Dreaming of Simplicity

 A few entries ago I spoke about my interest in eating more local foods. I have been challenging myself to use more locally grown or produced foods in my family's everyday diet. My reasons for eating more local foods is becuase I want to support local agriculture and businesses along with knowing where and in many cases how the food was grown or produced. Because I have a limited budget eating entirely local is not feasable but I have found a way to work more local items into our diet. I invite you, my fellow homestead bloggers to join me in my EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE. Here are the very loose "rules"....

 Try to add at least one localled produced food to each of the three major meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For example here is a menu from my week, the local items are in red.

Breakfast: buckwheat berry pancakes made with eggs from my own chickens, and berries foraged from near by woods, maple syrup which may actually be with in my 100 mile range but I am not sure, and sausage patties.

Lunch: a grilled cheese sandwhich that included butter produced in VT, some chips, and an apple

Dinner: Beef stroganoff made with steak from a local butcher, fresh garlic scapes, and onions from our CSA farm share, served with orzo pasta mixed in

 Any food produced in your home state or with in approximately 100 miles of your home can count.

 Snce my focus is on supporting local business eating something like bread baked at the locally owned bakery counts although the ingredients used may not be local. You are supporting some one in your community that way rather than some faceless national chain. Some purists may not like this little bend to the rule but I think it is an important part of starting the local food chain. Another item like this is meat, I personally can not afford the wonderful organic grass fed meats that are raised here but I can support a local butcher shop who sells as many local meats as is possible.

 Just reading labels on foods you normally buy can really open your eyes to how far your food is traveling to get to you. Yesterday I read labels on butter at a grocery store chain. The chain is a New England based chain. You would think that they would have products produced in the area. No such luck the butter they are selling under their label is all the way from Idaho!!! Instead of purchasing that butter I spent fifty cents more to support a Vermont based business. It's that simple!

 So there you have it! Anyone game for a challenge? I will be trying to share my menus with you here on my blog.