Nesting is in full swing around here and I have to say it's one of my favorite things about pregnancy! It always feels good to get things cleaned out and tackle the "some day" list TODAY.
Anyway, part of that cleaning out is purging old magazines. I flip through to be sure I'm not tossing a recipe I really wanted or anything like that and then into the recycle bag it goes. In doing so I found a page from my Summer 2010 Edible Austin magazine that was soooo simply stated and yet has been the inspiration we've turned to as we continue to make more and more green decisions in regards to our eating habits. If you need some inspiration to push to the next level...or even just get started....here's a push:
Why eat local?
Fresher: Conventional produce in the U.S. travels over 1,500 miles from farm to fridge.
Healthier: Many fruits and vegetables grown without pesticides and herbicides contain twice the amount of cancer-fighting antioxidants than their sprayed peers.
Greener: Producing one ton of fertilizer requires as much as 33,000 cubic feet of natural gas. The global food chain accounts for roughly 1/3 of global warming.
Supports our local economy: With local, direct sales, farmers keep 100% of food sales. With conventional sales, ONLY 9 CENTS of every food dollar goes to the farmer, with the rest funneled to suppliers, processors, middlemen, and marketers.
Also, each dollar spent on local food can generate $1.50 to $3 for the community. If we bought 15% of our food locally, we'd ring up 2/3 the total agriculture subsidies farmers receive.
Now I can purge that page and if one of you...even one of you visits a farmers market this week (who normally doesn't) then I can count it a double win! Make me a winner?!
In fact, dare I say another New Years resolution would be to help others take the family dinner back? I'm not sure what that looks like. I'm pretty sure it doesn't include fast foods, processed foods, or fried foods. I'm also pretty sure most people are scared to take the first step. Soooo, since it feels hopeless and scary, I should go for it, right?
Anyone looking for encouragement towards family dinner times, healthy changes, and local foods?
The hubs and I started the 28 day challenge last Tuesday. I had read about it in one of my favorite magazines, Whole Living. It's by Martha Stewart Productions. Who's surprised I like it?
Anyway, from about October 31st-ish until the end of December we consumed more sugar than we like, let our good habits take a vacation, and even, gasp, ate fast food more than our targeted once per month. So, rather than jumping on the resolution bandwagon or telling ourselves we'd hit "moderation" again, we're starting with a cleanse. Out with the bad, in with the good, and hellooooo 2011.
In the first week we could not eat eggs, wheat, soy, dairy, added sugar, processed foods, peanut products, alcohol, juice beverages, or caffeine. Are you wondering what we ate? Lots of people are.
We ate this:
And this:
Lots of this:
Isn't healthy food pretty? It's yummy too, I promise. We also ate lots of other recipes from the magazine website and from my new favorite cook book, Power Foods. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a chocolate meltdown or two where I felt like I needed one little bite. BUT I'd also be lying if I didn't say we felt great. So in addition to the food aspect we also did not watch t.v., severely limited our internet time, cleaned out some clutter, did yoga or back stretches, and read. It's been a great week. Nothing is ground breaking, it's not a diet, we aren't doing it for any promise of a better us or whatever, it's not even a forever thing. It's just a kick start to our new year....and we're liking it. If you want to take the challenge or read more about it, go here.
(picture from JBOrganic.com of our farm box we got this week)
It's coming....and I'm not talking about SANTA!
This year I've been more bothered than ever by the early bombardment of all things commercial Christmas. I personally prefer to not hear a Christmas carol until the day after Thanksgiving. I do not decorate my house with Christmas until then either. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is a very special day of the year around here. And...I LOVE Christmas carols. I just don't want any of that to overshadow another all important day. Thanksgiving. I can't think of a better way to prepare your heart and home for the coming season of celebrating the Lord's ultimate gift to us than first taking a day to pause and be thankful for all the blessings we have. I don't think that day should be interrupted with early black Friday sales online, hanging up Christmas lights, or anything else Christmas. It's sad that we can't for one day rest, be together, and be thankful.
We're doing Thanksgiving here this year. We'll have a few special guests. AND, as I've reflected on what I am thankful for as well as the origins and history of Thanksgiving, we're challenging ourselves in big ways this year. I'd love for you to join me!
