I am sorry I have not finished my blog until now. I had three wisdom teeth removed on the last day of my experiment and it knocked me off my feet for a couple days.
My last day of the Target diet included many soft foods: apple sauce, yogurt, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes. It was a good, but very light day of food. To be honest it was nice not to have to eat local after this surgery!
So to finish my conclusion... My three favorite things about eating locally.
I loved eating fresh food. While I did eat some packaged food during my local week, my main source of nutrients were fresh vegetables, grass fed meat, and cheese from Wisconsin. It felt good psychologically and physically to be eating food I was sure was healthy.
I felt really good about helping the local economy. There is no doubt in my mind that when Plymouth begins its farmer's market that my family will buy our produce from there. This way farmers close to home will be able to benefit from our purchases and we will benefit from their produce.
Even though I'm not a huge environmentalist, I can assure you that it felt great to be helping the earth by eating locally grown food. When I was able to put into perspective what it means to have food shipped around the world for a simple dinner, I felt more passionate about eating locally.
How this project will translate into daily life...
I do not think that my family will turn to full fledged eating locally, but now that we do know which brands are local, we will purchase those. We will also purchase our produce from the farmers' market in the summer. We are now a hundred times more knowledgeable about what eating locally means and how to go through with it, thus we will be more inclined to eat locally grown food.
As I have been talking about in my blog we will most likely end up with a mix of locally grown food and food from our normal grocery store. We will not end up canning all summer (though we may try some canning) and most likely will not purchase solely locally grown food through the winter. I am more motivated to work harder in our tiny garden and grow what we can. We are looking into a CSA (thanks for your comment JTH) to provide us with vegetables and meat.
Thanks to all who have followed and supported me through this journey!
April 14, 2010
April 10, 2010
Day Thirteen
Today was a very important day. I took my ACT! In order to eat a filling and lasting breakfast, I ate two scrambled eggs, peanut butter on toast, a banana, and coffee. It kept me full until about half way through. My brain was working extra hard, so it is not surprising I would get so hungry.
For lunch I ate butternut squash soup and crackers. Tomorrow is my last day and I am getting quite excited to be done with my Target diet. Though not as restricting as the local diet, it is still difficult to eat food from only one place.
Tonight I attended a wedding and was unable to eat Target food for dinner. It was very good food though!
I wanted to begin my conclusions on the project. Today I want to look at the negative effects of eating locally and tomorrow I will focus on the positive.
It was initially more expensive (as Nyla said in her comment, it could be cheaper in the long run due to less medical bills). None the less, I think for someone who was tight on money, it would be hard for them to fork out the cash for locally grown food.
It was time consuming. For someone with a busy schedule, it would take a lot of energy to prepare meals in advance and focus on recipes accommodating what is in season. It also takes longer to cook meals.
It was difficult to find local food. Eating locally has not hit the Midwest. While those ahead of the curve, like Seward Co-op, labeled every produce item, the average grocery store seems to have no concept of eating locally grown food. This made it extremely difficult (and time consuming) to find local food.
These are my three biggest complaints about eating locally grown food. Tomorrow I will discuss my favorite things about eating locally.
For lunch I ate butternut squash soup and crackers. Tomorrow is my last day and I am getting quite excited to be done with my Target diet. Though not as restricting as the local diet, it is still difficult to eat food from only one place.
Tonight I attended a wedding and was unable to eat Target food for dinner. It was very good food though!
I wanted to begin my conclusions on the project. Today I want to look at the negative effects of eating locally and tomorrow I will focus on the positive.
It was initially more expensive (as Nyla said in her comment, it could be cheaper in the long run due to less medical bills). None the less, I think for someone who was tight on money, it would be hard for them to fork out the cash for locally grown food.
It was time consuming. For someone with a busy schedule, it would take a lot of energy to prepare meals in advance and focus on recipes accommodating what is in season. It also takes longer to cook meals.
It was difficult to find local food. Eating locally has not hit the Midwest. While those ahead of the curve, like Seward Co-op, labeled every produce item, the average grocery store seems to have no concept of eating locally grown food. This made it extremely difficult (and time consuming) to find local food.
These are my three biggest complaints about eating locally grown food. Tomorrow I will discuss my favorite things about eating locally.
Day Twelve
These two weeks have flown by! I had to double check to be sure it really was day twelve.
Today was a much better day of eating Target food. I woke up and had hot oatmeal with pecans and raisins. I drank milk and ate a banana.
I have begun to realize the draw I feel to eat out. Because I was off of school today, my mom offered to take me out to Noodles and Company for lunch. I was thrilled until I realized I was still on the Target diet. Instead I ate a tuna and cheese melt for lunch. It was good, but I was dying to eat out.
If I had eaten at Noodles, I would have eaten Pesto Cavatappi. This dish has 760 calories, over 50% of your saturated fat, and 30% of your sodium. According to Supersize me, the average American eats out 2 times a week. According to Weight Watchers the average American eats out 6 times a week.
Whichever is true, eating out is unhealthy. By choosing to eat locally, you eliminate almost all eating out. I have decided I was wrong in saying eating locally is mainly for the environment. Eating local is for yourself- your health and well-being. Fresh ingredients, lean meat, and grass fed animals (1), all contribute to a healthier diet.
