercise a preferential option for the poor?

A good reminder at any time, but especially relevant this time of year.

Two pair no more

It seems like just yesterday that I was writing this post about my maternity wardrobe and being rather content with the simplicity of my limited options.  Nonetheless, I was looking forward to wearing some of my pre-pregnancy clothes.

When I attempted to put on “real” clothes (i.e., anything other than a sundress or gym shorts) for the first time, about two weeks after giving birth, I quickly discovered that, despite having lost a significant amount of the pregnancy weight, my body wasn’t exactly what it used to be.  A few more weeks passed, and some of my “big” pants started fitting, but by week fourteen, when I went back to work, things had not progressed any further.  This left me with exactly two pair of non-summery, work-appropriate pants.

For me, it wasn’t about the number on the scale — it’s fairly common for nursing mothers to retain 5-10 pounds or so until they stop breast feeding — or really even the slightly altered reflection in the mirror.  The thing is, I liked the simplicity of a smaller wardrobe, I just wasn’t expecting it to be quite THAT limited.  While I genuinely enjoyed clothes shopping as a teenager, I rather dislike shopping of any kind now, and the thought of having to buy new (or new-to-me) pants, when I had so many perfectly good ones that didn’t quite fit, frustrated me quite a bit.

Little by little however, I noticed that my “big” pants were actually feeling big again.  Then, late last week, I tried on a pair of pre-pregnancy pants, just to see, and found that they fit!  A little snug, but comfortable enough to wear 🙂

Now that most things fit again, I have to hold myself to my previous statement to whittle down my wardrobe.  While two pair of pants seems a bit sparse, if I can get by with two, I certainly don’t need ten!

Use it and lose it

For some reason, a post I read over two years ago, about a Japanese man who used only one mug for over 30 years, has really stuck with me.

We have several pieces of beautiful, functional pottery that Matthew bought during his time in Utah: a plate, a bowl, something in-between a plate and a bowl, and two mugs.  We tend to reserve the plate, bowl, and bowl-plate for special occasions because we hand wash them rather than putting them in the dishwasher.

The mugs, on the other hand, serve as our water glasses, and have been part of our everyday lives, something special in the ordinary.  With their large volume, they are also perfect for heavy drinkers like us.  (We also hand wash the mugs, but they just have water in them, so we don’t actually wash them all that frequently.  And by “not that frequently,” I mean less than once a week.)

While the reality is that we have a shelf and a half of glasses and mugs in our cabinets, in practice, we are somewhat like the Japanese man with his one mug.

One fateful night back in September, we were up with Gabriel.  After changing Gabriel’s diaper and handing him off to me for a feeding, Matthew went into the kitchen to get a drink.  When I heard the crash, my heart dropped, knowing immediately that our pair of mugs was now down to one.

At the time, one of the lowest of the postpartum period, the broken mug seemed like a metaphor of my life since July 9th: my birth plans shattered and life as I’d known it broken, hopeless, unrepairable.

The thing is, we knew that using the mugs meant an increased chance of breaking the mugs.  Instead of sitting in the cabinet, collecting dust, we enjoyed this piece of art every day for over five years.  The one intact mug remains in daily use, though it is a bit lonely without its mate.

Matthew contacted the artist, and they may be able to make us a replacement.  Part of me thinks it’s silly, what with all the other cups and mugs we own, but another part of me understands enough to not really protest.  Perhaps it will be a new mug for this new life journey.

Eating in

A year ago yesterday, we donned our wedding attire and headed out to celebrate our anniversary at one of St. Louis’ top-ranked, award-winning restaurants.  A place known for a small, seasonal menu, top quality ingredients, and prices to match.

Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, these food snobs connoisseurs found that the dinner did not live up to the hype.  Our meal was good, but nothing to write home about.  We ordered our standard “a few dishes to share,” but Matthew felt the atmosphere and attitude of the staff was not conducive to this, which further downgraded the experience.

Enter last night, and a much better anniversary dinner in our own kitchen, lovingly prepared by chef Matthew: marinated tofu and pear salad, pumpkin lasagna, and apple pie for dessert.*  Complete with candles, wine, and a nice, relaxed atmosphere, we agreed it was a major upgrade from last year.  That type of a dinner for two would easily cost $70+.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner for a fraction of the price, with most of a large pan of lasagna to enjoy later in the week.

While having a baby requires compromises and cutting back in some areas, we’re finding it’s essential to continue some activities from before baby.  For us, growing, cooking, and eating amazing food (okay, mostly Matthew on the “growing” aspect) fall into that category.  Yes, we are both exhausted and time is precious, but for us, this is worth it.  While in some ways it makes life more crazy, in other ways it helps preserve our sanity.

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*Meal ingredients from the garden: mixed greens for the salad, “pumpkin” puree (technically some variety of winter squash), onions, Swiss chard, and sage.  Other local ingredients: pears and apples.

I’m planning a full recipe post later, but we adapted this recipe to make our pumpkin lasagna, using our homemade pasta for the noodles.

Two’s company

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had second thoughts about that whole,”Oh, we can just fit a third person into our one-bedroom apartment,” thing.  My rationale going in was, sure, we’re adding an additional person, but a very small person, and we’re committed to minimizing stuff for that person, so it will be no big deal, right?  Not exactly.

It’s not as much an issue of space for stuff as it is of living vs. sleeping space.Continue reading “Two’s company”