We Are Meat Eaters

My family are meat eaters.

I used to be a vegetarian through highschool, purely because I connected with animals well being (the health benefits of being a vego didn't even occur to me back then), to me it seemed cruel to raise an animal for human consumption. I also have family members and friends who what the same morals towards animals, so I had contact with non-meat eaters throughout my life.

I have to admit, I crave meat. I love the taste. There is nothing more satisfying than an antipasto platter with a bit of prosciutto on the plate. Taste is undeniably the first reason I began eating meat again. Focusing away from sustainability, I feel as though meat has a purpose in our diet, meat from smaller frames such as poultry, seafood and game. I believe in a balanced diet from wholefoods, personally if it was my choice, we would be eating a diet consisting mainly of vegetables, pulses, fruit, grains, some fish and little meat. But, living in a family which considers other members, I feel I must provide what my family wants, within reason. What I don't believe is that meat is an everyday food, that it should be the focus of the meal.

 

Because I have high morals about animal cruelty and living sustainably, I buy either organic free range meat or at the very least free range. I don't buy my meat from the supermarket, only from local butchers who buy from local farmers.

My two favourite butchers at the moment are Feast Fine Foods, who provide a range of meats and cuts you would see at the supermarket or any other butcher BUT they deal with the most premium producers you can find in the state. You'll find restaurant quality, organic, free range, rare breeds and rare cuts of meat. They really try to respect meat and it shows by the support they have for local farmers and the butchery classes they hold at The Adelaide Central Markets. I buy cheaper cuts of meat from Feast, as their prices are quite high and I'm realising because I buy meat that is mostly on the bone or a whole bird, it allows me to connect with the animal. During food preparation, I find myself slowing down and really seeing what animal I'm working with, where it came from and I give  it a little more respect and dignity. I don't think I could get the same feeling from a shrink wrapped, clean piece of fillet.

The second is Wild OZ. Wild OZ caters to my sustainable side. They hunt their produce, to a certain degree. I can be sure to find wild kangaroo (which is one of Australia's most sustainable meats), wild rabbit, open range pork and goat. They also try to focus their flavours on Australian bush foods, which also feeds my passion for native plants.

I'm finding if I have balance with my meat eating I can do so without overwhelming guilt. I am still working towards gradually cutting down my family on farmed red meat and I think kangaroo will be a great alternative. But boy, pushing for veggies in my family is hard work, although Mike has started eating more and he actually LOVES mushrooms now. Persistence!



MamaKoo

Does your family eat meat? What are some of your family favourites when it comes to vegetarian meals?

Toddlerhood

In August, Baby Grub is about to enter the world of toddlerhood, officially. She has shown definite  signs of more confidence, wanting more independence and decision making and is testing her boundaries more and more. Yet she still clings to me when there are strangers about.

I remember not too long ago when Grub was an infant I couldn't wait for her to be more interactive, to discover her personality, to take her on discoveries and adventures and to answer all her questions and curiosities. Looking back, I did enjoy the time I had with baby Grub but I feel as though time is moving too quickly and I'm missing the days of holding a sleeping babe in my arms (who doesn't weigh 13kg), touching her soft skin and smelling that sweet, sweet newborn smell. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE who Grub has become. Shes hilarious, kind, generous, loving, silly, creative and at times is on the cutting edge of fashion.

When I look at her now, I try to hold on to those memories, her pure innocence, the sacredness of the love I felt for a helpless being. I feel its especially important to still hold on to that memory when new challenges arise as children move from newborn, to toddler, to child, teenager and beyond. Shes still just as precious as she was when I first held her in my arms on the day she was born.




MamaKoo


Don't you wish life had a pause button or perhaps a rewind function, so you can relive all those fond memories true to their form?

Plastic free update

Its been six months since I made a vow to go plastic free and I thought I'd update about my plastic free journey... I must admit and accept that its not going to plan.

Its A LOT harder than I first thought it would be. Simple things like finding a non plastic packaging alternative to buying milk. I know what you're thinking.. "MamaKoo, haven't you heard?! Milk comes in cartons!" but did you know, cartons are made from cardboard lined with a polyethylene plastic? What happened to the days of old, where milk was delivered to your door in glass bottles?

I think although I haven't been able to make the full transition, trying to go plastic free has made me rethink the things I would have purchased in the past, try to find alternatives and in doing so has made me find different and wonderful places to shop. Its made me slow down and live life more simply, appreciate the things I have access to and forced me to start making things I normally would buy (which I enjoy doing!).

Hopefully down the track we can become an almost plastic free family, I really think that at this time in history becoming COMPLETELY plastic free is a near impossibility. We can always try, can't we?

A Mother's Guilt

When I became a Mother it didn't even cross my mind the level of guilt I could feel when I have regret or think I've made a mistake. 