Eating locally contributes to a healthier environment and a healthier you. Both of which are very important :)
At work I ate five delicious, bright red strawberries. (My favorite part of the Target diet- fruit from all over the world.) For dinner I ate left over Shepard's pie with peas and milk. It was a satisfying dinner without any work besides popping the plate in the microwave.
1. According to King Corn, grass fed beef has about 2 grams of saturated fat whereas corn fed beef has 9 grams.
Today was a much better day of eating Target food. I woke up and had hot oatmeal with pecans and raisins. I drank milk and ate a banana.
I have begun to realize the draw I feel to eat out. Because I was off of school today, my mom offered to take me out to Noodles and Company for lunch. I was thrilled until I realized I was still on the Target diet. Instead I ate a tuna and cheese melt for lunch. It was good, but I was dying to eat out.
If I had eaten at Noodles, I would have eaten Pesto Cavatappi. This dish has 760 calories, over 50% of your saturated fat, and 30% of your sodium. According to Supersize me, the average American eats out 2 times a week. According to Weight Watchers the average American eats out 6 times a week.
Whichever is true, eating out is unhealthy. By choosing to eat locally, you eliminate almost all eating out. I have decided I was wrong in saying eating locally is mainly for the environment. Eating local is for yourself- your health and well-being. Fresh ingredients, lean meat, and grass fed animals (1), all contribute to a healthier diet.
Eating locally contributes to a healthier environment and a healthier you. Both of which are very important :)
At work I ate five delicious, bright red strawberries. (My favorite part of the Target diet- fruit from all over the world.) For dinner I ate left over Shepard's pie with peas and milk. It was a satisfying dinner without any work besides popping the plate in the microwave.
1. According to King Corn, grass fed beef has about 2 grams of saturated fat whereas corn fed beef has 9 grams.
April 9, 2010
Day Eleven
Hello everyone, check out a blog post I was invited to write at http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/! A thrilling opportunity for this growing project!
Today was not a good day of eating Target food. For lunch I had buffalo flavored macaroni and cheese. I am not sure why I thought this would be good, but somehow it was appealing in the aisle at Target. Let's just say it was not tasty. I ate half and put the rest down the garbage disposal.
For dinner I was in a hurry so stopped at Target to buy a quick dinner. After perusing the aisles, I was at a loss so I grabbed a Lunchable. I also got chocolate milk and an apple. The cheese was rubbery, the meat was slimy, and the crackers were oily. I used to love Lunchables! I guess my taste buds have matured.
It is interesting, I thought that I would love the Target diet. But as my sister-in-law predicted, my body and taste buds have reacted differently. The convenience is great, the variety is great, but I can no longer say that the taste or nutrition is great.
My family and I have been discussing one down side of eating locally. As the world has found its way to a global economy, ethnic food has become available for almost everyone. I was just reading that McDonalds has stores in 125 countries. American food is available worldwide, but it cuts both ways. In today's globalized world, Americans are now able to eat many ethnic food choices and we become aware and respectful of other countries' cultures and food choices.
Since I was a child my family has been eating Indian food because my dad was born there. When my sister visited India this year, she was comfortable eating curries, dahl and other unusual foods. Being used to Indian food since childhood made her respectful and considerate of this ethnic food. By eating only locally grown food, people may lose respect for the diversity in food.
Today was not a good day of eating Target food. For lunch I had buffalo flavored macaroni and cheese. I am not sure why I thought this would be good, but somehow it was appealing in the aisle at Target. Let's just say it was not tasty. I ate half and put the rest down the garbage disposal.
For dinner I was in a hurry so stopped at Target to buy a quick dinner. After perusing the aisles, I was at a loss so I grabbed a Lunchable. I also got chocolate milk and an apple. The cheese was rubbery, the meat was slimy, and the crackers were oily. I used to love Lunchables! I guess my taste buds have matured.
It is interesting, I thought that I would love the Target diet. But as my sister-in-law predicted, my body and taste buds have reacted differently. The convenience is great, the variety is great, but I can no longer say that the taste or nutrition is great.
My family and I have been discussing one down side of eating locally. As the world has found its way to a global economy, ethnic food has become available for almost everyone. I was just reading that McDonalds has stores in 125 countries. American food is available worldwide, but it cuts both ways. In today's globalized world, Americans are now able to eat many ethnic food choices and we become aware and respectful of other countries' cultures and food choices.
Since I was a child my family has been eating Indian food because my dad was born there. When my sister visited India this year, she was comfortable eating curries, dahl and other unusual foods. Being used to Indian food since childhood made her respectful and considerate of this ethnic food. By eating only locally grown food, people may lose respect for the diversity in food.
April 7, 2010
Day Ten
Day three of eating Target food. Today my dad and I went grocery shopping. I had been eating leftover food we had from Target and it was time to restock. As we were walking through the aisles I began noticing how much junk food Target sells. Part of eating locally is eating fresh food and I couldn't help but look at the Little Debbies next to the bread, the two rows of chips and cookies, a whole row for sugary drinks. I saw in a new light what Target was promoting; it was striking. No wonder America has a problem with obesity; we can point one finger at our grocery stores (another at ourselves).
