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SAHM Seeks Restaurant with Integrity

Vibrant woman seeks long-term relationship with restaurants that serve local, organic, and pasture raised ingredients. Will bring wallet and friends for mutually satisfying relationship. If you’re out there. Please contact me.

I LOVE Chipotle. Yes, they make good burritos, but the reason I practically adore them is that they are bringing “Food With Integrity” mainstream. Every time I stand at the Chipotle counter I feel like a good citizen. I am voting with my dollars. I am voting against cheap, edible substances that are NOT REAL FOOD. I am agreeing to pay more for hormone-free, rBGH free and organic products. I wish I could tell every restaurant that if they will stop putting genetically-modified slop on the table that I will come back. But they are not listening to me, so I take my dollars to Chipotle.

A few interesting facts about Chipotle ingredients:

  • About 40% of their beans are organic
  • All of the pork comes from pigs raised in a humane, ecologically sustainable way
  • All the chicken is “naturally raised” (which is NOT the same as pastured chickens but better than what’s served elsewhere)
  • More than 50 percent of their beef is naturally raised
  • Cheese and sour cream at their restaurants is free of the synthetic growth hormone rBGH

To be blunt, their ingredients wouldn’t pass snuff in my kitchen. We have gone beyond “naturally-raised” chicken to “pastured chicken.” Our dairy is organic and raw if possible, not just hormone-free. But they are taking steps in the right direction, and I can’t help how fall-down slap-happy that makes me. Because  as much as I enjoy cooking, sometimes mommies need a break. And if you think the idea of CAFO meat is revolting (as I certainly do), that leaves you with very limited options.

At least I thought so. Recently people have been sharing their secret haunts with me, whispering things like “Did you know they serve grass-fed beef from Burgundy Pastures?”

No, maam, I did not.

The Game Plan

So, over the next several weeks I will be exploring these culinary gems and sharing my discoveries with you. Restaurants that serve local, organic, or pasture-raised ingredients are not too good to be true!. I hope to get a chance to interview an owner (or better yet a chef!) along the way as well. Are you as excited as I am? Probably not, because I love food and I’m pregnant (and nursing), so that pretty much seals up the excitement trifecta for me. But I hope you are at least a little excited : – )

Check out this video on Chipotle if you haven’t already seen it. Very interesting.

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Similar Posts:

Heather - I'm the Mommypotamus. I do what I can to love my family through delicious local, organic meals and parenting methods that are challenging and not exactly mainstream, but will hopefully help our children become the amazing people they have the potential to be.

15 Comments

  1. Daniel (Daddypotamus)
    Daniel (Daddypotamus)
    Twitter:

    Mar 05, 2010

    I’m excited about trying new restaurants. It’s like being incarcerated and sentenced to a permanent grounding, and then being handed an ankle bracelet and a map to a dozen locations you are allowed to visit.

    Or maybe not. I’m not “REALLY” a prisoner. #somebodyhelpme #imjustkidding #noimnot
    Daniel´s last blog ..My Favorite Supernatural Testimony

    • admin
      Heather
      Mar 05, 2010

      For the record everyone, Daniel eats wherever he wants. Sometimes I just choose another option.

  2. OrganicJen
    OrganicJen
    Mar 05, 2010

    I’ve heard of some places in Dallas and Plano that would probably fit your requirements. I don’t usually eat out either, and when I do, it’s for someone else and it’s always at some predictable toxic restaurant.

  3. admin
    Heather
    Mar 05, 2010

    Jen – I’ve heard of a few places around there as well. It may take me a little longer to try them since I am closer to Fort Worth but I WILL get over there!

  4. Hannah Tallo
    Hannah Tallo
    Mar 05, 2010

    Yay! Can’t wait to see what you find! I love you doing all this work and us benefiting from it! =) And I loved Daniel’s illustration! Made me laugh!!
    Hannah Tallo´s last blog ..My foodie baby

  5. admin
    Heather
    Mar 05, 2010

    I don’t know about this being work, but I am really excited about the upcoming “taste research” involved. I am really excited to try some sit-down places that we could take people who aren’t overly concerned about the same issues as I am. That way I can easily find a meal consistent with what I’m comfortable with and they can have a real dining experience . . . not just Chipotle. For the record, though, I will eat at traditional restaurants for the sake of strengthening relationships with people I care about. Meals are about people, not just food. When I do that, though, I usually have to special order something and look like a weirdo.

  6. [...] Kitchen CLOSED!!! – Out searching for restaurants that serve local, organic, or pasture-raised ingredients. [...]

  7. Tracy
    Tracy
    Mar 08, 2010

    Try Villa O in Dallas. Italian food with all Organic ingredients.

  8. admin
    Heather
    Mar 09, 2010

    THANK YOU Tracy! Italian is Daniel’s absolute favorite, so I know that date it going to go well ; – )

  9. Des
    Des
    Mar 09, 2010

    I’ve seen the above video and was totally impressed. And I must say, Chipotle is in my top 5 things I miss most about the U.S. :-)
    Des´s last blog ..My Kids Grew Overnight

  10. [...] hearing about the purpose behind our meal, Executive Chef Lance Smith stopped by our table to talk about his vision for the restaurant. [...]

  11. [...] on MLS, Daniel and I were not in the mood to trek to Dallas. Most of the restaurants left on our adventure list are in Dallas (or at least Dallas County), but we’d heard Blue Mesa Grill in Southlake [...]

  12. [...] Daniel and I drove to Bolsa in Oak Cliff last Saturday, we contemplated the sanity of our mission. I mean, seriously, we are just two crazy-busy foodies, who are ALSO parents, worker bees (I [...]

  13. [...] Saturday afternoons Daniel and I jump in the car for our weekly restaurant adventure. Besides the obvious (purse, camera, notebook), I always have one special item with me:  a baby [...]

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I'm Heather, aka The Mommypotamus, wife, mother of two, and passionate blogger. What's a Mommypotamus? Check out this post for explanation.

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