the lesson in Chipotle's "The Scarecrow"

Chipotle's newest thought-provoking film is every bit as good as the last, in my biased opinion, and this time, there's an app to go with it. I declare myself biased because my husband works for Chipotle, so some may discount my opinion based on that. Thought I'd better throw that tidbit out there right away. "The Scarecrow," with it's simple, clear visuals and haunting remake by Fiona Apple of the song "Pure Imagination" from the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" challenges how we think about fast food. I won't spoil it for you, but I will challenge you to throw off a bit of the denial the next time you take your family to the restaurant with the golden arches. By all means, what you eat is your choice, but no matter your choice (and I've been known to make some pretty poor choices), at least understand what you are putting into your body and what the industries you are supporting do to the animals you are eating. There ARE better choices out there. Chipotle is one of them.

Please check out "The Scarecrow."

The littles and I have watched "The Scarecrow" a couple of times. The first time, I let them just watch it to see what they would pull from it on their own. They understood that it was sad, and they felt bad for the animals.

Porter (6) asked "Why are these Chipotle things always so sad?"

It's hard to explain it to a six-year-old. You can't really go into the politics of it all, so I did my best: "They are supposed to make you feel sad, because they want you to feel so strongly that it changes the way you think."

The second time we watched, I did some commentary and paused it if they asked questions. Porter seemed to understand as I explained that the people are just eating the food, and they don't know about all of the chemicals in it, and they don't know how badly the animals are treated. All they see is the cute little store front and the yummy-looking food, so they buy it, and they eat it. What "The Scarecrow" is showing us is what goes on in reality. "Oh, so that's why you won't take us to McDonald's and fast food very often," he concluded, then asked "but why can't we just eat the good kind of animals, and why can't the fast food places use those?...Chipotle does."

So he got the message perfectly. "Exactly, Porter." I said. "They don't because it's cheaper to buy the yucky stuff, so that means they make more money."

"That's just wrong," he declared. Bingo.

Campbell (4), my little self-proclaimed vegetarian, had a few more questions and had some very strong feelings: "The poor cows need us. And the pigs. And the chickens." Yes. "Mommy, I want to save a cow."

I asked her how we could do that.

"We could make a home for it at the farm."

"That's a great idea. But we don't have a farm," I reminded her.

"So what can we do?" she asked.

"Well, how about we don't buy the animals from the factories. If we don't eat many animals, and the ones we do eat come from little farms that treat them right–rather than factories–we'll be helping the farmers who are doing the right thing. If everyone does that, then the guys that are doing the wrong thing will go out of business and they won't be able to hurt us or the animals any more."

She thought for a minute and then spoke again. "But how do we get everyone to do that? Mommy, can we change the world?"

And that's just the question. Can we?

my Zero Waste Week

Our family is on the home stretch of Zero Waste Week (based in the UK, but is spreading, hopefully), and I'm coming to realize that it's not that much different than how we typically live. WHEW! 'Cause I was stressin' just a bit when I signed the contract. The theme of this year's week-long event is "Use it up!" The focus is on eliminating food waste. Like all good rebels, I'm not following it exactly, but I'm coming close, and I'm learning a lot about how I can make changes to improve, which is valuable. We're in the research stage of composting, so that's out, for now, but I can say that we haven't wasted one bit of food in very many days. I'm more conscious of it this week, but it's not that hard. We're not food wasters...anymore. Ask me a couple of years ago, and it was downright shameful, the leftovers that went down the tubes. And I didn't even think it was shameful. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I am far from the best I can be, but I learn and work to do more every day! Anything that sticks is a long, slow, process, in my opinion.

I digress.

Zero Waste Week is about truly having no waste. Don't you know there are children starving in Africa? Rachel is at the helm, and she's awesome, yet extreme. When she says zero, she means zero. Thank goodness she's, like, nine hours ahead, so it gives me time to catch up. Rachel means for us to cut the mold off of our bread and cheese, and possibly cure our expired meat or find use for that curdled milk. That is super admirable, and I'd like to say I'd be willing to do it, but, thanks to my two strapping, growing, piggish boys, nothing lasts that long. And since I'm borderline vegan, I don't have to worry about eating rotten meat. So I guess I'm getting off easy. What I am doing differently is paying attention to every scrap, however not moldy or rotten.