Today for lunch I ate pita bread with hummus. I also ate an apple. I feel like I ate something else, but have forgotten... or maybe that's why I was so hungry later? Anyway, after school I ate half a raisin cookie and some jelly beans.
I learned some important clarification while doing research today. There is a difference between locally milled and locally grown. I had written a question regarding this in an earlier post. I did not know whether or not all ingredients would have been grown locally if an item had been manufactured locally. I think that means my sun-butter and licorice and other packaged items did not necessarily include locally grown ingredients. It was very disappointing to discover, but the person did mention that some people who eat locally grown food include locally milled items in their diet as well.
For dinner I ate pizza. At Seward Co-op I had seen a local pizza for $13.00. At Target we got a pizza for $3.33. It was tasty, cheap, and manufactured in Bloomington. I was very surprised. But now that I know there is a difference between locally grown and locally milled, I am not so impressed.
To the right I have included my receipt from Target. Click to enlarge.
April 6, 2010
Day Nine
The Vitamin C diet continues. I was again grateful to be able to eat fruit, but as a comment stated earlier if you were to eat only 75% local, you would be able to have 25% for your fruit intake and create a cost cushion. I thought this was very insightful. It made me feel even better about the possibility of eating locally.
I again had a ham and Swiss sandwich. Today I barely noticed the sugar in the bread like I had yesterday; I was amazed at how quickly my taste buds could adapt to the fluffy, sugary bread. I also ate coffee yogurt (my favorite food) and carrots. While I was eating my baby carrots, I couldn't help but think about the farmers who grew them. How many pesticides were put on this crop, how many acres of carrots can a farmer grow, how do they grow them to be miniature (this doesn't seem natural to me)? I think completely differently about my food now, compared to before I started this project.
For a snack I ate a banana with peanut butter. My banana was from Chile. According to timeanddate.com it is 5579 miles from Santiago to Minneapolis. That's a lot of travel for me to eat one banana. If I were to drive a banana from here to Chile on $2.79 gasoline in a Toyota Camry, it would cost me $598.67. Of course this is not how bananas are shipped and someone would not just transport a single banana, but you get my point.
For dinner we ate my mom's specialty, Shepard's Pie. It is a mashed potato and ground beef dish. It was very good, but when I thought about it, we could have just as easily made this dish with locally grown food. Last week we bought both ground beef and lots of potatoes.
I have been thinking a lot about how eating locally does not have to be an all or nothing diet. Being more aware about where your food is from is a step towards eating locally grown food. Adding what food you can from local farmers helps the local economy and the environment. It does not need to be a 100% commitment to locally grown food, every effort counts.
Day Eight
The first day a piece of fruit has touched my lips in a week. I was so excited the first thing I did when I woke up was to raid the fruit drawer of the refridgerator. I have to say, Target grapes are not too bad! It did diminish the flavor when I began thinking about how far these grapes must have traveled to get to my house. These have come from somewhere it is warm enough in late March/early April to grow grapes. While it was depressing, I couldn't help but think about how Vitamin C deficient my body must be right now. That made me feel better about eating them.
For lunch I ate a ham and swiss cheese sandwich, but with mayo, something that was not available on my eating locally diet. I was surprised at the taste of the bread for some reason. Compared to my local bread, this bread tasted foamy and sweet. It made me think of King Corn and I wondered if there was corn syrup in my bread (there wasn't, just straight sugar). With my lunch I ate broccoli and cauliflower and I drank orange juice from Florida.
My lunch tasted great, but I couldn't get my mind off eating locally. I felt a little guilty eating food from so far away.
When I got home I ate chocolate eggs from Easter. These were also from some far away land and were definitely not a healthy choice. For dinner we ate (yikes!) Chinese food... not from Target! But, my parents did not want to waste food and they were leftovers needed to be eaten. My dad told me that most Chinese restaurants will ship in all their food frozen from one place in the country so they can just cook it up. Urban legend or truth? Anyway, it made me think again about eating locally. If I am planning to eat a local diet, no more Plymouth Garden for me. And for that matter no more fast food, school lunch, or restaurant dining (unless they advertise locally grown food).
One thing I love about this Target diet is that I can bake! It did not seem possible to bake with a locally grown diet. It may be that I simply could not find the right ingredients, but some basics were hard to find locally grown. I made a devil's food cake for dessert tonight. It was very fun to make and tasted good.
For lunch I ate a ham and swiss cheese sandwich, but with mayo, something that was not available on my eating locally diet. I was surprised at the taste of the bread for some reason. Compared to my local bread, this bread tasted foamy and sweet. It made me think of King Corn and I wondered if there was corn syrup in my bread (there wasn't, just straight sugar). With my lunch I ate broccoli and cauliflower and I drank orange juice from Florida.
My lunch tasted great, but I couldn't get my mind off eating locally. I felt a little guilty eating food from so far away.