Our goal is to have our Thanksgiving meal be 95% or so locally grown and harvested. The original Thanksgiving was a celebration and time of thankfulness over the harvest. I'm pretty confident that said harvest did not include canned goods or plastic packaged goods in part from China. Heck, they weren't even from Texas. I'm also fairly confident that turkeys were not injected with butter and preservatives to ensure they would be huge. Those turkeys also did not have to stand in their own pens in their own poop, never seeing day until they can't stand anymore because the injections have made them too big for their own legs. I'm pretty sure that even at $0.33/lb at HEB you couldn't have asked a pilgrim to buy a turkey treated that way. I'm also guessing that sweet potatoes didn't have marshmallows, stuffing wasn't made with more preservatives than grains, and pies weren't made with canned filling from South America. I'm also pretty sure that they were well fed and thankful for exactly what they were able to eat.
So, why not do the same? You might be surprised by just how much you can get locally. You probably will pay a little more than you would at HEB. However, the cost you do pay will go directly back into your local community, local economy, and hard working farmers that have given up your otherwise cozy life for dirt, bugs, and producing healthy produce for those who still care. Your money will not go to fuel charges, foreign countries, and packaging that will end up in the trash (you won't find cans or plastic wrap at a farmer's market).
I know....I know. The cloth diapering, baby food making, just generally "strange" mom is seemingly going off the deep end. But those who are still with me, will you join me for the challenge? I understand if you must have marshmallows, buttery turkeys, or green bean casserole but could you do 10%? 20% of your meal local? Imagine if everyone bought even one produce item from their local farmers market for thanksgiving! There are shocking statistics that I'm not wise enough to remember or detailed enough to find and quote about the impact that would make on our fuel intake. I know it's not convenient. I know it might be more expensive. I know it probably annoys you that I don't get off my soap boxes. But I also know you'd show some farmers real love by purchasing their produce. I know it would be an extremely fresh and yummy alternative to at least one side dish in your planned meal. I know that it would make me even more thankful to know that I have friends and family who stand by me even when they think I'm crazy. I know it would make a difference in the world. I know it's American, real original thanksgiving style American.
Please. Take the Turkey Day challenge. See what you can get locally. Comment on what you find. Pray that I can satisfy the tummies around my table with the local harvest. I'm thankful you took the time to read about this.
I can't believe this is the 5th Monday we've been in the new house. Where does the time go? Why are there still boxes everywhere? And who is the toddler running around here that seems to have made our baby disappear?
I'll be writing more about this in the future, I'm sure. But, we've been really trying to eat more local, healthy, and unprocessed. We've got the localvore's collection of good reads including Animal Vegetable, Miracle, Omnivore's Dilemma, For the Love of Food, Michael Pollen's Food Rules, and I'm sure more will be showing up on our shelves soon. The more we read, the more we're convinced. In fact today I went to the grocery store (part of our Monday routine) and couldn't think of anything to buy other than yogurt, orange juice, and toiletries. Nothing looks like "food" to me anymore at the HEB. Anyway, part of the fun of eating local is that you are eating in season or planning how to eat non-seasonal fruits by freezing stuff when it is in season. Our general rule right now is that if we can get it local, we don't buy it at the store (even when it's not in season). So, our pizza love and pasta with marinara has to be satisfied when tomatoes, garlic, and basil are in season. Of course we would never make it through the winter without two of our favorite dinner meals sooooo what do summer Monday's look like? You got it, cooking down tomatoes for the winter. Subsequently every Monday we're eating pasta because you ABSOLUTELY can't have the savory smell of fresh garlic, basil, and tomatoes that has been slow cooked in your house without eating it for dinner. I get about 5 jars a week so we eat one and freeze four. This is our 4th week to do this and I have to say, I'm LOVING IT!!! I had store bought organic pasta sauce last week that cost a pretty penny but still lacked the flavor I'm getting spoiled too. Just look at the beauty of the process:
Juicy fresh ingredients: Slow cooked to bright yummy sauce:
I'm not sure if we're crazy but for now, its a great challenge and yields very yummy results. Now, I'm off to mince some more garlic and chop some more onion for the freezer before those are out of season too! Oh and for those still patiently (thank you) waiting for pictures of the new house, there's a sneak peak at our counter tops :). I know, not much a peak but we're getting closer everyday to some pictures, I promise.
One last thing, if you have a local recipe you love, please send it my way!
