themoralomnivore

[themoralomnivore]

I want to do more than cry, but I don’t know what the right action is; I want to say more than “my heart aches” and “we must do better”, but I don’t know what the right words are. What I do know, is staying silent is not an option.

This is not about ONE individual in A community; this is about THE people of OUR community. This is about our global neighbors, and it is about us. We are one people. I am white. I am privileged. But that does not mean I deserve that privilege. I am not somehow entitled to more safety than my black or Muslim or Spanish-speaking neighbor because I am white. My future son is not entitled to the power he will inherit or the lack of worry I will have in comparison to the mamas of my son’s black friends next door. We are all entitled to safety simply because WE ARE NEIGHBORS. We are one.

A friend posted this, and I think it speaks beautifully in place of the words I am not finding, and in place of the tears that do not act:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

#blacklivesmatter #StandTogether #peoplearepeople #LetMyWhitenessBeAShieldForMyNeighbors #LetUsNotTakeOurPrivilageForGranted

✌🏻✌🏼✌🏽✌🏾✌🏿

[themoralomnivore]

@midtownfarmmkt is having food truck festival to kick off the season tomorrow! And while one day I'll share all our used and unused recipes with you all, for now I'm flipping through scraps of paper to find our perfect blend of seasonings for pulled pork sliders, debuting at tomorrow's celebration for the first time this season!

[themoralomnivore]

Ross and I are excited to announce our next adventure, beginning October 25th! #GrowingTheWorkforce #MaybeWeShouldHaveWorkedOverTheWinter #BabyOnBoard

[themoralomnivore]

Beautiful sunny day out at the Ford Center! Fries Tomato BLTs, Portabella Mushroom Fries & Beet Sliders here at 413 N 5th Ave!

[themoralomnivore]

Birthday Musings over the last 27 years

It has been almost a year since I wrote my last blog post. The last you heard from me, we were flying home from Hawaii after our last, magical two-month long road trip through the United States. I’ve attempted to write this post now three times, and every time I write it, I procrastinate actually posting, because it doesn’t feel quite right. I worry that it sounds too dramatic, and about what you all will think if you read about mental-illness, a messy family, grief, and the shame I feel about it all. I’m a therapist after all. Shouldn’t I have all the answers? And more than that, I’m Linnea! I’m happy and optimistic, and every one of most posts is about overcoming challenge and seizing the day! I worry that I, just as I am, without a crazy road-tripping adventure to share, dealing with a painful stage of life, am not enough. As one of my favorite researchers, Brene Brown writes, “one reason shame is so powerful is its ability to make us feel like we are alone” (Brown, 2007, p. 9). So the papers get stuffed away in a drawer, never to be looked at again until I decide they can just be recycled.

Today as I reflect back on my 27th year of life, I have few adjectives to describe it except wild. This year has been wild. We’ve been living a very fast-paced life the last three years, and yet this year is the one that feels wild to me. To start with, I missed seeing so many of you from the food truck. There came a point when I simply couldn’t be a therapist and a food truck owner/operator, and as such I sorely missed the community this food truck has helped Ross and I build. To our fellow food-truckers: I missed seeing you, our friends, every day. It never mattered how crazy the morning had started, how many things we had forgotten to load before parking, your knowing smiles and readiness to work together always brightened my day. To our customers: you are more than the people who pay our bills. You are our community, the people who believe in us, support us, encourage us, and commune with us. I miss seeing you! Which brings me to my next point: I started working at The Emily Program as a student therapist this summer.

Ross and I decided that the truck was (relatively) stable enough for me to finish my master’s degree. I chose to complete my internship at The Emily Program because the truck and each of you have taught me the importance of communion in overall well-being. I wanted to be a part of that healing in a capacity that the truck doesn’t allow, so I started working with individuals struggling with eating disorders and all the complicated things underlying them.