When I got home I ate chocolate eggs from Easter. These were also from some far away land and were definitely not a healthy choice. For dinner we ate (yikes!) Chinese food... not from Target! But, my parents did not want to waste food and they were leftovers needed to be eaten. My dad told me that most Chinese restaurants will ship in all their food frozen from one place in the country so they can just cook it up. Urban legend or truth? Anyway, it made me think again about eating locally. If I am planning to eat a local diet, no more Plymouth Garden for me. And for that matter no more fast food, school lunch, or restaurant dining (unless they advertise locally grown food).
One thing I love about this Target diet is that I can bake! It did not seem possible to bake with a locally grown diet. It may be that I simply could not find the right ingredients, but some basics were hard to find locally grown. I made a devil's food cake for dessert tonight. It was very fun to make and tasted good.
April 5, 2010
Day Seven
Last day of eating locally! Today I ate a moldy bagel for lunch. My parents told me mold can't hurt me and to just eat it so I did. This bagel was moldy because it had no preservatives (an apparent side affect of eating locally). It tasted normal, just a little fuzz growing in some areas. I also ate my usual fruit leather, strawberry applesauce and milk.
Today I had to work so I ate some dried cherries during my break and when I got home I ate a grilled cheese and summer sausage sandwich, salad, and root beer. We had ice cream later. It was a great meal I was able to throw together in minutes.
Tonight we watched King Corn, a documentary. It was another aspect of my project I hadn't considered yet. Two guys decided to grow one acre of corn in Iowa. They cared for the corn just as any farmer in Iowa would and followed the corn to where it ends up. It reiterated the issues small farmers face in America and it showed the effects of eating corn in almost every meal (corn-fed beef, corn syrup, etc.). It was interesting because they said that a farmer in Iowa used to be able to feed himself from his own crop. Nowadays, farmers barely ever eat their crops. The corn is basically inedible until it is processed. It makes sense that no one is able to eat locally if even farmers can't.
This film also opened my eyes to how farming has progressed in this century. They said how in the 1901 people would spend 30% of their income on food. Now people spend 16%. America wants cheap food, so corporations provide it. It also showed how hard people had to work in the early part of this century. With more time and more money you think Americans would be happier, but I don't know if we are. It was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone interested in gaining a new perspective about farming and America's corn production.
The last thing I wanted to talk about in regard to eating locally. I honestly did not know at the beginning of this week if it would be possible for a Minnesotan to eat locally. I have decided it is definitely possible to eat locally all year round. It may take time, energy, and money, but if someone is willing to sacrifice it is possible.
This is a great blog to check out if you are interested in learning more about eating locally, http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ This blog was started in 2005, long before it became popular to eat locally. It includes great pictures and recipes. Check it out!
Today I had to work so I ate some dried cherries during my break and when I got home I ate a grilled cheese and summer sausage sandwich, salad, and root beer. We had ice cream later. It was a great meal I was able to throw together in minutes.
Tonight we watched King Corn, a documentary. It was another aspect of my project I hadn't considered yet. Two guys decided to grow one acre of corn in Iowa. They cared for the corn just as any farmer in Iowa would and followed the corn to where it ends up. It reiterated the issues small farmers face in America and it showed the effects of eating corn in almost every meal (corn-fed beef, corn syrup, etc.). It was interesting because they said that a farmer in Iowa used to be able to feed himself from his own crop. Nowadays, farmers barely ever eat their crops. The corn is basically inedible until it is processed. It makes sense that no one is able to eat locally if even farmers can't.
This film also opened my eyes to how farming has progressed in this century. They said how in the 1901 people would spend 30% of their income on food. Now people spend 16%. America wants cheap food, so corporations provide it. It also showed how hard people had to work in the early part of this century. With more time and more money you think Americans would be happier, but I don't know if we are. It was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone interested in gaining a new perspective about farming and America's corn production.
The last thing I wanted to talk about in regard to eating locally. I honestly did not know at the beginning of this week if it would be possible for a Minnesotan to eat locally. I have decided it is definitely possible to eat locally all year round. It may take time, energy, and money, but if someone is willing to sacrifice it is possible.
This is a great blog to check out if you are interested in learning more about eating locally, http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ This blog was started in 2005, long before it became popular to eat locally. It includes great pictures and recipes. Check it out!
April 4, 2010
Day Six
Is it really day six already? This week has gone faster than I thought it would! Today was again a smooth day of eating locally grown food. As my dad said in an earlier comment it is very true that this diet takes practice and finally with five days under my belt the practice is paying off.
As I was walking out the door for school this morning I suddenly realized I had not made a lunch last night. Panic set in and I ran around the kitchen throwing anything in my lunch bag I could. Surprisingly, it did not take very long. I ended up with a sun-butter and jelly sandwich, yogurt with granola, strawberry applesauce, fruit leather, and chocolate milk. It only took me about five minutes to throw together.
We made a special dinner tonight. Homemade pasta! We used $9.50 worth of tomatoes, a pound of ground beef, fresh basil, and garlic (not local). Then we cooked local pasta. It was very different than pasta sauce out of a jar, but extremely good and very filling. My mom also commented on how little fat the meal had in it.
I think I was wrong about the unhealthy side of eating locally. While I am lacking in fruits and some vegetables, this diet is actually quite healthy. No longer are fatty, packaged foods available, and most of the time I don't crave snacks between meals. As we were talking about this last night, America's problem with obesity came up. If everyone were to eat locally grown food, I am positive that the U.S. would not have an issue with obesity.