Recently Grub has been feeling under the weather, with a fluctuating fever for the past three weeks. My GP couldn't give us any answers and after a night of Grub's temperature reaching 40 degrees, I decided to take her to children's emergency to see if they could tell me anything my GP couldn't. The Doctor at emergency asked for a urine sample, a stool sample and a blood test. I don't know if its because of my severe sleep deprivation, my thoughts over run with worry for baby Grub or that I'm just a bit slow but it didn't occur to me how invasive a blood test on a little one would be.

 At first the nurse asked me to sit Grub on my lap and hold arms while she tightened the strap to Grub's arm and then began to forcefully pump her arm to find her little veins. She called in another, most likely senior nurse to ask if she had found a vein or not. The senior nurse nodded with the go ahead. At this point Grub was already trying to break free but as the nurse used her needle over and over to try and find Grub's vein, she began crying and flinching. The nurse gave up on that arm and asked if we could lay Grub down and try the other arm.

I held her for a while, offering my breast for comfort.. she wouldn't have a bar of it. She suckled for a little, still whimpering as she sucked, but pushed me away. We were hurried along by the nurse, Mike had to hold down Grub's legs while I had to hold her arm and her chest. The nurse forcefully pumped Grub's arm again and she began crying in protest, then as the nurse tried to find her vein with the needle, Grub started screaming like I've never heard before. She went all red, tears where streaming out of her eyes, she was frothing at the mouth, she kept looking at me to help her... but I didn't, I just looked into her eyes with complete shock, that I was letting this happen to my baby girl. I didn't stop it and I feel so guilty.

 
Its been almost 4 days now the fever is gone... no thanks to the blood test and what was once a happy, independent baby Grub, is now clinging, whinging, rarely smiles or laughs, hits me, and is having sleep problems and night terrors. We've both been traumatised by this expereince and I'm trying my best to rebuild our bond and I'm confident I'll gain her trust again... But its the guilt thats killing me.

How do you overcome the guilt that comes with being a Mother?


MamaKoo

Nursing my nursling

This past Tuesday marked my first anniversary with Grub and our nursing relationship, I say relationship because it involves a lot of trust and mutual agreement to keep the relationship strong. Things have changed remarkably since we first started out, what first comes to mind is the length of time it takes to nurse and the number of times a day. I remember feeling like I was constantly on the couch with my breasts out and Grub attached to them, when I let down, a surge of milk would come flooding out wetting what felt like everything. I was constantly sticky and smelt like milk ALL the time. As you can most likely tell, I didn't enjoy the first few months of breast feeding.

Grumpy MamaKoo

Not to mention the latch problems and unbelievably sore nipples (I would have rather go through labor again). I remember crying, not wanting to nurse because it hurt too much and becoming depressed because I felt I couldn't give my baby the best start in life.

First time nursing didn't hurt, Grub was 2 months

Nursing becoming a breeze

Perfecting the lying down position

I'm so happy I persevered, it becomes unbelievably easier, to the point where Grub has become such a professional, she knows exactly what to do.

Starting to fall in love with nursing

I love some things that have stayed the same

• She still needs me and wants me above all other people
• When she latches her head automatically drops as if I'm always going to be there to catch it
• The way her eyes roll back in ecstasy when she first gets a taste of my milk
• The way she looks at me when she nurses, like I'm the most important person in her world

I love some of the things that have changed

• Time and frequency of feeding!!!
• The inventive nursing positions that shes coming up with
• Her humming her nursing song while nursing
• The way she strokes my side or plays with my amber necklace
• When she needs to touch and stroke her hair

One year! Woo hoo!

MamaKoo

Are you ever really ready?

It was two days before new years eve 2009,  and we had just come back from our honeymoon. The whole time we were away I didn't feel myself at all, so I decided to do the ol' pee on a stick trick... and there it was, two lines. 'Oh dear!' was the first thing that popped into my head, 'We're not ready for this.' was the second. To say that we coped well with the news would be a flat out lie. Both Mike and I had our own plans of what the next five years of our lives were going be. I was going to go attend university and study architecture, he was going to study music at The Conservatorium. After that we had plans of backpacking throughout South East Asia. There is no way we could take a baby with us! This little baby was ruining all that we had planned. We wanted kids but why did it have to be now?

Little did we know, we were 5 weeks pregnant

Learning to accept that we were about to have a baby didn't really take place until the third trimester. People kept asking 'are you excited?', my answer was always yes but I did have to convince myself a little. I was always worried that my life was going to be overrun by housework, chores, cooking etc. and that there was never going to be time for me and the things that I wanted to accomplish in my lifetime. Resentment was growing and life as I knew it was over.

Feeling sad and pathetic

It wasn't until my father said to me, 'You can still get to where you are going, you just have to take a different route.' that I realised life wasn't over at all. Life, in fact had just begun. This was my chance to create something beautiful with the man that I love, relationships, after all are about compromise out of love.

Last prenatal visit

I began to embrace this baby with all of my heart, sometimes the love that I felt overwhelmed me. I became determined that I'm going to take on my role as a wife and a mother with 100% willingness and at the same time not loose sight of what I want as an individual. Our baby became a blessing.

Baby Grub, 2 days old

MamaKoo