Ross and I also decided that this spring, a month after returning from our road trip and weeks before starting up the truck again, was the perfect time to sell our condo. It only took 8 months longer than we anticipated. Thank goodness for amazing friends who kindly (and patiently!) let us stay in their basement! Eventually the condo sold, and we found our perfect home in NE Minneapolis, the day after a tragic death in my family. That same month, we shut down the plans we had to open a brick-and-mortar. For many reasons, it just didn’t work out, but walking away from it was walking away from a dream. That month was full of grief, and I avoided posting about our new home for over a month because of the guilt I felt about being happy about something in the midst of all that pain. Like I said, it’s been a wild year.

While we added lots of stressors to our plate this year, that isn’t the part that makes it feel wild. The wildness comes from the changes within.  I didn’t realize that becoming a therapist is not just about learning how to listen through the saddest, most intense stories human beings have to tell and find courage and strength for the owners of those stories. It’s about learning how to handle how the stories change me. Over the last year, I have necessarily become more patient, a better listener than I’ve ever been, more confidant in myself (I trust my jokes, don’t worry about whether others will approve of my slightly crazy outfits, and trust my gut to guide me), and am able to sit still and be empathetically attentive for SO MANY HOURS (though I’m a jittery crazy person the rest of the day). I also see people more clearly that I have in the past. I recognize family patterns and can label what they are; I recognize when I’m not being treated well and have to decide whether to say something or let it continue as it has for the last 27 years; I realize that I don’t have the “right” answers, and that no matter how long I practice as a therapist, I never will.

Here’s a little family theory for you: A family is like a mobile. Each person has their role, their place in the family. When one person changes, the whole family must necessarily shift in order to maintain balance-homeostasis. When I first started at The Emily Program, I was having panic attacks trying to maintain balance. I was trying to be a good employer, a good business owner, a good family member and friend, and a good therapist without actually changing who I was, because changing meant every system I am involved in (my family system, my food-truck system etc) would also need to change. “Good” in my mind meant allowing everyone else to stay the same, which meant I would also need to at least appear the same. Panic attacks weren’t a great option though either, so eventually I gave into the change, and have been working on negotiating the new homeostasis in all the systems of my life since.

You’d think that listening to people’s stories would have reminded me of this sooner, but it is sitting here, reflecting on my 27th year, that I am struck with the realization that we are each a part of many mobiles. We are each friends, siblings, children, parents, aunts, uncles, employees, employers, co-workers; we are each community members, working to find balance in an ever-changing world. I am not exceptional. Wild is normal. If there are two things I have learned from all the many stories I hear, it is that wild is not really wild, it is life, and we are each strong enough to withstand it. If I am going to be 100% honest with myself, I write these blog posts because there is something really comforting in remembering that all my adventures and the lessons they teach me, are not exceptional. You each have your own adventure you embark on every day. You don’t know what they day will hold, you don’t know who you might lose and what challenges you might encounter, and yet you forge ahead, trusting that you can handle whatever the day might bring. You learn, you change, you navigate your constantly changing systems; your stories make me laugh, cry, rant in frustration, and give me hope. This year has been so full of change for me, and that change has been painful and exciting, but normal. And normal, means I am not alone.

Ok, so the point of all this is to update you on all the happenings since I left the truck. I miss you each, and I just kind of disappeared. Ross tells me when you ask about me or send me well-wishes and hellos. I’m sorry it’s taking so long, but, hello! I wish each of you a fantastic year! And perhaps more importantly, the point of this is to remind myself (and perhaps you) that when we remember we are not exceptional, that our story is the same story as many who came before us, who surround us, and who will come after us, shame has no room to thrive. The irony is that when we connect, the shame disappears, and instead of finding ourselves immersed in pain, we are comforted by the fact that we are not alone. If we are to help find balance within the ever changing systems we are a part of, we must have the courage to look at our shame, connect and empathize through our shame, and be courageously imperfect with the other members of our community. Have the courage to be imperfect, because without a food truck and a two-month trip to share, I am enough, and you are also enough, exactly as you are. Thank you for being, friends. I’m looking forward to sharing this 28th year with you!

