Every challenge needs some ground rules, so after careful consideration I’ve come up with some guidelines for this year-long journey:
1. I will not buy food from a grocery store that has more than four ingredients (which is how I am defining “processed food”).
2. I will buy as many items as possible from Virginia and Maryland.
3. I will know where all of my food comes from and will make every effort to buy “fair trade” items (like coffee, tea and chocolate) when I have to buy something that can’t be produced locally.
4. I will not burn down the house.
Of course for every rule, there is an exception and this is no different. I will not give up eating out from time-to-time; trying new restaurants is something that my boyfriend and I really enjoy doing when we both have a day off. Also, I will not be actively seeking out alcohol that is locally produced. I will make a good faith effort to buy beer from local breweries, but I will not refrain from drinking if I can’t find any or it is ridiculously expensive.
On that note, I will also do my best keep track of what I’m spending. I’m hoping that over the course of the year we will see that there isn’t a big price difference between my current diet and this new one. Although my spending at first will probably seem high, I’m planning on doing a lot of drying and canning that I hope will provide me with food during the winter and balance out that initial expense.
This is awesome. I set out to do much of the same last summer (although I never made it to the drying and canning part). I can at least give you my list of farmers markets in the area (when I can find it). There's at least one every day but Monday. Also, I had to make exceptions for coffee (no growers around here, although there are some roasters), olive oil, and some other things. I'm sure you'll figure those things out in rapid fashion, though. :) Can't wait to follow your adventure!
ReplyDeleteOh Joy, you are one of the most helpful and encouraging people I know! I can't wait to catch up Sunday at work and then plan for drinks or something soon :)
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