Our grocery list so far, and what I stocked up on

Grocery List:  Ecover dishwasher detergent

So we are already one week into January, and our pantry is looking great so far.  We might be able to extend this no grocery shopping into February!  In late December, I made a list of the things I knew we would need and stocked up.  Most of those things were dairy – sour cream, butter, lots of cheese.  Also on the list were organic cabbages and lots of organic carrots – I’ve started buying them in the 5 lb. bags.  I had to stock up on toilet paper, turkey sausage, and cereal for my husband.  The one thing I forgot to stock up on was dishwasher detergent.  The next time my sister makes a grocery store run, I’m going to have her pick up some Ecover for me because I don’t think I want to wash all our dishes by hand!

This is a fun challenge, and hasn’t been too hard so far.  It is good to clean out the cabinets every so often, and to take a break from the stress of the grocery store.  I think when I start grocery shopping again, I’ll try to go once every two weeks.  That shouldn’t be too hard since most of our stuff comes from local sources.

World Eats Wednesday

Another of my goals for this year is to understand how people around the world eat everyday.  Usually when we eat food from another culture, we eat their celebration food, which is yummy and fun, but not a realistic picture of how others really eat.  I am going to seek out recipes of the staple foods that people around the world eat day in and day out, and serve it on World Eats Wednesdays.  The plan is to cook it one Wednesday and blog about it the next.  For my first WEW (World Eats Wednesday), my family will be enjoying the food of India and eating Anda Kari, which is an egg curry and some homemade apricot chutney.  Our chickens are now laying average of 4 eggs a day, so this recipe will allow us to use some of those up.  Let the adventure begin!

No Grocery Store Trips in January!!

So our first tangible goal of the new year is to not go to the grocery store in January.  We will still go to the local farm where I get our milk and whatever produce they are harvesting now, which in January will be greens, brocolli, and cauliflower.  We will also still be going to The Granary, a local bakery that grinds their own grain and bakes fresh whole wheat bread daily.  They also stock some bulk items, like oats, flour, beans, spices and dried fruit.  Our third shopping option is Athens Locally Grown, a local market that provides local farmers a year round online presence to sell to consumers in the Athens area.  I also have a pantry full of winter squash, beans, canned tomatoes, and other things that I hope to use up during this month.  This idea began as a challenge to clean out the pantry, but I think by the end of the month we will see just how bountiful the land is year round if you are prepared for the leaner months.  It will be interesting to see what is on our grocery list on February 1 and if I have to go before then.

Goals for 2010 and part of our healthy eating journey

Goals:  Buy and eat local food.  Grow our own.  Buy local goods.  Buy less stuff.

This year we are embarking on a new phase of an adventure we began last year.  It started as an addiction to couponing, which I still enjoy just to a lesser degree.  I discovered coupon blogs and the thrill of seeking out good deals.  This lead to reading other blogs about striving to be a godly mother and wife, and steward of the resources God has blessed us with.  I began reading Keepers of the Home everyday, and now also enjoy reading Heavenly Homemakers daily as well.  At the same time, my younger sister was taking a lot of food justice classes in college and we were having a lot of discussions about many food and resource related issues.  I began to realize that instead of being such a passive, deal driven consumer, it was time to be an active, nutrition driven one.  I wanted to know more about my food and how it got to my table.  I also realized that how I spend our grocery money has an impact on many people, and I need to choose wisely what my money spending habits say about my values.

We attempted a garden last year, but since our third child was born in June, it kind of fell by the wayside.  I found sources for local organic vegetables and began reading voraciously about how to prepare them.  A few early influential books were “Nourishing Traditions” and “More with Less”.  “Nourishing Traditions” led me to seek out food that was as minimally processed as possible.  “More with Less” encouraged me to eat as a world citizen, and consume responsibly.  I also read “Crazy Love”, which really pushed me to think about many things, some of which were how much I consume and how much I share with others in need.

This past fall was a time of experimenting, making yogurt, sourdough bread, cooking with whole chickens, and enjoying an ever increasing array of vegetables.  All of this experimenting led to a lot of discussions about food issues around the dinner table.  I am blessed to have a husband with a spirit of adventure, and two eating children who are not picky.  My oldest, Art, will ask for hummus and carrots for snack, enjoys mousaka, and loves fajitas piled high with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.  We are enjoying our eating adventures, and look forward to where they take us next and the lessons we are learning on the way.