I think eating locally is going to get more and more popular. By eating locally we keep our money circulating in small communities, we eat healthier food choices, we save the environment, and we eat better tasting food. This year Plymouth is starting its first farmer's market. This shows the desire we have as a community to eat locally. I am thrilled to visit Plymouth's farmer's market and thrilled that it will have its debut this summer.
As I was walking out the door for school this morning I suddenly realized I had not made a lunch last night. Panic set in and I ran around the kitchen throwing anything in my lunch bag I could. Surprisingly, it did not take very long. I ended up with a sun-butter and jelly sandwich, yogurt with granola, strawberry applesauce, fruit leather, and chocolate milk. It only took me about five minutes to throw together.
We made a special dinner tonight. Homemade pasta! We used $9.50 worth of tomatoes, a pound of ground beef, fresh basil, and garlic (not local). Then we cooked local pasta. It was very different than pasta sauce out of a jar, but extremely good and very filling. My mom also commented on how little fat the meal had in it.
I think I was wrong about the unhealthy side of eating locally. While I am lacking in fruits and some vegetables, this diet is actually quite healthy. No longer are fatty, packaged foods available, and most of the time I don't crave snacks between meals. As we were talking about this last night, America's problem with obesity came up. If everyone were to eat locally grown food, I am positive that the U.S. would not have an issue with obesity.
I think eating locally is going to get more and more popular. By eating locally we keep our money circulating in small communities, we eat healthier food choices, we save the environment, and we eat better tasting food. This year Plymouth is starting its first farmer's market. This shows the desire we have as a community to eat locally. I am thrilled to visit Plymouth's farmer's market and thrilled that it will have its debut this summer.
April 3, 2010
Day Five
Today was a much better day. I started the day off right- with breakfast! I ate sun-butter on toast with honey. I think I eat less sugar when I am only eating locally grown; the sun-butter and honey tasted very sweet. It was good though and I had enough energy to last until lunch.
For lunch I ate a summer sausage, sprouts, cheese, and butter sandwich, yogurt with granola, Honest Tea, and fruit leather. This diet seems a little repeptitive, but I think if you were to stick with it for more than a week you would be able to buy more variety. Today I planned ahead for dinner and ate a burger and salad with milk. After work I had a root beer float! It was very exciting and very tasty.
I am finally fully comfortable eating locally. Yesterday was very discouraging, but I got over the worst part of the week and now I am sad to think I only have two more days! Today it seemed completely natural to eat only locally grown food.
I did not have any huge epiphanies about eating locally grown food today, simply that it is comfortable now, planning ahead makes for a much happier day, and eating locally grown food can be done.
For lunch I ate a summer sausage, sprouts, cheese, and butter sandwich, yogurt with granola, Honest Tea, and fruit leather. This diet seems a little repeptitive, but I think if you were to stick with it for more than a week you would be able to buy more variety. Today I planned ahead for dinner and ate a burger and salad with milk. After work I had a root beer float! It was very exciting and very tasty.
I am finally fully comfortable eating locally. Yesterday was very discouraging, but I got over the worst part of the week and now I am sad to think I only have two more days! Today it seemed completely natural to eat only locally grown food.
I did not have any huge epiphanies about eating locally grown food today, simply that it is comfortable now, planning ahead makes for a much happier day, and eating locally grown food can be done.
April 2, 2010
Day Four
Today was a perfect example of how difficult eating locally can be. I began the day with no breakfast because there isn't a lot you can eat on the run. I always wake up late - definitely my fault, but still a factor in eating locally. Then I was attending a lunch during the day, but could not eat there because the food was not local. I packed a lunch last night and ate it in the car. It was a bagel, yogurt with granola, fruit leather, and chocolate milk. It was good, but a little messy to eat in the car.
Then I had to work. Most of the time I am good about planning what to eat, but if not, I normally just eat a frozen dinner or eat at Macy's. Unfortunately, I was running out of time between the lunch and heading to work. I needed to eat before work because I would not get off until 9pm. I reheated mashed potatoes and ate a yogurt. It was fine, but kind of a strange combination for dinner. After work I ate Minnesota Creamery ice cream.
For me, eating locally does not mean eating healthily (as you can see from my day... did I eat much besides starch?). It also does not mean eating organically. Eating only locally grown food has a different goal than both healthy and organic eating. Local saves the environment rather than your body. Healthy and organic save your body rather than the environment.
It has surprised me how unhealthy eating locally is at times. This week I have had close to no Vitamin C, I have had carbohydrates out of this world, and have had little balance in my diet. Eating locally forces you to plan ahead for your meals. This normally means healthy and better meals, but for me, I have found there isn't always enough time or energy to plan and cook every meal. It has not forced me to eat my fruit and vegetables; it has done quite the opposite.
I am feeling somewhat discouraged in my challenge to eat locally; somehow I don't have the drive it would take to eat locally all the time. I know if I were more passionate I would have more endurance and patience with this diet, but right now I'm feeling tired and hungry.
