Livin' La Vida LOCAL

I never thought that I would EVER think of using, referring to, or quoting a Ricky Martin song lyric (gag!), but when I think of Living Local... this silly song persistently pops into my head.  Now if you are stuck with this powerful association too (I hope so... insert evil laugh here), don't fret, it is for a good cause.  My entry today is about a new-to-me program that has been launched in Edmonton called Eat Local First.  For the past few weeks I have been ordering food from this site, including 'The Good Food Box': an assortment of 8-12 fresh, locally produced vegetables that are out-of-this-world amazing!  Eat Local First/The Good Food Box are part of the Live Local Alberta initiative, which encourages Albertans to eat local, shop local and dine local... definitely a program that 'Marebare' can get behind (ahem, see the above statement in my banner). 

I was waiting to promote this program until I had sufficiently sampled the 'goods' and now that I have (we have ordered from there for 3 weeks in a row now), and for what it's worth, I am more than happy to get behind their products.  Of course I took some photos of the 'real thing' so that you could see for yourself:

This week's Good Food Box

 

Is your mouth watering yet?



Now for the downside (yes, of course there is a downside).  This program delivers to Edmonton/Sherwood Park addresses for a small fee, however, given that I live so far from town, I have to take the drive into the city each week to pick up my order.  Don't get me wrong, it is well worth it, however I would really like to get a group together from Stony Plain/Spruce Grove/Parkland County who are all interested in buying some of the goods from this organization (they sell more than just produce).  This way, we could take turns picking up the week's orders and reduce our impact by driving less as a group.  If you are interested and live in this area, PLEASE contact me!  If there is interest, I will set up a group on facebook for us to communicate on...

Finally, one of the things that I LOVE about the Good Food Box (aside from the amazing quality of the produce), is the fact that it forces us to 'think outside the box' (pardon the pun) in terms of cooking.  We are forced to use what we have and so far have come up with some really different and delicious recipes.  Trent and I both love a challenge in the kitchen so it has worked out really well.  (A further incentive for all of you interested in partaking... we could share recipes!)




I know that you're not supposed to play with your food, but I couldn't resist!

Happy shopping/cooking/eating!
Marebare

Times are a changin'

Alright, so I haven't been writing much lately... and no, it is certainly not because I have fallen off the wagon... quite the opposite in fact.  The truth is, I am in the process of re-evaluating my values (yes, again) thanks in part to a certain journalist named Michael Pollan.  I think that I have mentioned his name before when I wrote about the movie Food Inc.  Anyway, Pollan has written two extremely thorough books about the industrialization of our food chain here in the West (and increasingly, the rest of the world as well).  The two books: The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food are both amazing reads and I highly recommend reading both of them.  Upon making this recommendation to others, I have had a lot of people say, "Oh no, I don't think that I want to know about the horrible things in our food because I really feel like I can't do anything about it."  To this I fervently answer: "This isn't true any longer, in other words, WE ARE NO LONGER AT THE MERCY OF THE BIG CORPORATIONS!!!  In fact, we do have other options, so find out about them and take advantage of them!"

As I have alluded to in earlier posts, 'living with less' has become about so much more than simply saving money (although that has certainly been a side benefit).  Increasingly, this project has resulted in more of a lifestyle change for myself and my family than anything else.  What I am saying is, I now hold the belief that certain things (like my family's health and the well being of our planet and the organisms that sustain it) are much more important than saving a dollar here or a dollar there.  As a result, I have entirely changed the way that I think about food, cook/prepare/serve food, and shop for food.  For me (thanks to Mr. Pollan), I have a few basic tenets that I am trying to live by that I will share here:

1. Priority #1: Buy local (and organic if possible) (or better yet, grow as much of your own food as you can!)

For fresh fruits/vegetables, this is certainly a challenge for us Canadians who choose to live in such a Northern climate where the growing season is so darned short.  But, summer is upon us and there are some good choices out there.

• For local and pastured meat, check out this link: http://www.eatwild.com/ to find a farm near you that sells this superior product (it is amazing how many farms that I was unaware of in Alberta, and this way, you can buy right from the farmer and even visit the animals if you want, talk about taking out the middle man!)
• Go to the farmer's market in your area.  These types of local markets have more than doubled in recent years and it can sure be a fun outing for you and your family on the weekend.
• Start a garden, or if you don't have much room, start a container garden.  You can grow all that you need for salads in containers for example and you can then enjoy fresh salads all year round!  It really isn't as hard as it sounds!

Priority #2: Buy organic whenever possible

• This is also a tricky one for us Canadians because our food has to travel so darned far to get here that organics often can't make the trek (because they aren't covered in preserving chemicals)
• Also, I do realize that organic produce does cost more, so if you have to be discerning, here is a list that I found on-line to help you make the choice a little easier:

The Dirty Dozen: contain from between 47-67 chemicals PER SERVING!

1. Celery

2. Peaches

3. Strawberries

4. Apples

5. Blueberries

6. Nectarines

7. Peppers

8. Spinach, Kale, Greens

9. Cherries

10. Potatoes

11. Grapes

12. Lettuce

The Clean Fifteen:

1. Onions

2. Avocados

3. Corn

4. Pineapples

5. Mangoes

6. Peas

7. Asparagus

8. Kiwi

9. Cabbage

10. Eggplant

11. Cantaloupe

12. Watermelon

13. Grapefruit

14. Sweet potatoes

15. Sweet onions

Priority #3: Avoid any/all processed foods as much as possible!

Pollan has some great tips on how to avoid these crazy 'food science' products:

• Don't eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food (love this one!)
• Shop the outsides of your supermarket and stay out of the middle
• Read the label: if there are more than five ingredients and you can't pronounce one(or more) of them, PUT IT BACK!

If all else fails, just remember Mr. Pollan's tag-line from 'In Defense of Food': EAT FOOD, NOT TOO MUCH, MOSTLY PLANTS!

Happy Eating!

Cheers,

Marebare

The above images are not mine, but taken from the web, to view the source of the image(s) please click on the picture to be taken to the image's homepage.  Thanks.