Do you honor your food?

I was watching Top Chef Masters the other day (because I'm a reality junkie). One of the chefs was this very down to eart woman who didn't have much formal training, but had years of on the job training. Chef Monica Pope's episode

She explained that she is competing to win money for her charity that promotes kids growing vegetables, learning where they come from, how to cook with them and honoring their food.

I didn't think much of it at the time. Although I really do like the programs that are teaching kids where food comes from and gardening and growing process. I like the White House Vegetable Garden that not only feeds the White House, but sends the grown food to charities in the area. I even like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I think that my mother and grandmother's generation relied on vegetable gardens and knowing where the food came from. My generation got, well...lazy to be honest. We were more impressed with buying ready made food than working for the food. And that translated into the generation after me never knowing where their food came from. So I applaud those programs to start teaching the younger kids this information. And I love that gardening is "in" again.

But on the way home the other night I thought about it. I have a half pint of strawberries on my counter, going bad. Yet I haven't eaten or used them. Twice in the last 2 weeks I've bought a pineapple and it sat on my counter going dry and brown until I threw it away. Regularly I throw away veggies that I have every intention of eating when I purchase them, yet don't.

I don't always honor my food. I need to get better at this.

So this weekend I'm going grocery shopping. I'm going to hit Costco for buld fresh fruit & veggies. Trader Joes for the other good stuff (and my Fage yogurt that I have been out of) and Cub Foods for the remainder. I am going to shop with purpose and make sure that the food I'm purchasing CAN be consumed before it goes bad. I'm going to shop healthy for me and Pete. And I'm going to honor the food that someone has taken time to grow and produce by using it to nurish my body.