 Peace out,

Linnea

 p.s. Ross started up a waffle stand, making yeast waffles with local and organic heritage flour. If you’d like to find Waffle Me Happy, he’ll be at the NE Farmer’s Market in the Solar Arts Building this Saturday (16th) from 10am-2pm! And MO will be out as soon as the weather warms up--spring is just around the corner!

   f��,��

[themoralomnivore]

#GivingTuesday

After ‪#‎BlackFriday‬, ‪#‎SmallBusinessSaturday‬, and ‪#‎CyberMonday‬‪#‎GivingTuesday‬ is a welcome relief--A day to stop buying stuff and give back to our communities. Today, we're encouraging you to support Spark-Y, an amazing Minneapolis organization dedicated to empowering youth through sustainable action.

Spark-Y is raising money to build an urban agriculture lab here in the Twin Cities, a space where students, teachers, and community members can learn about sustainable agriculture practices such as aquaculture, spirulina cultivation, mushroom growing, garden to cafeteria strategies, and more! Help our local youth build a more sustainable future by donating here:http://bit.ly/1TrRGDw or find an organization that speaks to you!

[themoralomnivore]

Respect People #EqualExchange #BirchBarkArt #SelfCare #NorthernVacation

[themoralomnivore]

Fall colors, sunlight waters, and a cooler full of local produce-our week in the boundary waters is starting off right! (at BWCA)

[themoralomnivore]

Find us! Today for lunch on 2nd ave, tonight @ Lakeville's city celebrations in downtown Lakeville, tomorrow am with waffles @NEFarmersmarket & tomorrow pm @NorthGateBrew

[themoralomnivore]

It took a little more Tetris than I would have liked, but this was all stuffed into my Prius, and the five cases of water are still in there. Not that I'm proud or anything. #PriusPower #TheKitchenIsMyGym

[themoralomnivore]

What have we been up to this rainy day? Changing our waffle recipe. #MnHeritageFlour #RochdaleFarmButter #Organic #FairTrade #UnrefinedSugar

[themoralomnivore]

Today's Menu @612Brew!

[themoralomnivore]

We're @612Brew with blueberry cake, chocolate lavender pie, buffalo Cauli bites, BLTs, homemade Mac n cheese, and more!

[themoralomnivore]

What's this? Oh, just our new water bottles. #HappyEarthDay friends! #RespectOurWater #BPAfree

[themoralomnivore]

Married on a Food Truck: The “Shoulds” and “Should Nots” of Marriage and Eating

He looked at me lovingly from the other side of the table and answered, “Patience. You are more patient when I mess up and more accepting of my need for a little solitude each day than ever before.” I beamed. Ross and I were at a family owned Indian restaurant, celebrating our 10 year partnership. His answer was in response to my inquiry about what I was doing well in our relationship. “What changed?” he asked. Thinking for only a moment I responded, “You’ve become an attentive listener. I’m never worried about how much I mean to you, because you always listen when I talk, respond when I ask questions, and give me a moment of your time if I ask for it.” We smiled at one another, remembering the days when we weren't as patient, accepting, or attentive.

The year before Ross and I started The Moral Omnivore, we made a pact to do things differently in our own restaurant than we had when working together at the pizzeria Ross managed. We fought frequently then, me raising my voice in an ineffective attempt to be heard, and him slowly retreating into himself, leaving us both feeling isolated and unhappy. What really changed? The amount of energy we put into our relationship. When we made that pact, we began by setting goals and then striving to meet the goals, one day at a time. Each night in bed we would reflect together. “Did you meet your goal today? Why or why not? What can I do to help you meet your goal tomorrow? Here’s how I felt when you met/didn’t meet your goal, Here’s what you’re doing really well...” Months went by, and little by little we changed, together. Ross learned to listen in a way that signaled his love to me, and I learned to be patient and accepting of his need for inward reflection. If the couple who existed four years ago had started The Moral Omnivore, you would have opened our door to find us quarreling over some little thing. These days, you’ll find a couple problem solving together or taking a break from all the work to dance to a song on the radio before employees arrive or the lunch hour rolls around.