So what have I done this week to make extra sure we're not wasting? Check it out:

• I'm ultra-conscious of what our tortoise, Fluffy, can eat. If I asked him, he'd eat us out of house and home. But since I'm not asking him, he's getting the greens off the top of our strawberries and the stems from our lettuce, which he enjoys. I actually made Big dig a strawberry stem out of the sink that he flippantly tossed aside. Doin' my part.

• Using all of my "ingredients" for lunch. Rachel wants us to eliminate the word "leftovers" from our vocabulary and replace it with the "ingredients." Since I work from home, I almost always make myself something to eat for my mid-day meal. Only I don't have time to make a complicated feast, so preparation has to be simple. I enjoy salads, and they are great for using up small bits of leftovers ingredients. I toss in beans, soyrizo from breakfast, roasted veggies, a scoop of quinoa or farro–whatever is around! I never have the same salad twice. This week I made extra sure to use every ingredient in the fridge. And when I ran out of lettuce and couldn't have a salad (boo!), I made pasta instead. I didn't have any sauce and didn't have time to make any, so I tossed in some Earth Balance (vegan butter substitute), some natural garlic salt, and some veggies. It was actually pretty good!

• I packed the kids "snackin' lunches." In a special effort to use up everything we had in the fridge before purchasing more, the kids got a couple of "snackin' lunches," which meant that instead of a main dish and some sides, they got a bunch of sides and small amounts of things. They found it to be a fun adventure and, though they have this lunch about once a week regularly, the haphazard, not-exactly-balanced odd combination of things that appeared in their bento boxes this week added an extra element of excitement and surprise. Pickles and sunflower seed butter go nicely together, don't they?

• I consumed "ingredients" left behind by the littles. We all know that the calories we consume by nibbling on the kid fare that is left behind don't count, so I took full advantage this week. It worked out okay. I like bread crusts and cracker crumbs...yeah. It only backfired on me once when I drank the nutrition shake they didn't like. I forgot that I put some dairy milk in it, and it didn't agree with me so well. Sigh. Live and learn. Nothing was wasted!

• I made croutons! I always keep our heels of bread in the fridge with the best intentions to make croutons. Sometimes I actually get around to it, but sometimes not. This week, I made them! I just cut the bread into squares, tossed them in olive oil and a seasoning blend that sounded good, and popped them in the oven until they turned golden and crunchy. Delish. I have enjoyed them in my salads, and the littles have taken them to school for snacks.

I was introduced to Zero Waste Week by Small Footprints when she spotted my post on the day I purged the fridge. My recipe was subsequently adored (goodie) and posted by Rachel on the Zero Waste Week recipe section of the Web site. In my quest to eliminate food waste in our home, I've accidentally discovered some real recipe gems...now if only I can remember them. The only disadvantage to using up all the bits of food is that when you make something worthy of being a featured special at The French Laundry, it's tough to re-create. First world problems.

Even if you missed this year's Zero Waste Week, you can still check out the Web site for some fantastic tips that will help you make lifestyle changes toward becoming less wasteful. And be sure to sign up for next year's Zero Waste Week!

In the meantime, I'd love to hear the tricks you employ to be less wasteful.

are animals food? last night's dinner conversation

We eat meat very rarely in our house. I'm borderline vegan, but I do make meat for the kids a couple of times a week. They can make their own choices when they are older and understand all of the information before them. I let them know why I don't eat meat, and I tell them why people do. I never criticize them for eating it or tell them it's bad, but I don't serve it frequently, either. Last night for dinner, I made the kids some cod and veggies. They had the greatest conversation with no intervention on my part. (In case you're new to my family, my son, B, is sixteen. My son, Porter, is six, and my daughter, Campbell, is four.)

Campbell: So, this is fish, but not the kind that swims. That would be hilarious!

Porter: Um. Yes it is, Cam. What kind of fish did you think? Fake fish?

Campbell: So, am I actually eating an animal right now?

The boys: Yup.

Campbell: And they squeeeeeeeeze the eyeballs out so it tastes good?

B: Well, that's one way to put it.

Campbell: One time, I want to try eating fake animals, because I don't like eating real animals.

B: You kind-of have. Didn't you eat at McDonald's?

Campbell: Oh, yeah! That's not real food!

