the good life

backyard delicious living... another night on the porch in Hawaii. The thing that has struck me this two weeks is that it is much easier, contrary to popular attitude, to live simply and eat well here. Americans, it is true, buy too much high fructose corn syrup, gm laden, sugar and chemical preprocessed foods, but it is also so easy NOT to do that.

This dinner was a simple affair. A rotisserie chicken from cost-co, left over tomatoes, olives and cheese, left over penne pasta from a few nights ago, and whole wheat bread with a lovely and inexpensive bottle of red wine. Easy, cheap, and good. The costco chickens are (according to label) hormone and steroid free, as well as humanely raised. We made the sauce for the pasta ourselves, and we bought olives and fresh yellow tomatoes from the safeway. easy.

Food politics are a complicated subject and one I am passionate about, but I think the first and most important step that each person can take is to just be more deliberate about your food choices, more conscious of what you consume. Think before you eat, as it were. There is still room for the occasional oreo, and other unhealthy but fun choices- but the key is to be aware of the decisions, be mindful.

My fear in recent years is that most people who eat poorly do it because they are not paying attention, not because they want to. Labels got more complicated, bad food is cheaper, and people are too busy to cook. But even given the above, the meal in this photo was cheap, fast and much better for me than anything that could come out of a box, jar, or package.

and the kona sunset didn't hurt either...