How many times have you thought, “she should just stop nagging me so much!” or “he should just open up to me!” when talking to a partner, sibling or parent, the unspoken clause after that statement being, “and then we’ll get along” or “I’ll be happy”? A “should” in relation to my world or the people in it crosses my mind every day, and I suspect I’m not alone. These “shoulds” and “ought tos” are not just saved for our relationships, however. They pop up in regards to our bodies, our jobs, the fellow drivers we share the road with, our government, churches etc. “Minnesotans should learn to drive!” “I should exercise more.” “Organic food is such a rich-person fad right now. They should sell it for what it really costs!” “Republicans and democrats should just put the politics aside and then maybe they’d get something done!” All these “shoulds”, while based in real feelings, accomplish nothing but to stir up frustrations. Real solutions require energy and creativity.

When Ross and I were first putting the wheels together to form what is now The Moral Omnivore (see what I did there? Wheels? Because trucks have wheels, not bones…? I know. I’m not actually funny), I had this big “should” hanging over my head. I kept saying, “Hamburgers should not cost $1!” And it’s true that the work and energy that goes into raising, processing, and then selling that meat is worth more than $1, yet there are places who manage to sell it to us for this small amount by cutting corners. Employees are underpaid, and vets carrying antibiotics are cheaper to come by than green pastures for all the cows devoured each year. When cows are treated with the respect and honor living creatures giving up their lives for our own deserve, their meat and milk cost more.  I kept saying, “if we don’t pay the higher costs up front, we or our children will pay it later as we struggle with the aftermath of a changing climate.” But sustainable eating, like a government, marriage, or sibling/parent relationship, is more complicated than the “shoulds” make it out to be, a truth I learned as we began searching for places through which to source our local and organic products.

When we first started the truck, sourcing local and organic food was our biggest challenge. We simply didn’t know where to find it! Furthermore, when we did find sources, they frequently didn’t take us seriously because we were so new. Emails and phone calls were never returned, and the prices we were quoted were so high we couldn’t afford them for our own small family, much less our budding, new business. We turned to the local farmers markets and Co-op Partner’s Warehouse for the majority of our needs, but that left us in the lurch for things we use relatively small amounts of like butter, eggs, spices, flour and cleaning supplies. The last few weeks I have worked hard to find sources for all these products, and after two years of hard work and learning the ropes, I’m happy to inform you that it has paid off. Some creativity has been needed, but in my opinion, this is what every relationship is about, including the local food movement-a movement about the relationship we have with our planet. As a truck dedicated to using as much locally grown produce and meat as possible, this means we have to be creative with what we serve and how we serve it. We don’t use as much meat as other trucks or restaurants, in part because a plant based diet is more sustainable, and in part because meat is simply too expensive to include in all our dishes. We’re working on making local gouda into a spread so you can enjoy the flavor without paying an arm and a leg for a dish consisting primarily of beets. When we switched to using local mushrooms for our mushroom fries, the cost went up so much that we had to do something. Instead of passing that extra cost onto you, our customers, we took a look at how many trimmings of the beautiful, locally grown portablellas were going to waste and were inspired to create our Pork & Bella Bowl to help subsidize the cost of the fries. When we change our perspective from what the world “should” be like, and instead focus on what we can do to change what we don’t like, it forces us to be creative.

Looking back over the last ten years, I realize that what’s changed to make life so much more enjoyable is not Ross or me, it’s the realization that our relationship, and every relationship for that matter, isn’t about “shoulds”; it’s about what we make it. It’s not always easy to be creative instead of critical, but our friends, our family, and our world are all intimately connected, so  if anything deserves our energy, it’s them. After all, as the Beatles once sang, “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”.  Make it a good day friends, it is what you make it!

See you tomorrow at The Ford Center (in North Loop, with pie!), Linnea

[themoralomnivore]

Most FAQ: what makes us "Moral"? Here's my attempt to begin answering that question...

[themoralomnivore]

Somehow in the course of taking off my French press lid to put ground coffee in it, and putting coffee in it, I lost the lid. I told a customer this as I searched on our little truck and he waited for his order. We laughed about it, but then 10 minutes after he had his food and had left, he came back with this for me. In these moments, I know I have the very best job because I spend everyday with people like this-like you. Thank you! <3