Challenge (and giveaway)
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What are you doing next month?
In our house, we’ll be changing the way we eat. We’re going to see how much we can stick to only local sources for our food. This is something I’ve wanted to try for a while, and because we’re already getting our meat and vegetables from local farms, it shouldn’t be too much harder to get the rest of our food locally.
There will be exceptions – coffee, of course, is not grown in Austin. But there are multiple local roasters we can use. I’m going to try to find a source for local flour, but we might have to give that one a pass. Spices are an exception as well, but we can get Texas olive oils. Everything else is out the window if it’s not local.
I’m throwing out a challenge. Make March your month to eat local too. Get your veggies from the farmer’s market or a CSA. Find a local meat producer. Seek out a dairy source, if you can. You can even have some not-so-healthy food, if you can find a place to get your fix for sweet treats. Make at least one meal a week from local food sources. It’s not too much to ask. If you’re up for it, push yourself even more.
It’s true that we’re just coming out of what’s considered the Dark Days, and those of you in northern climes will have a tougher time than me down in Texas. But give it a shot. Learn about where your food is coming from.
With that in mind, I’m giving away 2 DVDs of the Oscar-nominated Food, Inc. I’ll also include some Austin foodie gifts to show you some of the fantastic food crafted right here.
Prize #1 will include:
A copy of Food Inc
Treats from Retro Bizzaro – Old school snack cakes made with local ingredients
Samples from Kohana Coffee – Specialty coffee beans slow roasted in Austin
$25 Shopping Spree on RegionalBest.com, an online artisan food market. Buy unique and hard to find food and food gifts direct from food artisans, family farms and other small companies across the country.
Prize #2 will include:
A copy of Food Inc
Treats from Retro Bizzaro
Samples from Kohana Coffee
Artisan popcorn from Cornucopia in a flavor of your choice
Jake’s Natural Fine Foods Lemon Poppyseed Biscotti
To enter:
1) Leave a comment on this post describing one way you’re changing the way you eat.
2) For an additional entry retweet this post (be sure to include @stetted so I can see it) and leave another comment letting me know you’ve done so.
3) For another entry subscribe to this site (either via e-mail or RSS) and leave a comment letting me know.
4) For yet another entry, become a fan on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
Two winners will be drawn at random via Random.org. You have until February 28 at midnight to enter, and the winner will be announced here on March 1. Good luck!
Also, I’ll be highlighting the wonderful companies listed above in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned!
P.S. If you’re interested, the book club will be reading and talking about The Omnivore’s Dilemma starting in March. I’ll be making posts here on the blog, but for more discussion you can join my forums. Please be sure to let me know you’ve joined so I can approve you!
fun! We’ll start with one local meal a week and go from there. I assume homegrown veggies count for this- they are as local as it gets! I can’t wait to hear about your meals!
I also joined the email feed 🙂
I have changed by eating more vegetables and fruits, organic produce. I have given up meat and dairy, so I do not have to spend too much money buying organic. Vegan lifestyle started 4 months ago.
We committed to only buying eggs from the farmer’s market at the start of this year. We feel a lot better knowing that our eggs came from local chickens.
I tweeted! http://twitter.com/singerinkitchen/status/9338771914
I subscribed by email. [email protected]
I became a fan on Facebook and added to my favorite pages on my page (Opera Singer in the Kitchen). http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/pages/An-Opera-Singer-in-the-Kitchen/292215367925?ref=ts
Right on girl! We’re doing much the same at our house. I can’t wait to hear how it goes 😀
What I’m changing this month is making more of an effort to eat seasonal. Eating from the garden helps but since mine has some serious winter blues at least eating what SHOULD be coming up, that I can find locally is the challenge. (right now, only the arugula and chard are giving me any grow love)
I am an RSS follower. It is the best way to follow and tag for me!
Facebook! Fanning you and lurking.
I’ve also been trying to eat more locally and it’s finally gotten to the point where I only shop at the grocery store for dry goods any more, barring emergencies. My food is so much better these days in every way.
Also, where are you getting Texas olive oil? Want!
@melissa, the brand is Texas Olive Ranch and it’s sold on the RegionalBest.com site! I get it at our farmer’s market, though.
@Meg, ooh, Central Market and HEB carry it, apparently. awesome!
I am trying to incorporate a serving of fruit or veggies at every meal. It is taking some time to get to that point but it is a slow progression. I’m also trying to limit my meat and carb intake.
count me in please!
Great giveaway!
I’m trying to use more lacto-fermented veggies or cultured drinks such as kefir and kombucha!
I have been looking into CSA’s here and hopefully will be signed up for one soon (its a little hard in Ohio, but I think I found a good one) and we have also quit purchasing soda at the grocery store, as well as not eating out anymore.
We eat a lot of beans, rice, oats and our homecanned foods! I am hoping to start eating more salads and fruits and deciding what seeds to buy for the garden this year! I am soo ready for spring, so I can start my seeds!
We are beginning to switch to organic when possible and researching CSA’s in the area.
I’m a subscriber…
I’ve slowly been quitting eating my dinners out (a perpetual temptation for bachelors such as myself) and instead cooking at home. The latest change has been to spend more time on the presentation of the food I’m cooking. One easy go-to meal for me is grilled kosher hot dogs (Hebrew National–“they answer to a higher authority!”). So to make the meal more visually appealing, I score the dogs in a diamond pattern on two of the flatter sides of the dog. Then when I cook them, the dogs plump up and there is a startlingly attractive (and somewhat fascinating) ridged diamond texture up and down the sides of the dogs. Then I lay the dogs in whole-wheat buns and garnish them with a ribbon of Dijon mustard and a generous sprinkling of dried fried onion bits. I tell ya, it’s fast-food eating in the comfort of your own home!
Well we are going to change the way we eat in a BIG way. Charlie already eats GFCF, and while I make all his meals super healthy, brian and I are HORRIBLE eaters. Mostly junk food. So beginning tomorrow, no more fast food, Only GFCF. The exception would be Dairy. We will still eat cheese and such. But I promised myself that this year I will make a point to be healthier for the children.
We are also trying to go local, I just need to find local farms still 🙂
I’m on day 61 of not buying grocery store food for a year. I won’t enter the challenge, I’m already on my own, but would like to encourage lots of folks to try to eat more locally for at least one week. There are farmer’s markets all over town, some of the most incredible cheese I’ve ever eaten is locally made and sold. If anyone would like support for their one week challenge, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I blog about eating only from the garden and farmer’s markets at http://www.austinurbangardens.wordpress.com, if anyone is seeking out information for sourcing locally.
Hi there! Richardson Farms grows and grinds their own wheat grown just outside of Austin. Several bakers use it for their breads & it is really delicious!