Brynne Travis

Stepping Stone 22 Guide

"I am a lover of humor and breaking social norms who feels most at home when traveling to new places!"

It was the idea of food serving as a kind of cosmic umbilical cord, connecting me to Mother Earth and Father Sun that pulled me into this steppingstone. Indeed, when broken down to its simplest form, our food = energy; and it is the energy from Earth and Sun that supplies each of us with our life force.

In my adult life, I am gradually learning about the importance of eating for wellness rather than mere entertainment, but I still wouldn’t consider myself a particularly careful eater (I still love me some takeout!).

Though I like the thought of having a vegetable garden, I don’t have space for one, nor do I have the expertise or time to create one, given that I am the owner of both a hair salon and a virtual strategies business.

But, recently I have come up with a great way to have a better appreciation of where my food comes from and how it is grown. Yes, I now spend a full-day each month working at a local farm that is owned by a restaurant group in my town. This farm provides tons of food to all three of its restaurant locations. So far, I’ve spent my farm time planting seeds of vegetables like rainbow kale, lettuce and tomatoes and herbs like basil, rosemary and thyme.

Instead of seeing food as pre-packaged goods with fancy labels that are microwaved and eaten in front of my computer, I now have a new appreciation for the tasty, nourishing, beautiful foods that I am nurturing on the farm with my own hands! Indeed, how can I look at kale the same after being bent over for hours in a field, transplanting kale seedlings while admiring their stunning colors? And how can I not take the time to appreciate the first bite of a ripe tomato I plucked off the vine myself?!

Thanks to my experiences on the Farm, I have come to realize that the time taken to eat my food can be just as mindful and meaningful as the time taken to plant it.

Genevieve Brandenberger

Stepping Stone 22 Guide

"Hello, I’m Genevieve, your co-host for this steppingstone. I'm an elementary school art teacher in Northern Virginia. I love cooking, gardening, beekeeping, listening to scary stories and creating art."

I was drawn to this steppingstone on Food because I have gained a lot of weight in recent years and this has created health problems for me. As a result I am becoming more mindful of what and how I eat. In so doing, I have noticed that when I eat foods that are closest to how they occur in nature, my body feels better and my weight comes down. However, I still go through phases when I cannot be bothered with making healthy choices or when stress pushes me in the direction of salty, sugary, fat-rich comfort foods. MMMM… Pizza, potato chips or ice cream, anyone? But I know that my body and health suffer when I take the processed/comfort/junk-food route. So, recently I have been taking steps to un-process my diet and I have even started a garden so that I will have fresh food right in my backyard.

In the spirit of mindful eating, I engaged with the “What Are You Really Eating” investigation on this steppingstone by examining the ingredients of the tuna wrap that I often make for lunch. It consists of a mix of tuna, tomatoes, avocado and spinach, assembled in a tortilla wrap.

So, what is it that I am actually eating when I have my wrap? Well, tuna is a fish, tomatoes are a vegetable… Wait, no, a fruit?  *quick Google search* A BERRY!?! Wow, I eat tomatoes every day and think of them as a vegetable, even though I know I learned they were a fruit at some point. But for some reason, it’s really surprising to me that they are, a berry! OK, mind blown…

Now, let’s continue. Avocado – that’s a fruit, a pitted fruit. Maybe I should look that one up, too, just in case… OK, you guys are never going to believe this, but guess what…? Botanically speaking, an avocado is classified as a BERRY!! Did you know this, or am I the only one completely shocked right now? I feel like I’m about to go down a rabbit hole of  “what is considered a berry”.

But I digress. We still have some more ingredients to investigate. Spinach, is next! Spinach is a leaf. This one I can say with confidence, but between you and me, I did look it up, just in case. After all, you never know what could be a berry in disguise these days.

And lastly, there is the tortilla wrap which is laced with lots of ingredients, many of which I cannot pronounce. I guess to put it in the simplest terms, it’s a mixture of flattened grains, water and chemicals. And honestly, I’m feeling a little uneasy about the tortilla because it looks nothing like any food found in nature. And yes, the chemicals may be harmless when consumed in small quantities, but just having all those extra ingredients in there is making me feel, for lack of a better word—YUCK!

So, what am I really eating when I make a tuna wrap for lunch? Canned fish, berries, leaves, flattened grains, water, and an assortment of chemicals. This last part is still not sitting well with me. I may swap the tortilla with more berries and leaves, like lettuce. Or I could make my own flatbread to eliminate the assorted chemicals.

I wonder what would happen if I took the disguises off the comfort/junk foods that I gravitate toward in times of stress? Would I still find them appetizing or necessary? Would I make different choices? What about you? How does your perspective on the foods you eat every day change when you investigate what YOU are really eating!?

UPDATE: I am completely down the berry rabbit hole… You’ll never guess what a BANANA is!?