one thing that has come out of this weight loss journey is the realization, denial, anger and acceptance that i am food obsessed. some of you are reading this and thinking "what's wrong with being food obsessed? lol" and to you -- i say: NOTHING! nothing -- if you channel it correctly and do not go to extremes. my newest food obsession is Local Food. i have been slowly reading about it online and have begun to think of ways to incorporate local food into my daily life. of course, being the obsessive perfectionist i am -- i will study this until i master it. i hope to share this education and journey here on my blog.
there are many different ways to define Local Food. i am using the loose definition of DGD (day-goods-distance) which uses 400 miles as a distance -- which is one day's travel. i plan to hone in on opportunities where it is less than a day's travel and maybe try to limit it to my immediate geographic area or 100 miles since much of our suburban area here was farms and there are some still left. in fact, a local farm operates a seasonal store right outside my development and i have frequented it for years.
my first steps are to commit to no longer buying produce or eggs (when possible) in any grocery store. i will only buy from local farms and markets. i am also going to investigate joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). this simple system operates like a co-op. you buy in a share and every week for the season you pick up a box of fresh produce.
unlike when i lived in atlanta, i am unaware of any co-op natural food stores here in south florida. but if i do find one, i will consider shopping there. in the meantime, for my cheeses and other produced foods i will continue to frequent Whole Foods and other organic store and purchase from their "Local Food" case -- except for that damn English sharp cheddar cheese Whole Foods has me AND the princess addicted to. yeah, my 5 year old now requests imported english cheese. lol.
i am interested in hearing other ways you all incorporate this local food movement into your life. i am not really a good gardener so i do not see myself growing my own tomatoes yet....
What a motivating post!
ReplyDeleteI think I want to do some research now, too. I have a garden and am growing some of my own stuff, but it's also not enough stuff for a daily allotment. And my yard would be over-run with veggies if I tried to do more. So finding something like the CSA sounds great to me.
Thanks for the motivation!
I so want to do a CSA, but there aren't any in my area! So unfair!
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has happened through this process is I eat WAY WAY WAY less meat than I used to. I do need to find a local source for eggs, because we eat lots of those.
The hard part is even farmer's markets often sell non-local produce. Sigh. I've gone to 3 so far since we moved, and I've hardly found any local produce.
I'm anxious to see what others have to say!
I did a CSA this spring and will do it again this fall. If you find one just be sure about the quantity of produce. My friend and her husband split a box that was meant for a "family of 4" with us. I don't know what family of 4 could eat that much produce but wow!!! I have more frozen veggies than I know what to do with now. We have small local farmer's markets here every other weekend so I try and hit those as well as the farm stand on my way home. Good for you for going local!
ReplyDeleteWe always have farm fresh eggs in our house. My hubby's family has a few chickens and we get the eggs. They are soooo much better tasting than store-bought eggs. I need to look into this because I am still eating WAY too much processed foods. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI've done the CSA thing but found that dh and I could not eat it all (even before my band). Haven't been able to find anyone to share with.
ReplyDeleteSince we live in a ranching community I have plenty of sources for local food. I get a lamb annually (only a half this year). We have a local rancher (former member of our fire board) that raises grass fed beef (I'm getting a 1/4 this winter). The same rancher raised 100 chickens this spring (I'm getting 6). I also have 1/2 pig in my freezer. I have my own hens for eggs. I'm switching over to local honey and flour. I get local green chilis (I am on the New Mexico border, after all). Do need to find a better source for veggies but I'll work on that next year. (We make our own electricity, does that count?)
One of the things I loved about visiting Portland (OR) was the abundance of local, organic products. Here in Atlanta, we probably have more choices than some other places, but you still have to work at it. Luckily, a local Farmer's Market just started in a town about 5 miles away--and it's wonderful!!! Most of the produce farms are within 50 miles of the market and the meat suppliers are all within the state.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that studies have proven that eggs from free-range chickens are, in fact, healthier than those typically found in the grocery store? These are some of the benefits according to Mother Earth News Magazine:
(http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx• 1/3 less cholesterol)
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene
I had to laugh at the princess being addicted to imported english cheese. I don't know what compelled me a few years back to let my daughter try steak when she was perfectly happy with hamburger. Now all she orders is sirloin.
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