Then I had to work. Most of the time I am good about planning what to eat, but if not, I normally just eat a frozen dinner or eat at Macy's. Unfortunately, I was running out of time between the lunch and heading to work. I needed to eat before work because I would not get off until 9pm. I reheated mashed potatoes and ate a yogurt. It was fine, but kind of a strange combination for dinner. After work I ate Minnesota Creamery ice cream.
For me, eating locally does not mean eating healthily (as you can see from my day... did I eat much besides starch?). It also does not mean eating organically. Eating only locally grown food has a different goal than both healthy and organic eating. Local saves the environment rather than your body. Healthy and organic save your body rather than the environment.
It has surprised me how unhealthy eating locally is at times. This week I have had close to no Vitamin C, I have had carbohydrates out of this world, and have had little balance in my diet. Eating locally forces you to plan ahead for your meals. This normally means healthy and better meals, but for me, I have found there isn't always enough time or energy to plan and cook every meal. It has not forced me to eat my fruit and vegetables; it has done quite the opposite.
I am feeling somewhat discouraged in my challenge to eat locally; somehow I don't have the drive it would take to eat locally all the time. I know if I were more passionate I would have more endurance and patience with this diet, but right now I'm feeling tired and hungry.
April 1, 2010
Day Three
The local food week is in full swing now. We are beginning to figure out how to make more filling and better tasting meals. Today was a great success.
Today I took my lunch to school. It was the first time in a while I skipped out on the hot lunch served at my school. I ate a sandwich made with white bread, summer sausage, cheese, and lettuce. I had a side of strawberry applesauce and fruit leather and drank local milk that I brought form home. I was a quick and easy lunch that kept me full until dinnertime.
We had great success cooking another chicken tonight! This chicken was much fatter than the last. We were not gnawing on the bones- meat was coming off in chunk! It was great. We cooked it in the crock-pot all day versus baking it for an hour and a half like our last. Onions were put in the bottom of the crock-pot and stuffed in the chicken. My mom put butter under and over the skin and added salt and pepper. It made the chicken soft and moist. We also made mashed potatoes from Minnesota. My dad especially thought these were good, commenting that they were the best he had eaten in a long time.
I feel more satisfied today than I have the entire week. We are learning to eat bigger meals, as there isn't any real snacking during the day. It is also nice to have some of the food we got from Lund's.
My mom talked to a friend who works at a co-op today. She told my mom that it is considered impressive when a person's diet is 75% local. I thought this was interesting. It seemed at first comforting that it needs to be only 3/4ths local, but on second thought that seems rather high. I have had a lot of difficulty finding the local food, not to mention driving over twenty minutes to find it (an hour both ways for meat). It seems somewhat ironic that a person must drive pretty far
away to buy locally grown food.
Today I took my lunch to school. It was the first time in a while I skipped out on the hot lunch served at my school. I ate a sandwich made with white bread, summer sausage, cheese, and lettuce. I had a side of strawberry applesauce and fruit leather and drank local milk that I brought form home. I was a quick and easy lunch that kept me full until dinnertime.
We had great success cooking another chicken tonight! This chicken was much fatter than the last. We were not gnawing on the bones- meat was coming off in chunk! It was great. We cooked it in the crock-pot all day versus baking it for an hour and a half like our last. Onions were put in the bottom of the crock-pot and stuffed in the chicken. My mom put butter under and over the skin and added salt and pepper. It made the chicken soft and moist. We also made mashed potatoes from Minnesota. My dad especially thought these were good, commenting that they were the best he had eaten in a long time.
I feel more satisfied today than I have the entire week. We are learning to eat bigger meals, as there isn't any real snacking during the day. It is also nice to have some of the food we got from Lund's.
My mom talked to a friend who works at a co-op today. She told my mom that it is considered impressive when a person's diet is 75% local. I thought this was interesting. It seemed at first comforting that it needs to be only 3/4ths local, but on second thought that seems rather high. I have had a lot of difficulty finding the local food, not to mention driving over twenty minutes to find it (an hour both ways for meat). It seems somewhat ironic that a person must drive pretty far
away to buy locally grown food.
March 31, 2010
Day Two
Second day of eating locally! I did not eat anything for breakfast today because it is difficult to eat locally when you're on the go. For lunch I decided to make pancakes. Luckily we had Minnesota syrup on hand, otherwise we would have been eating our pancakes with honey. The pancakes had a different texture; when I was mixing them the batter seemed to froth. Locally grown food has a different texture. Turned out the pancakes were delicious and we ate locally manufactured strawberry applesauce to go with it.
I thought I did a really good job buying food at Seward's, but it already seems to be a little scarce. After work my mom and I decided to go to Lund's to hunt down some locally grown food. We found some more cheese and tomatoes, but they had nothing else in the produce section. The lady there told us we should have come three months ago or to try again in the summer. I have been told that numerous times. We tried to find local peanut butter, but no such luck. The best alternative was sun-butter, a sort of peanut butter made out of sunflower seeds. We were also very excited to find summer sausage for my lunch and wild rice sausages for dinner. We found pasties from Wisconsin and root beer! We also got, ice cream, egg, strawberry crisp, and yogurt.
