We're an ordinary family, complete with picky eaters, budget concerns, and time management issues. But to prove that "eating local" works - even for busy families in cooler climates - we're trading Chick-Fil-A and goldfish crackers for grassfed meat and local produce. Join our adventure in learning to eat (sort of) sustainably for the summer!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

And ... we're off!


Okay, we've started the project in earnest, cooking and eating almost entirely local and/or organic products.  We got off to a slightly rocky start when Jason decided to be helpful and buy some groceries when he got home on Saturday ... somehow strawberry-flavored frosted miniwheats and milk from unhappy cows made it on the list, while any actual organic produce did not.  Oh, well - cereal keeps FOREVER, especially when it's got that many chemicals in it, right?

Aside from that, though, we've been doing well.  I'll publish a list of our menus for the week later on, but until then, here's a list of what we've bought to use this week (along with rough prices):

From Fitch's:
4 quarts of U-pick strawberries - $8


Ohio-made pumpkin butter - $3
Homegrown broccoli - $1
Homegrown lettuce - don't remember
Homegrown snow peas - $1.20
Homegrown snap peas - $5
Homegrown tomatoes** - $3.50
Total: $21.78

From West Side Market:
Sesame oil - $5
Locally raised turkey lunch meat - $8.93 for 1.5 pounds
Ohio maple syrup - $10
Organic cream - $5 for 2 cups
Total: about $29

From Heinen's:
Organic US carrots: $2.00
Organic US celery: $2.99
Organic US mushrooms: $2.99
(couldn't find any organic) sweet potatoes: $2.53
Organic US walnuts: $5.99
Organic US sunflower kernels: $4.49
Organic US raisins: $3.99
(doesn't have any HFCS) whole wheat bread: $3.89
Organic fair trade coffee: $7.49
Organic tea: $2.00
Organic tea: $3.00
locally made pita chips: $3.29
Total: $44.47

Stuff we already had on hand from previous weeks:
Organic pasture-raised local chicken (3lbs): $9 (farmer's market)
Locally made organic cheese from pasture-fed cows (16 ounces): $10 (farmer's market)
Locally made Italian sausage (4 sausages): came with the CSA basket
Locally made sausage rolls (6): came with the CSA basket
Locally grown organic eggs from pasture-fed chickens (12): came with the CSA basket
Locally made milk from pasture-fed cows (1/2 gallon): came with the CSA basket

So we're at around $90 spent this week, plus we'll be getting $25 of stuff in this week's CSA basket on Friday.  Considering our grocery bill when we were eating "regular" food was normally around $100 (usually more), I'd say we're doing pretty good so far.


** Homegrown tomatoes in early June - can you believe it?  I had to stop myself from jumping up and down with joy, I was so relieved to see them.  They're "Tomatoberries," little strawberry-shaped cluster tomatoes that apparently don't mind growing in a greenhouse.  The tomatoberry plant we've got out front has (tiny green) fruit on it already, too, so we might actually have our own tomatoes this month, too!

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