Skinny Bitch_ Ultimate Everyday Cookbook - Kim Barnouin [16]
WINTER: avocados, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, chard greens, collard greens, fennel, grapefruit, jicama, kale, kiwi, leeks, lemons, limes, new potatoes, parsnips, persimmon.
Visit www.sustainabletable.org to find fruits and
vegetables that are in season in your area.
PART TWO
THE SECRET TO BEING A SKINNY BITCH
There have been some misconceptions about what it means to be a Skinny Bitch. And I think it’s time I cleared that up before I find another gray hair.
Over the years, it has become habitual for women, most of whom have never read a single page of the book, to give me their “two cents.” If I had a dime for every time a lady at a cocktail party asked me how I could encourage women to be supermodel thin, I’d be a Coinstar. She stands there, a White Russian waving in one hand, teriyaki beef skewer in the other, hypothetically asking: How could you encourage women to be skinny? If all women were a size 2, we’d live in such a boring place.
I clear my throat [ahem], and so kindly reply, Yes that would be very boring.
So, rather than individually reply to each of these well-rehearsed comments, I thought it better to tell it like it is. Skinny Bitch has nothing to do with being skinny. And it has nothing to do with being a bitch, either. Though we all have our moments.
A “Skinny Bitch” is a woman who cares about what she’s putting into her body. She cares about the small print. She’s eager to re-channel our collective global frustrations to take a stand for what she believes in—even if her friends think she’s nuts.
What will you do when you find out what’s in your meat? Run to the golden arches and grab a cheeseburger or start working alternatives into your diet? What about when you find out your food travels an average of fifteen hundred miles to get to your plate? Will you start making more trips to your local farmers’ market or continue supporting the system?
We all have a choice, ladies. But, Skinny Bitches don’t just sit there and shrug. They make shit happen. They ask questions and they get answers.
Like everyone else, we splurge on a dessert occasionally that’s got a few ingredients we’re not proud of. We grab fast food here and there. We even screw up and buy produce that’s not organic. But it doesn’t matter. We’re human. What matters is what we do with most of our days. We have a voice and we use it. The question is: What will you do?
Are you a Skinny Bitch?
THE SKINNY: PROCESSED FOODS
The 11 Worst Food Additives on the Market
Your local grocery store might as well be a land mine. The smiling checkout associates and god-awful elevator music are just disguises for the shopping cart of disease-causing crap you’re pushing along like Suzie Freakin’ Homemaker.
Remove the rose-colored glasses, honey. There is a reason the product labels on the back of the box look like an illiterate game of Scrabble. Food manufacturers are filling commercial foods with dangerous preservatives, sprays, and harmful chemicals to increase their shelf life, enhance the taste and texture, and make them look pretty. These very ingredients have been found to cause nervous system damage, immune system dysfunction, life-threatening disease, and a handful of other serious health conditions.50
Start reading your labels and familiarize yourself with what not to buy. Here is the Skinny Bitch Cheat Sheet of the 11 Worst Food Additives on the market.
ARTIFICIAL COLORS (RED, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, FD&C COLORS)
Most of the cheap, low-grade products in the grocery store contain artificial colors simply for visual appeal. Though it sounds harmless, artificial colors are made from petroleum, coal tars, acetone, or cochineal bugs. Yes, bugs. Some colorings are acquired by boiling dried insects in water to extract carminic acid.51 Research has shown food coloring to cause hyperactivity and behavioral issues (ADHD, ODD and OCD), adrenal gland, brain