Thursday, March 19, 2009

Eating Local for Lazies... like Moi!

This post will be the first in this fantastic event hosted by 'Food Renegade' (wow that sounds so cool! I want to be one!) called Fight Back Fridays! I am all about being a Food Renegade and helping each other learn, grow and live healthy, one GMO free egg at a time.

The fiancé and I have been trying to fit local sustainable food into our budget since we lived in BC. Vernon didn't have a Saturday morning farmer's market (I KNOW, crazy eh?) so our goal when we moved to Halifax was take advantage of such an amazing source of local foods. We made it about, ummm, 4 times in seven months. We are lame. Really, I have the weirdest sleep needs (ten hours minimum) which I never get throughout the week and then crash on the weekend. Also: we are strange and both abhor crowds, which the farmer's market is PACKED into that beautiful, historic brewery.

For years now I have been interested in food baskets from local co-ops in all the cities I've lived. The problem is that I'm a HUGE picky eater, I mean bordering on annoying. This stems from digestive issues that have plagued me since my infancy. So it has actually taken years for me to be more open to trying new veggies and fruits, which I now am! YAY.

Halifax has an organization that offers the food box delivery service. "Home Grown Organics" is a locally owned business located in Halifax that delivers weekly, bi-weekly or monthly boxes of produce right to your door! They also use minimal warehouse storage space, striving to deliver the majority of their produce straight from the farmer to your home! They purchase produce from local farmers and as often as possible find organically grown produce first. The absolute kicker for me; you can actually list your favs and hates and they will do their absolute best to never give you your hates! Well, this means I never have to worry about figuring out who to give that ugly, gross tomato too! All for 30$ every two weeks, which is fantastic since we spend way more than 15$ a week on produce.

This Saturday the fiancé and I have taken a deep breath and made the order. We even paid full membership fee (one time 25$ fee) even though we didn't have to for our first order. No backing out. We ARE going to eat eggplant, zucchini and even... GASP... kale. We are going to figure out how to cook them into yummy delicious meals or meals that look yummy and eventually will also taste this way- after some experimentation of course. I was informed that each little rubbermade box (that we clean out and give back at the next delivery- less waste!) comes some fun new recipe print outs!

If you don't live in Halifax, but are interested in this "food box" dealy, check around! The four cities that I have lived in across Canada all had them (even Montreal!) it's just a matter of finding them and deciding if their practice fits your lifestyle :) Also, closely investigate the company that your selecting making sure they truly do purchase from local sustainable farmers and practice sustainable business (i.e. how far do they consider "local" and what do they consider "organic"?).

As spring approaches we'll still be going to the farmer's market when I wake up early enough to find local fun new foods and we may even cancel a few food boxes (which is totally easy and not a problem) but now we can feel good about where our produce came from! A first step in becoming Food Renegade Yogis!

7 comments:

  1. You know I've never eaten kale either and I've been reading a bunch of recipes that make me want to. sadly, I live in Australia and it's summer here, so while I'm saying goodbye to the local berry season you've still got a while to go with kale!

    One to look at in particular is orangette- who is adorable:
    http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/10/pleasantly-sogged.html

    I've also heard that roasting it and eating it like chips goes down a treat too.

    I actually went 100% vegan a few months ago (environment was a big influence for me there- thank you peter singer), but before that I was terribly picking. I was allergic to a bunch of stuff as a kid and as a result developed a dislike of trying new things. veganism has totally changed that for me. I went from thinking being vegan will restrict my options to trying everything I possibly could.

    By the way, your posts on aveda and make up in general were really interesting reading. You've actually got me all freaked out (in a good way) and have really reconsidered a lot of brands as a result. A brand that may interest you is grown- website coming:

    http://grown.net.au/

    They're aussie, but really amazing. No parabens, lauryl sulphate, glycols, petrochemicals, artificial fragrance, animal derivatives, synthetic colours... nothing scary- it says so on the packet! I've never used face or hand cream that feels better. may not be good with eco travel miles for you, but if you ever have trouble with canadian products there are other options available that share your ethics.

    Cheers for the blog!

    Fi

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  2. You might be interested in the blog 24 boxes at http://24boxes.blogspot.com/

    It's written by a lady who gets -- wait for it! -- 24 boxes a year of vegetables from "Angel Organics." She's been really slow to post lately and since December has been trying out a new meat share, but you might be interested in some of her older posts. She has some really awesome recipes and occasionally offers basic advice, like how to prepare greens for freezing. She's not vegetarian (is indeed a professed bacon lover), but you may find some useful recipes. I, for one, never thought of using cumin with zucchini, but it is surprisingly good!

    Love your blog!

    Juniper

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  3. I know what you mean about the crowds at the Farmer's Market in Halifax. I hate crowds too, I always feel like I'm in the way.

    I'm not a huge kale fan, but I second the kale chips suggestion. I tried eating it raw in salads, but it's too tough for be and my digestive system. Not sure if you eat meat, but kale is good sauteed with bacon or sauasge or in a soup.

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  4. Kale is surprisingly good in green smoothies. For older blenders, the trick is to blend the kale in warm water FIRST for a full minute or so. Then add in the other fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. that you would have added to your smoothies. (For me it's coconut milk, raw milk, yogurt, raw eggs, nut butters, etc.)

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  5. I believe our CSA share has caused us to branch out and try things I would have NEVER bought at the store. Brussels Sprouts? Yuck, or so I thought until I received it in my box. Swiss Chard..disgust, until I cooked it up with some Parmesan cheese. Fresh dill? What's a person to do with that?? Oh, yeah, deviled eggs w/fresh dill are amazing! Radishes? Blesh, until I sauteed them down in bacon grease & onions.

    It's fun to come up with something delicious from a veggie you wouldn't have ever thought to eat. Have fun with it. The worst thing that'll happen is you'll throw it out!

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  6. Thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas!! I can't wait to give Kale a try- LOL. we're thinking Kale chips, since we don't have a blender...

    The great thing is that we compost, so even though it's sad to waste produce, at least there will be no landfill for them!

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  7. Kale seems to be the one that separates those who are committed from those who are not, no? At least in MN (in my experience), and in Halifax! Great post, thanks! I'm writing about similar themes in my blog http://simplegoodandtasty.com

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