I completed my "local challenge" a year ago last spring. So I've had nearly a full year to digest, compost and form an opinion. This year, not being on a strict local diet served as a nice contrast for comparison.
It was towards the end of spring when I started the local diet, I was really excited and so I eagerly made the commitment not to buy fresh fruit out of season or proximity and same for veggies, grains, meat and Dairy. I remember the first time going to the grocery store and passing the bananas that all looked like unhappy frowns, sitting there sadly as I walked by. The apples, on the other hand offered some optimism and good support! My grocery bill that day was only $50!
The weekend that the outdoor farmers market opened here in town was like an event, I had the whole family out to brave the freezing cold wind and rain to buy what ever we could and at that time of the year there wasn't much! But soon the asparagus came out, and I felt blessed by their greenness. I found a million ways to prepare and serve it. Rhubarb wasn't something that I would typically eat, but along with the fiddle heads they became the highlight of our meals for while. I remember preparing rhubarb pies and crisps with such love!! I felt a fresh sense of myself in the kitchen for the first time in a long time. Things really started feeling good with the first bite of strawberry. So juicy, red and fresh. We ate them by the quart until the end of berry season, and made a case of jam too!
In June of that year I asked some friends to join me in OUR LOCAL CHALLENGE. We became four enthusiastic families, which was enough to join and share in our closest organic CSA (community shared agriculture) program operated by friend and farmer Mike Lanigan. Getting our weekly box of fresh picked veggies was like Christmas. You couldn't wait to see what was inside! It was a great experience. Going to saturday market for me I assume was like going to sunday church for most.
Summer was great; full of variety, juiciness and excitement. Then came my much beloved harvest season. I had a lot of fun shopping at local farms and markets, finding recipes and doing as many preserves as I could. A great soscial aspect came out of this "work" as well. Preparing, or putting down fruits and veggies with a friend was more fun than doing it alone! I think I had 32 bags of wax beans in the freezer along with a case of tomatoes, kale, more kale, corn, berries, peaches and pears. I felt good and prepared. I also had a huge feeling or sense of reverence and connectedness with nature, the seasons, my ansestors, and the farmer friends I made. Then winter came. Ha! It was really difficult for me at times (in retrospect) because I require an insane amount of FRESH fruits, salads and steamed veggies in order to feel good, or really good I should say. Winter was heavy. Starchy. Rich and meaty. My husband loved it and my children seemed indifferent. The kids are great at going with the flow and they're not picky about food. We went thru our frozen and canned peaches and pears very quickly, then the berries. Do you think I could find any local preserves in the grocery store? Not so much. Peaches and pears came all the way from china! I didn't buy them. We went without. What is really easy to find here in the winter are grains (breads, flours), dairy ( there are really no limitations there), and meat. It's even easy to get large quanities of good clean meat. And we ate a lot of it. Soups, stews and casseroles became the norm. Our only constant and "allowed" raw were apples. I bought them by the sack full. I did however indulge in the occasional banana, clementines at Christmas, coffee and chocolate and rice!
Some would do fine on this diet, some would thrive, and others like my self would feel heavy and dull. My vegetarian tendencies along with juicing and smoothies, lucious salads and indian favorites became like good friends gone. I missed them, a lot! On the up side I got to know a lot of food that I was otherwise unfamiliar with; like cabbage and huge quantities of kale.
My yongest son was very fortunate because I had introduced him to solids in July that year, and his entire diet comprised of all local, organic and home made baby foods for a full year. I think that must have something to do with how well he eats now, he sometimes eats more that my other two combined!! There was so much enjoyment in making his foods and watching him experience these tastes for the first time. He's a real Canadian Baby!
It is really imortant to support our local farms and farmers, particularily those who practice safe, wholesome, sustainable, organic and biodynamic farming methods. Many gracious accolades to them! So, if you can buy apples from ontario, then don't buy the ones from the USA. Buy locally wherever you can, but at the same time listen to the needs of your body. If you are like me, and you need a lot of fresh fruit, than honour that too. I am greatful for the found respect and conciousness I have for our food, and environment and I will continue to support my local growers, and buisness people in general. But I will also continue eat salad in the winter, hummus with rice crackers, beans, and fresh veggies all year round, in addition to our traditional soups, stews, casseroles and small amounts of good clean local meat.
My juicer has come out again, my blender is constantly whirling away, and we have cut way down on meat, dairy and wheat. My body responds best to a diet that favors raw foods, salads and a daily dose of nuts and seeds. I always feel more grounded, energetic and clear headed this way.
This was fun, challenging at times, but definitely a worthy experiment that brought a lot of good to the table!
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| Mike Lanigans Organic farm. |
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| Preparing Wax bean for the freezer |
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| Apple Picking |
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Frequently asked questions:
Q :did you loose any weight?
A :I neither gained nor lost. My weight remained the same.
Q: did you get sick less often?
A: no, I expected that following the natural cycles of nature that I would feel warmer in the winter and wouldn't get sick. But we all got cold that year, normal stuff. This year however, I haven't been sick once and the kids have been extremely well too. we have been eating a lot fruit and veg. and taking vit.D, efa's and probiotics (as usual)
Q: what would you differently:
A: I would have canned more peaches!! we went thru a few cases in a quick hurry. Preparedness is key here, I'd fill my freezer with more frozen fruits.
