Greening the Eats

I admit it. I'm a documentary junkie. I thrive on information. I'm a nerd like that. So when I watch documentaries like Food, Inc. and the like, it's really shocking stuff. Would you eat that cheeseburger if you knew that cow was fed what to us would be a diet as beneficial as Twinkies and Doritos all its life, standing all the while knee deep in its feces? Um, ew. More than that, studies keep coming out on how unsustainable mainstream meat production really is. And then, there's always pink slime. Some ammonia with my burger? Sure, thanks. Consequently, I've been examining the way we eat as a family. The problem is, we're not loaded! :) Sure, I'd love to buy all organic food, grass fed beef, free range chicken, etc... but then, I like paying my power, water, phone.... you get the idea. So I have been working on ways to FRUGALLY make our diet more healthy and more sustainable. Today, I was in the mood for a burger. Boy, did I want a burger. This presented two problems. 1) My, er, Reubenesque figure does not need to eat a burger... EVER. 2) Grass fed beef is CRAZY expensive. So, I thought.... veggie burger? I perused the internet for a while looking for recipes and finally cobbled together a black bean and barley burger which I seasoned with cumin and thyme, and made sweet potato oven "fries" to go with. As my burgers were falling apart in the skillet, and my "fries" sticking to the pan in the oven, a la super glue, I thought....epic fail! I suck at this! Bad words! Grumpy face! But there it was, and so I swallowed my pride... and served it to my kids. I expected the worst. Kane, my eldest, devoured the burger and the "fries" with much gusto, and Seamus, the younger, while not impressed with the burger (he doesn't like black beans much in the first place) chowed the "fries" down too. They loved it. I couldn't believe it. It can be... not...perfect? That's ok? So my first attempt wasn't great. It was healthy, cheap, and sustainable. My kids liked it, and admittedly, so did I. So there. A little victory for today.