Shifting Paradigms

When we departed the Netherlands, I bought enough dry goods to last three months, well, its what I did because that is what my husband suggested. Now I find we are sitting on so much pasta, wraps, beans and rice that I am trying to get creative with how I will make meals out of all that we are sitting on while also making the most of the fresh produce we find in various ports. 

Fruit, beautiful as it can be, doesn't keep very well. So its best to eat soon after buying. Potatoes, much the same. You should only buy potatoes when you know you are gonna eat them soon, any longer and they start to sprout and sprouting brings with it the problem or raised anti-nutrient levels which can cause you to get digestive problems and more. 

Vegetables that keep long aren't always on the kids "favourite" list, although, truth be told, broccoli seems to be the only vegetable that makes the cut for them. I have managed to get the kids to eat Chinese cabbage and mashed potatoes (something they were loathe to eat prior to this journey) as frying up veggies isn't exactly my go-to means of food prep. They like tomato based sauces, and they occasionally eat meat, although honestly, even that, they aren't always up for eating.

Dry goods are convenient, but more often than not they include a considerable amount of processed items. Items that keep a long time or keep well, even in a fridge, tend to be processed and come with a considerable amount of packaging. 

I am trying to reduce our environmental impact, in the smallest way possible. Every port we go to, I am taking my bamboo basket with me and filling it with vegetables, fresh fruit and whatever is available from a fish monger or a butcher that I can actually use that doesn't come with any plastic packaging. Up until we started sailing, we had avoided eating meat,  but truth be told, we were still using processed vegan items from time to time, which, as positive as it is to eat plant-based, its not great to eat processed food. 

Where do we go from here? Not buying processed items is a good thing, which technically means avoiding creating waste as well. We make our own milk using Almonds or Oats or Cashews, only packaging is what they came in, glass for the nut butters and plastic for the oats. We had bought so much oats prior to leaving, so now I am finally getting to use it, so in the case of the oats, I feel like we have reduced our plastic waste but we have not been able to eliminate it. 

I have avoided going to supermarkets this past week, and so we have managed to side step a lot of packaging waste, so at this stage, this is the path I am trying to work on. 

Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. 

I am taking this opportunity to get my children to think about how we eat and how that impacts the ocean and the environment. Rethinking our choices, we will still be eating a predominantly, 90% plant-based diet, and we will refuse to buy items that can only be offered to us with a tonne of plastic packaging (so really, cutting back on processed items), honestly, its not entirely avoidable, flour can be bought in paper bags, but rice or beans & pulses still tend to come in plastic packaging or in cans, so we are trying to cut back on the use of those. I have reusable bags and containers, so if I buy any thing that is animal based, I ask to have the vendor put it in that packaging. We are well on our way to reducing our impact on the environment, we are using only solar or wind generated power and so far both have been working very efficiently and we have not needed to worry about our energy source for the boat. 

Any plastic bags we have or buy (for trash and such) we are buying biodegradable bags, this is also what I use or reuse for carrying recycling items. 

As I try to teach the kids about their impact on the environment while also teaching them about appropriate and adequate nutrition, its going to be a slow and mindful process where they will come around to a fully adventurous way of eating plant-based, so for now, its going with baby steps as we introduce them to more vegetables and fruit, a battle we simply weren't willing to fight when we were both working and had hired help to cook the kids meals. 

I hope to be able to share our culinary journey as much as I would like to share our physical journey on the ocean, living a sustainable life while being mindful about the waste we create and also the lives we affect.

At this stage we are only just breaking ground with teaching the kids that not every meal can be pizza or pasta, they are going to have to learn to eat the local cuisines without complaint or we are simply not going to eat out. 

Is this a sacrifice I am willing to make? Yes. Do I want to be able to eat the beautiful local foods I come across? Hell, yes. I mean, as a Chef, as someone who loves to cook and loves to eat and explore, its part of what makes my life meaningful, but I too have to rethink how I see food. 

I grew up with food being a huge focus in our family and I think in many ways, it isn't necessarily a healthy thing to replace feelings with food. So I am trying to work on that aspect of my mental health, to journey into the future, thinking of food as nourishment vs joy...even if I am confident it can be both, lol. 

The journey is quite a personal one, as is this journey towards living a lower impact lifestyle that puts environmental well being at the forefront of our consciousness and does so while supporting local businesses, buying local and thinking more holistically about how we engage with the economy and the world we live in. 

We no longer have an address from which to order shit on Amazon, so that has actually made it very easy not to buy stuff we don't always need. Money management is something we will have to come to scrutinizing once we have lived this life for a year, as we technically aren't worried at this stage, but its always there at the back of our minds, I would like for it to be at the forefront of our awareness so that we are able to live a life without fear or without anxiety, but do so with careful awareness of what we are spending on and how we are utilizing resources. 

Energy conservation. Environmental conservation. Money conservation. Its what I will be focusing on in the months ahead, I hope to be able to keep you updated on everything I learn in the process.