Q: Where did you buy from?
A: we shopped at the local weekend farmers markets, got a weekly box from an organic farm mid week and filled in the rest at our grocers stores, we just had to read the labels and not be to disappointed when most things went back on the shelf and not in the cart!
Q:what was the best thing about the challenge
A: most definitely it was the feeling of appreciation and gratitude I felt for our food. You can take it for granted when its always available at the super market. I felt so grateful for what we had all the time, and thats really good.
Bellow I have re posted some of my posts from when I was on the local challenge:
Monday, April 19, 2010
a reflection of our journey
I am sitting at my dining room table where we have enjoyed our LOCAL meals over the last year, preparing to share my journey with whomever might be interested. first lets go back to the beging..... It all started a year ago when I read Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. I was inspired by her passion and commitment to eat only local foods. So inspired, that I too had to give it a go. Unlike Barbara I do not live on a productive farm, quite the opposite. I live in a town, an expanding town in Ontario, on a street lined with houses, schools and plenty of shops near by. Fortunatly there are farms and orchards close enough to be considered "local" and a summer market and organic CSA farm to buy from. I have a pear tree, and sometimes a potted herb or two! I am a foodie. I have transformed a teenage weight obbsession and eating disorder into a healthy passion for good wholesome food and an interest in the cultivation there of. My life changed dramatically during my education in nutrition college. I learned more than I ever thought there was to know about food, and them some. I learned of its effect on the body, soul and spirit. I learned about healing and herbs and about the power and bounty of Mother earth. I learned to love food. Enough said. My name is Lora and I am a foodie! As a nutritionist for the last 11 years, I have tried plenty of Diets and I dont mean just weight reduction, but food combining, vegetarian, vegan, whole, macrobiotic, raw,liquid, high carb, low carb....... but it wasn't until last winter after reading animal vegetable miracle that I tried "local". It all seemed to make sense. It made eating and preparing food simple: if it doesnt grow hear, don't eat it. Eat raw in the summer and cooked in the winter. Enjoy completely each friut or veg when you can. It was asthough I had found the key to it all. whatever that means. and hear I am a year later ready to share my thoughts, stories, adventures and some recipies on Eating Local. Because I am a mother, a proud stay at home mom and because these children, my family and friends are everything to me I thought Id through in some random, maybe unrelated stuff too!!
5 imports I can't do without
OK, I would be lying if I said that I buy 100 percent local, and well mothers don't lie. So here is my list of imports that we simply can't do with out. Can't or won't ? Hmmmm... 1. Coffee 2. Chocolate 3. Bananas 4. Rice 5. Orange juice ( that ones for my husband)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Locally LOST. Confessions of a local foodie
Im not sure why, but this usually happens to me a Longos. I seem to "cheat" on my local food growers and buy produce "from some one else". I say "its not you" to the frozen broccoli and soft apples, "its me". I want fresh green broccoli, crisp brilliant apples and Watery crunchy celery. I want more. I want mango juice and not from my freezer berries. I want to eat light for a change. I want a break from the heavy cooked meals. So heavy, so cooked. I want light, fresh pretty foods. No more meat, not for a little while. Give me colour and something juicy. PLEASE. OK, there. I feel better having said all that. Eating Local in the winter, just as I thought is VERY challenging. a Bit boring, monotonous and repitisious. Not that there is anything wrong with any of those things. In fact, its comforting, just like marriage. But I need some more passion in the kitchen. I wonder how the Candaians did it. Were they miserable and dull and cold all winter long? God, its times like this that I wish my grandmother was here. If only I could call her and ask. What was a true Candaian winter like before major food imports? Hmm..... I feel a little research project comming on. I'll hit the library this weekend.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Hot Pot Home
I have been in, at home literally all week long. My children and I have lived in our comfiest of clothes and slippers with our runny noses, coughs and body aches. Our robe pockets filled with Kleenex and bed head for all. After this week, I can truly say that comfort lives in the swell of a hot bowl of soup or a warm mug of cocoa. It has been nothing but hot pots in our home. A variety of chicken and rice casseroles, Canadian Beef & barley stew, Daddys hearty Bean soup, and endless pots of rice. Today I finally got out, I just had to get to the grocery store. I was very tempted by all the pretty fruits and veggies and glamorous salad fixings. It has been a long time since I have made a salad, I used to make at least one a day, no matter the season. I am one of those people who get really excited about salad. And so I stood there in the salad section wondering if I should be denying myself and family these wonderful healthy foods. Its not like I was debating over buying the bag of sinfully delicious cookies, it was lettuce! With the sun still blazing we decided to do a little skating, get a little fresh air and soak up as much sun shine as we could. Cold and a bit tired and grumpy we arrived home in time for dinner. There was nothing better or more medicinal than sitting down with a big Hot pot of stew
Can't believe thats not local
Today at the grocery store I thought I would buy some canned pears beacuse our tree didn't yeild enough for much preserving this year. I was so surprised that I wasn't able to find anything local. There was pears and peaches from places like china and Guatamala. Nothing from Ontario, let alone Canada. Needless to say I certainly didn't buy any, and will definately be seeking sources. I may have to contact a farmer friend for their own preserves.....No local preserves at the local grocery. Sad, very sad.
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