For dinner we ate the pasties (a meat and potato filled pastry). My parents thought they were very funny by labeling our ketchup bottle as local. It got us talking about how difficult it would be to eat solely locally grown food.
I am confused on a few things. Firstly, I do not understand how packaged foods I bought at Seward's could be local. Do they grow all the ingredients locally or is it simply put together locally? Also, if something is manufactured somewhere, are all its ingredients from the same place? If you were not allowed to eat any packaged or frozen items while on a locally grown food diet, Minnesotans would need to be canning day and night all summer long. It would be very difficult to sustain this lifestyle without thorough planning.
This lifestyle is not for the short on cash. We have been very surprised to find that prices have been very high. My mom was shocked to find out that for $85.00 we only got that much meat. For $123.00 of groceries we could not have lasted a week. We racked up another $82.00 at Lund's (total minus plant, see receipt- click to enlarge). If you were not committed to this lifestyle it would be difficult to spend this much money on food.
It is also very difficult not having any fruit. We were discussing how people got their vitamin C in the olden days, but we still have not figured it out. It could have been that they stored apples and other fruit that can be grown in Minnesota. Or my mom said that potatoes do have a little vitamin C. I miss not having any fruit or juice. At least this half of the experiment is only for a week. I can't wait for Target week!
I thought I did a really good job buying food at Seward's, but it already seems to be a little scarce. After work my mom and I decided to go to Lund's to hunt down some locally grown food. We found some more cheese and tomatoes, but they had nothing else in the produce section. The lady there told us we should have come three months ago or to try again in the summer. I have been told that numerous times. We tried to find local peanut butter, but no such luck. The best alternative was sun-butter, a sort of peanut butter made out of sunflower seeds. We were also very excited to find summer sausage for my lunch and wild rice sausages for dinner. We found pasties from Wisconsin and root beer! We also got, ice cream, egg, strawberry crisp, and yogurt.
For dinner we ate the pasties (a meat and potato filled pastry). My parents thought they were very funny by labeling our ketchup bottle as local. It got us talking about how difficult it would be to eat solely locally grown food.
I am confused on a few things. Firstly, I do not understand how packaged foods I bought at Seward's could be local. Do they grow all the ingredients locally or is it simply put together locally? Also, if something is manufactured somewhere, are all its ingredients from the same place? If you were not allowed to eat any packaged or frozen items while on a locally grown food diet, Minnesotans would need to be canning day and night all summer long. It would be very difficult to sustain this lifestyle without thorough planning.
This lifestyle is not for the short on cash. We have been very surprised to find that prices have been very high. My mom was shocked to find out that for $85.00 we only got that much meat. For $123.00 of groceries we could not have lasted a week. We racked up another $82.00 at Lund's (total minus plant, see receipt- click to enlarge). If you were not committed to this lifestyle it would be difficult to spend this much money on food.
It is also very difficult not having any fruit. We were discussing how people got their vitamin C in the olden days, but we still have not figured it out. It could have been that they stored apples and other fruit that can be grown in Minnesota. Or my mom said that potatoes do have a little vitamin C. I miss not having any fruit or juice. At least this half of the experiment is only for a week. I can't wait for Target week!
March 30, 2010
Day One
My family began eating locally today. I think we will lose weight on this locally grown diet. I was quite hungry all day.
I began the day at 8:30 driving to the farm with my dad. We ate local bread and jam with milk for breakfast. We traveled 43.8 miles to buy locally grown beef, lamb, and chicken. All their livestock was grass fed. We arrived around 9:30 and were greeted by the farmer and his son, Mike and Brandon. They took us to the barn and introduced us to all the sheep. They didn't have many sheep, but they were cute, though very shy. They had some lambs that had been born recently.
Mike and Brandon farm on six acres. Each had another day job and their farm was work on the side, though a full time job in itself. Next they brought us to their giant freezer. They brought out boxes of meat for us to choose from. We bought two chickens, two pounds of ground beef, three steaks, a rack of lamb, and lamb for stew. It cost us $85.00 and they threw in three bacon burgers. It was very expensive meat, but we felt like we were also paying for the time they spent talking to us. Other people would not be paying to get a tour and I am beginning to realize eating locally is very expensive.
Next they took us to see the cattle. They were stored at Mike's father's farm, a 40-acre lot. We met Swissy, the milk cow, who they had pulled from the herd because she was being bullied. It was nice to see a farmer who was able to tell when a cow was being bullied or getting too skinny. Swissy let us pet her and seemed very docile for a cow. We also got to see the bull. He was huge and we didn't get close to him. We asked a few more questions and it was obvious the farmers were passionate about their work.
My dad and I took away two main ideas from this visit. First we learned how difficult it is for small scale farmers to make a living. With limited markets, materials, and animals, these farmers have to work extremely hard to break even. Secondly, we found out that eating locally can be quite expensive. While we knew full well that Mike and Brandon worked hard for these animals and deserved the price they marked, it was difficult knowing we could buy the same product for much less at the grocery store. For instance, we bought a free-range, grass fed, chicken for $14.00; at Lund's you can buy a much plumper chicken for $4.50.
For lunch I ate a bagel and cream cheese. It was surprisingly delicious. I also ate some dried cherries. My whole family has commented on the difference of the spread. Our butter and cream cheese from the normal grocery store is very smooth and easy to put on. These spreads are very tough, as if lacking oil.
