May is the month-long Eat Locally challenge sponsored by Life Begins at 30 and Locavores.
Some people go whole-hog and refuse even to drink beverages or use spices that aren’t locally produced. I am not so die-hard nor so willing to sacrifice. My aspirations are decidedly smaller, but I’m content with them:
We at Off the Eaten Path will strive to eat something locally produced every day. We also will consume something new from the farmer’s market each week in May in order to broaden our horizons about the types of food that are available and that we enjoy. Finally, we also will try a local restaurant this month where we have not eaten before in order to support local food businesses.
- What’s your definition of local for this challenge?
- What exemptions will you claim?
- What is your personal goal for the month?
Our local farmers’ market defines local as within 150 miles of Washington, D.C., and that seems reasonable to me.
We reserve the right to take one day off a week (although we’ll try not to need to).
To find new foods to add to the repertoire. To continue to support local agriculture. To consume what we buy without waste. To try some new recipes. To blog here more often about our experiences in the kitchen and with the local restaurant scene. And most of all I hope to be pleasantly surprised that this will not be a stretch for us taking into consideration that we already buy a large portion of our food locally at the farmers’ market.
[...] Better yet, I’m starting to see the results of all the riding I’ve done this year. The weight gained over the winter is slowly burning away. I’ve also taken to eating a little less (and a higher-quality mix, including some locally sourced cuisine that is better for me in virtually all respects), drinking more fluids and cutting back a little on the caffeine and sugar. We’ll see how it sticks, and there’s still stuff to work on (e.g. better sleep routine). [...]
Pingback by randomduck » Blog Archive » cycling in may: and update — May 4, 2006 @ 6:32 pm
[...] As Kirstin said earlier, we’re trying to eat as much local produce as possible this month. So when the local farm market had stinging nettles, we decided to take the plunge and try them out. [...]
Pingback by off the eaten path » recipe: nettle soup (soupe aux orties) — May 5, 2006 @ 7:02 pm
[...] We did well for ourselves during the first week of the eating locally challenge. [...]
Pingback by off the eaten path » local eating, week one — May 8, 2006 @ 1:54 pm