This is day five of our month of non consumerism and we managed to get past the shops in the village without purchasing anything – running short on a few food items already so will have to get creative in the kitchen. The whole experience so far has been great though. It’s been really consolidating for us as a family. We don’t shop a lot and none of us are big fans of shopping but we do still buy things on a regular basis. Over the last few days I’ve realised how much buying things and consuming whatever we choose can be used as an emotional salve, stopping us from really addressing our feelings.
We have spent more time together as a family – this is also due in part to us finishing another edition of the magazine which goes on sale soon – and relationships seem stronger than last week. Today, the girls and I did some more work on our Guy Fawkes project. We read about the man behind the legend and noticed quite a few discrepancies between different sources. Studying history is so interesting (and sometimes frustrating) because of the differences of opinion it throws up. I’m glad that the girls get the opportunity to think about and question these ‘facts’ rather than get the preferred version fed to them in a school textbook. We found this game called Plot and the girls did some great portraits of Guy Fawkes whilst I made them some gunpowder maths worksheets.
Later on we cycled down to the village to watch the bonfire being built and once back home again, ate toast in front of the fire and read some of the latest Jacqueline Wilson book to find its way into our home via the library. She certainly doesn’t hold back with her characterisation and plotlines – it’s quite an education!
For myself, I’m reading this gorgeous book called Full Moon Feast at the moment, which along with Nourishing Traditions (my new favourite cookbook ever) has turned quite a lot of my beliefs about nutrition on their head. I’m now making four mini meals a day with a big lunch at midday. A while ago we started eating raw dairy and fish, which is a real turnaround from my raw vegan days. The girls especially seem to benefit from our altered diet and having more regular food intake – balancing out their blood sugar has help to level emotional state as well.
My challenges over the coming days are: a party at the weekend which I have to take a dish to and friends over tomorrow and Saturday to cook for. Hopefully I’ll find something that I can rustle up that looks impressive but only uses basic storecupboard ingredients and seasonal veg. We got a fennel bulb in our organic box yesterday which should be able to be put to good use in some yummy gratin type dish. I’ll let you know how I get on.
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