Author: Laine Page 1 of 11

Austin is fortune to have incredible produce and meat produced locally. Here are some of the great farms and ranches that I buy from:

Smith & Smith (https://smithandsmithfarms.webs.com/)

I’ve been buying eggs from Smith & Smith since the first week I lived in Austin in 2010. Colby recognizes me and my bright orange bag when I show up at the market. They raise the most delicious chicken I’ve ever had (not exaggerating, all it needs is salt and a grill). They also have excellent quality turkey, pork, lamb, and goat.

Johnson’s Backyard Garden (https://jbgorganic.com/)

We’ve been getting a JBG CSA box of veggies for years. I love it because it challenges me to eat lots of veggies each week and try new things. The also have awesome visual branding and an incredible digital experience to compliment their subscriptions. Their website allows CSA members to log on each week, see whats coming in their box, make substitutions, see how many weeks are left on their subscription, add more items to their box, and even postpone their box a week or two in case of vacation or your own garden harvests. JBG regularly hosts farm events to build a community around food and encourage visitors to check out the farm.

Grass Fed Beef

I buy beef less frequently these days so I get it from a variety of sources including at People’s Rx and Wheatsville:

Grass Fed Beef of Texas (http://www.grassfedbeefoftexas.com) They’re at Farmer’s Market at Mueller on Sundays and kept me well fed during Ada’s pregnancy.

Betsy Ross Beef

Bastrop Cattle Company

One of my favorite parts of being pregnant was spending a bunch of time with other pregnant ladies talking about being pregnant. This was partly through prenatal yoga classes (http://www.austinprenatalyoga.com/) that included a sharing circle where we talked about how we were doing and sharing advice and resources. I also frequently shared experiences with my sisters-in-law and friends. Another favorite was feeling emboldened to eat WHENEVER I WANTED, even if that meant during a work meeting full of men (Strangely, I shed my sense of decorum with wild abandon. What is important at this moment definitely shifted!)

In my chats with other mothers-to-be, I heard about many women struggling with their iron levels during pregnancy. Since I’m obsessed with food and nutrition, I did tons of searching to find practical ways to up my iron intake when my midwife said I needed to increase my iron levels. I first drafted this list of foods when asked by my sister-in-law and found myself forwarding it to other expecting moms as well.

“Here’s a bunch of stuff I made when I was pregnant to get enough iron.  I think the key is to eat vitamin c foods with non-meat iron foods and to eat a fair amount of meat if veggie sources aren’t enough.

• Chili (I usually made this with just the ground beef, no sugar):  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chunky-red-chili-51206840
• Seed Granola:  http://detoxinista.com/2012/09/pumpkin-seed-granola-nut-free-grain-free/I usually don’t put coconut oil or pumpkin pie spice.  Its good without, just a little more crumbly.  I also put dried mulberries (high in vitamin c) in.
• Lamb Lentil soup – ground lamb with lentils, carrot, onion, bell pepper, whatever spices you like and a good quality broth made from pasture-raised bones.  I usually make my bone broth from scrap bones in the crockpot all day with scrap veggies.
• Lentil Hummus (this recipe makes a ton, make half!)  http://food.lainehardy.com/green-lentil-hummus/
• Regular hummus with veggies especially bell peppers.
• Crown Prince Smoked Baby clams
• Other bivalve shellfish
• Roasted Beets – I just roast whole in foil in the oven for an hour or so, then peel off the skin, toss with red wine vinegar and keep in the fridge all week to put on salads or snack on.”

Also, I found it funny that during pregnancy, the the number one recurring question from friends and strangers alike was “What unusual food cravings do you have?”. It always made me laugh. Why are we so interested in what other people eat? I always craved vitamin C foods like tangelos and lemons, which I think was illustrative of the body’s wisdom. Also, I craved what I called (to my mother’s amusement) “cold, wet food” like butter lettuce with lemon juice dressing, cold fruit, and coconut water–again, the body’s wisdom that it needs more water to stay hydrated during pregnancy.

A couple quick tidbits from other pregnant ladies and moms that I found useful:

• Chew your food plenty to aid in digestion.
• Drink good quality bone broth from pasture raised animals.
• Magnesium helps with middle of the night leg cramps.
• Eat dates to help with labor, really! (I ate quite a few Lara Bars as they are a pretty wholesome food thats easy to have with you all the time for when sudden hunger strikes) https://pregnancypodcast.com/episode112/

A side note:

Since its not the topic of this blog, I won’t include the contents of other sharing emails I exchanged but I did want to mention that I have developed quite a system to support pumping breastmilk while traveling as well as ways to improve milk production/pumping output. Happy to share – just reach out!

I’d love for my devices to bring my friends more into my daily routines. I wish I saw people more often. Got to chat with them. Got to help them out with their everyday commitments. Got to cook and eat together.

Here’s some questions I’ve been asking and ideas I’ve had lately on how to strengthen my connection with others over food and to-do’s.

How might knowing and sharing about what we are cooking this week help us connect to our friends and other eaters we admire?

• A social network built into a recipe and meal plan app. 

How might easy access to our food history help us maintain our family traditions?

• A service that digitizes heirloom recipe cards.

How might an easier way to plan a party take the stress out of hosting or encourage more gatherings?

• An alternative to group text messages that provides an easier way to plan a pot-luck or holiday meal.

I use shared Notes on my Apple devices to manage our weekly meal plan and shopping list with my husband and mother. I’d love to hear from anyone who is passionate about a digital solution they use.

I think about food a lot. I spend a lot of time with food too. Planning, shopping, reading magazines and blogs, sending recipes to friends, cooking, eating, talking about what we will eat next, and hosting parties where food and drink are the theme.

So what? Part of why food is so central to me is because of my family and the community of friends around food.

• Cooking with my daughter…
• Bringing a new mom friend some easy meals when she goes back to work…
• Making cabbage halushka for 15 friends and acquaintances when everyone is snowed in on Christmas eve…
• Jody’s holiday pie help line…
• A weekly, come-as-you-are, Sunday dinner with friends…
• Shopping at Wheatsville because it feels like a place that welcomes everyone, and has been making the best tofu sandwich in town for years…
• Planting a shared veggie garden or watering for each other…

Having friends who you could call at 6pm and ask what they’re doing for dinner, then invite myself over and no one seems to mind…

Well, unfortunately, my family and many of the friends I’ve shared so many great meals with over the years now live in different cities. So, while I try to host as many holidays and brunches as I can, I find myself longing for the bbqs, get-togethers, and casual dinners, and struggle to find enough social time with the people I love amidst the hustle of everyday life.

So, here begins a little writing on the topic of food and community. Some nostalgia or stories. Some ideas for new tech that would make it easier to connect. And hopefully some more recipes to share.