For dinner we cooked a chicken (we put on seasoning that was not local...). It took over an hour to cook. We also cooked a giant beet, four potatoes, and some peas. It was a good meal, but the chicken had very little meat on it! It had very fit little legs and about a third of a normal chicken's breast meat. The skin on the chicken was very tough. I would not say it was the most enjoyable meal as it took a very long time to cook and was not the tastiest.
At ten o'clock I was starved. My boyfriend and I were planning to go to Perkins, but then I realized that Perkins is not local. It was kind of sad having to go home to eat. It made me realize how making a decision about the way you eat not only affects you, but also the people around you. I went home and had a peach yogurt.
I began the day at 8:30 driving to the farm with my dad. We ate local bread and jam with milk for breakfast. We traveled 43.8 miles to buy locally grown beef, lamb, and chicken. All their livestock was grass fed. We arrived around 9:30 and were greeted by the farmer and his son, Mike and Brandon. They took us to the barn and introduced us to all the sheep. They didn't have many sheep, but they were cute, though very shy. They had some lambs that had been born recently.
Mike and Brandon farm on six acres. Each had another day job and their farm was work on the side, though a full time job in itself. Next they brought us to their giant freezer. They brought out boxes of meat for us to choose from. We bought two chickens, two pounds of ground beef, three steaks, a rack of lamb, and lamb for stew. It cost us $85.00 and they threw in three bacon burgers. It was very expensive meat, but we felt like we were also paying for the time they spent talking to us. Other people would not be paying to get a tour and I am beginning to realize eating locally is very expensive.
Next they took us to see the cattle. They were stored at Mike's father's farm, a 40-acre lot. We met Swissy, the milk cow, who they had pulled from the herd because she was being bullied. It was nice to see a farmer who was able to tell when a cow was being bullied or getting too skinny. Swissy let us pet her and seemed very docile for a cow. We also got to see the bull. He was huge and we didn't get close to him. We asked a few more questions and it was obvious the farmers were passionate about their work.
My dad and I took away two main ideas from this visit. First we learned how difficult it is for small scale farmers to make a living. With limited markets, materials, and animals, these farmers have to work extremely hard to break even. Secondly, we found out that eating locally can be quite expensive. While we knew full well that Mike and Brandon worked hard for these animals and deserved the price they marked, it was difficult knowing we could buy the same product for much less at the grocery store. For instance, we bought a free-range, grass fed, chicken for $14.00; at Lund's you can buy a much plumper chicken for $4.50.
For lunch I ate a bagel and cream cheese. It was surprisingly delicious. I also ate some dried cherries. My whole family has commented on the difference of the spread. Our butter and cream cheese from the normal grocery store is very smooth and easy to put on. These spreads are very tough, as if lacking oil.
For dinner we cooked a chicken (we put on seasoning that was not local...). It took over an hour to cook. We also cooked a giant beet, four potatoes, and some peas. It was a good meal, but the chicken had very little meat on it! It had very fit little legs and about a third of a normal chicken's breast meat. The skin on the chicken was very tough. I would not say it was the most enjoyable meal as it took a very long time to cook and was not the tastiest.
At ten o'clock I was starved. My boyfriend and I were planning to go to Perkins, but then I realized that Perkins is not local. It was kind of sad having to go home to eat. It made me realize how making a decision about the way you eat not only affects you, but also the people around you. I went home and had a peach yogurt.
March 29, 2010
Just the Beginning
Today I began my search for locally grown food. My neighbor Pam was kind enough to give me the number of three local meat farmers and a place just down the road that sells fresh eggs. My brother, Luke, gave me the name of four co-ops in Minneapolis and St. Paul he thought would sell locally grown food. I began by calling the meat farmers and struck out on two out of three. No one seems to answer his or her phone during the day. But, Sunshine Harvest Farms answered the phone and I set up an appointment to visit the farm and buy meat tomorrow.
I also called the co-ops. The first place, The Wedge, told me they had potatoes, tomatoes, and green cabbage that were locally grown. I did not think we could live off just that so I called Lakewind's Natural Foods. They told me I was out of luck and to come back in three months or try the farmer's market in May. The next place I called was Seward Co-op in Minneapolis. Jackpot! They told me they had locally grown parsnips, spinach, onions, potatoes, shallots, basil, tomatoes, mushrooms, lettuce, beets, turnips, and rutabaga. I was thrilled. The final place I called did not seem to understand what I was asking and kept telling me they had lots of produce, but not whether or not it was local.
After work I drove 17.9 miles to Seward Co-op. This grocery store is a great place for those looking to eat locally. Every fruit and vegetable is labeled as to where it is from. All gluten-free, organic, and local food item is labeled. This was a big help for me. I did not have to read every label and could tell exactly where it came from. Not only did Seward Co-op have local vegetables, it had local pasta, granola, cheese, milk, eggs, and many other things. In order for the food to be categorized as local it has to be from within your state and its four surrounding. Our local states include Iowa, Michigan. Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. I bought $123 of locally grown food (see receipt above) and am excited for the challenge to begin.
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