Exactly.

keeping an "intelligent busy" pup out of trouble

Do you have a naughty busy pup on your hands? As a professional pet sitter, I've pretty much seen them in all varieties. There are different kinds of busy. Some can be constructive, but most are either destructive or dangerous, however innocent. This weekend I'm caring for a busy pup. I've been taking care of him for over a year, so I'm on to his antics, as is his family, and they have taken precautions. The special thing about this busy pup is that he's "intelligent busy," which is the most dangerous and destructive kind of all.

I think intelligence is universally valued. But there are cases where taking care of a being with brains is a real challenge, especially when their brains are bigger than their judgement. Take my four-year-old daughter, for example.

On second thought, let's not go there, now.

Let's take the aforementioned pup, instead. He is one of the most loving creatures I've met. Lots of pounds bigger than a lap dog, lap dog. YouknowwhatImean? He whines if your hand is not in contact with his body 100% of the time, and he only breaks contact if he has to eat, drink, or relieve himself, all of which he does with lightening speed so that he can get back in your lap. And crush you.

He's fun and fantastic, though. And his attempts to outsmart his family are in check after lots of trial and error. Think Fort Knox.

Here are some examples of how this family protects themselves from their "intelligent busy" pup:

What lengthy measures have you taken to protect your home, your belongings, and your pup (from himself), from your busy pup?

taming a cat the Minecraft way

Every Friday, my six-year-old son, Porter,  gets excited. It's stay-up-late, skip-the-bath night, and he can't wait to play Minecraft. If you have a boy at home between the ages of five and forty-five, you're probably familiar with this highly-addictive game. I am opposed to video games, in general (that's a WHOLE other ball of wax you don't want me to go into here), but when a few of my trusted mommy friends began singing the praises of Minecraft and Porter began to beg for us to "just check it out," I decided to cave–literally–and let Porter give it a shot. It seemed creative and something that might require actual thinking with a brain rather than mind-numbing button mashing. For those of you unfamiliar with this game that can be played on basically any platform you can imagine, the Minecraft Web site summarizes it:

Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew, players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.

It can also be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. It's pretty. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether, which is more scary than pretty. You can also visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea.

The game developers release periodic updates. One of the recent updates is a big hit in our house. You can have a pet cat! Or lots of pet cats!

I've talked before about the why I don't have a cat. But virtual cats? I let the kid bring home as many as he could wrangle.

You see, these cats don't start out purring in your hands. They begin their Minecraft existence as ocelots, roaming wild and free. In order to have them as pets, you have to gain their trust through being near to them and offering fish. Lots and lots of fish. Fish = love.

And the best part? No litter box!

So Porter showed me how he trains ocelots to become suitable pet cats. Talk about a fun way to spend a Friday night! First comes the approach, and like any decent cat would demand, you must prove yourself with a delectable offering, getting close enough to the ocelot so he can smell it, but not so close that you scare it. Once you've enticed the creature and gained his trust, you give him fish. More fish means more love, and your new pet cat isn't shy about showing his affection.

After you've earned this kind of devotion. You can't shake it. So Fluffy then follows you everywhere, practically winding between your legs. And if one isn't enough, you can go for more.

Just as Porter had trained his pride, the rain set in. And we all know how much cats like to stand out in the rain.

So in order to keep his feline family happy, Porter had to quickly build a structure. He has gotten very good at building, so he threw something up rather quickly and baited the cats inside.

Everyone needs something to do in the rain, right? It was then that I noticed the kitten. It appeared as if the cats had already gotten busy entertaining themselves in the inclement weather. I asked Porter where the kitten came from. He explained it well: "Well, Mommy, when you have two cats, you get a kitten." I didn't probe for additional details. Cute kitten, right?

In Porter's rush to create a shelter for his new cat family, he skimped a bit on the windows providing only bars as a barrier to the open air.

What happened next is too graphic to show you, and it happened so fast that I was unable to capture a photo. As the virtual storm grew to a crescendo, the lightening began to strike. Porter started to block up the windows, anticipating the inevitable. In a split second with a flashing crash, two of the cats were struck simultaneously and went up in flames. It was heartbreaking.

As the duo burned in a meowing fury, Porter summed up the whole experience: "Oh, NO! Cats are much more harder to take care of than dogs."

RIP, kitty-cats.

We can't replace our beloved pets in real life, but, thankfully, Porter can spawn new kittens in Minecraft. We don't want the cats who have passed to feel as if they have been replaced. But they've been replaced.

Minecraft demands a lot of animal interactions, but this new cat training update is proving to be a fun challenge both to play and to watch.